Players Championship 30 Round-Up | Karel Sedlacek makes history as first Czech PDC ranking title winner
PDC
Karel Sedlacek has made history as the first-ever PDC title winner from the Czech Republic, defeating Scott Williams 8-7 in the final of Players Championship 30 on Wednesday afternoon.
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Sedlacek has long been knocking on the door of sealing major honours for the first time and nearly qualified for the World Matchplay earlier in the year; such has been his excellence. But now he exudes his run as perhaps the best player without a title on the tour.
Williams looked crestfallen afterwards, a day that saw him back in contention with his Tour Card, Ally Pally and Minehead hopes before today up in smoke. He looked back to his old self, so no doubt he will be gutted and lose after his travails with his throw.
Williams, in his run to the final, saw off Jermaine Wattimena in the semi-final in a 7-4 win after defeating Michael van Gerwen in the round before 6-2 with a 94 average. His best displays, though, of the round came in the matches before, though, as Williams saw off Tommy Lishman 6-3 and Richard Veenstra with an 110 average 6-1.
Mensur Suljovic and Danny Noppert were early victims to start the day. So for Van Gerwen, while it wasn't an early loss despite him struggling again vs. Benjamin Pratnemer, it perhaps wasn't what he wanted given that he was the outstanding player in the field.
Van Gerwen lost late on.
Double eight for Sedlacek to lead 1-0. Williams missed double 18 for 1-1, but with Sedlacek way back, Williams hit double eight for 1-1. An 118 on double 19 for Sedlacek meant it was 2-1 to Evil Charlie.
A 52 checkout from Williams saw him make it 2-2. Williams missed 120, but he returned for double 10 for 3-2. An 80 checkout from Williams to make it 4-2. Sedlacek, with an excellent 80 checkout, changed the game. He used double 20 and double 10 to make it 4-4.
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Williams missed 86 for 5-4 on the bull. Sedlacek returned and hit the first two treble 19's and then hit the bull for a showstopper 164. Sedlacek made it 6-5 on double 10 eventually after Williams missed 98. He missed 72 for 7-5, but Williams couldn't hit 148, and so Sedlacek returned for double eight.
Match darts came and went for Sedlacek as he sat 7-6 up. But Williams hit double 16 to send it all the way. 140 from Sedlacek, and he left 104. He missed it but set it up, and Sedlacek hit double eight to claim it.
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Gian van Veen withdrew at the start of the day, which left Van Gerwen as the best. Sedlacek, on the other hand, saw off Niels Zonneveld 7-2, Chris Dobey 6-5, and Nathan Aspinall 6-3, as well as Damon Heta 6-1, Daniel Klose 6-0, and Tavis Dudeney 6-1.
His best display was like Williams in the early rounds, as Heta was defeated with a near 106 average. It was also a good day for Raymond van Barneveld, who reached the quarter-finals for the first time in a long while. Chris Dobey was top seed to reach the latter stages as he reached the quarter-finals.
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Read also
While Nathan Aspinall lost in the Last 16 to Karel Sedlacek, it did help in his Minehead hunt. But he is still not there with the Czech ace paying heed to his run. This means Aspinall sits just outside the top 70.
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- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026