Gabriel Clemens survived an incredible comeback from Luke Woodhouse to end an eight-year wait and win his first-ever PDC event, after securing an 8-6 victory over the Englishman at the final of the Players Championship 24 on Tuesday.
Prior to the match, Clemens, who banked the top prize of £15,000, had previously appeared in six finals on the Players Championship circuit, but finished as a runner-up in all of them.
"I have lost so many finals, but I am very happy. I have no words," said the German, who emerged through a 128-player field at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
After making the quarter-finals at the Players Championship 22 in Wigan last week, Clemens added he was hopeful he could maintain his momentum and keep winning.
"From here, I'm hoping it can go better," he said. "Today is my day. I'm very proud."
Earlier in the day, Clemens outlasted tricky opponents Michael van Gerwen (6-4) and Scott Williams (6-5) on his route to the final, despite the latter nailing an unconventional nine-darter.
Clemens got off to a flying start, taking a 6-2 lead against Woodhouse, who had also been forced to battle hard to reach the showpiece.
After beating France's Thibault Tricole in the first round, Woodhouse bested Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 in the second round, before securing his passage to the quarter-finals with a pair of 6-3 wins against fellow Englishmen Cam Crabtree and Justin Hood.
He was forced to come from 3-1 down to claim a hard-fought 7-5 victory in his semi-final against Gian van Veen, and looked to repeat the feat against Clemens, reeling off the next four legs to bring the match level at 6-6.
Reflecting on Woodhouse's fightback, Clemens admitted he was 'feeling nervous' at that point in the match, and did appear to briefly stutter on his first chance to retake the lead, with the German attempting to check out 70, opting to throw for treble 20 before missing.
Woodhouse gave Clemens another chance to move to 7-6, and this time he coolly checked out from 54.
With the Englishman on the ropes, Clemens ended the match in the best possible way, reeling in the Big Fish.
Woodhouse may have missed out on clinching his second Players Championship title of the season, but it's not all bad news for the Englishman, who was confirmed to have qualified for the 2026 Betfred World Matchplay, leading the 16 ProTour qualifiers having accumulated £171,500 in prize money over the past 12 months.
Mickey Mansell 6-5 Connor Scutt
Gabriel Clemens 6-5 Scott Williams
Chris Dobey 6-3 Owen Bates
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Bradley Brooks
Gian van Veen 6-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Madars Razma 6-2 Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Justin Hood
Danny Noppert 6-4 Rob Cross
Gabriel Clemens 6-1 Mickey Mansell
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Chris Dobey
Gian van Veen 6-3 Madars Razma
Luke Woodhouse 6-0 Danny Noppert
Gabriel Clemens 7-3 Brendan Dolan
Luke Woodhouse 7-5 Gian van Veen
Gabriel Clemens 8-6 Luke Woodhouse
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