Darts results: Peter Wright wins Players Championship title on day four of the Winter Series

The World Champion and European Champion produced another superb day of darts as he scooped the £10,000 top prize in Players Championship 22, continuing his build-up to the BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts in style.

Wright was rarely troubled in his run to the final, dropping only one leg in wins over Robert Thornton, Steve Lennon, Ricky Evans and Joe Cullen and defeating Jermaine Wattimena 6-3.

He had averaged 106 and 108 in his opening two games, and was forced to break the 100-average barrier in the decider as he was pushed all the way by De Sousa.

The Portuguese star took out 100 for an 11-darter to open the final and also led 3-2 before Wright hit back to regain the lead and push into a 7-4 lead.

De Sousa took the next three to take the tie into a deciding leg, but it was Wright who opened with 140 and 180 before finishing 100 to seal victory with an 11-darter of his own.

"It's a really good win for me," said Wright. "It was always going to be close with Jose because he's one of the best players in the world at the moment.

"He's not been on the circuit long, but he's amazing. He's a lovely guy as well, so relaxed and laid back and we have a little bit of banter."

Wright added: "I changed my darts a couple of times today. I did it in the semi-finals against Joe Cullen to have a bit of a longer point - I had to change something because they weren't coming down."

De Sousa was bidding to win his second title of 2020, following a European Tour victory last month, and posted three ton-plus averages of his own during six wins to reach his third Players Championship final of the year.

Lewis enjoyed his best finish since Players Championship One back in February as he won through to the semi-finals on Friday, with the two-time World Champion defeating Michael van Gerwen and Simon Whitlock on the day.

October's International Darts Open winner Cullen was the day's other semi-finalist, while World Cup winner Jonny Clayton and Autumn Series event winner Damon Heta were amongst the quarter-finalists.

World number one Van Gerwen made his first appearance of the Winter Series as he returned from a back problem, defeating Richie Burnett before losing out in a high-quality last 32 tie with Lewis.

The PDC Winter Series concludes on Saturday with Day Five at the Ricoh Arena, with a further £75,000 in prize money on offer.

Following Day Five, the final qualifiers for next week's BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts will be confirmed, although Ian White is now assured of his place in that event as a Players Championship winner on the reserve list.

Ryan Searle currently occupies the second place on the reserve list, while Jermaine Wattimena is the highest-ranked non-qualified player on the PDC Winter Series Order of Merit.

Saturday's tournament is also the last Players Championship event of 2020, after which the 64 qualifiers for the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals will be confirmed - with Wright set to be the top seed for that event from November 27-29.

Players Championship Results: Winter Series Day Four

Last 16 onwards. For all the Players Championship results and detailed stats, head to Dart Connect (tv.dartconnect.com/events/pdc)

Last 16

• Adrian Lewis 6-3 Ryan Searle
• Ryan Murray 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
• Jose De Sousa 6-3 Brendan Dolan
• Jonny Clayton 6-4 Michael Smith
• Peter Wright 6-1 Ricky Evans
• Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Krzysztof Kciuk
• Damon Heta 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
• Joe Cullen 6-5 Stevenson

Quarter-Finals

• Adrian Lewis 6-3 Ryan Murray
• Jose De Sousa 6-3 Jonny Clayton
• Peter Wright 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
• Joe Cullen 6-2 Damon Heta

Semi-Finals

• Jose De Sousa 7-5 Adrian Lewis
• Peter Wright 7-1 Joe Cullen

Final

• Peter Wright 8-7 Jose De Sousa

Related links

• 2020 PDC event calendar & results
• 2020 Premier League results
• 2019 PDC event results
• Sky Bet's darts odds