Michael Smith took the overall victory at the ninth Players Championship 9 in Hildesheim. By defeating Ryan Joyce in the final, 'Bullyboy' captured a Pro Tour title for the 20th time in his career.
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Smith had started the tournament with a 6-3 victory over Oskar Lukasiak before defeating Adam Hunt 6-0. That was followed by victories over Jonny Clayton (6-4) and Richard Veenstra (6-0) for a spot in the last eight.
In the quarterfinals, Smith dealt with Luke Woodhouse (6-3), before securing a spot in the final with a 7-4 victory over Krzysztof Ratajski. So in the final match he faced Joyce, who earlier in the day was responsible for eliminating the likes of Raymond van Barneveld (6-4), Dave Chisnall (6-5) and Chris Dobey (6-4).
Smith gained a 3-1 lead early in the final, but the next four legs went to Joyce. 'Bullyboy' managed to make up that deficit by turning the 5-3 deficit into a 6-5 lead. Joyce then made it 6-6 before Smith decided the match with a 15-darter and a 14-darter.
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