Danny Noppert claimed his third PDC ranking title at Players Championship 19 on Saturday, coming from behind to defeat Andrew Gilding 8-6 in the final.
With Noppert trailing 6-3, Gilding looked on course for a long-awaited maiden PDC title in his fourth ranking final only to be denied by the UK Open champion.
A late rally from Noppert saw him reel off consecutive legs to take home his first Players Championship title since 2018.
“It was a long time ago since I last won one a Players Championship title,” said Noppert, who takes home the £12,000 winner’s prize.
“I won this title through fighting and never giving up, if you believe in something then you can achieve it.
“I am a happy man to finally have my moment on the floor. There are 128 fantastic players here so to win this means a lot.
“Now, I am looking forward to all the tournaments coming up.”
Noppert’s day in Barnsley began with a 6-0 whitewash of Gordon Mathers before seeing off Luke Woodhouse and James Wade to reach the last 16.
There, Noppert overcame Matt Campbell and backed up with a 6-1 rout of Rowby-John Rodriguez to reach the semi-finals where the Dutchman enjoyed a convincing 7-3 victory over Luke Humphries.
Gilding struck first in the final, pinning the bullseye for a 121 checkout to lead 5-3 before backing up with a hold to lead 6-3.
Noppert clawed his way back into the contest with a 12-dart break to reduce the deficit to 5-6 and two legs later he broke once again to take the lead for the first time at 7-6.
Gilding was unable to stop the onslaught and the following leg saw Noppert finish the job with a last dart double 16 to end his near-four year wait for a Players Championship title.
The £8,000 added onto Gilding’s PDC ranking further solidifies his provisional spot in the field for the 2022 Betfred World Matchplay.
This weekend’s ProTour action continues with Players Championship 20 on Sunday.
Live action will be broadcast across two streams on PDCTV.
View all results from Players Championship 19 in the Match Centre.
View stats from all matches in DartConnect.
2022 Players Championship 19
Saturday July 9
Last 16
Luke Humphries 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Jamie Hughes 6-3 Brian Raman
Rowby Rodriguez 6-1 Krzysztof Ratajski
Danny Noppert 6-3 Matt Campbell
Niels Zonneveld 6-3 Karel Sedlacek
Ryan Searle 6-2 Scott Waites
Lee Evans 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Martin Lukeman
Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries 6-3 Jamie Hughes
Danny Noppert 6-1 Rowby Rodriguez
Ryan Searle 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Lee Evans
Semi-Finals
Danny Noppert 7-3 Luke Humphries
Andrew Gilding 7-6 Ryan Searle
Final
Danny Noppert 8-6 Andrew Gilding
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