Simon Whitlock warmed up for the Bodog.com World Grand Prix by claiming his fifth Players Championship title of 2010 in Dublin.
Australian beats Priestley in one-sided final at the Citywest Hotel
Simon Whitlock warmed up for the Bodog.com World Grand Prix by claiming his fifth Players Championship title of 2010 in Dublin.
The Australian, who picked up four wins in just over a month earlier this year, defeated Dennis Priestley 6-1 in Saturday's event at the Citywest Hotel.
However Whitlock hadn't had it all his own way throughout the day, with three of his six contests going the full 11 legs.
He just pipped Justin Pipe in a nervy semi-final having already gone the distance against Arron Monk and then Roland Scholten in the last 16.
Whitlock, who also saw off Tony Eccles and Andy Hamilton, had no such problems against Priestley, two 12-dart legs putting him 3-1 ahead.
The man from Down Under then cashed in when his opponent missed two darts to steal the next. He clinched victory with a 13-darter in the seventh leg.
Confidence boost
"I'm delighted to win again and it's a big confidence boost ahead of the World Grand Prix," said Whitlock. "Dennis is a great competitor - I hope I'm playing as well as him when I reach 60!"
Priestley had been bidding to claim his second title inside six weeks, having defeated Whitlock on his way to the Australian Open Players Championship in August.
He saw off Nick Fullwell, Paul Rowley, Vincent van der Voort and Louis Blundell in winning through to the quarter-finals.
Ian White just missed out on reaching his maiden PDC ProTour final as he fell in the last four. His impressive run in Ireland included wins over world number three James Wade, Brendan Dolan, Paul Nicholson and Alan Tabern.
Sunday sees a second Players Championship held at the Citywest Hotel, with 105 players in competition. The World Grand Prix then begins on Monday.
