Record-breaking Van Gerwen continues title defence in Minehead

On a thrilling day of action on Saturday, Michael van Gerwen produced a record-breaking performance to continue his defence of the Cazoo Players Championship Finals title.

The second and third rounds of the £600,000 event were held at Butlin’s Minehead Resort on Day Two, where reigning champion Van Gerwen stole the show.

In his astonishing 6-1 victory over Ross Smith in the second round, the Dutch superstar achieved the greatest average in Players Championship Finals history, averaging 118.52.

Van Gerwen finished with legs of 10, 18, 12, 11, 12, and 12 darts to conclude an incredible performance, with European Champion Smith averaging over 104 in defeat.

The reigning champion was less spectacular in his third-round triumph over Mario Vandenbogaerde, despite winning six of the last eight legs to win 10-6.

“When things go well, I know how well I can play,” declared Van Gerwen, who is eyeing his first premier televised ranking title of 2023.

 

“It is nice to produce a game like this, because you know you’ve got that game in you. You want to show this [type of performance] time after time, but you also need a good opponent!

 

“It was a battle against Mario, but the most important thing is that I won, and going through to the quarter-finals gives me an extra boost, and I feel good about it.”

Van Gerwen’s last-eight opponent will be Stephen Bunting, who defeated 2012 runner-up Kim Huybrechts 10-8 after destroying Gian van Veen in the semi-finals.

Bunting averaged over 106 and had three ton-plus finishes to defeat Dutch star Van Veen, before fighting from 8-7 down to defeat the Belgian – assisted by five maximums.

Van Gerwen, on the other hand, is on a collision course with Luke Humphries, who defeated Radek Szaganski and Ryan Searle to keep his goal for a third televised victory in seven weeks alive.

Humphries annihilated a stunned Szaganski in just nine minutes, averaging 107 and converting all six of his double tries.

The freshly crowned World Grand Prix and Grand Slam champion then delivered another ton-topping average against Searle, holding off the Somerset star’s late surge to win 10-7.

“Ryan is so underrated. He’s one of the toughest players to beat,” claimed Humphries, having raced into a 6-1 lead before sealing his progress with a 103 average.

“Ryan came back well, but I don’t panic any more. I’ve had a great couple of months, I’m relaxed and I believe in my own ability.

“These are tough days. They require a lot of energy and focus, but I’ve been able to draw on my experience from the European Tour, and I’m hoping I can go all the way again.”

Humphries will face James Wade in the last eight after the ten-time TV champion defeated Steve Lennon and Dimitri Van den Bergh on Saturday.

Wade defeated Irish star Lennon 6-2 before scoring a pair of ton-plus finishes against Van den Bergh to advance to his third consecutive televised quarter-final.

Gabriel Clemens won a thrilling match against 2022 World Youth Champion Josh Rock to go to the quarter-finals against Luke Woodhouse.

Rock’s 112.27 average, the second best in Players Championship Finals history, was insufficient to overcome a clinical Clemens, who averaged 101 in a 6-3 victory.

The German number one then annihilated a struggling Niels Zonneveld 10-1 to earn his place in a second televised ranking quarter-final, his first since his Alexandra Palace exploits in January.

Woodhouse had a historic weekend in Minehead as well, overcoming past finalists Rob Cross and Dave Chisnall to advance to his first TV quarter-final.

Woodhouse, who defeated Australian legend Simon Whitlock in round one, kept his push going to surge into the world’s top 32.

Third seed Damon Heta, meanwhile, made it back-to-back televised quarter-finals with tough victories over Kevin Doets and Brendan Dolan to secure his spot in Sunday’s last eight.

The Australian came through a messy round two match against Doets before averaging 99 and converting 124, 125, and 128 checkouts to complete a 10-8 victory over a spirited Dolan.

Heta will face Ryan Joyce in the last four after defeating Joe Cullen and Jermaine Wattimena to reach his first televised ranking quarter-final in nearly five years.

Joyce exploited former Masters winner Cullen’s sloppy doubling showing in round two before rattling off four straight legs from 7-6 down to defeat Wattimena later in the evening.

Earlier in the day, top seed Gerwyn Price was knocked out in round two by Huybrechts, while 2014 winner Gary Anderson was knocked out by Van den Bergh at the same stage.

runner-up in 2017 Jonny Clayton was defeated by an outstanding Zonneveld in the second round on Saturday afternoon, while Chisnall averaged over 110 to inflict a defeat on Masters Champion Chris Dobey.

2023 Cazoo Players Championship Finals

Saturday November 25

Afternoon Session

Second Round

Main Stage

Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-5 Gary Anderson

Damon Heta 6-4 Kevin Doets

Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Gerwyn Price

Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Ross Smith

Dave Chisnall 6-4 Chris Dobey

Luke Humphries 6-0 Radek Szaganski

Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Richard Veenstra

 

Stage Two

Stephen Bunting 6-1 Gian van Veen

Ryan Searle 6-3 Ricardo Pietreczko

Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-2 Matt Campbell

Brendan Dolan 6-5 Maik Kuivenhoven

Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Rob Cross

Gabriel Clemens 6-3 Josh Rock

Ryan Joyce 6-4 Joe Cullen

Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Jonny Clayton

James Wade 6-2 Steve Lennon

 

Evening Session

Third Round

Main Stage x4

Stephen Bunting 10-8 Kim Huybrechts

Michael van Gerwen 10-6 Mario Vandenbogaerde

Luke Humphries 10-7 Ryan Searle

James Wade 10-6 Dimitri Van den Bergh

 

Stage Two x4

Damon Heta 10-8 Brendan Dolan

Luke Woodhouse 10-8 Dave Chisnall

Gabriel Clemens 10-1 Niels Zonneveld

Ryan Joyce 10-7 Jermaine Wattimena

 

Sunday November 26

Afternoon Session (1245-1700 GMT)

Quarter-Finals

Stephen Bunting v Michael van Gerwen

Luke Woodhouse v Gabriel Clemens

James Wade v Luke Humphries

Damon Heta v Ryan Joyce

Best of 19 legs

 

Evening Session (1900-2300 GMT)

Semi-Finals

Bunting/Van Gerwen v Woodhouse/Clemens

Wade/Humphries v Heta/Joyce

Best of 21 legs