Players Championship Darts Finals 2014: Daily Scores, Results and Updated Draw
Gary Anderson won the 2014 Players Championship Finals in emphatic fashion, taking out three-time champion Phil Taylor and the in-form Vincent van der Voort on his way to the final against Adrian Lewis. A four-leg sprint gave the Flying Dutchman a comfortable lead, and he never let his foot off the pedal, holding on for an 11-6 win.
It's only the second major PDC trophy of Anderson's career, after winning the 2011 Premier League back in 2011.
Updated Draw and Schedule
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The tournament has been completed.
Sunday, November 30
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Results
Afternoon Session
Adrian Lewis 10-9 Jamie Caven
Wes Newton 10-5 Terry Jenkins
Vincent van der Voort 10-8 Dean Winstanley
Gary Anderson 10-6 Phil Taylor
Best of 19 legs
Evening Session
Semi-Finals
Adrian Lewis 11-6 Wes Newton
Gary Anderson 11-7 Vincent van der Voort
Best of 21 legs
Final
Gary Anderson 11-6 Adrian Lewis
Best of 21 legs
Gary Anderson claimed his second major PDC title on Sunday, beating Adrian Lewis 11-6 in the final of the 2014 Players Championship.
The Flying Scotsman had to earn his victory the hard way, knocking out three-time winner and tournament favourite Phil Taylor in the quarter-finals before getting the better of an in-form Vincent van der Voort.
Lewis was nearly eliminated in the quarter-finals, needing a decider to get past Jamie Caven, but he bounced back with a big performance in the semi-finals, comfortably beating Wes Newton.
The battle between Jackpot and Caven in the quarter-finals went down to the wire, with the latter nearly converting an incredible 167 checkout on the bull in the 18th leg, before Lewis hit back with a 124 on double 11 and won the match with a 123 on double nine.
Anderson and Taylor both combined for averages well over 104 in their epic quarter-final meeting, but the Power managed just 33 percent on the checkout, compared to 41 percent for the Flying Scotsman.
That would ultimately prove to be the difference, as Anderson came back from an early 3-1 to deficit to open up a comfortable lead and finish in style, taking out 127 on the bull.
Newton went on a cold stretch early in his semi-final against Lewis, allowing the latter to open up a huge gap between the two in the form of an eight-leg lead. Needing only 11 to qualify for the final, Jackpot had no pressure whatsoever on his shoulders, easily completing the match.
Van Der Voort had similar struggles against Anderson, giving up five consecutive legs from the sixth onwards to go down 8-2. The Dutchman tried to fight back and did a remarkably good job, including four straight checkouts of over 100, but ultimately, the Flying Scotsman easily controlled the pace.
The final remained close until the ninth leg, when tied at 4-4, Anderson bagged four consecutive legs to build a lead he never relinquished. The finish of 118 on double 19 sent the crowd into a frenzy, as for the second year in a row, the Players Championship welcomed a new champion.
Speaking to ESPN, Anderson was visibly excited finally to win his second major title, and his first ranked PDC event:
"This has taken a while. I beat Phil in 2007 and I've paid the price every since. I won in the Premier League, which was brilliant, and then I've beaten Phil this weekend and gone onto win it.
I don't think anyone else has done that, have they? That's me happy now.
"
The Players Championship Finals are the last major tournament on PDC's calendar before the start of the World Championships, taking place in London during December and January.
Last year's champion Michael van Gerwen carried his great form into that tournament, winning his first ever world title. Anderson will undoubtedly hope he can repeat that feat, and if his current form is any indication, there's no reason to believe he can't.
Saturday, November 29
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Results
Afternoon Session (12.45pm-5pm)
Jamie Caven 10-9 Robert Thornton
Wes Newton 10-5 Brendan Dolan
Adrian Lewis 10-3 Andy Smith
Dean Winstanley 10-5 Jelle Klaasen
Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Vincent van der Voort 10-5 Peter Wright
Terry Jenkins 10-7 Michael van Gerwen
Phil Taylor 10-7 Mervyn King
Gary Anderson 10-5 Stephen Bunting
Terry Jenkins produced the shock of the day, eliminating World No.1 and defending champion Michael van Gerwen in a hard-fought 10-7 win.
Mighty Mike, who returned to the competitive circuit after taking the week off to recover from flu didn't play up to his usual standards, struggling on the doubles and seeing his average dip under 96.
That shouldn't take anything away from Jenkins' fantastic performance, however, as the Bull really stepped up his play from the ninth leg onwards.
Tied at four legs apiece, Van Gerwen missed several doubles over the course of the next few frames to all but gift the match to Jenkins, who kept his composure and took out his final double on the first try.
Phil Taylor came just one dart short of a nine-darter in his 10-7 win over Mervyn King, missing on double 12 in the ninth to grab a three-leg lead.
The Power was nearly flawless otherwise, averaging north of 103 and hitting nearly 40 percent of his doubles. The King hovered around the same percentage but fell just short of a 98 average, the difference in the match.
Van Gerwen's early exit means Taylor is now undoubtedly the favourite for the title, if his form in the opening two days of the competition is anything to go by.
The afternoon session saw three one-sided affairs and one thriller that required a decider, with Jamie Caven going bullseye to make his way past Robert Thornton.
The match was eerily reminiscent of his loss against Simon Whitlock in the 2013 European Championship, where he gave up a 9-3 lead to lose the decider. He told PDC.tv he was happy the result went in his favour this time around:
"I was starting to feel the pressure so it's a massive relief to win the match. That game against Simon probably helped me, because if I hadn't have experienced it before I'd have lost this match.
"
Robert was superb when he came back and his finishing was great, and it was deja vu for me because I thought I'd lost it at the end. When Robert missed the tops I had my chance and luckily enough for me the bull went in.
Caven once again gave up a massive lead, in the form of five consecutive legs to go from 9-4 to 9-9. Thornton had a chance to win it but missed tops, and Caven took out 81 on the bull to survive Saturday's match.
Adrian Lewis looked downright dominant in his 10-3 win over Andy Smith, and Jackpot will likely be viewed as Taylor's main rival for the title from this point.
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Friday, November 28
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Results
Afternoon Session (12.45 p.m.-5 p.m.)
Jamie Caven 6-4 Ian White
Wes Newton 6-1 Justin Pipe
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Kevin Painter
Robert Thornton 6-5 Darren Webster
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Andy Smith 6-4 Michael Smith
Dean Winstanley 6-3 Simon Whitlock
Mervyn King 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Evening Session (7 p.m.-11 p.m.)
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Steve Beaton
Vincent van der Voort 6-0 Andy Hamilton
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 James Wade
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Dave Chisnall
Phil Taylor 6-2 Ronnie Baxter
Gary Anderson 6-5 Christian Kist
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright 6-2 Benito van de Pas
The first round of the 2014 Players Championship Finals immediately delivered several big upsets, as former champion Kevin Painter, Australian star Simon Whitlock and in-form James Wade were all knocked out of the tournament at the first hurdle.
Painter lost a thrilling 6-5 battle against Brendan Dolan in dramatic fashion, missing double 16 for the checkout and allowing his opponent to take out 48 for the win.
Whitlock's 6-3 defeat at the hands of Dean Winstanley wasn't nearly as exciting, as the Wizard saw his opponent pull away in the third leg and never looked like he was catching up.
The Australian has struggled throughout the latter part of the 2014 season, and a first-round exit at the PCF seemed almost fitting. Going into the World Championship, the Wizard will need to come up with some answers fast.
Wade appeared to be cruising to an easy win, moving within two legs of the next round after six legs, but Jelle Klaasen completed an impressive comeback, winning the final four legs to beat his favoured opponent 6-4.
The Machine had just one chance on the checkout in the last four legs, as Klaassen simply shifted gears and gave Wade no chance.
Dave Chisnall added his name to the list of favourites bowing out after just one match, but some bad luck with the draw had paired him with Adrian Lewis, who romped to a 6-2 win.
The same can be said for Raymond van Barneveld, who lost to compatriot and World No. 1 Michael van Gerwen by the same score. Mighty Mike told the PDC's official website he wasn't looking forward to the matchup, having only just recovered from the flu:
"I'm feeling a lot better now and I can't wait to back into action.
"
It's a great feeling to be going back to Minehead as reigning champion and I'll be giving it everything to keep my title this weekend, but I know how tough it will be just to get past the first round against Raymond.
We know each other really well and we've had so many great games, but Friday is a new match and I've got to make sure that I play well.
An impressive average of 105.8 made sure Barney never had a chance, however, and the match was over in the blink of an eye.
Phil Taylor booked his place in the next round with an easy 6-2 win over Ronnie Baxter, and along with Van Gerwen, The Power will be the main favourite to take home this year's title, having won the tournament in three of its six editions.
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