Brendan Dolan is back in the winning enclosure having picked up his first ranking title for the first time in almost two years in Players Championship 10 in Hildesheim, defeating Jeffrey de Graaf 8-4.

The crucial £15,000 winnings for this tournament has catapulted his chances in making the final cut for the 2024 World Matchplay in July.

The 50-year old sealed convincing wins in the earlier rounds, defeating Robert Grundy, Franz Roetzsch and Peter Wright with 6-2 scorelines.

The Northern Irish man stepped to the plate in his last 16 encounter with Dom Taylor, averaging 101, which was his highest performance of the day.

He overcame a 3-0 deficit to win 6 of the next 7 legs to set up an all Northern Irish affair with Daryl Gurney in the quarters.

Gurney averaged higher in their clash, averaging 98 to Dolan’s 95, but Dolan got out of the gates well to lead 4-0 which proved to be too much for Gurney on his chances of making a comeback.

Graham Hall was next for Dolan in the semi-finals and hit a stunning 10-darter on the route to another final to set up a meeting with Sweden’s De Graaf.

Dolan raced into a a 3-0 lead before De Graaf battled his way back to a 4-5 score, but the History Maker added another page for his history memoir by winning the next three legs to win the title.

“It’s an absolutely brilliant feeling,” said Dolan in the interview.

“All I’ve been thinking about over the last few months is trying to qualify for the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.

“That’s what I have been striving for, and thankfully I am really close to achieving that now.”