Noppert wins Players Championship 22 after deciding leg victory over Kist
PDCWednesday, 27 September 2023 at 19:45
Danny Noppert has won a PDC title for the fifth time in his career. After an Dutch final, 'The Freeze' was an 8-7 winner over compatriot Christian Kist in the final of Players Championship 22.
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Kist was allowed to enter this tournament as a substitute due to the absence of some Tour Card holders. 'The Lipstick' impressed early in the tournament with wins over Simon Whitlock (6-2) and Jonny Clayton (6-3). After that he also managed to beat Mickey Mansell (6-3), Stephen Bunting (6-4), Kevin Doets (6-4) and Damon Heta (7-2).
His compatriot Noppert started the event with a resounding 6-0 victory over Alan Soutar. After that, Lee Evans (6-4), Chris Dobey (6-4), Steve Lennon (6-5), James Wade (6-4) and Michael Smith (7-1) also had to bow to the former UK Open champion.
In the final, the momentum shifted up-and-down several times. Noppert led 4-2 with a 12-darter, but then Kist took four legs in a row. Kist missed chances to take the twelfth and thirteenth leg and then saw Noppert take a 7-6 lead.
Kist got a full hand of dimes to force a deciding leg, but missed. But as Noppert missed three match darts on double 10, Kist had another chance. He did take that opportunity, making it 7-7. In the final leg, Noppert was in a class of his own by capturing the title with an 11-darter.
With this second place finish, Kist, currently number two on the PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit, proves once again that he is on the way back. The darter from Vroomshoop in Overijssel had a PDC Tour Card from 2014 through 2019 and managed to qualify for major tournaments such as the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix during this period.
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Kist also qualified for the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace four times. However, due to continued injury, he lost his PDC Tour Card after 2019. After several difficult years, the gout attacks are better under control and Kist is able to throw fairly pain-free again, with this final spot as a provisional highlight.
On Thursday and Friday, darters will have another chance to scoop prize money for the various rankings, as Players Championship 23 and 24 are on the program, respectively.
Players Championship 22
Last 16
Damon Heta (91.08) 6 | 4 (85.76) Nathan Aspinall
Raymond van Barneveld (92.72) 6 | 5 (90.76) Dimitri Van den Bergh
Christian Kist (100.68) 6 | 4 (106.59) Stephen Bunting
Kevin Doets (94.40) 6 | 4 (92.56) Michael van Gerwen
James Wade (101.38) 6 | 5 (96.10) Jules van Dongen
Danny Noppert (103.75) 6 | 5 (103.62) Steve Lennon
Gary Anderson (107.36) 6 | 0 (96.22) Ricardo Pietreczko
Michael Smith (85.47) 6 | 5 (85.85) Ian White
Quarterfinals
Damon Heta (93.43) 6 | 5 (87.25) Raymond van Barneveld
Christian Kist (101.20) 6 | 4 (91.84) Kevin Doets
Danny Noppert (93.84) 6 | 4 (92.68) James Wade
Michael Smith (99.80) 6 | 5 (109.31) Gary Anderson
Semi-final
Christian Kist (93.92) 7 | 2 (88.36) Damon Heta
Danny Noppert (102.34) 7 | 1 (86.05) Michael Smith
Final
Danny Noppert (95.74) 8 | 7 (97.14) Christian Kist
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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