Mighty Mickey claims maiden PDC title

Mickey Mansell claimed his maiden PDC title after a 6-4 win over Adrian Lewis in the final of Players Championship Eight at the Barnsley Metrodome.

The Northern Irishman dropped only 11 legs throughout a quite incredible run to the title and claimed the £10,000 prize by condemning Lewis to a second defeat in a final of the weekend.

Mansell’s victory may come as a surprise to some after the 44-year-old, ranked 75th going into the weekend, had lost in the first round on Saturday.

However, there seemed to be no hangover from that result as Mansell won his opening two matches with a 6-0 whitewash against Kim Huybrechts and Gary Eastwood.

A 6-1 win against Alan Norris followed before Mansell went on to seal yet another whitewash win, this time against Robert Thornton to progress in to the last eight.

2018 Unibet Premier League star Gerwyn Price awaited in the quarter-finals but once again the former World Cup semi-finalist was too strong, running out a 6-3 winner.

Josh Payne, a former winner on the ProTour, was the Clonoe left-hander’s opponent in the last four but a 94 average was enough to see Mansell over the line and move him into his first PDC ranking final.

The decider saw Mansell clash with two-time World Champion Lewis, who backed up his run to the final of Players Championship Seven by repeating the feat on Sunday as his return to form continues.

The final was a tense affair with both players trading holds of throw, but a crucial moment came in the third leg where Mansell left 100 but strayed in to the treble one with his first dart.

With Lewis waiting to pounce for a break, the Northern Irishman then pinned the treble 19 and found tops with his final dart to hold.

Further holds of throw followed but with the score at 5-4, Lewis missed chances to force a decider and Mansell found tops to claim the title.

“I know I can play well but the problem is consistency,” said Mansell. “Everyone here can beat everyone else but it’s consistency that separates the top guys from the rest.

“For Adrian to make the final today after doing it yesterday is amazing and it shows what champions are made of.

“Believe it or not but I think the best game I played was the first one against Kim. It set me up for the rest of the day, I put him under pressure and thought that was the best I played all day.”

Mansell, who had not made a Players Championship semi-final since 2010, also discussed how experience played a part in his victory as he became the 70th individual winner of a ProTour title.

“I’ve had some great results against the top players before so I’ve got the experience and I’ve got that mentality that I know I can beat them,” he added.

“I’ve been struggling, theres no point saying anything different, but it would have been great to say I made the final. To win it over all the amazing players is incredible.”

The second final defeat in the space of 24 hours denied Lewis his first PDC title of the year, but his run pushes him closer to a return to the world’s top 16.

Wins by a 6-2 scoreline against Jeffrey de Zwaan and Gabriel Clemens got the day underway for the 33-year-old before he defeated Luke Humphries and Keegan Brown to reach the quarter-finals.

James Wilson was no match for Lewis in the last eight, losing 6-2 to the former UK Open champion.

The semi-final saw perhaps Lewis’ most impressive performance as he averaged 105 in his 6-1 win over Simon Whitlock.

Whitlock and Payne both enjoyed their best finishes of 2018 by reaching the semi-finals, while Mark Webster was a quarter-finalist for the first time in 12 months.

The next Players Championship events will be held on April 28-29 at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan and will be streamed live on PDCTV-HD across both days.

Players Championship Eight

Saturday April 8, Barnsley Metrodome

Last 16

Mark Webster 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld

Simon Whitlock 6-3 Ryan Joyce

James Wilson 6-5 Mario Robbe

Adrian Lewis 6-4 Keegan Brown

Gerwyn Price 6-4 Jamie Lewis

Mickey Mansell 6-0 Robert Thornton

Josh Payne 6-3 Max Hopp

Toni Alcinas 6-2 Ricky Evans

Quarter-Finals