Limerick’s own Willie O’Connor has picked up his first ever Professional Darts Corporation ranking title, winning the Players Championship 13 in Barnsley on Tuesday evening.
O’Connor’s recent impressive form showed itself again in Tuesday’s final, where he claimed an 8-4 victory over defending champion Nathan Aspinall.
The Cappamore man, who has competed on the PDC ProTour circuit since 2011, beat Rowby-John Rodriguez, Luke Humphries, Luke Woodhouse, Steve Beaton, Jeffrey de Zwaan and Daryl Gurney en route to the decider, his second PDC final after featuring in last July’s European Darts Matchplay final.
“I’m a bit overwhelmed by it but I’m so happy to have won my first title,” said O’Connor.
WINNER!
William O'Connor wins his first PDC title at Players Championship 13!
William O'Connor 8-4 Nathan Aspinall#PDCProTour pic.twitter.com/9w4uPc112H
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 30, 2019
“I’ve been playing well all year but haven’t had any good results, so maybe I’ve used all my luck in one day.
“I’m happy to move up the rankings a bit and now I want to add a couple more titles to my name and see where it takes me.
“I have the game to win more, I just need to be more consistent and produce a lot better than I have been doing over the years, but the same can be said for many players on tour.”
O’Connor, the Irish number two, will be taking the top prize of £10,000 back to Limerick with him.
