PDC Players Championship 19 Round-up | Jeffrey de Graaf wins his second PDC ranking title in an impressive final display against Jonny Clayton

Jeffrey de Graaf produced a brilliant final display to confirm a second PDC ranking title in Players Championship 19 after defeating Jonny Clayton 8-5 in Milton Keynes.

Before this final, de Graaf had never beaten Clayton. That would change in a very convincing display after taking out a number of top players throughout the day. He left the best until last, averaging 101.11 compared to Clayton’s 100.69 while finding eight 180’s in a brilliant display of scoring along with a 57% checkout rate. Clayton offered chances and would be brutally punished as de Graaf celebrates more ProTour glory while the former Premier League's champion wait for a first title in 2026 prolongs.

For the most part, it was a relatively comfortable day for Clayton, outside of one incredible comeback later in the tournament. Raymond van Barneveld was first up, and the five-time world champion proved to be a breeze in a 6-1 win. He followed it with a 6-2 triumph over Niall Culleton before averaging 103.75 to thrash Max Hopp 6-1.

Against Stephen Rosney, the Welshman found himself 5-0 down. He would complete ain incredible turnaround, surviving match darts as he won six legs on the spin to defeat the Irishman 6-5. He backed it up with a much more convincing 6-1 win against the dangerous Cristo Reyes before going berserk against former world champion Rob Cross. He averaged 111.21 to thrash ‘Voltage’ 7-4 and confirm a second Players Championship final this year.

De Graaf also was also under the cosh in a different sense come to his semi-final. He averaged 10 less points than Karel Sedlacek but still somehow won 6-3, denting the Czech’s World Matchplay hopes in the process. 6-4 wins over Adam Lipscombe and Josh Rock were noticeable wins.

He trounced an under-par Bradley Brooks 6-2 before defeating the number one seed Wessel Nijman 6-4 in a huge upset. Three match darts were survived as ‘Woody’ looked for back-to-back final. This was not completed, and the Swede reached the final.

De Graaf started the final the better, taking out 104 on double 18 with Clayton on 20. ‘The Ferret’ was the clear favourite in the final after that outrageous showing against Cross and the fact that he had never lost to de Graaf, but he was under the cosh as de Graaf broke on double 16.

Clayton was quick to break back with a 64 checkout also on the double 16 segment. This lightning quick start by the Swede continued by confirming a third break with some powerful scoring. However, that dried up somewhat with Clayton pinning tops for a fourth break on the spin. He only needed one dart at double 20 in the next leg to get the score level at 3-3. Both players were averaging over a ton at this point.

De Graaf held for the first time since the first leg before a missed dart at tops for a 120 by Clayton proved to be immensely costly. De Graff pinned double eight while averaging 105 to break the throw and lead 5-3.

Two darts missed for a 92 checkout was not the clinical Clayton darts fans are accustomed to. De Graaf edged three legs clear before regaining that gap with an exceptional 117 checkout. He was one leg away from a second PDC ranking title. He could not secure it with the big fish before missing a match dart on the bull. Double two was found as he shut the gap to a brace of legs. De Graaf would have six darts at 66 for the match. He pins double nine with his fourth dart and secures the title.

There were a number of early exits, most specifically in the first round. Within minutes of the tournament commencing, Stephen Bunting, Gian van Veen, Nathan Aspinall, Chris Dobey, Damon Heta, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Kevin Doets and Jermaine Wattimena had all lost.

Josh Rock and Gary Anderson could only manage a third round venture. Ross Smith did one better while Nijman, who has won five of these titles this year, bowed out in the quarter-finals.

There were again a number of absent names. Luke Littler is still yet to get the ball rolling on the floor. Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, James Wade, Gerwyn Price and Ryan Searle also did not feature and missed out on the chance to gain more precious ranking money.