Michael van Gerwen secured his sixth European Tour title of the season after thrashing William O’Connor 8-2 to seal glory at the European Darts Matchplay in Hamburg on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading “European Darts Matchplay 2018 Report!”
2017 European Darts Matchplay: Finals Day Report!
Michael van Gerwen regained the European Darts Matchplay title with a brilliant victory over third seed Mensur Suljovic in a high-quality final at the edel-optics.de Arena in Hamburg on Sunday evening. Continue reading “2017 European Darts Matchplay: Finals Day Report!”
2017 European Darts Matchplay: Day One Report!
Vincent van der Voort survived a valiant fightback from Adrian Lewis in a thrilling first-round tie in Hamburg, as Brendan Dolan, Max Hopp, Darren Webster and Christian Kist were all dumped out on an eventful opening day of action at the 2017 European Darts Matchplay. Continue reading “2017 European Darts Matchplay: Day One Report!”
Wade conquers Anderson, Van Gerwen and Chisnall to win European Darts Matchplay!
James Wade fended off an inspired comeback from Dave Chisnall to win the European Darts Matchplay in a thrilling final in Inselparkhalle, Hamburg, on Sunday evening. Wade led 5-2 and appeared poised to secure a routine win, but Chisnall fought back valiantly to force a decider, only to miss a match-dart in the eleventh and final leg.
Wade averaged 92.71 to Chisnall’s 93.55, but the decisive factor was the doubling. Although Chisnall produced some fine combination finishes in the latter stages, Wade converted 6 of his 9 double attempts, which included fine finishes of 70, 64, 118 and the title-winning 82 checkout.
Wade claimed the spoils in a scrappy opening leg by pinning D20 having posted a maximum in the previous visit. However, Chisnall responded with successive maximums and six perfect darts; eventually closing out the leg with his seventh attempt at double.
Wade regained the lead with a clinical 70 checkout, before extending his cushion to 3-1 after following up his second maximum with a fine 64 finish. Moments later, ‘The Machine’ won his third straight leg after converting a classy 118 checkout, although Chisnall reduced the arrears to 4-2 with D8.
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European Matchplay- Day One Report & Results
Daryl Gurney, Vincent van der Voort and Alan Norris all won through to round-two of the European Darts Matchplay at the Inselparkhalle on Friday, whilst Max Hopp and Reine Eidams also tasted victory on home soil.
Hopp produced a fine comeback from 5-3 down to stun Joe Murnan and delight the Hamburg crowd. The World-Youth champion posted four maximums and hit a brilliant 158 checkout to reduce the arrears, before completing victory with a fine 14-darter in the decider.
Hopp’s compatriot Reine Eidams also secured a place in round-two with a hard-fought win over Ricky Williams. Eidams converted a spectacular 160 checkout as he established a 4-0 cushion, but Williams won four of the next five legs. Nevertheless, ‘The Cube’ eventually got over the winning line, setting up a clash with Adrian Lewis on Saturday.
Vincent van der Voort eased through to the second round with a comprehensive 6-2 victory against Jamie Robinson. ‘The Dutch Destroyer’ averaged 87 and recorded the solitary maximum, but he will lock horns with Kim Huybrechts in what could prove to be a classic encounter.
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European Tours 3-4: UK Qualifiers Report & Results
Daryl Gurney, Kevin Painter, Alan Norris, John Henderson, Joe Cullen and Joe Murnan enjoyed double-qualification success by sealing their spots in the Gibraltar Darts Trophy and European Darts Matchplay on Friday evening, whilst Phil Taylor only managed to seal his spot in Hamburg, after failing to secure a place in Gibraltar.
This qualification double-header took place at the Barnsley Metrodome ahead of this weekend’s opening Players Championship events. There were a host of big names vying to seal their spots in Gibraltar and Hamburg, and Taylor will be competing in his first European Tour event for 18 months having qualified for the European Darts Matchplay.
However, Taylor, a former Gibraltar Darts Trophy winner back in 2013, will not be able to repeat the feat this year, after he was defeated 6-4 in the final game of the opening night’s qualifier by Ross Smith.
Nevertheless, the 16-time world champion exacted revenge in the night’s second European Tour qualifier, edging out Smith 6-5 before whitewashing Lee Palfreyman 6-0 to seal his place in Germany.
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van Gerwen wins the European Darts Matchplay!
Michael van Gerwen secured his fifth European Tour event of 2015, as he beat Dave Chisnall 6-4 to win the European Darts Matchplay in Innsbruck, Austria. The final was initially a scrappy contest, but van Gerwen raced through the gears late on, winning three consecutive legs to seal the win.
Ironically, van Gerwen saved his lowest average of the day for the final, but he performed when it mattered, to continue his stunning recent record against Chizzy. The ‘Yellow Peril’ has now only won 1 of his last 14 meetings against the Green Machine, but he certainly had his chances in the final, missing 4 darts at double to establish a 4-2 lead.
Van Gerwen was in blistering form throughout the day. He thrashed compatriot Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 in the last 16, which was a major boost for the Boxtel man. Van Barneveld had won their last two meetings and was sensational against Stephen Bunting last night, but he wasn’t able to replicate this against his fellow countryman.
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van Gerwen and van Barneveld set for Innsbruck showdown!
Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld will face off in the last 16 of the European Darts Matchplay in Innsbruck on Sunday afternoon, after both men recorded comprehensive victories at the Olympiahalle.
Van Gerwen beat Ronny Huybrechts 6-3, averaging 114 as he led 4-0 in the early stages, before Ronny won 3 successive legs to threaten an astonishing fightback. However, the World No 1 regained his focus and won the final two legs to seal a comfortable victory.
Raymond van Barneveld preserved his 100% record over Stephen Bunting, averaging 105.64 to dispatch the Bullet 6-2. Bunting played very well himself, averaging 101.78, but van Barneveld’s power scoring in the early stages of legs proved decisive, as he won 6 out of the last 7 legs to reach the last 16 in just his second European Tour event of 2015.
Continue reading “van Gerwen and van Barneveld set for Innsbruck showdown!”