PDC Players Championship 16 Roundup | Andrew Gilding crushes Jonny Clayton to claim long-awaited first Players Championship title of his career

Andrew Gilding has claimed the first Players Championship title of his career, sealing the deal with an 8-3 victory over Jonny Clayton in the final of Players Championship 16 in Leicester.

Goldfinger had already won the 2023 UK Open, but this was his first triumph on the Players Championship circuit, and he sealed it in commanding fashion after taking control of the final early and never allowing Clayton to recover.

Gilding reached the final after building his day steadily before producing some of his best darts in the later rounds. He opened with a 6-4 win over Wesley Plaisier, averaging 92.04, before edging past Arno Merk 6-5 in round two. His level then rose in the last 32, where he averaged 102.36 in a 6-4 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode, ending the run of the previous day’s Players Championship 15 finalist.

Gilding swept aside Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 in the last 16 before producing another strong display in the quarter-finals, averaging 103.82 in a 6-2 victory over Joe Hunt. In the semi-finals, he came through a tight battle with Ian White, sealing a 7-5 win with an 80 finish to book his place in the final.

Clayton’s route was far from straightforward, with the Welshman forced to survive several tight matches across the day. He began with a 6-5 win over Marvin van Velzen before whitewashing Mervyn King 6-0 in round two. Clayton then won an all-Welsh clash against Derek Coulson in the last 32, averaging 104.78 in a 6-4 victory. Another deciding-leg test followed in the last 16, where Clayton edged past Andy Boulton 6-5. He then beat Gabriel Clemens 6-3 in the quarter-finals to reach the last four.

His semi-final against Niko Springer produced one of the most dramatic finishes of the day. Springer led 3-0 early, before Clayton reeled off three legs in a row to level. Clayton later missed four match darts, allowing Springer to force a decider, but the Ferret responded with a stunning 102 finish to snatch a 7-6 win and reach the final.

Gilding had the darts in the opening leg and immediately settled into the final, taking a 1-0 lead before doubling his advantage in the second. Clayton had kicked off that leg with a 180 and looked in control, but two missed darts at double 16 allowed Gilding in. The former UK Open champion made no mistake on double 12 to move 2-0 ahead.

Clayton found another maximum in the third leg, but again failed to turn it into a leg win as Gilding stormed into a 3-0 lead while averaging over 105 in the early stages. The Welshman finally got on the board in leg four, pinning a 61 finish after hitting a maximum for the third leg running. Gilding responded immediately with a 14-dart hold to restore his three-leg cushion at 4-1.

The decisive move came shortly after. Gilding set up 100 with a perfectly timed 180, then returned to take it out and break the Clayton throw for a 5-1 lead. Clayton then missed five darts at double in the seventh leg after leaving 41 after nine, and Gilding punished him again to move 6-1 ahead.

Clayton briefly stopped the slide with an 81 checkout for a 12-darter, but Gilding was already in full control. A 60 finish took him to the brink at 7-2, and although Clayton kept himself alive on double 12, Gilding closed out the match to complete an 8-3 win and secure his first Players Championship title.

Away from the finalists, the biggest early shock came as Michael van Gerwen’s hopes of back-to-back ProTour titles were ended in the opening round. Fresh from winning Players Championship 15, Van Gerwen lost 6-3 to Joe Hunt. Hunt went on to enjoy one of the standout runs of the day, beating Christian Kist 6-4 with a 104.23 average and later edging Rob Owen 6-5 before losing to Gilding in the quarter-finals.

Kim Huybrechts produced one of the moments of the tournament by hitting a nine-darter in his second round match against Tavis Dudeney. The Belgian went on to win that match 6-1 with a 108.81 average, having already whitewashed Jimmy van Schie 6-0 in round one with a 106.09 average. His run ended in the last 32 against Kevin Doets.

Beau Greaves also provided one of the day’s most dramatic finishes. She survived a deciding leg against Harry Ward in round one, taking out a spectacular 156 finish with Ward waiting on double 18. Greaves then lost 6-3 to Stephen Bunting in round two.

Wessel Nijman began strongly, averaging 103.76 in a 6-2 win over Lukas Wenig, but his latest title bid ended in the last 32 after a 6-5 defeat to Darius Labanauskas. There were several other notable exits. Peter Wright lost a deciding leg to Krzysztof Ratajski, Josh Rock was beaten 6-2 by Brendan Dolan, Dave Chisnall fell 6-5 to Dennie Olde Kalter, and Raymond van Barneveld was whitewashed 6-0 by Karel Sedlacek.

Justin Hood also impressed, averaging 103.71 in a 6-1 win over Callan Rydz, then 103.63 in a 6-3 win over James Wade. He later defied a 105.97 average from Rob Cross to win 6-5, before Ian White ended his run in the last 16.