Ryan Joyce bounced back against Dave Chisnall to win his first PDC ranking title on the second day of the Summer Series.
After Michael Van Gerwen made a triumphant return to the oche by winning Wednesday’s event, the 34-year-old wrapped up victory after an impressive day in Milton Keynes on Thursday.
Joyce overcame Andy Hamilton, Luke Humphries, Chris Dobey and Madars Razma to reach the quarter-finals, where he edged past Unibet Premier League leader Glen Durrant 6-5 before defeating Gary Anderson 7-3.
The Geordie looked set to lose his maiden final after going behind 2-6 and 3-7 to Chisnall, only to emerge an 8-7 victor and win the £10,000 prize.
“It’s unbelievable – it hasn’t sunk in yet,” Joyce said, having moved into the provisional qualifying places for the World Matchplay. “It’s a fantastic win.
“At 7-3 down in the final I thought the game was gone.
“I was trying to enjoy the rest of the match and make the score more respectable, but Dave tightened up a bit, he missed his chances and I punished him.
“To win an event like this, you need a couple of rounds where you get the rub of the green and I got that today. I don’t want to be a one-hit wonder and I’ve got to build on this.”
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