Wigan Wonders - Van Gerwen Back On Top, Plaisier Gets First Title

It has been another good week of darts for fans who follow the action that takes place at the oche, and Dutchman Michael van Gerwen found himself as one of the big winners in Wigan on Tuesday evening, and he was very quickly followed by fellow Dutchman Wesley Plaisier on Wednesday night as he picked up his first PDC title.

It has been another good week of darts for fans who follow the action that takes place at the oche, and Dutchman Michael van Gerwen found himself as one of the big winners in Wigan on Tuesday evening, and he was very quickly followed by fellow Dutchman Wesley Plaisier on Wednesday night as he picked up his first PDC title.

35 year old Gerwen had failed to win a leg at the World Grand Prix hosted in Leicester previously as he was knocked out in the first round by Daryl Gurney, but the three time world champion bounced back in perfect fashion at the Players Championship 27 final to take an 8-4 victory over Gerwyn Price.

He produced his best average in the tournament (98.82) to see himself past Welshman Jonny Clayton 6-5 in the quarter finals, before compatriot Wessel Nijman was his next victim in the semi finals, as he booked his place in the showdown with Price.

For those darts fan who like a flutter any bet placed on this final could have easily gone either way before the action started. It was a real battle and Welshman Price established a 2-0 lead, before Van Gerwen won back to back legs to tie the score up. Price then regained the advantage, but MVG seized control to make it 5-3 with an impressive 142 checkout. A subsequent 112 saw him extend his lead, and although Price countered with a credible 126, Van Gerwen saw the final leg out to take the win.

Plaisier's match yesterday evening was just as enthralling for attending fans, as the 34 year old secured an 8-7 win over Josh Rock in the Players Championship 28.

Rock had initially led the tie 4-3 after a 111 checkout, but Plaisier stepped up to give himself a shot of making the final finish line and took four solid victories in the next six legs to give himself the small 7-6 advantage and with victory in his sights, he did not look back and kept his control in the match up.

Rock certainly made a battle of it though, the 23 year old Northern Ireland talent is growing in the sport as he adds to his experience and he managed to force the decider with a 112 checkout of his own. Unfortunately for him at that stage, he erred and wasted six all important darts, and his rival countered to take the victory with double tops.

It was a disappointing end for Rock, but he will likely take a lot from his performance levels as earlier in the tournament he became one of the competitors to hit a nine darter following on from Jamie Hughes and Callum Goffin's first round efforts against Niels Zonneveld and Jelle Klaasen respectively. For Rock, the nine darter was his maximum against in the last 16 tie up with George Killington.

As for Plaisier, not only was it his first PDC title, he also became only the fourth player to win a PDC ranking title without actually holding a PDC Tour card. He will be pleased with his own development of late as he finished as runner up at two Players Championship events back in July, losing to Ross Smith and Jonny Clayton in the relevant finals.

His remarkable, and somewhat unexpected run in Wigan, saw him win seven matches in total, taking in victories over Matt Campbell, Ritchie Edhouse, Florian Hempel, Krzysztof Ratajski, Jose de Sousa and Danny Noppert before his Rock battle.

Onto the next one!