"I've got no clue what I'll qualify for now": Henry Coates' life changes overnight after stunning Players Championship 25 win

Henry Coates added to the history books on Tuesday with the 20-year-old seeing off Damon Heta to become only the fifth player to win a ProTour without a PDC Tour Card scooping Players Championship 25.

Coates saw off Damon Heta in the final after coming into the field late on as a top up player. He raced to glory at Halle 39 after seeing off Heta 8-4 in the final.

Often a player lauded having trained at the Jamie Caven Academy as a kid in Derby, he has now achieved the ultimate as a professional and was certainly lost for words as he reflected post winning the title.

"I don't actually know. It probably won't sink in until next week, but yeah, it's unbelievable. I got close in the semi-finals last time, but now I've made the final and won it," said Coates post final.

Defeating Heta in the final, Coates has some semblance of history with the Aussie as he was humbled in his first ever ProTour win day and he said that in reality it was time to get his own back. "Yeah, exactly. The last time I played Damo was my second ProTour, just after I'd won my first ProTour match, and he beat me 6-0. I think that taught me a lesson. This time I thought it was time to get one back."

Facing off against Ross Smith, he reached the semi-final of Players Championship 20 missing darts at double 20 beat him and he said that it was a big game for his hopes and dreams of making this a reality. "Like you say, it gave me the confidence to know I've got the game to be here. Winning this gives me even more confidence. It's just another stepping stone in the right direction."

Coates now likely qualifies for the Grand Slam as well as the World Championship and Players Championship Finals, so his life changes overnight. He also benefits from the so-called Ratajski rule, which is named as such due to Ratajski winning without being a Tour Card holder. As a result, you become the first player to top up the ProTour no matter what, so he will play the rest of the year. Albeit he himself didn't know what he'd qualified for. "I've got no clue what I'll qualify for now, but it's one of those things. I've won a ProTour now, so we'll see what comes next."

A bit lost for words, Coates said he wasn't even sure what he'd say to his family. "It'll probably be my dad or my girlfriend. No idea, but I know they'll be buzzing."

Despite being young, Coates has been around for a long time and he said that it is now time for him to kick on. "Hopefully this is just the start. I've put so many years into it and now all the hard work and practice are paying off."

Asked if he'll be back tomorrow, he of course will be. "Of course. I'll be here until Sunday."