PDC Players Championship 13 Roundup | Kevin Doets holds nerve after missed darts to deny Luke Woodhouse and claim first-ever PDC title
PDC
Kevin Doets claimed his first ever PDC ranking title with an 8-5 victory over Luke Woodhouse in the final of Players Championship 13 in Hildesheim.
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With both players contesting their first final at this level, a maiden winner was guaranteed, and it was Doets who held his nerve in the closing stages to seal a breakthrough success on the ProTour.
How they made the final
Doets reached the final with one of the most complete runs of the day. He opened with a 6-4 win over Mervyn King before beating Darryl Pilgrim 6-3. A 6-0 whitewash of Kim Huybrechts followed, before his level rose again in the last 16 with a 6-3 win over Jermaine Wattimena, averaging 105.72 despite Wattimena posting 107.83 in defeat.
His quarter-final display saw him beat Rob Owen 6-2 with a 107.19 average, before he powered into the final with a dominant 7-1 victory over Maik Kuivenhoven, averaging 99.20.
Woodhouse also impressed throughout the day. He began with a 6-0 win over Cam Crabtree and followed it with a 6-2 victory over Adam Leek, averaging 98.28. He then produced a 100.03 average in a 6-2 win over Mike De Decker before easing past Krzysztof Ratajski 6-1 in the last 16.
His standout moment came in the quarter-finals, where he beat Chris Dobey 6-4, sealing the match with a 150 checkout. Woodhouse then reached the final with a 7-2 win over Mensur Suljovic.
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Doets holds nerve to seal maiden title
The final began with Doets making an immediate statement, opening with back-to-back 180s on his way to holding throw. Woodhouse responded quickly to level at 1-1, before taking control of the early stages.
A break of throw and an 80 finish helped Woodhouse move 3-1 ahead, and he extended that to 4-2, looking composed as Doets struggled to apply pressure.
The momentum shifted midway through the match. Doets capitalised on a rare off-leg from Woodhouse with a 100 finish, before restoring parity at 4-4. A sharp 11-dart leg then gave the Dutchman the lead at 5-4, turning the match around.
From there, Doets took control. A 105 finish pushed him further ahead at 6-4, and a 128 checkout moved him to the brink of victory at 7-4, with his average climbing above 105.
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Woodhouse stayed alive after Doets missed multiple match darts, but the Dutchman eventually closed it out on double 10 with his final dart in hand to seal an 8-5 win.
Doets has finally claimed his first ever PDC title
Nine-darters, shocks and standout performances
Away from the final, the day in Hildesheim produced two nine-darters and several notable results. Dirk van Duijvenbode hit the first perfect leg of the day in his opening round win over Madars Razma, finishing with a 109.10 average. James Hurrell added a second nine-darter in his second round match against Chris Dobey, although Dobey still progressed with a 6-2 win, averaging 107.38.
There were also near misses. Yorick Hofkens missed double 12 for a nine-darter against David Sharp before losing 6-3, while Rob Cross missed double 12 for perfection in his narrow 6-5 defeat to Jermaine Wattimena.
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Beau Greaves again drew attention following her Players Championship 11 title. She beat Peter Wright 6-1 in the opening round and saw off Kai Gotthardt 6-2 before exiting in a last-leg decider against Rob Owen in round three.
Michael van Gerwen reached the third round with wins over Stefan Bellmont and Jeffrey De Zwaan before losing 6-5 to Krzysztof Ratajski. Gary Anderson averaged over 100 but lost 6-4 to Connor Scutt in the opening round, while Raymond van Barneveld was beaten 6-2 by Tom Sykes.
Andrew Gilding produced the standout average of the day, firing 118.66 in a 6-0 win over Joe Cullen before reaching the quarter-finals, where he lost 6-4 to Maik Kuivenhoven despite averaging around 10 points more than his opponent.
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Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
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- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
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- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026