Gib Win For Ovens

08-Feb-2010

DENIS OVENS won his first PDC Pro tour event since 2007 with victory over Gary Anderson in the final of Sunday’s Gibraltar Players Championship.

Ovens claimed the £6,000 title with a fine day of darts in the Tercentenary Sports Hall, picking up his first win in two-and-a-half years and reaching a final for the first time in 16 months.

In a day of steadily improving form, he overcame Tony Blundell, Andy Relf and Par Riihonen in the early stages before blowing away Mark Dudbridge and Andy Hamilton 6-1 and dropping just two legs against Steve Evans.

He enjoyed a thrilling final against Hamilton, hitting two 180s in taking a 4-2 lead before Anderson took out 78 and 96 to level.

A 120 finish put Ovens 5-4 up, with Anderson taking the tenth leg but having no answer in the decider, as the Stevenage man hit another 180 and took out 96 for the title.

Anderson was in blistering form in the early rounds, dropping only two legs in victories against Bryan De Hoog, Tab Hunter, Wayne Atwood and Robert Thornton before sweeping past Terry Jenkins 6-3 and seeing off Nigel Heydon 6-2 in the semi-finals.