Ian White ends two-year gap between ranking titles to win Players Championship Event Six with last-leg victory against Chris Chisnall.
Monday 19 March 2018 12:45, UK
Michael van Gerwen clinched his third Players Championship title of the year at Event Five in Milton Keynes with a dominant 6-2 victory over Chris Dobey in the final.
The Dutchman, who had missed the last two Players Championship events, extended his unbeaten record to 21 games in the tournament and secured the £10,000 top prize.
Despite the margin of victory, Dobey was left to rue costly missed darts at the double as the youngster impressed with a staggering 109.6 average to Van Gerwen's 99.6.
The world No 1 took control in the early stages as a 12 darter and ruthlessness after six missed darts from his younger opponent enabled him to break twice and secure a 4-0 lead.
Dobey fought back to claim a 10-dart leg before he broke his opponent's throw to move within two of Van Gerwen but in the seventh leg the two-time World Championships winner showed his brilliance with a 160 checkout.
Van Gerwen, who dropped just 18 legs all day, completed the win with a D8 finish at Arena MK.
A tight opening game victory against Ricky Evans, which went to a last-leg decider was followed by comfortable 6-3 wins over Jeffrey De Zwaan and Keegan Brown, before seeing off Jimmy Hendriks 6-2.
Van Gerwen then brought to an end Gary Anderson's 27-game unbeaten streak with a 6-1 victory before a 103.7 average helped him past James Wade in the semi-final.
Ian White ended a two-year gap between ranking titles by winning Sunday's Players Championship Six, edging out Dave Chisnall 6-5 in Sunday's final.
The 47-year-old won the most recent of his seven ranking titles in 2016, but produced a fine display to claim seven victories in the day.
White, a two-time semi-finalist on the circuit this year, came out on top in a nervy encounter as he won a last-leg decider.
After making a strong start with a 180 before a break moved him into a 2-0 lead, Chisnall won his first leg of the match with a 124 checkout before both players exchanged holds of throw until the eighth leg.
Chisnall soon moved to within one leg of victory but after he missed a dart at bullseye for victory White stepped in to level the match and force the final to a deciding leg.
White maintained the momentum with a maximum to help him produce a 14-dart break of throw to claim the title.
A whitewash of Maik Langendorf was sandwiched by early 6-3 wins over Luke Woodhouse and Keegan Brown, before White dropped just one leg against Saturday's semi-finalist Wade.
He then saw off John Henderson 6-2 and Mervyn King with a 6-3 scoreline as he won through to the final, where he survived one missed match dart from Chisnall to claim the title.
The 2018 Premier League heads to The SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Thursday with coverage underway from 7pm on Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Main Event. Eight weeks of tungsten action will then continue through to the season's conclusion with the Play-Offs on May 17 at The O2 in London.
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