DOBEY CLAIMS TENTH PRO TOUR TITLE IN STYLE

CHRIS DOBEY made it clear he won’t be picking up the FOOD bill after winning Players Championship Nine.

Hollywood clinched a TENTH ProTour crown and the £15,000 top prize after beating Justin Hood 8-4 in the final with a whopping 105.28 average.

World No.13 Dobey claimed his second title of the season to continue his impressive run on the floor circuit. 

The Bedlington thrower averaged an impressive 103.51 to dispatch Andrew Gilding 7-1 in the semi-final, having earlier seen off Richard Veenstra 6-3 in the quarter-final.  

Dobey now hopes to convert his form onto the big stage and turn his consistency into major titles. 

He said: “It is what I expected from Justin. That game at the Worlds, he was 11/11 on the doubles. 

“When the two bulls went in the first two legs, I was like not again. He put up a good fight, I was sick of his bullseyes, but they were great shots at crucial times. 

“I am delighted with another win. I played some good stuff all day. This is what I have come for. Not being in the Premier League this year, I want to play in everything. 

“I missed Munich the other week, I took my kids away for Easter weekend, and I will be doing everything for the rest of the year. 

“Hopefully keep picking these titles up. The way I have been playing throughout the year, I am hoping to pick up more. 

“If you are watching, Nathan [Aspinall], this is how you win these events. 

“I was saying to Nathan, these are the ones he needs to come to. He is having a week off relaxing. 

“I had my weekend off in Munich and he won. These are crucial, and that’s why I want to continue. 

“It is hard just to win one, and it took me a while to do so. I have proved now I can do it time and time again. 

“I just want to start doing it again on TV and picking up these European Tour titles. 

“I know I can do it on the floor. It is just about being more consistent. I have produced these darts on the TV, it is just how they go on the day. 

“It is totally different here, you need to play well all day. On TV, you just need one good game. 

“And I am not paying for the food tonight, lads, that’s for sure.” 

Elsewhere, Beau Greaves reached a maiden ProTour quarter-final, thrashing Premier League table-topper Jonny Clayton 6-2 in the second round on her way. 

Luke Humphries was dumped out in the fourth round as he lost 6-4 to Gilding. 

Dimitri Van den Bergh claimed back-to-back wins for the first time this season before being narrowly edged out 6-5 by Gilding in the third round. 

Stephen Bunting suffered a first-round exit after a 6-4 defeat to Rob Owen at the Robin Park Tennis Centre.

Image by Taylor Lanning.