Nine dart Dobey lifts third PDC Pro Tour title
Chris Dobey fired in a nine darter and a 170 outshot as part of a dramatic day on the PDC Pro Tour which saw Hollywood claim his third floor title.
The former Masters Champion hit The Big Fish to win his round two match with Mike De Decker, before pinging the nine in the next round against Mickey Mansell en route to beating Josh Rock 8-4 in the Players Championship 7 Final in Leicester.
It’s the first time since 2021 that the Newcastle ace has won a floor event, moving him up to number 14 in the world in the process.
Dobey defies Rock for PDC Pro Tour win
Rock, who’d defeated the likes of Ryan Searle and Gian van Veen to secure a spot in his first final since 2022, started the brighter, winning three of the first four legs to take a 3-1 advantage. 27 darts later though, that advantage was gone, as Dobey won two straight himself to equalise.
Both held once more to move the game on to 4-4, before Hollywood hit the gas button and moved into overdrive. Rock, the 2022 World Youth Champion, only got one more shot at double in the contest, as Dobey hit two 17 darters in between two 11 darters to seal the victory, hitting double six to get over the line.
What else happened?
Despite losing out in the semi finals, it was an excellent day for Luke Woodhouse. The Bewdley ace started the event outside the World Matchplay qualification spots, but his run to last four knocked out Andrew Gilding and pushed Woody into a qualifying spot.
French player Thibault Tricole made his maiden PDC quarter final, while Ian White and Ryan Meikle’s runs to the last eight helped them in their battles to attempt to save their tour card.
It wasn’t just Hollywood who hit nine darters in Leicester either. Steve Beaton achieved the feat in his first round clash against James Hurrell, but lost 6-3. Daryl Gurney then pinned perfection in his second round match v Jeffrey De Graaf, before his last eight loss.
FInally, Luke Littler lost to Ross Smith in the last 16, but beat World Champion Luke Humphries 6-5 yet again, this time in their board final. There were also first round exits for a whole host of big names, including Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson.
