Brendan Dolan finished runner up in the PDC Players' Championship on Saturday, as he continued his recent good form. The Belcoo darts player lost out 6-4 in the final to Nathan Aspinall after racing into a 4-2 lead, but despite the final defeat Brendan was happy with his day’s work.

“I was very pleased at getting to the final and it is all working towards getting back up the rankings and getting into a few tournaments this year,” said Brendan. “I know that I am starting to play at a very high standard, averaging around the 100 mark. I am getting it more often and that is what I am thriving to do, to get the consistency levels.”

The seventh round of the Players Championship took place in Barnsley, and Brendan made his way through the first round with a 6-4 win over Adrian Gray in a high quality match where Brendan averaged 107 to take a narrow win. Then Brendan fired a 108 final leg checkout to defeat Dutch thrower Niels Zonneveld, before reaching the last sixteen with a win over Corkman Ciaran Teehan. Number ten ranked Dave Chisnell was next in line, and Brendan once again triumphed with a 6-2 score line. Derk Telnekes was next in line, and Brendan admitted he rode his luck to win the deciding leg. “That was the worst game I played all day,” admitted Brendan. “I was very poor and I was 5-2 down but I dug in and got back to five all. The lad had left himself a double, and I took out 120 to take the match. I wasn’t playing well but I battled my way back into the game. I thought when I got back to five all, he still had played well enough to win the match, and to pull out a shot like that before he even had a shot at a double was very timely.”

Three checkouts over 100 hundred including a 170 helped him to a convincing 7-1 victory over James Wade in the semi final, but he was not able to round off his day with the £10,000 top prize. “In the final I was playing reasonable and got ahead 4-2,” he recalled. “Nathan Aspinall held onto his throw for 4-3 and then on my throw I had left myself a double but he took out a 136 to make it four all. That changed the game totally in his favour. You could see him getting stronger and I felt myself that my darts were dropping a bit and my scoring wasn’t there. I probably mentally deflated a wee bit and that is where he won it.”

The second tournament of the weekend in a double header weekend did not yield the same success for Brendan. After defeating Devon Petersen in the opening round he fell to Kim Huybrechts, missing several crucial doubles as he went out 6-2.

Brendan’s weekend confirmed his place in the top 32 in the world rankings, and the points he has amassed in recent weeks leave him with a good chance of qualifying for the upcoming high profile competitions, if they survive the current restrictions on sporting events. “In the World Matchplay the top 16 in the world get in and then the 16 players in the Pro Tour order of merit, and I’m second in it,” he revealed. “In the race for the Grand Prix I am first the rankings so I’m in a strong position as well, but I don’t know if anything will take place with the way things are now. If the UK is going to stretch it out for another 10 or 12 weeks then those tournaments will not take place. We are due out in two weeks’ time again but to be honest I don’t think we will be going anywhere.”