9 Dart Humphries Wins Players Championship 15
World Number 6 Luke Humphries included a 9-dart leg en route to winning his first Pro Tour of 2023 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, beating Dave Chisnall 8-7 in the Final of Event 15.
Cool Hand Luke will take inspiration going into the upcoming Betfred World Matchplay this weekend, with the perfect leg coming in his Third-Round victory over Matt Campbell before going on to beat the Canadian international 6-4.
Luke’s best display came in his Quarter Final victory over Players Championship 12 winner Jonny Clayton, with both Red Dragon players producing 100+ averages. The Englishman ran out a 6-3 winner over the Ferret, scoring 105.64 over the 9 legs played in Leicester.
Humphries defeated Brendan Dolan 7-2 in the Semi Finals, setting up a Final with Dave Chisnall in a battle of the top 2 seeds. Chizzy produced a 103.32 average in beating Players Championship 1 winner Ryan Searle 7-3 in the other Semi Final.
Cool Hand Luke held his nerve in the Final against the 2-time Euro Tour winner this year, pinching a last leg decider after finding Double 8 with his eighth match dart. The World Number 6 starts his World Matchplay campaign against former Grand Slam winner Jose de Sousa on Sunday, in the 2nd match of the session at the Winter Gardens.
Brendan Dolan produced an impressive run to the Semi Finals at the Morningside Arena, beating compatriot Josh Rock for the first time in his career with a 6-5 victory in the Last 16. The History Maker’s best performance came in his Third-Round victory over Martin Schindler, averaging 103.55 in a 6-2 victory.
Joe Cullen also saw a return to form in Players Championship 15, beating the likes of Martijn Kleermaker, Graham Usher and Nathan Rafferty in a run to the Quarter Finals. The Rockstar produced his best performance in the Last 8 matchup with eventual Runner Up Dave Chisnall, averaging 103.25 despite a 6-5 defeat.
The Bradford born player opens the 2023 Betfred World Matchplay on Saturday against debutant Mike de Decker live on Sky Sports.
Players Championship 16 resumes on Tuesday from the Morningside Arena live on PDC TV, with this being the final PDC competition before the World Matchplay kickstarts this weekend in Blackpool.
By Harry Masterson
Players Championship 15 Results:
Last 16:
Dave Chisnall 6-0 Owen Bates
Joe Cullen 6-1 Dylan Slevin
Berry van Peer 6-2 Ian White
Ryan Searle 6-3 Kevin Doets
Luke Humphries 6-1 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Chris Dobey
Radek Szaganski 6-5 Damon Heta
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Josh Rock
Quarter Finals:
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Joe Cullen
Ryan Searle 6-3 Berry van Peer
Luke Humphries 6-3 Jonny Clayton
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Radek Szaganski
Semi Finals:
Dave Chisnall 7-3 Ryan Searle
Luke Humphries 7-2 Brendan Dolan
Final:
Luke Humphries 8-7 Dave Chisnall
