Pipe Wins 3rd Players Championship

USTIN PIPE won his third Players Championship in a month with a 6-3 defeat of Vincent van der Voort in Saturday's PDC ProTour event at the K2 Centre in Crawley.

The 39-year-old from Taunton won his maiden professional title at the start of October when he defeated Phil Taylor in Dublin, and after picking up another victory in Killarney since he completed a notable treble in the first of two Players Championships over the weekend.

Pipe enjoyed a memorable day in Crawley, following up victories over young duo Kirk Shepherd and Reece Robinson with wins over former World Champions Steve Beaton and Mark Webster to reach the semi-finals.

There, he overcame Matt Clark 6-3 before repeating the scoreline in the decider against van der Voort.

In a clash of contrasting styles, the quick-throwing Dutchman took the final's first break in leg five to lead 3-2.

But Pipe punished a missed bullseye from the Dutchman to break back in leg six, hit a 13-darter to lead 4-3 and then hit double eight to move 5-3 up.

He also hit a 180 in the ninth leg before double 16 gave him another title.

"I'm delighted with that," said Pipe. "I'm really enjoying myself at the moment and I'm climbing up the rankings, and this is another massive confidence boost for me."

Van der Voort was also looking for his third victory of the year, but had to settle for the £3,000 runners-up cheque following his run.

His victims on the day included Wayne Jones, Jamie Caven and Wes Newton before he saw off Co Stompe 6-4 in an all-Dutch semi-final.

Stompe enjoyed his best run on the circuit since August as he reached the last four alongside Clark, who has not reached a ranking semi-final since June 2010 but defeated World Champion Adrian Lewis in Crawley.

Stoke's Ian White followed up his third-placed finish in Friday night's William Hill Grand Slam of Darts Wildcard Qualifier by winning through to the last eight alongside Wes Newton, Colin Osborne and Mark Webster.

Play continues with a second Players Championship of the weekend on Sunday as players bid to win spots in December's Players Championship Finals and Ladbrokes World Darts Championship.