Jonny Tata beats Simon Whitlock in final of fifth week of play ANZ Premier League and is on course for playoffs

New Zealander Jonny Tata has once again played himself into the spotlight at the ANZ Premier League. In an atmospheric Adelaide Entertainment Centre, with more than 4,000 spectators, the 33-year-old truck driver from Wellington won the fifth night of play by beating Simon Whitlock 5-2 in the final. This makes Tata the first player in the league's debut season to win two nights of play.

After his win at the first round of play in Melbourne, Tata went through a down period, with three consecutive eliminations in the quarterfinals. In Adelaide, however, he found his old form again. With wins over Brody Klinge, James Bailey and Whitlock, he not only took the $2,000 prize money, but also climbed to second place in the standings, with two nights of play to go until Finals Night in Brisbane.

Tata started the evening with a 5-2 victory over Brody Klinge, the winner of Night Four, and then left little to be desired against James Bailey (5-1), notching a stunning 158 finish. In the final, he initially faced a 2-1 deficit against Whitlock, but with four legs won in a row, he convincingly won the game in his favor with an average of 85.30.

“This crowd was amazing,” Tata reflected post-match. “Adelaide's awesome. I love these guys. Playing Simon in the final, he's a legend. It was always going to be hard, and I knew that the crowd was going to be with him, so I'm happy to get the win.

“The goal is to try and make Finals Night over in Brisbane. I was just hanging in there [the top four], so now it should boost me up a little bit more.”

For Simon Whitlock, his second final of the season meant a jump to third place in the rankings. The Australian veteran, who finished the evening with an average of 95.58, dealt with Tim Pusey (5-3) in the quarterfinals and beat frontrunner Raymond Smith 5-1 in the semifinals.

“I needed to win a couple of games tonight to try and edge my way to the top four, and it was a good night apart from the final,” Whitlock said. Fair play to Jonny. He was the best player tonight.”

After five nights of play, Raymond Smith remains in the lead with 15 points, followed by Tata (13) and Whitlock (8). The battle for the final final spots is completely open with two nights of play remaining.

The ANZ Premier League heads to Wellington next week, where Tata gets to compete in front of his own crowd. He will take on Joe Comito, while leader Smith will be in action against Klinge. In addition, Bailey plays Whitlock and Pusey and Robb face each other in the fourth quarterfinal.

Simon Whitlock 5-3 Tim Pusey

Raymond Smith 5-1 Joe Comito

James Bailey 5-4 Ben Robb

Jonny Tata 5-2 Brody Klinge

Simon Whitlock 5-1 Raymond Smith

Jonny Tata 5-1 James Bailey

Jonny Tata 5-2 Simon Whitlock