Tuesday July 7th 2026
David Sharp (left) in action against Tom Sykes.
Written by Midlothian View Sport Reporter, Nyo Logan
Midlothian darts professional David Sharp produced the best performance of his professional career on Monday after reaching his first-ever PDC Players Championship semi-final.
Competing in Players Championship 23, Sharp defeated five established pros before eventually bowing out in the last four, earning valuable ranking money and climbing 12 places on the PDC ProTour Order of Merit.
Sharp opened the day with a dramatic 6-5 victory over highly-rated English prospect Joe Hunt. Hunt currently leads the PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit and is someone I expect to earn a PDC Tour Card next season, making it a difficult opening assignment.
Sharp held his nerve throughout to edge through and set the tone for what would become the biggest day of his professional career.
A much tougher test on paper was to follow against experienced PDC professional Luke Woodhouse, but Sharp produced one of his most complete performances of the season to record an impressive 6-3 victory and progress into the last 32.
Confidence continued to build as he comfortably defeated Czech Word Cup international Karel Sedláček 6-2 before producing one of the standout moments of the day against Dutch Tour Card holder Wesley Plaisier.
Sharp announced himself immediately with a spectacular 170 ‘Big Fish’ checkout to take the opening leg before adding a superb 138 finish later in the match as he claimed another convincing 6-2 victory to book his place in the quarter-finals.
Standing between Sharp and a first-ever Players Championship semi-final was England’s Tom Sykes in what proved to be one of the matches of the tournament.
Sharp made another flying start with a clinical 125 checkout to move 1-0 ahead before producing arguably the moment of the day.
With Sykes having found seven perfect darts in pursuit of a nine-dart finish, Sharp responded in sensational fashion with a brilliant 152 checkout to steal the leg. The drama was not over there.
With victory within touching distance, Sharp found the bullseye to complete what appeared to be the winning checkout, only for the dart to fall from the board before he had the chance to retrieve it, meaning the finish did not count.
Sykes capitalised to take the leg, but Sharp showed impressive composure to regroup and close out a 6-4 victory to book his place in his maiden Players Championship semi-final.
Awaiting him in the last four was Spaniard Cristo Reyes. Sharp continued to show his quality, producing another excellent 106 checkout, but Reyes proved too strong on the day, taking a 7-3 victory to end the memorable run.
Reyes would eventually finish runner-up, with fellow Scot Cameron Menzies going on to lift the Players Championship title. Menzies, who shares both the same management team and Unicorn sponsorship as Sharp, rounded off an excellent day for Scottish darts.
Adding another interesting twist to the run, Sharp completed the entire tournament using darts flights borrowed from close friend and former professional Darren “Ice Cold” Beveridge.Speaking afterwards,
Sharp said:
“I’m delighted to reach my first Players Championship semi-final. I felt my game was in a really good place all day and I managed to produce some big checkouts when they mattered most. Days like this give you confidence that you belong at this level, and hopefully there’s plenty more to come. ”
Reflecting on the dramatic quarter-final victory, he added:
“When I saw the dart bounce out, I couldn’t believe it. It was right in the middle of the bullseye and I’d almost already started celebrating. I still had opportunities to win the leg after that, so I can’t make any excuses. Tom fought back well to make it 5-4, but thankfully I managed to settle myself down and get the win in the end.”
Looking ahead, Sharp added:
“The aim now is to keep this momentum going now. Reaching a semi-final gives me a lot of confidence, but I know there’s still plenty of work to do if I want to qualify for Ally Pally and keep my tour card.”
“I’d also like to thank everyone who has supported me this season, especially my sponsors at The Ship Inn, Unicorn Darts and my management team at Dunvegan.”
“I also want to thank everyone who has sent messages or commented or followed the run on social media.. Every bit of support means a lot to me and it certainly doesn’t go unnoticed. Hopefully I can keep giving everyone plenty to cheer about over the rest of the season.”
The semi-final run earned Sharp valuable prize money in his quest to retain his PDC Tour Card by finishing inside the world’s top 64. With momentum firmly on his side, the Midlothian professional will now look to build on his breakthrough performance.
There is little time to reflect on the breakthrough performance, however, with the PDC schedule continuing at pace. Sharp returns to action on Tuesday for Players Championship 24 before turning his attention to two European Tour qualifiers on Wednesday.
Fans can keep up to date with David’s journey on the PDC Tour by following David Sharp Darts on Facebook and @DavidSharp180 on Instagram for behind-the-scenes content, tournament updates and the latest results throughout the season.
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