Premier League Darts Night 5 Review
Posted on March 12th, 2010
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD ignited his Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts campaign with the best performance of the season on Thursday night, while leaders Phil Taylor & Mervyn King scrapped out a draw in Manchester.
Dutch star van Barneveld bounced back from three successive defeats to average 106.9 in defeating Terry Jenkins 8-4 at the M.E.N. Arena to claim his second victory of the year.
A clinical performance included two 11-dart finishes and the highest average so far this season, putting the five-time World Champion back in the fray for a play-off place.
“I’m really pleased with that performance and the average,” said van Barneveld. “Tonight the darts went in like they can do and I was really focused.
“Hopefully I can keep this going every week because I felt comfortable on stage but know there is more in my. I’ve changed to using 23 gram darts instead of 25 gram darts and I’m already noticing an improvement.”
Van Barneveld sits one point adrift of fourth-placed Simon Whitlock, who also claimed his second win of the campaign in Manchester, punishing Adrian Lewis’ missed doubles to take an 8-4 victory.
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Tags: Premier League Darts, Results, Review
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Premier League Darts Night 5 Betting Preview
Posted on March 10th, 2010
Ok, so only some of what I predicted came true in last week’s cracking premier league action. I quote:
1 “If Barney has the whole of Holland’s army behind him on Thursday he won’t be able to live with the power. Get on Taylor to Phil his boots against his arched rival.”
2. “I fancy that Simon’s spell may break one of these days and it could be this week…Simon says he’ll win. I disagree.”
3. “This one will be close but it will be Merv who swerves the Bull-ets and bags his third win of the campaign…No early Exet-er down in the South West for Merv this week. Sorry about the Terry-Bull puns.
4. “It’s true what the advert says: “it matters more when there’s money on it”, you will see on Thursday when you’re shouting at the screen, loving someone you thought you could never love (no, not your missus!) and hating his opponent with a passion as he urinates on your promising betting bonfire.”
Needless to say, I’m not going to mention the predictions I got wrong. You have got to be selective in this game – I can’t get everything right!
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Tags: Betting, Premier League Darts
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Premier League Darts Night 5 Preview
Posted on March 10th, 2010
THE Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts’ top two players clash for the first time this season when Phil Taylor and Mervyn King meet at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester on Thursday night.
The duo occupy the top two positions in the Premier League Darts table after the opening four weeks, with Taylor winning all of his games and King having picked up three victories.
While Taylor has won all four games, he is expecting his toughest test yet against King, who ended his reign in the Premier League Darts with a semi-final triumph last May.
“It will be a good clash,” said Taylor. “It’s one of the games I can get my teeth into.
“I like his attitude and his professionalism. Last week he got up at 5am after Exeter and drove four hours to get on a plane and fly to Germany and compete again.
“That shows what type of player he is; you know he’s always going to turn up and play well, and it will be a challenge for me.”
Taylor was bidding to claim a fifth successive Premier League title when King stunned him with a 10-6 victory in last year’s semi-finals, but the world number one will not be chasing revenge on Thursday.
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Tags: Premier League Darts, Preview
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German Title For Lewis
Posted on March 7th, 2010
ADRIAN LEWIS claimed his first PDC ProTour win of 2010 with a 6-4 win over Mark Walsh in the final of Sunday’s German Darts Classic Players Championship.
The 25-year-old from Stoke picked up the £6,000 title in Gladbeck with a fine performance, coming from 4-3 down to take three successive legs in winning the final.
Lewis produced legs of 11 and 15 darts to lead 2-0 in the final – hitting a showpiece 96 finish of single 20, double 18 and double top in the second.
Walsh hit back to win the next three, including a 126 finish, in taking the lead, and also punished missed doubles from Lewis in leg seven to edge 4-3 up.
But Lewis took out a 14-darter to level, double four to break throw and then sealed victory with an 80 finish of two double tops in ensuring the title.
Earlier in the day, he had avenged Saturday’s defeat to Mark Dudbridge with a 6-2 win, and also overcame Mick McGowan, Maik Langendorf, Steve Hine and Robert Thornton to reach the semis.
He also found himself 4-3 down in the last four against Dolan, but included a 121 bullseye finish in winning the next three without reply in taking victory.
Walsh battled past Gary Anderson with a 6-3 semi-final win, having been taken to a deciding leg in the quarter-finals by Steve Brown.
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Tags: PDPA Players Championship, Results, Review
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Unified World Darts Ranking Feb 2010
Posted on March 7th, 2010
After the furore of the festive period and the two World Championships has died down, February is a more sedate time of year as we all catch our breath. Not if you play the circuit though! The tour continues apace and the UWDR combines the action on both sides of the divide to give you a joined up view of the current darting hierarchy.
PDC players jetted off to Gibraltar in early February for two Players Championship events with Colin Lloyd and Denis Ovens bringing home the bacon. Lloyd’s win pushed him up a couple of places to 18th and Ovens jumped 5 places to number 43 on the back of his first title for some time.
This was followed later in the month by events in Swindon and Derby. Mervyn King bagged a Swindon double, winning the Players Championship event and the UK Open Qualifier, and in the process consolidating his lofty UWDR position of 6th. King has truly cemented his status as one of top PDC pros and has fully realised the undoubted potential that he showed when playing under the BDO banner. Future world champion perhaps?
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Tags: BDO, PDC, WDF
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Van Der Voort Claims Maiden PDC Title
Posted on March 7th, 2010
VINCENT VAN DER VOORT won his first PDC title with a 6-2 defeat of Wayne Jones in the final of Saturday’s German Darts Classic Players Championship in Gladbeck.
Van der Voort celebrated three years on the PDC circuit by claiming his first title in his fourth final, having lost two previous PDC ProTour events and the 2007 UK Open final.
The Dutchman showed some fine form in Gladbeck, Germany, to win through to the final, whitewashing Steven Marckowiak in his opening game before seeing off Dennis Smith, Andy Smith and Mark Walsh to reach the quarter-finals – missing double 12 for a nine-darter against the latter.
He overcame Mark Dudbridge 6-3 in the last eight before edging out Kevin Painter 6-5 in a thrilling semi-final.
Painter led 2-0 and 3-1 before van der Voort took three legs in a row, including seven perfect darts in one leg, to hit the front.
Painter levelled with a superb ten-darter, featuring seven perfect darts of his own, but missed two darts in the next as van der Voort edged 5-4 up.
The Dutchman missed the bullseye for a 127 finish for victory in the tenth leg, as Painter took out 90 on the bull – but the English star missed the same bed for a 121 checkout in the decider and van der Voort posted tops for a 14-darter and the win.
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Tags: PDPA Players Championship, Results, Review
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YOU CAN TAKE ON ANASTASIA!
Posted on March 6th, 2010
Here’s a great chance to play Anastasia Dobromyslova at darts in front of one of your mates, thanks to Rileys.
Rileys, the UK’s largest pool and snooker operator, are opening Darts Zones at their clubs across the country.
The Dart Zones will feature Championship quality boards and the latest hi-tech electronic scoring.
Anastasia is going to be one of the star attractions at the Chester Dart Zones launch along with Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor – and you can step up on to the oche to take on the leading lady in darts!
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Tags: Anastasia Dobromyslova, Phil Taylor, Rileys
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Premier League Darts Night 4 Results
Posted on March 5th, 2010
PHIL TAYLOR maintained his 100 percent start to the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts season with an 8-2 rout of Raymond van Barneveld at the Westpoint Arena in Exeter.
The 15-time World Champion came from 2-0 down to win eight successive legs against the Dutchman, who was condemned to defeat for a third successive game.
Taylor sealed victory with a 116 checkout to ensure that he remains two points clear of Mervyn King ahead of their meeting at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester next week.
“I’m pleased to get the win but I felt the pressure a little bit and started slowly,” said Taylor. I expected Raymond to click into gear but when I went in front his head dropped and he wasn’t the same player.
“When you see a weakness you have to exploit your opponent and hit them hard, and that’s what people are doing to Raymond at the moment.”
King picked up his third win of the season with an impressive 8-5 win over Terry Jenkins, winning four of the game’s final five legs to pull clear for victory.
Ronnie Baxter won his second successive match, seeing off Simon Whitlock 8-6 in a thriller.
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Tags: Premier League Darts, Results, Review
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Premier League Darts Night 4 Preview
Posted on March 3rd, 2010
THE world’s top two players, Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld, will clash for the first time this season as the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts visit the Westpoint Arena in Exeter on Thursday night.
The game between the players, who share 20 World Championship titles, will be the highest profile of four matches in Exeter as the Premier League returns to the south-west.
Taylor has been victorious in his last nine meetings with van Barneveld since suffering a 10-9 defeat in the 2008 UK Open, and the 15-time World Champion has also won his first three games in this year’s Premier League.
Van Barneveld, meanwhile, has suffered losses to inspired displays by Adrian Lewis and Simon Whitlock since defeating James Wade on the opening night at The O2 in London.
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Tags: Premier League Darts, Preview
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Walsh Beats Taylor to Derby Title
Posted on March 1st, 2010
MARK WALSH celebrated victory in a UK Open Qualifier in Derby for a second successive year with a 6-2 defeat of Phil Taylor in Sunday’s final.
Walsh had defeated Raymond van Barneveld to take the £6,000 title at the Moorways Centre in 2009, and this time overcame the World Champion in the decider.
He had held off a Co Stompe fightback to win their semi-final 6-4, having led 3-0 and 4-1 before the Dutchman levelled.
Walsh also took some notable scalps in the early rounds with wins over Colin Lloyd, Mark Webster and Dennis Priestley, before seeing off Colin Monk 6-1 in the quarter-finals.
He saved perhaps his best form for the final, taking out double five for the opening leg after Taylor missed two darts to break throw, before finishing 100 in the second leg to move two legs up.
Taylor hit back with a 14-darter, but paid for missed doubles in the next two as Walsh took out a brace of 14-darters on 62 in reply to move 4-1 up.
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Tags: Results, Review, UK Open
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