Danny Noppert has won his first PDC title of the year with victory in Players Championship 8 in Leicester.
Although the Dutchman reached the quarter-finals of two of the first seven events, he cannot claim to have been in top form ahead of the latest floor tournament.
However, Noppert did not average below 91.85 all day as he defeated Gerywn Price on the way to setting up a final with world number one Luke Humphries.
Up until the final, Humphries had been the better of the two, coming through a succession of tight matches with high averages, overcoming the likes of Gary Anderson in the last eight.
Gian van Veen was then defeated in a last-leg decider in the semi-finals, but Humphries was unable to overcome his third Dutch opponent of the day.
That is despite initially holding a 2-0 lead in the final before Noppert reeled off five of the next seven legs to edge in front.
NOPPERT TAKES THE TITLE! 🥶🏆
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 9, 2024
Danny Noppert defeats the World Champion, Luke Humphries, 8-6 to secure glory at Players Championship 8!
'The Freeze' has NEVER been beaten in a Pro Tour final! pic.twitter.com/a1FaiS2m8p
The pair would then trade holds of throw until Noppert struck in the 14th leg, with Humphries producing a poor leg to leave 68 after 15 darts - which included a 180 - to allow Noppert to take out 64, sealing an 8-6 win, for the title.
Victory for Noppert sees him return to 12th place in the PDC Order of Merit, with the main mover of the day being Kevin Doets - from 57th to 54th - who defeated Damon Heta, Luke Littler and Daryl Gurney in last-leg deciders before losing to Noppert in the quarters.
Michael van Gerwen again endured another frustrating day, following his last-64 exit on Monday with a third-round defeat on Tuesday, losing 6-4 to Andrew Gilding.
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Darren Plant
