PRIESTLEY CLAIMS AUSTRALIAN VICTORY

DENNIS PRIESTLEY defeated Mark Hylton 6-3 to win the Australian Open Players Championship in Sydney.

Priestley, who turned 60 last month, took the £5,000 title at the Revesby Workers Club in Sydney on Sunday - a triumph which will secure him a place in October's World Grand Prix and edge him back towards the world's top 16.

The two-time World Champion opened his challenge in Sydney with a whitewash of David Clegg and a 6-3 win over Heath Daley before edging out Steve Hine in a deciding leg in the last 16.

He then overcame top Australian Simon Whitlock 6-3 in the quarter-finals and edged out Paul Nicholson - last year's Australian Open Players Championship winner - in another 11-leg tussle at the semi-final stage.

Priestley secured victory in the final with a 6-3 win over Mark Hylton, the Rugeley-based left-hander who had won through to his first PDC ProTour decider.

Hylton opened with wins over Australian pair Pat Orreal and Peter Asmussen, and then battled through a tricky path to the final - picking up wins over Robert Thornton and Mark Walsh before edging out Sean Reed 6-5 in the semis.

Although he went down in the final, Hylton's run will almost certainly win him a Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship debut as a Players Championship Order of Merit qualifier, as well as increasing his hopes of winning a World Grand Prix spot.

Reed - who sits in the top ten of the DartPlayers Australia Order of Merit this year - claimed £1,250 for his run to the semis, which was begun with a first round defeat of former World Champion Steve Beaton and also included wins over Barry Jouannet and Preston Ridd.

Nicholson's bid to retain the title came unstuck in the last four, after had had overcome current DPA Order of Merit leader Rob Modra in the quarter-finals.

Welshman Mark Webster joined Beaton in being a first round casualty, losing 6-4 to Mick McCreadie, while Tony Eccles and Richie Burnett went out in the last 32.

Former PDC player David Platt, who emigrated to Australia last year, reached the last 16 before losing to Whitlock.

The £22,000 Players Championship was the culmination of over a series of events in Australia, with Whitlock winning last Sunday's Oceanic Masters and Thornton and Eccles taking Australian Grand Prix wins

Preliminary Round

Mark Anderson 6-2 Andrew Meti
Dave Platt 6-0 Kim Anderson
John Milligan 6-5 Jordan Russell
Rod Crawford 3-6 Stuart Jackson
Eli Archibald 2-6 Heath Daley
Dave Fitzpatrick 0-6 Brian Roach
Mike Merz 6-1 Brian Rowe
Aaron Petty 6-5 Alan Warriner-Little
Richie Charteris 6-0 Jeremy Fagg
Ben Gaitor 6-1 Daniel Sim
Phil Hazel 6-5 Neil Hembrow
Ray O'Donnell 6-1 Alan Hunter
Dave Proctor 1-6 Paul Neighbour
Brian Fordham 1-6 Phil Bottrell
Tony Crampton 6-5 Dean Mcgladdery
Bill Stanley 6-4 John Bunyard
Lee Tauri 6-2 Reg Tapper
Amin Abdul 6-3 Warren Ackary

First Round(losers $172 AUD)

Simon Whitlock 6-0 Tony Birtwistle
Bill Keogh 4-6 Mark Anderson
Bill Aitken 6-0 Bobby Holder
David Platt 6-1 John Milligan
Steve Hine 6-0 Alec Martin
Ron Robinson 3-6 Stuart Jackson
Dennis Priestley 6-0 Dave Clegg
Arnel Galvez 5-6 Heath Daley
Mark Webster 4-6 Mick McCreadie
Mick Parker 5-6 Brian Roach
Rob Modra 6-0 Daniel Brown
Graham Davis 3-6 Mike Merz
Paul Nicholson 6-1 Wayne Weening
Darren Brudenell 1-6 Aaron Petty
Shane Titchowitsch 6-1 Matt Kaletta
Mitchell Clegg 5-6 Jeremy Fagg
Steve Beaton 4-6 Sean Reed
Tony Brown 0-6 Ben Gaitor
Barry Jouannet 6-0 Mike Howis
Phil Hazel 6-0 Raymond O'Donnell
Tony Eccles 6-0 Don Whittington
Preston Ridd 6-1 Paul Neighbour
Richie Burnett 6-5 Scott Johnson
Jerry Weyman 4-6 Phil Bottrell
Robert Thornton 6-0 Glenn Hodge
Joel McMillan 0-6 Tony Crampton
Mark Hylton 6-3 Pat Orreal
Peter Asmussen 6-3 Bill Stanley
Mark Walsh 6-2 Ian Dargan
Shane Haddy 6-3 Lee Tauri
Craig Prizeman 6-1 Alan Scott
Steve Padget 6-1 Amin Abdul Ghani

2nd Round (losers $344 AUD)
Simon Whitlock 6-0 Mark Anderson
Bill Aitken 1-6 David Platt
Steve Hine 6-2 Stuart Jackson
Dennis Priestley 6-3 Heath Daley
Mick McCreadie 4-6 Brian Roach
Rob Modra 6-1 Mike Merz
Paul Nicholson 6-3 Aaron Petty
Shane Tichowitsch 2-6 Jeremy Fagg
Sean Reed 6-2 Ben Gaitor
Barry Jouannet 6-4 Phil Hazel
Tony Eccles 4-6 Preston Ridd
Richie Burnett 2-6 Phil Bottrell
Robert Thornton 6-1 Tony Crampton
Mark Hylton 6-3 Peter Asmussen
Mark Walsh 6-0 Shane Haddy
Craig Prizeman 4-6 Steve Padget

3rd Round losers ($688)
Simon Whitlock 6-0 David Platt
Steve Hine 5-6 Dennis Priestley
Brian Roach 4-6 Rob Modra
Paul Nicholson 6-0 Jeremy Fagg
Sean Reed 6-4 Barry Jouannet
Preston Ridd 6-0 Phil Bottrell
Robert Thornton 4-6 Mark Hylton
Mark Walsh 6-2 Steve Padget

Quarter Finals(losers $1204)
Simon Whitlock 3-6 Dennis Priestley
Rob Modra 2-6 Paul Nicholson
Sean Reed 6-3 Preston Ridd
Mark Hylton 6-2 Mark Walsh

Semi Finals(loser $2150.00)
Dennis Priestley 6-5 Paul Nicholson
Sean Reed 5-6 Mark Hylton

Final (winner $8700 AUD) Runner up $4350AUD)
Dennis Priestley 6-3 Mark Hylton