Team Mission’s Cam Crabtree caught the eye on the ProTour this week with a run to his first ever Players Championship semi-final.
‘Shazam’ received a late call up to compete in Players Championship 13 in Milton Keynes on Tuesday, as one of the top up players from the Challenge Tour Order of Merit.
And the 20-year-old made the most of his opportunity, beating the likes of Danny Noppert and James Wade to reach the final four.
Crabtree’s run ended in a 7-3 defeat to another Challenge Tour top up player Wesley Plaisier, who would go on to appear in both finals over the two days.
CRABTREE SEES OFF WADE!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 2, 2024
Cam Crabtree picks up a huge win over Matchplay hopeful James Wade, beating him 6-3 to reach the Semi-Finals at PC13!
📺 https://t.co/YyBPPwoMK8 | #PC13 pic.twitter.com/sFEjbKs0Ly
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Wessel Nijman won his board at a Players Championship for the first time, with a victory over one half of England’s newly crowned World Cup champions Michael Smith on his way to the last 16.
It was an encouraging day for Rhys Griffin too as the new PDC tour card holder picked up a pair of wins against top 32 players, Scott Williams and Dirk van Duijvenbode, to reach the third round for the first time this season.
On Wednesday, Ryan Joyce showed some excellent form ahead of his World Matchplay return later this month making the semi-finals of Players Championship 14.
‘Relentless’ took out the Pro Tour number one Dave Chisnall in a last-leg decider in the last 16, before averaging a stunning 111.48 in a 6-1 win over Josh Rock (103.93) in the quarter-finals.
ASTONISHING FROM JOYCE!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 3, 2024
We've seen some unbelievable performances in the last hour or so!
Now Ryan Joyce gets in on the act, averaging 111.48 to dispatch Josh Rock and advance to the semi-finals!
📺 https://t.co/YyBPPwoMK8 | #PC14 pic.twitter.com/jEVpTK2aVh
Earlier in the day, James Hurrell grabbed the headlines with a 6-3 win against the Premier League champion Luke Littler in the second round.
Hurrell was joined in the last 32 by recent Players Championship winner Alan Soutar and Stephen Burton, with the pair both posting high 90s averages in their second-round wins over Mike De Decker and Stephen Bunting.
This week’s Players Championship double-header marked the last events before the cut off for the World Matchplay, with three players from Team Mission qualifying for the summer showpiece in Blackpool which starts a week on Saturday.
Josh Rock and Ryan Joyce will both make their second appearances at the Winter Gardens, whilst Ritchie Edhouse has earned a debut in Blackpool following a string of impressive performances on the ProTour in 2024.
The 32-player field for this year's @Betfred World Matchplay has been confirmed after 2007 champion James Wade secured his qualification in last-gasp fashion on Wednesday.
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 3, 2024
👉 https://t.co/ifJ427BRjQ pic.twitter.com/gIi9s6qpAr
Picture: PDC