Alan Soutar has ended his wait for a PDC title with victory in Players Championship 11 in Hildesheim.
Having failed to qualify for the 2024 World Championship, the Scotsman potentially faced a battle to keep himself in the world's top 50 this season.
However, the 46-year-old has guaranteed his spot at the 2025 edition and put himself in contention to qualify for other tournaments with a surprise win in Germany on Tuesday.
While Soutar did not defeat any of the form players on his way to the title, he still had to dispose of Steve Beaten and Danny Noppert in the early rounds.
A 7-0 victory over Dirk van Duijvenbode was posted in the semi-finals, averaging 102.15, before the final with Daryl Gurney went to a deciding leg.
At one stage, Gurney held a 5-3 advantage in the race to eight, but Soutar was able to reel off five of the final seven legs to get over the line.
A FIRST PDC TITLE FOR ALAN SOUTAR π΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώπ
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) June 11, 2024
Fireman π©βπβ
Guide Dog Trainer πΆβ
PDC Champion π―β
Alan Soutar wins his first PDC title, beating Daryl Gurney to win Players Championship 11!
Incredible π pic.twitter.com/jcMHT8vv4Y
How far did Soutar move in the PDC Order of Merit?
Soutar now sits at 41st in the PDC Order of Merit having moved up three places, while Gurney has advanced one position to 28th.
Despite his success, Soutar will not qualify for next month's World Matchplay courtesy of still sitting Β£15,500 behind 16th spot in that particular table with just one event left.
Kevin Doets also made a significant move up to the PDC Order of Merit into 51st place courtesy of his run to the quarter-finals.
What were the other notable results in PC11?
Raymond van Barneveld made it through to the semi-finals before going down 7-4 to Gurney, but the legendary Dutchman is now on the brink of confirming a place at the Matchplay.
James Wade made it through to the last eight to keep himself in the final spot, a potentially-pivotal run given that it matched that of nearest challenger Doets.
