Alan Tabern won Group 11 of the Unibet Home Tour after a last-leg victory over former PDC World Championship runner-up Simon Whitlock.
Both men went into the final match with a chance of topping the group but only Tabern and Mike Van Duivenbode could have won it ahead of the final leg amid a dramatic finale.
Whitlock suffered a shock 5-3 reverse in his opening encounter against Van Duivenbode but he beat fellow former World runner-up Kirk Shepherd in a last-leg decider to ensure every player had won one game ahead of the final two matches.
TABERN WINS IT! Level on points and leg difference with Mike van Duivenbode, so it's settled on the head-to-head between the two players. Tabern's 5-2 victory over the Dutchman earlier in the night means he tops the table! pic.twitter.com/NRcs5sTPNy — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 27, 2020
Shepherd had started off with a 5-1 victory over Tabern, who beat Van Duivenbode 5-2 in his second match. The victory proved crucial as he won the group on the head-to-head record.
A 5-3 victory over Van Duivenbode would have guaranteed Shepherd the group and he went 4-2 ahead with a 13-dart finish.
But the 21-year-old Dutchman came back to force a decider and survived four match darts to move top.
The result ensured Van Duivenbode had a slim chance of success – only a 5-4 win for Whitlock in the final match would have carried him home with any other result ensuring the winner prevailed.
TABERN WINS GROUP 11! 🏆 A 5-4 win over Simon Whitlock crowns Alan Tabern the winner of Group 11 of the Unibet Home Tour! pic.twitter.com/DwV8s04TWu — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 27, 2020
World number 14 Whitlock started in style with a 12-dart leg and 170 checkout but each of the first six legs went against the throw.
Tabern missed a 40 checkout but Whitlock could not finish on 16 and the former UK Open semi-finalist moved 4-3 ahead to end his opponent's group chances.
Tabern declared he had "bottled it" after missing two match darts before the tie moved to a deciding leg with himself and Van Duivenbode looking for victory – but the St Helens man sealed success.
