Michael van Gerwen had a great performance at The Players Championship 21, defeating Dave Chisnell, while Luke Littler failed to make it back-to-back titles.
Dutch star Van Gerwen averaged just under 107 points as he edged Chisnall to win 8-4 and claim his first ranking title at Wigan in 2024.
Littler, who had a 33% win rate in the tournaments he entered this year, saw his 15-game winning streak come to an end as Mike Kuevenhoven stunned him 6-3 in the round of 16, ending his hopes of a second consecutive title.
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Luke Humphries takes on Van Gerwen in World Matchplay Final highlights
“The most important thing is to always believe in your abilities,” Van Gerwen said. “I’m happy with my performance and I’m happy with the new darts.
“I’ve underperformed in these events. I haven’t been good enough. But it feels good to be back on this tour and actually win.
“I want to win, I want to perform, I want to do the right thing for myself. There’s so much more to gain and so much more to fight for.”
Van Gerwen, who started his challenge with a hard-fought 6-4 win over Lee Cocks, swept Ryan Meikle and Karel Sedlacek to average 99, then followed up with back-to-back 6-3 wins over James Wade and Gian van Veen before beating another Dutchman in the semi-finals, 7-2, against Kuivenhoven.
Dave Chisnall took his running one step further on Tuesday.
Cheesenell, who reached the semi-finals on Tuesday, went one better 24 hours later, recording an impressive 6-1 win over Jose de Souza and Johnny Clayton in the afternoon.
The 44-year-old proved far stronger than St Helens’ Stephen Bunting in the quarter-finals, but he needed four match darts to win the semi-final against Richie Edhouse, who came back from 6-2 down to level the match.
Edhouse has scalped several majors at the Robin Park Tennis Centre, defeating former Lakeside champions Jelle Klaassen and Christian Kist to spark a title bid. He also defeated Austrian veteran Mensur Suljovic and fought back from a 5-2 deficit to beat Damon Hetta in the quarter-finals, before losing to Chisnell in a dramatic final.
The 2024 PDC Pro Tour season continues with the Players Championship 22-23 in Leicester on 24-25 September.
What’s next for Sky Sports?
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We look back at the exciting World Grand Prix Final held in Leicester last year.
The next darts event on Sky Sports is the 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix.
The annual £600,000 tournament takes place at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena from October 7-13, with 32 of the world’s biggest stars competing for the coveted title, previously won by Luke Humphries.
Humphries won his first TV ranking title last year by beating Gerwyn Price, and the world number one will return to defend his title later this year.
Six-time winner Michael van Gerwen is also set to feature, while teenage superstar Luke Littler will make his East Midlands debut with two starts.
In a change from last year’s format, the semifinals on Saturday, October 12 will be best-of-nine sets, and the final set on Sunday, October 13 will be best-of-eleven sets.
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