Players Championship Nine: Danny Jansen eyes Ally Pally after securing first ranking title
- Seb Sternik
- 2 April 2022
Just three months on since earning a PDC Tour Card and securing professional status, Danny Jansen has claimed his first ranking title.
The Dutchman, who only took up the sport in 2016, ran riot in Barnsley as he went all the way in the ninth Players Championship event of the season.
Jansen defeated Andrew Gilding 8-6 in the final, and also enjoyed wins over world champion Peter Wright, Dave Chisnall and Krzysztof Ratajski on his way to the title.
The 19-year-old bagged £12,000 in prize money in what was just his ninth Players Championship appearance since joining the ProTour in January.
Speaking after his victory, Jansen told the PDC: "I'm feeling so good, this is unbelievable.
"It's crazy, I thought I would be able to win games on the tour, but to win a title so early is more than I expected.
"I love to play here in the PDC with the big names in darts, and now I feel I belong among them.
"My target this year is to qualify for the World Championship."
Gilding, who lost in the final, showed continuation of his impressive start to the season. The player known as Goldfinger reached his first ProTour final since 2014 as he claimed victories over Jose de Sousa, Rob Cross and UK Open champion Danny Noppert.
🚨 𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗘-𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗥! 🚨
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 1, 2022
The Wizard produces a moment of magic, pinning a perfect leg against Mike De Decker!
𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀: https://t.co/oby1kHQJhy pic.twitter.com/ejEXfsgTsf
Elsewhere, Simon Whitlock hit the 14th nine-darter in the PDC since the start of the new year. Despite this, he bowed out in the first round against Mike De Decker.
Former Premier League champion Glen Durrant enjoyed a positive night as he earned his first set of wins on the PDC Tour since July 2021. The player beat Tony Martinez and Dimitri Van den Bergh before losing to Dave Chisnall.
Full bracket from the quarter-final stage
Quarter-Finals
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Danny Jansen 6-4 Chris Dobey
Danny Noppert 6-2 Michael van Gerwen
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Jose de Sousa
Semi-Finals
Danny Jansen 7-6 Dave Chisnall
Andrew Gilding 7-4 Danny Noppert
Final
Danny Jansen 8-6 Andrew Gilding
(Picture courtesy of PDC)
