"I don't want to be compared with Phil": Van Duijvenbode on monster 112 average to take record from Taylor at Players Championship Finals

Dirk van Duijvenbode played one of the games of the year as he defeated Ryan Searle in a blockbuster tie on Stage Two of the Players Championship Finals with a 112 average.

"It was a great game. I was 7-3 down and I missed one dart to keep my own throw and he took it out twice. On his throw I needed a 12-darter to break and just couldn't do that. Went in the break, came back and was like we need to hit the 12-darters if we want to win. Start with 11, keep my own throw a little bit of a struggle but he started to get a little bit less as good,"

He didn't know the average he hit though and immediately was even more happy albeit not wanting the Taylor comparisons and spoke about his love of Stage Two.

"I don't want to be compared with Phil but I was lucky that I played on Stage Two. I'm more used to Stage Two than Stage One, I've played twice in this big tent but everytime I'm here I play in Stage Two. It's like you're playing in a big pub, you can't even see it as it's dark. I absolutely love it."

Heading into the latter stages, it is also another box ticked for Van Duijvenbode defending ranking money and he said it's more about the amount than tournament by tournament.

"I'm defending a Quarters, I look at it I made an amount in a year and I want to defend that amount. I'm not looking at particular tournaments but of course towards the World Championship, you want to be as high as possible so it's good that you defend your money."