Karel Sedlacek's Nervy Finish Still Makes Czech Darts History

Karel Sedlacek missed five match darts before he finally closed out the Players Championship 30 title, and for a spell it looked as though Scott Williams might make him pay for every one of them. The 47-year-old beat Williams 8-7 to become the first player from the Czech Republic to win a PDC Pro Tour title, but the way the final unfolded - a lead squandered, a leg clawed back, a decider that swung twice more before it was settled - said as much about nerve as it did about scoring power.

A Lead Built, Then Nearly Handed Back

Sedlacek raced into a 7-5 lead and stood on the brink of the title, needing only a checkout on 24 to seal it. Instead he missed three match darts in that leg, the first instalment of five he would waste across the closing stages, and Williams pounced. Two maximum scores of 140 dragged the Englishman level at 7-7, turning what should have been a routine finish into a leg-leg decider that neither man seemed keen to win.

The Decider Neither Man Could Close

In the deciding leg, Williams looked to be the one producing the escape act, hitting a maximum to leave himself needing 112. But he fluffed his own lines, hitting five on his second dart when a single 20 would have left him at double 16 for the match. "You're kidding me," he said, shaking his head, before scraping 15 with his final dart of the visit. That left Sedlacek a chance to finish from 32. He missed double 16, then missed double eight, before finally sealing the 8-7 win. Williams shook hands with his opponent and the officials, then threw his darts to the ground.

The Numbers Behind the Nerves

Sedlacek finished the final on 34.8 per cent from the outer board, against Williams's 36.8 per cent. On paper that reads as a match Williams edged; in practice, the man with the better percentage is the one who ended the night throwing his darts on the ground. Sedlacek also hit a match-high checkout of 164 in the ninth leg, and his route to the final was no formality either: he beat Damon Heta in the last 32, Nathan Aspinall in the last 16 and Chris Dobey in the quarter-final, before seeing off Niels Zonneveld 7-2 in the semi-final.

What the Title Means for Czech Darts

Sedlacek called the win "a really special achievement" and told PDC TV, "I've been waiting for this for nearly 10 years, and now it is a reality." He praised Williams as a "good player" afterwards, and said the title "means everything" after more than 30 years in the sport. He added that he felt he needed more matches to find his best form, but described this result as perfect for where he is now. He also suggested other Czech players might follow his example, pointing to a growing pool of talent coming through in the Czech Republic.

Arguably the more telling detail is how the final was actually won: not by whoever scored heaviest, but by whoever missed one fewer dart than the other when it mattered. Williams's frustration afterwards will sting for longer than the scoreline suggests, given how close his own comeback came to landing. For Sedlacek, a title chased for the better part of a decade arrived in the ugliest possible fashion, and he will not mind that in the slightest.

Research: This article uses the archived evidence supplied for this story. Story inspiration: Sky Sports' original report.