Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson will both be absent from Players Championship 5 & 6 at the Barnsley Metrodome this weekend, after the entries for the third ProTour double-header of the year were confirmed on Monday afternoon. Continue reading “Van Gerwen and Anderson to miss Players Championship 5 & 6!”
Champions League of Darts winner Mensur Suljovic will be the highest-profile absentee at next month’s Coral UK Open Finals in Minehead, after the 128-man field for the event was confirmed earlier this week. Continue reading “Several big names to miss the UK Open!”
Michael van Gerwen began the defence of his William Hill World Darts Championship title with a stunning victory over his fellow countryman Christian Kist, whilst Gerwyn Price, Steve Beaton and James Wilson also prevailed on a high-quality opening night at the Alexandra Palace on Thursday evening. Continue reading “PDC World Championship 2018: Day One Report!”
Michael van Gerwen kicked off the defence of his European Championship title with a convincing win over his fellow countryman Jan Dekker, as the Huybrechts brothers were both condemned to deciding-leg defeats on a dramatic opening night in Hasselt on Thursday evening. Continue reading “European Championship: Day One Report!”
Michael van Gerwen will begin the defence of his European Championship title against fellow countryman Jan Dekker, whilst home favourite Kim Huybrechts takes on last year’s finalist Mensur Suljovic in Hasselt later this month. Continue reading “2017 European Championship Draw!”
Peter Wright survived two match darts to edge past Stephen Bunting in a nail-biting first-round tussle in Dublin, as Steve West dumped out two-time Grand Prix winner James Wade on another dramatic evening of darts at the Citywest Hotel on Monday evening. Continue reading “World Grand Prix: Day Two Report!”
Michael van Gerwen will begin the defence of his World Grand Prix title against John Henderson, whilst two-time world champion Gary Anderson will take on debutant Richard North, after the draw for next month’s tournament was made this morning. Continue reading “2017 World Grand Prix Draw!”
Former champion James Wade and Scottish stars Gary Anderson and Peter Wright will open the BetVictor World Matchplay on Saturday July 22nd, whilst defending champion Michael van Gerwen will begin his title defence on Monday 24th July, after the schedule of play was confirmed last week. Continue reading “2017 World Matchplay Schedule of Play!”
Michael van Gerwen will begin the defence of his BetVictor World Matchplay title against former Lakeside world champion Stephen Bunting, as Phil Taylor’s Blackpool farewell kicks off with a potential banana-skin against Gerwyn Price, after the draw for this month’s event at the Winter Gardens was made on Tuesday evening. Continue reading “2017 World Matchplay Draw!”
Former European Tour winners James Wade, Vincent van der Voort and Mervyn King triumphed on an eventful opening day of the European Darts Open, as James Richardson produced the performance of the first-round in Leverkusen. Continue reading “European Darts Open: Day One Report!”
The draw for the 2017 Gibraltar Darts Trophy has been confirmed ahead of this weekend’s PDC European Tour event at the Victoria Stadium, with top seed Peter Wright vying for his fourth European Tour title of the year in the absence of world number one Michael van Gerwen. Continue reading “Gibraltar Darts Trophy: Draw & Schedule!”
16-year-old host-nation qualifier Nico Blum sent the German crowd into raptures with a brilliant debut victory on the European Tour, as Vincent van der Voort, Mervyn King & Paul Nicholson also triumphed on a dramatic opening day of action at the German Darts Open in Saarbrucken on Friday. Continue reading “German Darts Open: Day One Report!”
Paul Nicholson, Kevin Painter and Mervyn King were among the high-profile names to register victories in the opening round of the German Darts Championship, as the 2017 European Tour got underway in a marathon double-session of darts in Hildesheim on Friday. Continue reading “German Darts Championship: Day One Report!”
Peter Wright secured his third PDC ranking title inside ten days after defeating eight-time major winner James Wade to win the sixth and final UK Open qualifying event at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan on Sunday afternoon; a day which saw former Lakeside world champion Christian Kist hit the fifth nine-darter of the weekend.
Wright won the opening qualifier last week and concluded his campaign in similar fashion, to scoop the £10,000 winner’s cheque and ensure that he will be top seed for next month’s Coral UK Open Finals in Minehead.
Wade clinched the opening leg of the final on tops, but Wright responded by finding D10 to level. Snakebite then landed a timely maximum and converted D4 to lead, before capitalising on missed doubles from ‘The Machine’ to record his third successive leg via D3.
The eight-time major winner hit tops for the second time in the contest to stop the rot, but Wright restored his two-leg cushion after sinking D10. Wade converted a pivotal 76 kill to reduce the arrears to 4-3, but the Scot was too strong in the scoring department and won the final two legs without reply to prevail convincingly. Continue reading “UK Open Qualifier Six: Report & Results!”
Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld kicked off his bid for a sixth world title with a thumping 3-0 victory over Robbie Green, as Simon Whitlock and Brendan Dolan also progressed through to round-two at the World Championship on Tuesday evening at the Alexandra Palace.
Van Barneveld made an impressive start to his World Championship campaign after recording a straight-sets victory over former Lakeside semi-finalist Robbie Green. The Dutch legend averaged 98.45, landed three maximums and converted 56% of his double attempts to secure a second-round showdown with Alan Norris after Christmas.
Barney prevailed in a high-quality opening set with a 103.93 average. The Den Haag ace opened his account with a two-dart 86 finish, before Green took out the same finish (S18, D18, D16) to level. Nevertheless, Van Barneveld then fired in his signature 156 finish to regain the lead, before clinching the set by converting a 64 kill on D16.
RvB’s high-quality finishing continued into the second set as he landed a classy 120 checkout to break, before pinning D10 with last dart in hand to extend his lead after ‘Kong’ wired the bull for an 86 outshot. The former Lakeside semi-finalist found D18 to stay alive in the set, but the five-time world champ converted an 80 kill on D12 to double his lead. Continue reading “2017 PDC World Championship: Day Six Report!”
Michael van Gerwen retained his Players Championship Finals crown with a comprehensive 11-3 victory over Dave Chisnall at the Butlins Minehead Resort on Sunday evening, although the world number one was forced to come from 6-0 down in a dramatic semi-final clash against the unfancied Darren Webster.
Nevertheless, despite surviving a scare in the last four, ‘Mighty Mike’ was in imperious form in Sunday’s curtain-raiser, averaging 108.34, landing six maximums and converting 53% of his double attempts to triumph in convincing fashion. Chisnall averaged 99.24 himself, but he was unable to produce the goods in the key moments.
Despite the best efforts of ‘The Yellow Peril’, MvG’s astonishing dominance in PDC majors continues. Van Gerwen hasn’t suffered defeat in a ranking major since losing to Raymond van Barneveld at last year’s World Championships and Michael’s victory over Chisnall marked his ninth TV crown of 2016; his 25th in total.
Van Gerwen started the final strongly; breaking Chisnall’s throw with a confident 13-darter. Chisnall landed his first maximum in the second leg, but MvG doubled his lead by pinning D16 for a 17-dart hold. However, the St Helen’s star opened his account in leg three with a clinical 121 finish on the bullseye. Continue reading “Players Championship Finals: Day Three Report!”
Defending champion Michael van Gerwen will face his old rival Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals on Sunday, as Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis and James Wade were dumped out at the Butlins Minehead Resort on Saturday.
Van Gerwen breezed through to the last eight, dropping just three legs over the course of his matches on day two. Van Gerwen faced his best mate Vincent van der Voort in the second-round and ‘The Green Machine’ cruised to a 6-1 win, averaging 102.5 and posting four maximums en route.
MvG faced sixteenth seed Josh Payne in round-three and the 22-year-old from Gravesend started strongly, storming into a 2-0 lead. Nevertheless, Van Gerwen levelled up proceedings after Payne missed two darts at double in both leg three and four and this proved expensive.
Payne acquitted himself impressively, averaging 99.79 and hitting three maximums. Despite this, he converted just two of his ten double attempts and was ruthlessly punished by Van Gerwen. MvG won ten successive legs and finished with an average of 105.69, to set up a last-eight showdown with his compatriot Raymond van Barneveld. Continue reading “Players Championship Finals- Day Two Report!”
Michael van Gerwen clinched his fourth consecutive Players Championship title with victory over his compatriot Christian Kist at the Citywest Hotel, Dublin on Friday afternoon.
‘The Green Machine’ claimed an unprecedented hat-trick at last week’s triple-header in Barnsley and continued his magnificent form on Irish soil, dropping just 11 legs over the course of the entire day at Players Championship 17, to once again scoop the £10,000 winner’s cheque.
The world number one breezed into the third-round with emphatic wins against Terry Temple and Robert Owen, to set up a last 32 clash with a resurgent Mick McGowan.
McGowan, who qualified for the World Grand Prix by virtue of reaching a semi-final in Barnsley last week, edged out Wes Newton and Grand Prix champion Robert Thornton to book his third-round spot, but Van Gerwen was an obstacle too far, with the Dutchman recording a 6-3 triumph.
In round-four MvG faced Berry van Peer, who had already seen off Raymond van Barneveld and Simon Whitlock en course to the last 16, although ‘Mighty-Mike’ sealed a comprehensive 6-1 win against his compatriot, to ease into the quarter-finals. Continue reading “Van Gerwen secures fourth consecutive Players Championship crown with victory over giant-killing Kist!”
Daryl Gurney, Joe Cullen, Stephen Bunting and Alan Norris all booked their places in the second-round of the Gibraltar Darts Trophy, after a busy double-session of action at the Victoria Stadium on Friday.
The performance of the day was delivered by Daryl Gurney, who averaged over 102 in defeating David Pallett 6-3, to set up a second-round tie against world number five Peter Wright.
German Darts Masters semi-finalist Joe Cullen also impressed at The Rock, coming from 5-3 down to edge out former major winner Kevin Painter in a high-quality contest. Cullen averaged over 96 and converted finishes of 113 and 119 to seal a fine comeback victory against ‘The Artist’.
Stephen Bunting and Alan Norris both breezed into the last 32 with convincing 6-1 victories. Bunting defeated former UK Open finalist Mark Walsh, whilst Norris saw off Gibraltar’s George Federico by the same scoreline.
Former Austrian Open winner Justin Pipe cruised into round-two with a comprehensive whitewash victory over an out-of-sorts Jamie Lewis. However, it was a role-reversal for Lewis’ Welsh compatriot Gerwyn Price, still fresh from his Players Championship seven victory. Price whitewashed Gibraltar’s David Francis 6-0, despite averaging a poultry 77.
Former world champion Christian Kist stormed into the second-round with a comprehensive 6-1 victory against Spain’s Cristo Reyes, and Kist’s Dutch compatriot Jermaine Wattimena also secured a spot in the last 32 by virtue of an impressive 6-2 triumph against Rowby-John Rodriguez.
World-Youth champion Max Hopp confirmed his spot in Sunday’s last 16 with victory over former world-finalist Andy Hamilton. Hopp recorded 3 maximums and completed a 121 checkout to secure victory, and he will receive a bye to round-three after Adrian Lewis pulled out this morning through illness.
Steve Beaton suffered a surprise 6-4 defeat to Austria’s Michael Rasztovits in the second game of Friday’s double session. Missed doubles ultimately cost ‘The Adonis’ and Rasztovits took full advantage, to set up a last 32 clash against Kim Huybrechts.
Former European Tour finalist John Henderson came through an extremely scrappy tussle against veteran Wayne Jones, who incredibly spurned 11 match darts to defeat the Scotsman. ‘Big John’ will now meet his fellow Scot; World Grand-Prix champion Robert Thornton.
Home favourite Dyson Parody also capitalised on profligacy from his opponent, as he defeated Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3. Van Duijvenbode trailed 3-0 having astonishingly missed his first 22 attempts at double, and he was unable to rectify matters as Parody claimed a morale-boosting win.
Elsewhere, Antonio Alcinas will lock horns with Ian White in round-two, after the Spaniard thrashed Stuart Kellett 6-1. Nick Fulwell and Joe Murnan also secured their places in Saturday’s second-round, with routine 6-2 wins against Antony Lopez and Ross Smith respectively.
The full list of results and the schedule of play for Saturday’s double-session can be found below:
Peperami Gibraltar Darts Trophy
Friday May 6
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Ross Smith 2-6 Joe Murnan
Michael Rasztovits 6-4 Steve Beaton
Nick Fullwell 6-2 Antony Lopez
Justin Pipe 6-0 Jamie Lewis
Antonio Alcinas 6-1 Stuart Kellett
John Henderson 6-5 Wayne Jones
Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-6 Dyson Parody
Daryl Gurney 6-3 David Pallett
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Andy Hamilton 4-6 Max Hopp
Christian Kist 6-1 Cristo Reyes
Gerwyn Price 6-0 David Francis
Rowby-John Rodriguez 2-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Joe Cullen 6-5 Kevin Painter
Mark Walsh 1-6 Stephen Bunting
George Federico 1-6 Alan Norris
Kyle Anderson v Steve West
Saturday May 7
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Robert Thornton v John Henderson
Mervyn King v Christian Kist
Simon Whitlock v Gerwyn Price
Terry Jenkins v Joe Murnan
Mensur Suljovic v Jermaine Wattimena
Jelle Klaasen v Dyson Parody
Ian White v Antonio Alcinas
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Kim Huybrechts v Michael Rasztovits
James Wade v Justin Pipe
Benito van de Pas v Stephen Bunting
Gary Anderson v Alan Norris
Michael van Gerwen v Nick Fullwell
Dave Chisnall v K Anderson/West
Peter Wright v Daryl Gurney
Michael Smith v Joe Cullen
Former World Champions Mark Webster and Christian Kist both progressed through to the second-round of the World Championships, whilst the seeded duo of Justin Pipe and John Henderson were beaten at Alexandra Palace on Friday afternoon.
2012 Lakeside World Champion Kist, eased into the second-round of the World Championships after demolishing 20th seed Justin Pipe. Kist reeled off seven consecutive legs to seal the win, dropping just two legs against an abject Pipe, who averaged a mere 75.
Kist snatched a tight opening set and never looked back from that point onwards. Pipe held throw with a classy 104 checkout in the opening leg, but Kist responded with a 13-darter.
Continue reading “World Championship Day Two: Kist and Webster safely through to second-round.”
World Grand-Prix Champion Robert Thornton was sent packing at the first-round stage of the European Championships in Hasselt, as he was beaten 6-4 by fellow Scot John Henderson.
The Thorn, who secured his second PDC major in Dublin just three weeks ago, struggled for consistency throughout and Henderson took full advantage to progress through to the Last 16.
Continue reading “World-Grand Prix Champ Thornton suffers first-round defeat in Hasselt!”
Raymond van Barneveld recorded a comprehensive 9-3 victory over defending UK Open Champion Adrian Lewis on day one in Minehead, whilst World Champion Gary Anderson, Michael Smith, Terry Jenkins and Simon Whitlock were also early casualties.