Ryan Searle stormed to his eighth PDC ranking title with a comprehensive 8-3 victory over Alan Soutar at Players Championship 7 in Leicester.
Searle produced a dominant display to dispatch Soutar in Monday’s showpiece, averaging 95.65 and landing four maximums to claim the £15,000 top prize.
The 38-year-old from Devon clinched the title after a pleasing day of darts at the Mattioli Arena, registering a tournament average of 100.13 to open his account for the 2026 season.
“I played really solid today," reflected Searle post-match, after securing a Players Championship title for the seventh consecutive year.
“Averages wise my best was against Raymond [van Barneveld], and feeling wise it felt like the worst which was a little bit odd.
“February and March time is normally my time of year when I win things, and if I can win one or two more to break new ground this year, I will do that.
“I’ve had a bit more attention this year so far," continued Searle, who enjoyed an excellent run to the 2025/26 World Championship semi-finals.
“It’s been really good. I’ve been able to raise awareness for the Cure ADOA Foundation, but motivation wise, I haven’t been practising.
“I would like to win a European Tour, that would be the next goal for me; to prove that I can win something on the big stage would be good.”
Searle began his campaign with successive ton-topping averages, averaging 101.50 in a 6-2 victory over Thomas Lovely, before dispatching Lithuania World Cup star Darius Labanauskas 6-1, bettering his previous average by almost one point.
The Devon-born star then dispatched of Dutch duo Jimmy van Schie and Raymond van Barneveld, producing his performance of the day against Van Barneveld with a 104.50 average to progress to the quarter-finals.
Searle, who picked up his last Players Championship title in the exact same arena six months prior, then ended the hopes of young superstar Charlie Manby, accounting for the Englishman 6-3.
This was backed up by an excellent win over Gary Anderson, as Heavy Metal dispatched of the Scot 7-3 to set up his showdown with Soutar.
Searle started strongly in the final, registering winning legs of 15, 14 and 13 darts to take a commanding 3-0 lead.
Soutar responded quickly with a leg of his own, winning two out of the next three legs to threaten a mid-game fightback, only for Searle to hit back with another three legs of his own, producing a 13 dart-leg sandwiched between two 17-darters.
The Scot would go on to win one more consolation leg to trail 7-3, but Searle swept up the final leg in 17 darts to clinch the title in Leicester.
Searle’s eighth ProTour crown propelled himself up to fourth on the 2026 Players Championship rankings, while Soutar’s run put him into seventh spot.
Soutar, who was looking to double his PDC title tally in Leicester, opened his account with a stunning 105.03 average to dispatch of Tavis Dudeney 6-2, before winning back-to-back last-leg deciders against Jim Long and Derek Coulson respectively.
The Scot then faced off against Alexander Merkx, beating the Dutchman 6-3, before winning an all-Scottish battle against Peter Wright, coming away a 6-1 victor.
Soutar’s hopes of another Players Championship title came close to ending in the semi-finals, as the 48-year-old defied the fightback of Keane Barry, beating the Irishman in his third last-leg decider of the day.
Barry produced the average of the tournament in his opening round game against Krzysztof Ratajaski, beating the Pole 6-2 with an average of 109.43.
The 23-year-old then beat 2023 World Champion Michael Smith 6-4, before overcoming Sebastian Bialecki and Premier League star Stephen Bunting 6-3 and 6-4 respectively.
Barry then swept aside Jeffrey Sparidaans with an average of 104.12, sealing his spot in the semi-finals, where he was joined by Scottish number one Anderson.
The two-time World Champion defeated James Hurrell and Players Championship Six winner Chris Dobey in the latter stages of the tournament but failed to pick up his first ranking title since March 2025.
Michael van Gerwen and Bunting were two of only three Premier League players in action on Monday, although both succumbed to defeats in round four in Leicester.
Van Gerwen, despite averaging over 104 early on in the day, was beaten by Sparidaans 6-3, whilst Bunting fell short to eventual semi-finalist Barry by the same scoreline.
This week’s double-header concludes with Players Championship Eight on Tuesday, as 128 players compete for the £15,000 top prize.
Play will commence at 1300 BST, and coverage from four boards in each event will be streamed on PDCTV and across bookmakers' websites worldwide, with German commentary provided on Streaming Board One.
2026 Players Championship Seven
Last 16
- Ryan Searle 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
- Charlie Manby 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
- Gary Anderson 6-3 James Hurrell
- Chris Dobey 6-4 Cristo Reyes
- Keane Barry 6-4 Stephen Bunting
- Jeffrey Sparidaans 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
- Peter Wright 6-3 Maik Kuivenhoven
- Alan Soutar 6-3 Alexander Merkx
Quarter-Finals
- Ryan Searle 6-3 Charlie Manby
- Gary Anderson 6-2 Chris Dobey
- Keane Barry 6-3 Jeffrey Sparidaans
- Alan Soutar 6-1 Peter Wright
Semi-Finals
- Ryan Searle 7-3 Gary Anderson
- Alan Soutar 7-6 Keane Barry
Final
- Ryan Searle 8-3 Alan Soutar