Gary Anderson threw away a great chance of another Pro Tour win, as he lost in the final of the Players Championship tournament in Killarney.
The Unicorn ace was beaten by great friend Justin Pipe in a last leg decider after leading 4-2 and 5-3….it was Pipe’s second consecutive Pro Tour victory.
But Anderson had it there for the taking as he was chasing a 10th title of the year….a 120 finish took him to within a leg of doing just that, but Pipe stormed back to win the final three legs.
Anderson had earlier beaten the likes of Robert Thornton, Steve Beaton, Andy Hamilton and Mark Hylton on his way to the final.
Hamilton lost 6y-1 against the Scot but it was a first Pro Tour quarter-final for nearly six months for ‘The Hammer’.
For Pipe, another big scalp, after his Players Championship win over Phil Taylor in Dublin earlier this month.
But for Team Unicorn’s Paul Nicholson – disappointment, because he was in fine form yet again, only to lose in a deciding leg in the semi-finals against Pipe…..it’s fair to say that both Anderson and Nicholson will be kicking themselves at missed opportunities.
Arron Monk enjoyed his best day at the oche for some time….the PDC Unicorn Youth World Champion made it through to the last 16 before losing 6-2 to Simon Whitlock.
Joe Cullen had a good run to the last 32, where he was beaten 6-2 by John Henderson and Kevin Painter was also a 3rd Round loser – going down 6-4 to Wayne Jones.
Team Unicorn’s German ladies star Steffi Luck enjoyed her best day in a PDC Pro Tour event….she won two matches against Jimmy Newton (6-1) and Stephen Lennon (6-5) before she lost to Michael Mansell in the 2nd Round/
Other 2nd Round losers included Jamie Caven, who lost a last leg decider to Cullen. Devon Petersen – beaten 6-1 by Justin Pipe, Peter Manley lost 6-3 to Nicholson and Colin Osborne suffered a shock 6-2 defeat to Pat Molyneux.
But Wes Newton had his worst Pro Tour result of the year….he lost 6-5 in the 1st Round to unknown Darren Clifford.
Results:
Quarter-Finals:
Paul Nicholson 6-5 Simon Whitlock
Justin Pipe 6-3 Scott Rand
Mark Hylton 6-3 Wayne Jones
Gary Anderson 6-1 Andy Hamilton
Semi-Finals:
Justin Pipe 6-5 Paul Nicholson
Gary Anderson 6-3 Mark Hylton
Final:
Justin Pipe 6-5 Gary Anderson
By STUART PYKE
Photo courtesy Lawrence Lustig / PDC