Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Luke Woodhouse won his first PDC title by beating Andrew Gilding 8-4 in the Players Championship 18 final in Leicester.
Woodhouse made his PDC debut in 2013 and played nearly 400 major tour tournaments before finally landing his first title on the floor on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old, who has reached the last 16 of the last two World Darts Championships, has lost in the finals of the previous three Players Championships in his career.
“I played some good stuff today. It’s nice not to have a title behind me to get that tag of highest ranked player!” He said
“It’s fantastic. I won’t go too far, but I think relief is the big word.”
Woodhouse cruised largely through the first part of the day with wins over Greg Ritchie, Jimmy van Shee, William O’Connor, then ousted Charlie Manby in the last 16 in a deciding-leg tie.
He beat Jonny Clayton 6-2 in the quarter-finals then stunned semi-finalist Harry Ward 7-3 in the last four to set up a final with Gilding, who won his first ProTour event at the 442nd time of asking last week.
Woodhouse hopes to start by winning his first PDC tournament
Gilding started strongly in the final when he led 3-0 but Woodhouse came roaring back to take the match 3-3 and 4-4. But, Woodhouse then won the next four legs on spins to end his wait for a first PDC event victory.
“I thought, ‘Come on, get to the door early on him’, and all of a sudden I was down 3-0 but I didn’t want to collapse but I hung in there. I just tried to focus as much as I could,” he said.
“I know I’m playing some really good stuff, so in my eyes it’s a matter of when, not if. I’ve probably been playing some good stuff for 18 months.
“I want to go to every tournament and do well, so it’s not like I won it and I can relax now. I want to do more.”
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Woodhouse came agonizingly close to a nine-darter during his clash against Krzysztof Ratajski at the World Darts Championship in December.
Premier League darts stars Gian van Veen and Stephen Bunting lost in the first round, while Josh Rock was beaten by Ryan Joyce in the last 32.
Among the players not entered in Tuesday’s event were Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gerwin Price and Michael van Gerwen.
Players Championship 18 Selected Results – Leicester
Last 16
Harry Ward 6-5 Joe Hunt
Kevin Deutz 6-2 Ryan Joyce
Johnny Clayton 6-0 Chris Landman
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Charlie Manby
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Darius Labnauskas
Nico Springer 6-3 Ross Smith
Sebastian Bialecki 6-4 Jeffrey Sparidance
James Wade 6-5 Tommy Morris
Quarter-final
Harry Ward 6-5 Kevin Deutz
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Jonny Clayton
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Nico Springer
James Wade 6-5 Sebastian Bialecki
semi-final
Luke Woodhouse 7-3 Harry Ward
Andrew Gilding 7-6 James Wade
the final
Luke Woodhouse 8-4 Andrew Gilding
Who will win this Premier League Darts? Catch the action every single Thursday until the final night in London on May 28 on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more great games now.
