In the second weekend on the PDC Players Championship series at Robin Park, Wigan, our eight players once again tested theirselves against some of the world’s best.
At Players Championship 3, it was a disappointing day in terms of results, with William Borland’s run to the second round being the highlight – pushing the world no.1 Michael van Gerwen all the way in a narrow 6-4 defeat to the Dutchman.
Players Championship 4 was much better as far as results go for the likes of Karel Sedlacek, Jamie Hughes and James Wilson.
Daryl Gurney unfortunately suffered first-round defeats in both events, William Borland averaged over 100 in a frustrating 6-2 defeat to Chris Dobey.
Harry Ward reached the second round, losing out to James Wade 6-2 after seeing off Kai Fan Leung in his opening match. Benito van de Pas crashed out in round one, despite averaging 97 in a 6-4 defeat to Gabriel Clemens, who averaged 100 himself.
Jamie Hughes completed a fantastic run to the last 16, just seven days after reaching the quarter-finals.
Yozza kicked off the day with straightforward wins over former-BDO competitors, Scott Waites and Wesley Harms 6-3 and 6-2 respectively.
Hughes’ finest performance of the day came in the last 16 as he swept aside Darius Labanauskas in a commanding 6-1 win, averaging 101.6.
In the last 16, Hughes narrowly lost out to Ian White 6-4. Hughes trailed 5-1, but battled back to 5-4 and could’ve levelled the contest with three darts at D18 before White sealed the win.
Evil Charlie, Karel Sedlacek produced his best run since joining the PDC tour in January, reaching the last 16 in a fascinating run.
The Czech ace kicked off the day with a pair of 6-5 victories over Matt Clark and more notably, former-world champion, Rob Cross. In the third round, Sedlacek produced a near perfect display, romping past Luke Humphries 6-0, hitting 6/6 on the checkouts and averaging 102.5 en route.
In the last 16, Sedlacek looked to be on his way to defeating another world champion in the form of Peter Wright as the Czech star opened up a 3-1 lead, but Snakebite battled back to register a 6-4 win.
James Wilson produced his best run of the year so far, reaching the last 32. Wilson edged past Ricky Evans in the opening round, surviving match darts in a 6-5 win.
Following that win, Wilson saw off Niels Zonneveld on the streaming board, reeling off three consecutive legs from 4-3 behind to secure the win.
In the last 32, Wilson ran into an on-song Glen Durrant in a 6-3 defeat, but positive signs for Jammy Dodger.
Next up, the PDC pro-tour returns to Wigan next weekend and Daryl Gurney takes to the stage in Cardiff for week three in the Unibet Premier League as our man takes on Gerwyn Price.
By Tom Beresford