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
Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC