PDC Players Championship 13 Roundup | Kevin Doets holds nerve after missed darts to deny Luke Woodhouse and claim first-ever PDC title

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.