OVENS TAKES GIBRALTAR TITLE

 

DENIS OVENS won his first PDC Pro tour event since 2007 with victory over Gary Anderson in the final of Sunday's Gibraltar Players Championship.

 

Ovens claimed the £6,000 title with a fine day of darts in the Tercentenary Sports Hall, picking up his first win in two-and-a-half years and reaching a final for the first time in 16 months.

 

In a day of steadily improving form, he overcame Tony Blundell, Andy Relf and Par Riihonen in the early stages before blowing away Mark Dudbridge and Andy Hamilton 6-1 and dropping just two legs against Steve Evans.

 

He enjoyed a thrilling final against Hamilton, hitting two 180s in taking a 4-2 lead before Anderson took out 78 and 96 to level.

 

A 120 finish put Ovens 5-4 up, with Anderson taking the tenth leg but having no answer in the decider, as the Stevenage man hit another 180 and took out 96 for the title.

 

Anderson was in blistering form in the early rounds, dropping only two legs in victories against Bryan De Hoog, Tab Hunter, Wayne Atwood and Robert Thornton before sweeping past Terry Jenkins 6-3 and seeing off Nigel Heydon 6-2 in the semi-finals.

 

Heydon, an undertaker from Leamington Spa who competed as an amateur qualifier in the 2007 UK Open, celebrated his debut weekend on the PDC Pro Tour by reaching the semi-finals.

 

He overcame Darren Johnson, Andy Smith, Paul Nicholson, Kevin McDine and James Wade in an excellent run before losing to Anderson, but takes home the biggest paycheck of his darts career with £1,500.

 

Hamilton's run to the last four saw him match Anderson in dropping only two legs in his first four games, including a whitewash of Colin Osborne - who he will now practice with on a regular basis after moving to Derby.

 

Welsh pair Steve Evans and Richie Burnett enjoyed fine runs, with Evans defeating John Part and Colin Lloyd - the winner of Saturday's StanJames.com Eddie Cox Memorial Trophy - in reaching the quarter-finals.

 

Wade reached the last eight for a second successive day, while Jenkins battled past Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts rival Adrian Lewis in progressing to the quarters.

 

The day also featured the first nine-dart finish of 2010, as Matt Clark achieved the feat in his first round win over Dave Askew, earning him a £3,600 bonus.

 

Gibraltar Players Championship

Preliminary Round

John MaGowan 6-2 George Ramos

Mareno Michels 6-3 Dyson Parody

John Quantock 6-2 Jeremy Cruz

Chris Loudon 6-0 Jimmy King

Manolo Vilerio 6-3 Miguel Tejero

Christian Tosso 6-5 Geoff Whitworth

Marko Puls 6-0 Kevin Negron

Harry Parody 6-3 Steve Randall

Dennis Smith 6-3 Daz Mawer

Christian Robba 6-4 Alan Kimberley

Adrian Gray 6-1 David Bautista

Mark Stephenson 6-5 Nick Fullwell

Rocco Maes 6-2 Salvador Santiago

Sebastijan Pecjak 6-2 Francisco Arias

Maik Langendorf 6-4 David Rodriguez

Michael Barnard 6-0 Alvaro Gonzalez

Andy Relf 6-2 Francisco Lucena

John Part 6-0 Wayne Mardle

Steve Evans 6-5 Steve Grubb

Darren Webster 6-2 Michael Frydendahl

 

First Round

Mark Walsh (1) 6-3 Jason Clark

Joe Cullen 6-0 Andree Welge

Kevin McDine (32) 6-4 Tony Randell

John MaGowan 6-1 Mareno Michels

Andy Smith (16) 6-0 Lee White

Nigel Heydon 6-4 Darren Johnson

Paul Nicholson (17) 6-2 Carlos Rodriguez

John Quantock 6-0 Michael Schmidt

James Wade (8) 6-1 Ian Eames

Louis Blundell 6-0 Agustin Hernandez

Jelle Klaasen (25) 6-2 Rafael Carrero

Steve Maish 6-2 Chris Loudon

Ronnie Baxter (9) 6-1 Mick McGowan

Dave Honey 6-2 Matthew Wenham

Co Stompe (24) 6-0 Dave Ahmet

Colin Monk 6-3 Manolo Vilerio

Gary Anderson (5) 6-1 Bryan De Hoog

Tab Hunter 6-4 Stuart Bousfield

Wayne Atwood 6-3 Steve Hine (28)

Michael Kloenhammer 6-0 Christian Tosso

Robert Thornton (12) 6-1 Jon Archer

Barrie Bates 6-1 Raul Lazaro

Kevin Painter (21) 6-5 Darren Latham

Marko Puls 6-2 Sam Allen

Adrian Lewis (4) 6-1 Michel Helder

Tony Martin 6-3 George Federico

Peter Manley (29) 6-2 Ian MacFarlane

Dennis Smith 6-3 Harry Parody

Vincent van der Voort (13) 6-0 Carsten Christensen

Mark Jodrill 6-0 Jann Hoffmann

Terry Jenkins (20) 6-0 Stefan Federico

Christian Robba 6-3 Paul Wills

Colin Osborne (2) 6-0 Glenn Cameron

Keith Rooney 6-1 Kirk Shepherd

Matt Clark (31) 6-4 Dave Askew - Matt Clark hits nine-dart finish

Adrian Gray 6-1 Mark Stephenson

Alan Tabern (15) 6-2 Alex Roy

Mark Webster 6-0 Mark Robinson

Andy Hamilton (18) 6-0 Jim Leighton

Peter Hudson 6-1 Rocco Maes

Wes Newton (7) 6-2 James Barton

Tomas Seyler 6-1 Mike Roberts

Tony Eccles (26) 6-3 Michael Rosenauer

Sebastijan Pecjak 6-1 Gary Mawson

Wayne Jones (10) 6-2 Mark Lawrence

Justin Pipe 6-2 Justin Broton

Tony Ayres 6-2 Peter Wright (23)

Maik Langendorf 6-4 Simon Craven

Steve Beaton (6) 6-4 Dylan Duo

Antonio Estelerric 6-3 Didier De Vuyst

Mark Dudbridge (27) 6-1 Carlos Martinez

Michael Barnard 6-1 Mark Hylton

Jamie Caven (11) 6-1 Henry Zapata

Par Riihonen 6-1 Danny Peach

Denis Ovens (22) 6-4 Tony Blundell

Andy Relf 6-2 Mario Masurka

Colin Lloyd (3) 6-2 Dave Ladley

Jyhan Artut 6-1 Anastasia Dobromyslova

Steve Brown (30) 6-1 Martyn Turner

Steve Evans 6-5 John Part

Richie Burnett 6-1 Michael van Gerwen (14)

Lars Erkelenz 6-0 Alex Nunez

Chris Thompson 6-2 Mervyn King (19)

Roland Scholten 6-0 Darren Webster

 

Second Round

Mark Walsh 6-0 Joe Cullen

Kevin McDine 6-1 John MaGowan

Nigel Heydon 6-1 Andy Smith

Paul Nicholson 6-4 John Quantock

James Wade 6-0 Louis Blundell

Steve Maish 6-5 Jelle Klaasen

Ronnie Baxter 6-3 Dave Honey

Co Stompe 6-3 Colin Monk

Gary Anderson 6-1 Tab Hunter

Wayne Atwood 6-5 Michael Kloenhammer

Robert Thornton 6-3 Barrie Bates

Marko Puls 6-2 Kevin Painter

Adrian Lewis 6-2 Tony Martin

Dennis Smith 6-5 Peter Manley

Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Mark Jodrill

Terry Jenkins 6-0 Christian Robba

Colin Osborne 6-3 Keith Rooney

Adrian Gray 6-3 Matt Clark

Mark Webster 6-5 Alan Tabern

Andy Hamilton 6-1 Peter Hudson

Wes Newton 6-3 Tomas Seyler

Tony Eccles 6-2 Sebastijan Pecjak

Wayne Jones 6-2 Justin Pipe

Tony Ayres 6-1 Maik Langendorf

Antonio Estelerric 6-4 Steve Beaton

Mark Dudbridge 6-0 Michael Barnard

Par Riihonen 6-4 Jamie Caven

Denis Ovens 6-2 Andy Relf

Colin Lloyd 6-3 Jyhan Artut

Steve Evans 6-3 Steve Brown

Richie Burnett 6-2 Lars Erkelenz

Chris Thompson 6-0 Roland Scholten

Losers £200

 

Third Round

Kevin McDine 6-4 Mark Walsh

Nigel Heydon 6-3 Paul Nicholson

James Wade 6-3 Steve Maish

Co Stompe 6-1 Ronnie Baxter

Gary Anderson 6-0 Wayne Atwood

Robert Thornton 6-4 Marko Puls

Adrian Lewis 6-5 Dennis Smith

Terry Jenkins 6-2 Vincent van der Voort

Colin Osborne 6-4 Adrian Gray

Andy Hamilton 6-1 Mark Webster

Wes Newton 6-4 Tony Eccles

Wayne Jones 6-1 Tony Ayres

Mark Dudbridge 6-4 Antonio Estelerric

Denis Ovens 6-2 Par Riihonen

Steve Evans 6-5 Colin Lloyd

Richie Burnett 6-2 Chris Thompson

Losers £300

 

Fourth Round

Nigel Heydon 6-3 Kevin McDine

James Wade 6-3 Co Stompe

Gary Anderson 6-0 Robert Thornton

Terry Jenkins 6-5 Adrian Lewis

Andy Hamilton 6-0 Colin Osborne

Wes Newton 6-2 Wayne Jones

Denis Ovens 6-1 Mark Dudbridge

Steve Evans 6-5 Richie Burnett

Losers £500

 

Quarter-Finals

Nigel Heydon 6-3 James Wade

Gary Anderson 6-3 Terry Jenkins

Andy Hamilton 6-5 Wes Newton

Denis Ovens 6-2 Steve Evans

Losers £1,000

 

Semi-Finals

Gary Anderson 6-2 Nigel Heydon

Denis Ovens 6-1 Andy Hamilton

Losers £1,500

 

Final

Denis Ovens 6-5 Gary Anderson

Winner £6,000

Runner-Up £3,000

JAWS DRAWS FIRST BLOOD

 

COLIN LLOYD claimed victory in the opening Players Championship of 2010, defeating Wayne Jones 6-2 to win the StanJames.com Eddie Cox Memorial Trophy.

 

The world number eight claimed the £6,000 title in Gibraltar with a strong showing on Saturday, dropping only one leg in his opening two wins, against Dave Ahmet and Julian Sanchez before edging out Tony Eccles 6-5.

 

Peter Wright was whitewashed in the last 16, while Colin Osborne took out three 100-plus finishes in their quarter final, which Lloyd won 6-3.

 

He then defeated Mervyn King 6-2 in the semi-finals, having led 5-0, and repeated the scoreline against Jones in the decider.

 

Lloyd opened the final with a 180 and produced back-to-back 14-darters in leading 3-0, before hitting a 168 score to leave double 12 in the fourth.

 

Jones won two successive legs to pull back to 4-2, but paid for a missed dart at double top in the seventh as Lloyd posted double 12, before taking out 92 on double eight for victory.

 

"I'm really happy and it's a great result for me," said Lloyd. "I've had some very tough games throughout the day but I showed a lot of authority on the board.

 

"I'm relaxed and enjoying myself at the moment, and that's showing on the dartboard. I think I played well in the Players Championship finals in Purfleet last week and continued that in this event."

 

The tournament was named in memory of the late PDC official Eddie Cox, who died in December 2008, and Lloyd added: "It means a lot to me to win this tournament.

 

"Eddie was a close friend and we all miss him, so I'm honoured to be the champion of his event."

 

Jones' display earned him £3,000 and included a semi-final victory over world number two James Wade, as well as wins over Mark Dudbridge, Gary Anderson and Kevin Painter.

 

Wade had missed double 18 for a nine-dart finish during the early stages of the tournament,

 

New PDPA members Sam Allen and Peter Hudson both enjoyed successful debuts on the PDC Pro Tour, reaching the last 32, while Andy Smith's recovery from pleurisy continued with a quarter-final finish.

 

StanJames.com Eddie Cox Memorial Players Championship

Preliminary Round

George Ramos 6-0 Jonatan Aparicio

Miguel Tejero 6-2 Carsten Christensen

Mark Webster 6-4 Alex Roy

Amos Bosano 6-0 Valentin Del Olmo

Daniel Carmona 6-1 Alvaro Ruiz

Jimmy King 6-5 Glenn Cameron

Stuart Bousfield 6-3 Lars Erkelenz

Manolo Vilerio 6-4 Carlos Rodriguez

Tony Ayres 6-0 Raul Lazaro

Andree Welge 6-1 Justin Stagno

Marko Puls 6-4 John Part

Alan Kimberley 6-4 Jeremy Cruz

Nigel Heydon 6-0 Jim Leighton

Dave Ladley 6-0 Paul Nash

Henry Zapata 6-1 Daz Mawer

Colin Monk 6-1 Christian Robba

Chris Thompson 6-3 Steve Evans

Mark Hylton 6-3 David Bautista

Steve Grubb 6-4 Par Riihonen

Darren Latham 6-1 Salvadore Santiago

Darren Webster 6-1 Ian Eames

John MaGowan 6-1 Justin Broton

Didier De Vuyst 6-2 Francisco Arias

Michael Rosenauer 6-0 Tab Hunter

Mark Stephenson 6-0 David Rodriguez

Jann Hoffmann 6-1 Dawitahma Degefe

Adrian Gray 6-1 Enrique Soba

Rocco Maes 6-2 Jose Lopez

Geoff Whitworth 6-4 Alvaro Gonzalez

Tony Randell 6-3 Dave Honey

Alberto Rodriguez 6-3 Jose Agudo

Dave Askew 6-4 Bryan De Hoog

Juan Villalobos 6-4 Jose Gutierrez

Michael Barnard 6-3 Michael Kloenhammer

 

First Round

Tomas Seyler 6-4 Mark Walsh (1)

Antonio Estelerric 6-2 Oscar Sanchez

Gary Mawson 6-5 Kevin McDine (32)

George Ramos 6-5 Miguel Tejero

Jyhan Artut 6-4 Paul Nicholson (16)

Simon Craven 6-4 Daniel Carrero

Andy Smith (17) 6-5 Mark Webster

Amos Bosano v Daniel Carmona

James Wade (8) 6-2 Steve Maish

Maik Langendorf 6-3 Andy Relf

Co Stompe (25) 6-4 Michel Helder

Stuart Bousfield 6-0 Jimmy King

Ronnie Baxter (9) 6-0 Stefan Federico

Sam Allen 6-4 Dylan Duo

Jelle Klaasen (24) 6-0 Steve Randall

Tony Ayres 6-2 Manolo Vilerio

Gary Anderson (5) 6-1 Eric Segui

Carlos Martinez 6-1 Paul Wills

Peter Manley (28) 6-3 Anastasia Dobromyslova

Marko Puls Bye (Andree Welge timed out)

Wayne Jones (12) 6-4 Sebastijan Pecjak

Jon Archer 6-3 Agustin Hernandez

Kevin Painter (21) 6-1 Dyson Parody

Nigel Heydon 6-1 Alan Kimberley

Mario Masurka 6-5 Steve Beaton (4)

Chris Loudon 6-2 Nick Fullwell

Mark Dudbridge (29) 6-2 James Barton

Dave Ladley 6-4 Henry Zapata

Vincent van der Voort (13) 6-5 John Quantock

Joe Cullen 6-5 Justin Pipe

Terry Jenkins (20) 6-2 Ian MacFarlane

Chris Thompson 6-2 Colin Monk

Colin Osborne (2) 6-2 Jason Clark

Mark Lawrence 6-3 Martyn Turner

Matt Clark (31) 6-4 Keith Rooney

Steve Grubb 6-3 Mark Hylton

Alan Tabern (15) 6-2 Barrie Bates

George Federico 6-0 Gonzalo Medina

Andy Hamilton (18) 6-2 Darren Latham

Darren Webster 6-4 John MaGowan

Colin Lloyd (7) 6-1 Dave Ahmet

Julian Sanchez 6-0 Jairo Casado

Tony Eccles (26) 6-2 Louis Blundell

Michael Rosenauer 6-4 Didier De Vuyst

Robert Thornton (10) 6-4 Mareno Michels

Mark Jodrill 6-1 Mark Robinson

Peter Wright (23) 6-0 Michael Schmidt

Mark Stephenson 6-3 Jann Hoffmann

Wes Newton (6) 6-3 Darren Johnson

Mick McGowan 6-4 Richie Burnett

Peter Hudson 6-3 Steve Hine (27)

Adrian Gray 6-4 Rocco Maes

Jamie Caven (11) 6-1 Lee White

Kirk Shepherd 6-3 Dennis Smith

Denis Ovens (22) 6-5 Wayne Mardle

Tony Randell 6-0 Geoff Whitworth

Adrian Lewis (3) 6-0 Michael Fryendahl

Tony Blundell 6-1 Mike Roberts

Wayne Atwood 6-2 Steve Brown (30)

Dave Askew 6-1 Alberto Rodriguez

Michael van Gerwen (14) 6-2 Matthew Wenham

Rafael Carrero 6-3 Tony Martin

Mervyn King (19) 6-2 Roland Scholten

Michael Barnard 6-4 Juan Villalobos

 

Second Round

Tomas Seyler 6-0 Antonio Estelerric

Gary Mawson 6-0 George Ramos

Jyhan Artut 6-4 Simon Craven

Andy Smith 6-1 Amos Bosano

James Wade 6-3 Maik Langendorf

Co Stompe 6-2 Stuart Bousfield

Sam Allen 6-4 Ronnie Baxter

Tony Ayres 6-4 Jelle Klaasen

Gary Anderson 6-0 Carlos Martinez

Marko Puls 6-3 Peter Manley

Wayne Jones 6-0 Jon Archer

Kevin Painter 6-4 Nigel Heydon

Mario Masurka 6-4 Chris Loudon

Mark Dudbridge 6-1 Dave Ladley

Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Joe Cullen

Terry Jenkins 6-1 Chris Thompson

Colin Osborne 6-2 Mark Lawrence

Steve Grubb 6-1 Matt Clark

Alan Tabern 6-3 George Federico

Andy Hamilton 6-1 Darren Webster

Colin Lloyd 6-0 Julian Sanchez

Tony Eccles 6-5 Michael Rosenauer

Robert Thornton 6-3 Mark Jodrill

Peter Wright 6-2 Mark Stephenson

Wes Newton 6-2 Mick McGowan

Peter Hudson 6-2 Adrian Gray

Jamie Caven 6-1 Kirk Shepherd

Denis Ovens 6-5 Tony Randell

Adrian Lewis 6-2 Tony Blundell

Wayne Atwood 6-5 Dave Askew

Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Rafael Carrero

Mervyn King 6-0 Michael Barnard

Losers £200

 

Third Round

Tomas Seyler 6-4 Gary Mawson

Andy Smith 6-1 Jyhan Artut

James Wade 6-3 Co Stompe

Tony Ayres 6-0 Sam Allen

Gary Anderson 6-5 Marko Puls

Wayne Jones 6-5 Kevin Painter

Mark Dudbridge 6-0 Mario Masurka

Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Terry Jenkins

Colin Osborne 6-2 Steve Grubb

Andy Hamilton 6-5 Alan Tabern

Colin Lloyd 6-5 Tony Eccles

Peter Wright 6-3 Robert Thornton

Wes Newton 6-4 Peter Hudson

Jamie Caven 6-5 Denis Ovens

Adrian Lewis 6-5 Wayne Atwood

Mervyn King 6-3 Michael van Gerwen

Losers £300

 

Fourth Round

Andy Smith 6-2 Tomas Seyler

James Wade 6-4 Tony Ayres

Wayne Jones 6-3 Gary Anderson

Mark Dudbridge 6-5 Vincent van der Voort

Colin Osborne 6-5 Andy Hamilton

Colin Lloyd 6-0 Peter Wright

Jamie Caven 6-2 Wes Newton

Mervyn King 6-4 Adrian Lewis

Losers £500

 

Quarter-Finals

James Wade 6-2 Andy Smith

Wayne Jones 6-5 Mark Dudbridge

Colin Lloyd 6-3 Colin Osborne

Mervyn King 6-4 Jamie Caven

Losers £1,000

 

Semi-Finals

Wayne Jones 6-5 James Wade

Colin Lloyd 6-2 Mervyn King

Losers £1,500

 

Final

Colin Lloyd 6-2 Wayne Jones

Winner £6,000

Runner-Up £3,000