TheOche.com

PHIL TAYLOR continued his dominance over James Wade with victory in the final of Saturday’s Players Championship tournament in Koningshof, Holland.

Taylor has taken victory over Wade in the finals of the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts, PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic and Stan James World Matchplay this year, and picked up the £5,000 title with a 3-1 victory.

Taylor, making his first competitive appearance since winning the World Matchplay five weeks ago, survived an early scare to come from behind to defeat Kevin McDine in the last 32, and never looked back.

He failed to drop a leg in a scintillating destruction of Chris Mason and then defeated John MaGowan and Stoke rival Andy Hamilton to reach the final.

He included a 13-darter in taking the first set of the final 2-1, and also edged the second after Wade missed a host of doubles.

Wade took the third set without reply and also led in the fourth, but Taylor levelled and then landed a third maximum of the final before sealing victory.

Wade defeated Tony Eccles 3-1 in the semi-finals and also saw off Gary Mawson, Vincent van der Voort and Colin Osborne by the same scoreline in the event.

The day also included a nine-darter from 67-year-old MaGowan, his first in competition and which earned him a £3,600 bonus as the first in a PDC Pro Tour event since Colin Osborne’s achievement in April.

MaGowan went on to reach the quarter-finals, his best display since reaching the semi-finals of the 2006 UK Open.

Eccles improved his chances of qualifying for October’s Sky Poker World Grand Prix by reaching the semi-finals, including straight sets wins over Terry Jenkins and Kevin Painter.

Players Championship – Koningshof, Saturday
Preliminary Round
Dave Honey 3-0 Pauzr Jiri
Wayne Atwood 3-0 Jon Archer
Ian Jopling 3-0 Raul Conde
Tobias Hontsch 3-0 Thomas Gerock
Willem Kralt 3-0 Colin Monk
Leroy Kwadijk 3-0 Mike Herold
James Barton 3-0 Jim Leighton
Rolf Kaiser 3-0 Steve Cusick
John Kuczynski 3-0 Detlef Vrba
Lee White 3-2 Stephan Wusch
Edwin Max 3-0 Andy Relf
Michael Rosenauer 3-0 Hans Hagley
Elmer Kralt 3-1 Toon Greebe
Co Stompe Bye (Volker Beck)
Mensur Suljovic 3-2 Steve Brown
Pavel Jirkal Bye (Freddy de Geus)

First Round
Phil Taylor 3-1 Jan van der Rassel
Steve Evans 3-2 Dave Honey
Kevin McDine 3-1 Chris Thompson
Maik Langendorf 3-2 Wim Mink
Chris Mason 3-1 Rocco Maes
Wayne Atwood 3-0 Louis Blundell
Darren Johnson 3-2 Kirk Shepherd
Jelle Klaasen Bye (Sven Wens)
Alan Tabern 3-1 Dick van Dijk
Lionel Sams 3-2 Ian Jopling
Alex Roy 3-0 Ali Avci
John MaGowan 3-2 Steve Maish ** John MaGowan hits nine-darter
Ronnie Baxter 3-0 Detlef Bietz
Andy Howarth 3-2 Tobias Hontsch
Mick McGowan 3-0 Bernd Roith
Robert Watson-Lang 3-0 Rico Vonck
Colin Lloyd 3-2 Dave Ladley
Willem Kralt 3-1 Mario Masurka
Michael van Gerwen 3-0 Jonathan Overton
Martyn Turner 3-0 Miloslav Navratil
Mervyn King 3-0 Alexander Glatthorn
Kevin Harris 3-0 Leroy Kwadijk
Mark Frost 3-2 Mark Walsh
Ben Burton 3-0 Steve Randall
Andy Hamilton 3-1 John Lokken
James Barton 3-0 Alan Weist
Matt Clark 3-2 Jacko Barry
Geoff Wylie 3-2 Scott Kirchner
Denis Ovens 3-1 Nick Fulwell
Matheus Ziolkowski 3-0 Rolf Kaiser
Jamie Caven 3-0 Andy Smith
Tony Blundell Bye (Sascha Muller)
James Wade 3-0 Daniel Kibellus
Colin Rice 3-1 John Kuczynski
Gary Mawson 3-0 Hans Pfaff
Joe Cullen 3-1 Pin van Veenendal
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Detlef Haut
Lee White 3-2 Daniel van Mourik
Andy Jenkins 3-2 Bernhard Kraus
Aaron Turner 3-0 Eimardo van Enegelen
Peter Manley 3-0 Ricky Williams
Edwin Max 3-1 Martin Burchell
Wes Newton 3-0 Huseyin Zengin
Tomas Seyler 3-0 Andrew Davies
Colin Osborne 3-1 Carlos Rodriguez
Michael Rosenauer Bye (Kevin Winsink)
Wayne Jones 3-0 Owen Caffrey
Dennis Smith 3-1 Brendan Dolan
Roland Scholten 3-0 Kim Huybrechts
Elmer Kralt 3-0 Roland Schmidt
Steve Beaton 3-0 John Jenkinson
Steve Hine 3-0 Klaus Wolhorn
Kevin Painter 3-2 Joey Palfreyman
Co Stompe 3-0 Roy Leenders
Adrian Gray Bye (Anton Pein)
Olaf Tupuschis 3-0 Mario Hermann
Terry Jenkins 3-2 Jeffrey Stigter
Mensur Suljovic 3-1 Shane Passey
Tony Eccles 3-0 Thorsten Wefers
Hannes Schnier 3-2 Domien Raes
Robert Thornton 3-1 Mark Dudbridge
John Quantock 3-0 Pavel Jirkal
Barrie Bates 3-1 Chris Kotal
Peter Wright 3-1 Gary Barnett

Second Round
Phil Taylor 3-0 Steve Evans
Kevin McDine 3-0 Maik Langendorf
Chris Mason 3-1 Wayne Atwood
Jelle Klaasen 3-2 Darren Johnson
Alan Tabern 3-2 Lionel Sams
John MaGowan 3-1 Alex Roy
Ronnie Baxter 3-1 Andy Howarth
Mick McGowan 3-1 Robert Watson-Lang
Colin Lloyd 3-2 Willem Kralt
Michael van Gerwen 3-0 Martyn Turner
Mervyn King 3-0 Kevin Harris
Mark Frost 3-2 Ben Burton
Andy Hamilton 3-1 James Barton
Matt Clark 3-0 Geoff Wylie
Denis Ovens 3-0 Matheus Ziolkowski
Jamie Caven 3-0 Tony Blundell
James Wade 3-2 Colin Rice
Gary Mawson 3-0 Joe Cullen
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Lee White
Andy Jenkins 3-0 Aaron Turner
Peter Manley 3-2 Edwin Max
Tomas Seyler 3-1 Wes Newton
Colin Osborne 3-0 Michael Rosenauer
Wayne Jones 3-2 Dennis Smith
Elmer Kralt 3-1 Roland Scholten
Steve Beaton 3-2 Steve Hine
Kevin Painter 3-0 Co Stompe
Adrian Gray 3-2 Olaf Tupuschis
Terry Jenkins 3-0 Mensur Suljovic
Tony Eccles 3-1 Hannes Schnier
John Quantock 3-1 Robert Thornton
Barrie Bates 3-2 Peter Wright
Losers £75

Third Round
Phil Taylor 3-2 Kevin McDine
Chris Mason 3-2 Jelle Klaasen
John MaGowan 3-2 Alan Tabern
Mick McGowan 3-1 Ronnie Baxter
Colin Lloyd 3-2 Michael van Gerwen
Mervyn King 3-0 Mark Frost
Andy Hamilton 3-2 Matt Clark
Denis Ovens 3-2 Jamie Caven
James Wade 3-1 Gary Mawson
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Andy Jenkins
Peter Manley 3-0 Tomas Seyler
Colin Osborne 3-1 Wayne Jones
Steve Beaton 3-2 Elmer Kralt
Kevin Painter 3-0 Adrian Gray
Tony Eccles 3-0 Terry Jenkins
John Quantock 3-1 Barrie Bates
Losers £150

Fourth Round
Phil Taylor 3-0 Chris Mason
John MaGowan 3-1 Mick McGowan
Colin Lloyd 3-1 Mervyn King
Andy Hamilton 3-2 Denis Ovens
James Wade 3-1 Vincent van der Voort
Colin Osborne 3-0 Peter Manley
Kevin Painter 3-2 Steve Beaton
Tony Eccles 3-2 John Quantock
Losers £300

Quarter-Finals
Phil Taylor 3-0 John MaGowan (2-0, 2-0, 2-1)
Andy Hamilton 3-0 Colin Lloyd (2-0, 2-1, 2-0)
James Wade 3-1 Colin Osborne (2-0, 1-2, 2-1, 2-1)
Tony Eccles 3-0 Kevin Painter (2-1, 2-0, 2-0)
Losers £600

Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor 3-1 Andy Hamilton (0-2, 2-1, 2-0, 2-1)
James Wade 3-1 Tony Eccles (2-0, 2-0, 1-2, 2-1)
Losers £1,250

Final
Phil Taylor v James Wade
Winner £5,000
Runner-Up £2,500

Fourth Round

Kevin Painter is the first man into the quarter-finals, after a 3-2 win over Steve Beaton.

Colin Lloyd sees off Mervyn King 3-1.

Phil Taylor lands two 11-darters in a whitewash win over Chris Mason – winning in legs of 13, 15, 11, 11, 13 and 12 darts, a match average of over 120!

Colin Osborne eases into the quarter-finals with straight sets defeat of Peter Manley.

James Wade overcomes Vincent van der Voort 3-1.

John MaGowan progresses to quarter-finals with win over Ireland’s Mick McGowan in four sets – meaning he now takes on Phil Taylor.

Tony Eccles survives a fight back from York’s John Quantock, who hit back from 2-0 down in sets and a leg down in the third to square the game, before Eccles took the decider.
Andy Hamilton books his place in quarter-finals with another five-set win, this time defeating Denis Ovens in the decider.

Quarter-Finals
James Wade defeats Colin Osborne 3-1, taking the final two sets to book his place in the semis.

Phil Taylor ruthlessly ends John MaGowan’s title bid, dropping just one leg in a three-set victory.

Tony Eccles reaches his first PDC Pro Tour semi-final since March, dropping just one leg in seeing off Kevin Painter.

Andy Hamilton’s run continues with a straight sets win over Colin Lloyd, dropping just one leg to set up a semi-final with fellow Stoke star Phil Taylor.

Semi-Finals
James Wade took victory in the first semi-final with a 3-1 defeat of Tony Eccles. Wade won the first set with finishes of 122 and 120 for back-to-back 15 dart legs. He also took the second set without reply before Eccles hit back to win the third in a deciding leg, taking out 86 on the bullseye. The pair shared the first two legs of the fourth set, before Wade pulled clear in the decider and landed double top at the first time of asking.

Phil Taylor came from a set down to defeat Andy Hamilton 3-1 in the second semi-final.
Hamilton started the stronger, landing 180s in the opening two legs and taking the first set without reply thanks to a 140 checkout. Taylor edged the second in a deciding leg after Hamilton missed his chances to step in and double his advantage. Taylor then won the third set 2-0 to move ahead, before Hamilton led in the fourth. However, four missed doubles from Hamilton allowed Taylor to level, and he eventually sealed the win on double five.