Luke Woodhouse (Photo PSA)
Luke Woodhouse celebrated his maiden PDC ranking title with a superb 8-4 victory over Andrew Gilding in Players Championship Eighteen last night.
Prior to Tuesday’s action, Woodhouse was the highest-ranked player without a PDC title, but he rectified that statistic with a series of terrific performances at the Mattioli Arena.
Following early wins over Greg Ritchie and Jimmy van Schie, Woodhouse produced a ton-plus average in victory over William O’Connor, before surviving three match darts to sink Charlie Manby in the last 16.
The 37-year-old then swept aside Welsh number one Jonny Clayton in the last eight, and averaged north of 99 to dispatch Harry Ward 7-3 in the semi-finals.
This set up a bumper showdown against Gilding, who secured his maiden Players Championship crown in the East Midlands last Wednesday.
The former UK Open champion looked poised to extend his title tally after racing into a 3-0 lead, only for Woodhouse to reply with a three-leg burst of 14, 13 and 11-darters to restore parity at three apiece.
Gilding regained the initiative with a 13-darter in leg seven, but Woodhouse produced another devastating burst in the closing stages, rattling off five legs straight to prevail with a 102.04 average.
“I think relief is the big word really,” reflected Woodhouse, who has established himself in the world’s top 20.
“Today I’ve played some good stuff. To get that tag of highest-ranked player not to have won a title off my back, it’s lovely.
“I thought, get out early, and then I was 3-0 down. I also didn’t want to just collapse, so I thought stick in there, and I’ve shown what I can do.
“I know I’m playing some really good stuff, so in my eyes it was a matter of when, not if.
“I’ve been playing some lovely stuff for maybe 18 months now. I want to go and do well in every tournament I play in… I want to do more.
“I think my game is in a great place, so who knows what can happen!”
Despite missing out on his second title in the space of a week, Gilding maintained his excellent form to claim the £10,000 runner-up prize in Leicester, which catapults him up to fourth on the Players Championship rankings.
The Suffolk star kicked off his campaign with a trio of 6-4 victories against Leon Weber, Brendan Dolan and Jack Tweddell, which he backed up with a deciding-leg win over Darius Labanauskas.
Having survived five match darts against the Lithuanian, Gilding dispatched Germany’s Niko Springer in the last eight, before converting a clinical 106 kill to deny James Wade in the semi-finals.
Wade eased past Scott Williams and Niels Zonneveld during his run to the last four, while also emerging through deciding-leg ties against Tommy Morris and Sebastian Bialecki.
The ten-time TV title winner was joined in the semi-finals by Challenge Tour representative Ward – who replaced Raymond van Barneveld in today’s event.
The 28-year-old grasped his unexpected opportunity superbly, exactly seven years to the day since he celebrated his maiden Players Championship title.
Ward overcame Kevin Doets in advancing to the semi-finals, despite the Dutchman producing sensational 110.21 and 107.5 averages in earlier wins against Niall Culleton and Ryan Joyce respectively.
Premier League star Clayton was another high-profile star to feature in the last eight, with Springer and Poland’s number two Bialecki completing the quarter-final line-up.
Elsewhere, top seed Wessel Nijman suffered his first opening round exit on the Players Championship circuit in 2026, succumbing to a superb display from Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde.
Dutch number one Gian van Veen also crashed out at the same stage, alongside his Premier League rival Stephen Bunting, second seed Chris Dobey and Monday’s runner-up Jermaine Wattimena.
RESULTS
Last 16
Harry Ward 6-5 Joe Hunt
Kevin Doets 6-2 Ryan Joyce
Jonny Clayton 6-0 Chris Landman
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Charlie Manby
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Darius Labanauskas
Niko Springer 6-3 Ross Smith
Sebastian Bialecki 6-4 Jeffrey Sparidaans
James Wade 6-5 Tommy Morris
Quarter-Finals
Harry Ward 6-5 Kevin Doets
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Jonny Clayton
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Niko Springer
James Wade 6-5 Sebastian Bialecki
Semi-Finals
Luke Woodhouse 7-3 Harry Ward
Andrew Gilding 7-6 James Wade
Final
Luke Woodhouse 8-4 Andrew Gilding
