Simon Whitlock continued his brilliant form by winning Saturday’s Players Championship in Crawley.

‘The Wizard’ defeated Dennis Priestley 6-2 in the final, to clinch his fourth PDC title in less than two months, adding his second Players Championship victory of 2012 to his recent European Championship and Dutch Darts Masters triumphs.

The Australian saw off Richie Howson in his first match, before coming back from 5-2 down to defeat Steve Farmer 6-5.

He then edged past Richie Burnett by the same scoreline to reach the quarter-finals, where he took a 6-4 success against Terry Jenkins.

Whitlock won through to the final with a 6-4 defeat of Ian White, before going on to beat two-time World Champion Priestley to clinch the £6,000 first prize.

“It feels fantastic,” Whitlock told the PDC’s official website.

“I’m looking forward to every single time I play at the moment. I love winning and I’ve got to keep trying to win more and more.

“I was 5-2 down against Steve Farmer in our match today and I felt like giving up but then something kicked in to never say die, and I went on to win the tournament.”

“Dennis (Priestley) has been around for a long time and is still a brilliant dart player, and fair play to him for reaching the final. He played really well. I enjoy playing him and he brings the best out of me, and you certainly don’t want to draw him.”

Whitlock took the first leg of the final but Priestley levelled with a 130 checkout.

The world number six then reeled off the next three legs to take a 4-1 lead.

‘The Wizard’ produced a brilliant 160 checkout to move a leg away from victory, before his 62-year-old opponent posted double ten to keep the match alive.

Whitlock got the job done though, hitting double top to seal the win.

Whitlock, who was also runner-up in Championship League Darts on Thursday, will take part in the second Players Championship event of the weekend on Sunday before the Grand Slam of Darts begins next weekend.

By Chris Murphy

Book tickets to see Simon Whitlock in action alongside more of the world’s top darts players at The Carlsberg Masters, Birmingham on Friday December 7.

Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC

Simon Whitlock won the PDC’s fifth and final European Tour event of 2012, defeating Australian World Cup teammate Paul Nicholson in the final of the Dutch Darts Masters on Sunday evening.

‘The Wizard’, who recently won his first major title when he was crowned European Champion in Germany, triumphed 6-1 against Nicholson to clinch the £15,000 first prize.

The world number six, who had seen off Per Laursen and Alan Tabern to reach Sunday’s last 16, began the day with a 6-1 victory over Ian White.

He then saw off Johnny Haines 6-2, before producing a brilliant semi-final performance to beat Kim Huybrechts 6-1.

Whitlock finished the job in style, as he defeated ‘The Asset’ by the same scoreline to claim his third PDC title in less than two months.

“It feels fantastic and I’m over the moon to win,” Whitlock told the PDC’s official website.

“It’s brilliant for two Australians to be in the final and Paul’s done really well this weekend.

“I seem to perform well on the Continent and to follow up the European Championship win with this is great.

“I can’t wait for the World Championship now and hopefully I’ll be holding the trophy at the end of that too!

“Paul’s a very good friend of mine and we’re World Cup pairs partners, so it was tough playing him and I’m just happy to get the win.”

By Chris Murphy

Book tickets to see some of the world’s top darts players in action at The Carlsberg Masters, Birmingham on Friday December 7.

Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC

Simon Whitlock claimed his place in the Championship League Darts Winners Group by taking victory in Group Five at Crondon Park on Wednesday.

‘The Wizard’ defeated Australian World Cup team-mate Paul Nicholson 6-3 in the final, after competing in all five days of the Internet-streamed tournament so far.

The European Champion took four wins in the group stage before defeating Dave Chisnall 6-4 in a high-quality semi-final, in which Whitlock averaged over 107 and missed double 15 for a nine-dart finish.

Having been the only player to defeat an in-form Nicholson all day, ‘The Wizard’ found himself 2-0 down to ‘The Asset’, before checkouts of 104 and 121 helped him seal victory.

Whitlock told the PDC website: “I played really well today and I’m very happy with the result.

“It was great to finally make a final because I scraped through in a couple of the days, but I’ve been pretty consistent and all the players seem to produce their best darts here for some reason.

“I was pretty exhausted in the first week because it came just after the European Championship and I scrambled my way through, but I’ve hit some good form.

“After I lost in the World Grand Prix to Justin Pipe last week, I went home and have been practising really hard and that’s paying off for me. I can’t wait for the Winners Group in a couple of weeks!”

He added: “It’s always hard playing Paul because we’re good friends, and it’s good to see him playing his best darts again. It’s been quite a while since he’s played like this and I’m happy he’s playing well at the moment.”

By Chris Murphy

Simon Whitlock says that his victory at the European Championships has given him the taste for major success.

‘The Wizard’ broke his televised title duck in Germany last month and the Australian star has the appetite for more glory, as he prepares for next week’s PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix in Dublin.

“I’ve been on top of the world since winning my first PDC major in Germany,” said Whitlock, who had been runner-up in TV finals on four occasions before his triumph.

“I know I can win now and that is the big thing for me. Now I’ve won one, it gives me the belief that I can go on and win more.”

Despite his fantastic form of late, the world number five is wary of the threat posed by first round opponent Justin Pipe, who he faces on the opening night of the £350,000 tournament at Dublin’s Citywest Hotel on Monday evening.

“Justin is going to be very tough to beat,” said ‘The Wizard’, who has reached the last 16 on both of his previous visits to the double-start tournament, which  sees players having to begin and end each leg with a double.

“He has done extremely well in the last twelve months or so and he is definitely one of the best players on the circuit. It will be a difficult game but I am confident of winning. I’m happy with my darts set-up and I’m sure I can keep up my good form.

“It’s going to be key to get away sharply. You need to hit that double in the at least the first three darts.”

Having finally clinched his major maiden title, the new European Champion is hoping for more success as he bids to rise further up the PDC Order of Merit.

Whitlock added: “I’d love to make the top four in the world rankings. My goal is to get there by the end of the year but it can change so quickly, so I need to keep doing well.

“It’s all about taking one tournament at a time and I want to win every event that I go to.”

By Chris Murphy

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Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC