Ratajski fights back to beat Wattimena and claim third European Tour title

[p]The Pole claimed his first title of the year by recovering after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wattimena-jermaine/0hcDtau6/"]Wattimena[/a] had reeled off five successive legs to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 6-4 lead.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ratajski-krzysztof/jNZjSeIT/"]Ratajski[/a] responded by winning the final four legs, taking advantage of missed doubles before sealing victory on double 10.[/p][p][b]“I’m really happy. I don’t know what to say,”[/b] Ratajski said after clinching the title.[/p][p][b]“It was a close game. Jermaine played very well and I’m really happy that I survived it."[/b][/p][image alt="Ratajski with the trophy" id="3066d670-f295-4f55-a52f-af6b287bcf17" credit-line="Sebastian Doppstadt / PDC Europe" guid="6efc59bc-e6dd-4294-831f-6c36cf612d6b" original-width="3500" original-height="2333" /][p][b]“I didn’t expect it. I would have been happy with the last eight or last four, so to win the title is more than I expected," [/b]Ratajski continued.[/p][p][b]“I will do my best in Blackpool (World Matchplay). I hope I will play well and hopefully I can win that first match. We will see.”[/b][/p][p]Ratajski's run to the title included victories over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-veen-gian/jgT1AT29/"]Gian van Veen[/a], who he'll face again [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/ratajski-k-jNZjSeIT/van-veen-g-jgT1AT29/?mid=beHY5ddD"]in Blackpool next week[/a], as well as defending champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/aspinall-nathan/KURJJrU5/"]Nathan Aspinall[/a] and World Cup teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bialecki-sebastian/neVAFdz5/"]Sebastian Bialecki[/a].[/p][embed guid="664d38b7-9285-450d-a12d-d3125610bbe9" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2076411651742409146?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Wattimena, meanwhile, reached his first-ever European Tour final after an impressive weekend that included emphatic wins over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/huybrechts-kim/OQVnQ1fc/"]Kim Huybrechts[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/joyce-ryan/tYs5VMm6/"]Ryan Joyce[/a], a deciding-leg victory against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/woodhouse-luke/QyQzAjPh/"]Luke Woodhouse[/a] and a 7-3 semi-final triumph over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/heta-damon/GYfQQCI6/"]Damon Heta[/a].[/p][p][b]“I’m very happy with that,”[/b] Wattimena said. [b]“Thank you very much to the crowd. It was a magic day.[/b][/p][p][b]“I missed some chances, but Krzysztof was 4-1 up and he missed some chances as well, so I think it’s a fair result. Krzysztof was the better player, so well done to Krzysztof.”[/b][/p][h2]Results[/h2][p][b]Round three[/b][/p][p]Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 Ryan Joyce[/p][p]Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Jonny Clayton[/p][p]Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Wessel Nijman[/p][p]Damon Heta 6-4 Michael van Gerwen[/p][p]Sebastian Bialecki 6-4 Kevin Doets[/p][p]James Wade 6-2 Jan Schmidt[/p][p]Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Ross Smith[/p][p]Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Gian van Veen[/p][p][b]Quarter-finals[/b][/p][p]Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Luke Woodhouse[/p][p]Damon Heta 6-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode[/p][p]Sebastian Bialecki 6-2 James Wade[/p][p]Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Nathan Aspinall[/p][p][b]Semi-finals[/b][/p][p]Jermaine Wattimena 7-3 Damon Heta[/p][p]Krzysztof Ratajski 7-5 Sebastian Bialecki[/p][p][b]Final[/b][/p][p]Krzysztof Ratajski 8-6 Jermaine Wattimena[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/darts/europe/european-tour-10/"]Catch up on ET10 here with Flashscore[/a][/h2]