Luke Woodhouse landed a magnificent nine-dart finish from his own kitchen as he whitewashed world number three Gerwyn Price en route to securing Group Two glory on the second night of PDC Home Tour action on Saturday evening.
Continue reading “Nine-dart Woodhouse whitewashes Price to seal Group Two glory”
Steve Beaton defeated Raymond van Barneveld in a battle of the legends in Leverkusen, while Glen Durrant enjoyed a winning start on his European Tour debut on Friday night as the European Darts Open kicked off in style.
Continue reading “2019 European Darts Open – Day One Report!”
Steve Beaton, Stephen Bunting and Kyle Anderson were among eight players to secure a European Tour qualification double in Wigan on Friday, as Raymond van Barneveld and Glen Durrant also qualified for one event apiece.
Continue reading “Beaton, Barney & Durrant among European Tour qualifiers!”
Two-time world champion Gary Anderson overcame an impressive display from debutant Kevin Burness to book his spot in the third-round of the PDC World Championship, despite being plagued by a wasp on a dramatic day of action at the Alexandra Palace. Continue reading “Anderson through to round-three after overcoming Ally Pally wasp!”
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!”
Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld enjoyed a successful return to the European Tour, as Daryl Gurney survived three match darts to dump out Adrian Lewis on a dramatic opening day at the German Darts Masters in Jena on Saturday. Continue reading “German Darts Masters: Day One Report!”
Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis were among the eighteen players to secure qualification for next month’s German Darts Masters on Friday evening. The former world champions both came through the 83-man field at the UK Qualifiers in Milton Keynes, to seal their spots in the second European Tour event of the season in Jena. Continue reading “Barney & Lewis among qualifiers for German Darts Masters!”
Newcastle ace Adam Hunt tops the Development Tour Order of Merit after reaching three of the four finals hosted on the second weekend of Development Tour action at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan. Continue reading “2017 PDC Development Tour: Order of Merit Update!”
Gary Anderson and James Wade were dumped out on a dramatic opening day at the 2017 Coral UK Open at Butlin’s Minehead on Friday evening, to throw the tournament wide open after the withdrawal of world number one Michael van Gerwen earlier in the day. Continue reading “2017 UK Open: Day One Report!”
Luke Humphries tops the PDC Development Tour Order of Merit after winning two of the four events which took place across the weekend at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan. The 22-year-old won the first event of the year with victory over Canada’s Dawson Murschell in the final.
Humphries then triumphed in Sunday’s fourth and final event of the weekend; defeating Kenny Neyens in the final. The Newbury ace has accrued £4,000 in prize money and sits directly above Neyens, who enjoyed a fine weekend himself. The young Belgian hit a nine-darter in Saturday’s action, before going on to reach two finals.
Ryan Meikle sits in third place after securing his maiden Development Tour title on Sunday afternoon. The 20-year-old Suffolk ace has enjoyed a strong start to 2017; having already sealed his qualification for next month’s Coral UK Open Finals, and he continued his fine form to defeat 19-year-old Harry Ward to win event three.
Dimitri van den Bergh is in fourth place after winning Saturday’s second event. ‘The Dream-Maker’ defeated Humphries to kick off his campaign, before defeating his compatriot Neyens to scoop the £2,000 prize and secure his seventh Development Tour title of his career. Continue reading “2017 PDC Development Tour Order of Merit!”
Peter Wright secured his second UK Open qualifying title of the weekend after surviving two missed match darts from Michael Smith in a thrilling final at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan on Sunday afternoon.
Wright prevailed in Friday’s opening qualifier by beating Adrian Lewis in the final, and the world number three repeated the feat against Smith 48 hours later to scoop the £10,000 winner’s cheque and complete the weekend’s triple-header in style.
The opening two legs of the final went against throw, before Smith held throw on D2 after Wright spurned four darts at double for the third successive break of throw. However, the Scot responded strongly by following up a maximum with a clinical 68 checkout to draw level.
‘Bully-Boy’ regained the lead moments later however; following up a timely maximum with an accomplished 93 finish. He came agonisingly close to extending his advantage in the sixth leg, after missing the bullseye for a 170 kill, but Wright levelled up proceedings with a nerveless 71 checkout.
The high-quality standard continued, as Smith kicked off the seventh leg with back-to-back maximums to set up a nine-dart opportunity. The perfect leg wasn’t forthcoming, but the St Helen’s star dispatched a 76 checkout with consummate ease for a fine 12-dart hold. Continue reading “UK Open Qualifier Three: Report & Results!”
Former World Championship finalists Kevin Painter & Andy Hamilton head the list of entrants for Monday’s William Hill World Darts Championship PDPA qualifier, which takes place at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan.
Painter has appeared in 15 consecutive World Championships since switching to the PDC from the BDO back in 2001, although ‘The Artist’ is in real danger of missing out on this year’s event after falling outside the world’s top 32.
Painter featured in the 2005 World Championship Final at the Circus Tavern when he was beaten 7-6 by Phil Taylor in a captivating tussle, but after slipping to 44th on the PDC Order of Merit, the former Players Championship Finals winner faces an uphill task to qualify for this year’s event.
Another high-profile name set to miss the cut is 2012 World Championship finalist Andy Hamilton. ‘The Hammer’ was beaten by his fellow Stoke star Adrian Lewis at the Alexandra Palace almost five years ago but has endured a miserable slump over the past two years, which has seen him plummet to 40th in the world. Continue reading “PDPA World Championship Qualifier- Entries Confirmed!”
Michael van Gerwen will begin the defence of his Grand Slam of Darts title against legendary three-time Lakeside world champion Martin Adams, after the draw for this year’s event at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall was made on Monday afternoon.
Van Gerwen, who produced a staggering comeback to defeat Phil Taylor and win his maiden Grand Slam title twelve months ago, will face a stern test against the 60-year-old Adams, who thrived on his debut in Wolverhampton last year.
‘Wolfie’ won all three of his group games against Jelle Klaasen, Ian White & Steve Beaton respectively, before succumbing to Kim Huybrechts in a last-leg shootout in the last 16. MvG and Adams will also be joined in Group A by former World Grand Prix finalist Brendan Dolan, and World-Youth champion Max Hopp.
Six-time Grand Slam winner Phil Taylor has been handed a relatively kind draw. ‘The Power’ has been pitted with his fellow Stokie Ian White, Darren Webster and BDO veteran Darryl Fitton, who qualified for this year’s event by virtue of winning the 2016 World Trophy back in May. Continue reading “2016 Grand Slam of Darts Draw confirmed!”
Former finalist Robert Thornton was among the eight players to qualify for next month’s Grand Slam of Darts after coming through the PDC qualifier at the Barnsley Metrodome on Sunday afternoon, on a day which saw five players book maiden appearances in Wolverhampton.
Thornton booked his return to the Civic Hall after a string of fine performances on Sunday afternoon. ‘The Thorn’ dropped just five legs in his four matches, kicking off proceedings by beating both Scott Dale and Andy Hamilton 5-1.
The former World Grand Prix champion then defeated Calum Loose 5-2 in round-three to set up a decisive clash with Andrew Gilding. The Scot then prevailed in comprehensive fashion, recording his third 5-1 triumph of the day.
Brendan Dolan came through successive deciding leg shoot-outs to seal his place in Wolverhampton next month. Dolan began his qualification campaign with victories over Ryan Harrington and Jan Dekker, before edging out Nigel Heydon 5-4.
The Northern Irishman then faced a decisive fourth-round battle with Kim Huybrechts who had lost just the solitary leg in his preceeding three matches. However, Dolan squeezed past the Belgian in an attritional deciding-leg to confirm his qualification. Continue reading “Grand Slam of Darts 2016- Qualifiers Confirmed!”
Steve West produced one of the best performances ever seen on the European Tour as he whitewashed his brother Tony in round-one of the German Darts Championship, as Robbie Green, Mark Webster and Rowby-John Rodriguez also impressed on day one in Hildesheim.
Yet, it was Steve West who stole the show, producing an incredible display of scoring as he dismantled his brother in the opening match of Friday’s evening session. Steve defeated Phil Taylor in the World Grand Prix earlier this month, and continued his fine run of form with a sparkling display against the former World Masters winner.
Steve fired in SEVEN maximums and finished with an average of 109.98. Nevertheless, his first nine-dart average was an astonishing 400.33- the second highest recorded in PDC history. This keeps alive West’s hopes of qualifying for the European Championships, and he takes on former world champion Stephen Bunting on Saturday.
Former world champion Mark Webster enjoyed a welcome return to form after breezing past the veteran Mervyn King. The Welshman averaged 99.48, landed four maximums and hit 66% of his attempts at double to record a 6-2 victory, despite King averaging a very respectable 96.29.
Robbie Green produced the performance of the afternoon session as he stormed past former world champion Christian Kist 6-2. ‘Kong’ averaged 99.40 and fired in three maximums to set up a clash with Kist’s compatriot Michael van Gerwen; a clash which Green must win to remain on course to qualify for the European Championships. Continue reading “German Darts Championship: Day One Report & Results!”
James Richardson was among one of the four players to secure tour-cards on day two at Q-School in Wigan on Thursday. Jonathan Worsley, Ted Evetts and Ryan Meikle also attained tour-cards, as qualifying school reaches its halfway point at the Robin Park Tennis Centre.
Richardson, who rose to prominence courtesy of a first-round World Championship victory over Five-Time world champion Raymond van Barneveld in December 2011, has endured a difficult few years on the circuit.
However, ‘Ruthless’ lived up to his nickname today, to guarantee his spot on the PDC Pro Tour until 2018. Richardson made a strong start to his campaign, dropping just three legs in defeating both Rhys Hayden and Damian Smith, to progress to the last 64.
Ross Smith, who recorded a nine-darter yesterday, awaited at this stage, but Richardson prevailed 5-3, before reaching the last eight, courtesy of successive deciding leg wins over Luke Woodhouse and Steve Brown.