Kevin Painter will be kicking himself after failing to reach the final of the German Darts Classic.
The Unicorn star was edged out by Vincent van der Voort in the semi-finals – and the Dutchman went on to win his first PDC title in Gladbeck.
Unicorn’s Jamie Caven also reached the semi-finals but lost out to Wayne Jones on a dramatic day in Germany.
The tournament also marked the first appearance of top Unicorn ladies star Irina Armstrong in a PDC tournament.
But it was a case of missed opportunities for Painter, who had looked really good all day and he has every chance in his semi-final against Van der Voort.
‘The Artist’ was 2-0 and 3-1 in front, before the Dutchman reeled off three consecutive legs….Painter though produced seven perfect darts and banged in a 10-dart leg to level. He then hit a 90 finish on the bull to force the decider.
Painter missed the bull for a 121 and the match, only to see Van der Voort nail D20 for a 14-darter and victory.
Caven had enjoyed another terrific run, including a tight quarter-final win over Unicorn stablemate and fellow Derby man Colin Osborne. That was a big win for Caven because he did have a terrible record against Osborne.
But this was Van der Voort’s day….he dominated the final against Jones and after three years in the PDC, the wait for that illusive first title is finally over. And in his 4th Round match against Mark Walsh, he just missed D12 for a 9-darter!
Irina lost her preliminary round match to Christian van Overdijk but put up a good show before losing 6-2.
Of the rest of Team Unicorn, Wes Newton reached the last 16 again but was beaten 6-2 by Jones.
In Round three, Adrian Lewis lost 6-1 to Mark Dudbridge, Andy Hamilton went down 6-4 to Matt Clark, Barrie Bates lost by the same score to Newton and James Wade was a surprise 6-5 loser to Peter Hudson.
John Part also lost in the last 32 but he did earn his first £300 on the Players Championship Order of Merit. In the end, was unlucky to lose a last leg decider to Darren Johnson.
In the 2nd Round, Anastasia lost 6-1 to Lewis, Michael Rosenauer went down by the same score to Mark Webster, Joe Cullen was a 6-4 loser to John Michael, Paul Nicholson lost 6-4 to a resurgent Richie Burnett, and Peter Manley lost 6-4 asgainst Johnny Okken.
In round one, Mick McGowan’s miserable run continued as he was beaten 6-3 by Mark Hylton, Arron Monk was a surprise 6-2 loser to Wouter Vaes and Krik Shepherd went down 6-4 to Darren Webster.
Andy Krockel - another of Team Unicorn’s German contingent was unlucky to lose a preliminary round deciding leg to Klaus Wohlhorn.
The second Players Championship tournament takes place on Sunday and it’s all to play for.
Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld have again opted out of the two events.
Results from Gladbeck – last 16:
Co Stompe 6-2 Gary Anderson
Colin Lloyd 6-4 Matt Clark
Wayne Jones 6-2 Wes Newton
Jamie Caven 6-3 Darren Johnson
Colin Osborne 6-5 Richie Burnett
Kevin Painter 6-5 Peter Hudson
Mark Dudbridge 6-5 Carlos Rodriguez
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Mark Walsh
Losers - £500
Quarter-Finals:
Wayne Jones 6-5 Colin Lloyd
Jamie Caven 6-4 Colin Osborne
Kevin Painter 6-2 Co Stompe
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Losers - £1,000
Semi-finals:
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Kevin Painter
Wayne Jones 6-3 Jamie Caven
Losers - £1,500
Final:
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Wayne Jones
Winner - £6,000
Runner-up - £3,000
By STUART PYKE
Photo courtesy Chris Sargeant