Jeffrey de Graaf celebrated his second PDC ranking title with a superb victory in last night\u2019s Players Championship Nineteen in Milton Keynes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swedish number one De Graaf \u2013 who will star in this weekend\u2019s Mr Vegas Nordic Darts Masters \u2013 enjoyed the perfect preparation for Copenhagen with a terrific campaign at Arena MK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 35-year-old defeated Welsh number one Jonny Clayton 8-5 to pocket the \u00a315,000 top prize, averaging north of 101 and registering eight 180s in the final to ignite his 2026 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Graaf opened his challenge with a trio of 6-4 victories, overcoming Karel Sedlacek, Adam Lipscombe and Premier League star Josh Rock in advancing to the last 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former World Cup quarter-finalist continued his charge with a 6-2 thumping of Bradley Brooks, before accounting for top seed Wessel Nijman in a high-quality last eight clash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Graaf produced a sublime 170 finish midway through the contest, and he repeated the feat in his semi-final tie against Luke Woodhouse, where he survived four match darts to triumph in a decider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Swedish star capitalised on this reprieve in the early stages of Tuesday\u2019s showpiece against Clayton, following up a clinical 104 checkout with a brace of 12-darters to lead 3-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clayton restored parity by reeling off the next two legs in just 27 darts, although De Graaf regained his advantage with a three-leg flurry to power 6-3 ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Graaf then moved to the brink of victory with a nerveless 117 kill in leg 11, before thwarting any hopes of a Clayton fightback by sealing the deal via double nine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe final was great. It felt like I couldn\u2019t miss,\u201d insisted De Graaf, who clinched his maiden Players Championship title last August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy finishing was really good today, especially at important times. That is what got me over the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is my third year now with a Tour Card – the first two years, it was very inconsistent, I had a good day and that saved my year. This year, I\u2019ve been way more consistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn the other side, this is already the 19th [Players Championship] tournament and I hadn\u2019t had a deep run. So it\u2019s amazing I got the win!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just want to improve, and then I think the results will come in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite missing out on a first ranking title of 2026, Clayton performed magnificently in Milton Keynes, averaging almost 101 across his seven matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 51-year-old began his title bid with an emphatic 6-1 success against Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld, before averaging 102 and 103 in sweeping aside Niall Culleton and Max Hopp respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clayton then launched an astonishing fightback from 5-0 down in the last 16 against Stephen Rosney, after the Irishman remarkably spurned three darts for a whitewash victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Galvanised by that narrow escape, Clayton dispatched Spanish star Cristo Reyes 6-1 in the quarter-finals, which he backed up with a mesmerising 7-4 victory over Rob Cross \u2013 courtesy of a 111.21 average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cross bolstered his hopes of qualifying for next month\u2019s World Matchplay with a strong semi-final showing, having also reached the last four on the European Tour circuit a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2017\/18 World Champion averaged 103 and 106 respectively in wins against Thomas Lovely and Charlie Manby, while also overturning a 5-4 deficit against William O\u2019Connor in the last eight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cross was joined in the semi-finals by man of the moment Woodhouse, who was narrowly denied the chance to capture his third ranking title in the space of two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nijman, meanwhile, was among the losing quarter-finalists, with Spanish trailblazer Reyes and Ireland\u2019s World Cup duo O\u2019Connor and Mickey Mansell completing the last eight line-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere, a plethora of high-profile names suffered early exits at Arena MK, as Gian van Veen, Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall, Danny Noppert, Chris Dobey and Kevin Doets all crashed out in round one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Damon Heta, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Jermaine Wattimena also departed at the same stage, before two-time World Champion Gary Anderson lost out to Nijman in round three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week\u2019s ProTour double-header will conclude with Players Championship Twenty on Wednesday, as 128 players compete for the \u00a315,000 top prize. Quarter-Finals<\/strong> Semi-Finals<\/strong> Final<\/strong> Jeffrey de Graaf celebrated his second PDC ranking title with a superb victory in last night\u2019s Players Championship<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-13368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-darts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
RESULTS
Last 16
<\/strong>Wessel Nijman 6-1 James Hurrell
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-2 Bradley Brooks
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Mervyn King
William O’Connor 6-2 Ross Smith
Rob Cross 6-2 Charlie Manby
Cristo Reyes 6-1 Rob Owen
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Stephen Rosney<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-4 Wessel Nijman
Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Rob Cross 6-5 William O’Connor
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Cristo Reyes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeffrey de Graaf 7-6 Luke Woodhouse
Jonny Clayton 7-4 Rob Cross<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeffrey de Graaf 8-5 Jonny Clayton<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"