Cameron Menzies defeated Stephen Bunting 8-4 in Leicester in round 29 of the Players Championship on Wednesday to claim his first PDC ranking title.
Menzies has been one of the sport’s standout performers over the past six months and underlined his progress by winning the top prize of £15,000 at the Mattioli Arena.
The Scot beat six televised title winners, including Rob Cross and James Wade, on his way to glory in the East Midlands, moving into the top 10 of the Players Championship Order of Merit.
“I won the Pro Tour, and no one can take that away from me.” It reflected the sentiments of Menzies, who finished runner-up at The Players Championship 19 in August. “I’m really excited because I wanted to win this title so much. This means a lot to me.”
Menzies, who eliminated Jose de Sousa and Jacques Labret in the early rounds, had his best performance of the day with a third-round win over Cross, averaging 107 points and defeating the 2018 world champion 6-3. won the victory.
He fought his way through the last 16 in the final leg against Krzysztof Ratajski, coming back from a 5-3 deficit to win, and backed up his victory with a 6-2 victory over Wade in the quarter-finals.
He maintained his charge and sealed his place in the finals by crushing Danny Knoppert 7-1. In the final, Bunting hit back-to-back 78 and 86 checkouts before Bunting hit back with a ferocious outburst of his own.
Bunting missed a nine-dart double 12 on the fifth leg, which would have been his fourth of the day, but the 11-dart and 12-dart legs tied him with three darts each, and Menzies hit another three-dart leg. They fought back with a blitz and took a six-point lead. 3.
The Masters champion reduced the arrears with a clinical 120 kills in leg 10, but Menzies kept his cool in the final legs to cap off a landmark day in his darts career.
“At one stage I didn’t think I was good enough to win a Pro Tour, but now I believe I’m playing the best darts of my life,” Menzies added. “I’m here playing with some of the best players in the world and I feel like I can match them if I go to my game, but I never thought I would be able to do that.
“I hope this is a stepping stone to winning a major.” Players Championship 29: Cameron Menzies beats Stephen Bunting to claim maiden PDC ranking title | Darts Newslike Richie [Edhouse] and Mike DeDecker recently did. ”
Following his sixth runner-up finish this year, Bunting is aiming for his first Pro Tour title in 2024. The 39-year-old defeated World Grand Prix champion De Dekker 6-1 in the last 16, Damon Heta in the last eight and a 7-2 victory over Chris Landman in the semi-final.
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Landman achieved a nine-dart finish in the fourth round against Ross Smith, advancing to the final four and earning a spot in the interim World Championship.
The Dutchman reached the semi-finals along with Florian Hempel and Mensur Suljovic, and was joined by compatriot Knoppert, who reached the semi-finals at last weekend’s European Championships.
Knoppert won a thrilling last-eight final against Michael Smith, and the world number two formed the quarter-final line-up along with Wade, Heta and Suljovic.
Elsewhere, Callan Ryds and Ricardo Pietrecko joined Landman in landing nine darters on an action-packed day in Leicester, scoring a perfect win over Kean Barry and Radek Zaganski respectively. .
The 2024 PDC Pro Tour season concludes with Thursday’s Players Championship 30, marking the climax of the race to qualify for next month’s Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals.
What’s next for live darts on Sky Sports?
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After that, attention shifts to the turn of the year. 2025 PDC World Darts Championshipstarts on December 15th and the darts calendar continues to provide excitement throughout the year. Here you can enjoy the best darts live. sky sports.
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