Party Poker Desert Classic 09 Day 5
Posted on July 6th, 2009
PHIL TAYLOR defeated Raymond van Barneveld 13-11 to win the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic for a fifth time.
Taylor followed up last month’s UK Open victory with the £30,000 triumph at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, producing some stunning darts to take the title.
Having defeated Jamie Caven, Dennis Priestley and Gary Anderson earlier in the event, he blasted past John Part 11-1 in the semi-finals, before seeing off van Barneveld in a classic final.
Van Barneveld came from 3-0 down to lead 4-3, and also held a 7-6 advantage before Taylor found an extra gear to pull away for victory.
“I’m delighted,” said Taylor. “It was a fantastic game to be involved in and a great final.
“Raymond raised his game and there were times during the early stages when I wasn’t even getting a chance at a double.
“But I hung in there and eventually I broke his spirit I think.”
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Party Poker Desert Classic 09 Day 4
Posted on July 5th, 2009
THE world’s top four players will contest the semi-finals and final of the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic VIII on Sunday.
Phil Taylor, James Wade, Raymond van Barneveld and John Part progressed to the last four of the Desert Classic with victories in Saturday’s quarter-finals at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
Taylor, the defending champion, overcame a strong challenge from Gary Anderson to book his semi-final spot with a 10-6 victory.
Scottish qualifier Anderson led 3-1 early on, but a relentless Taylor performance saw him pull through for victory by winning four of the final five legs, averaging almost 104 in the process.
Taylor will face 2006 champion John Part in the first semi-final, after the Canadian saw off Terry Jenkins 10-8.
Jenkins battled back from 7-2 down to trail only 8-7 before Part sealed victory with a strong performance.
Raymond van Barneveld stormed past Mervyn King 10-1 to book his last four spot and remain on course to repeat his victory of 2007, hitting a 103 average in a sensational display.
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Party Poker Desert Classic 09 Day 3
Posted on July 4th, 2009
PHIL TAYLOR produced the first whitewash of the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic, defeating Dennis Priestley in booking a quarter-final spot at the Mandalay Bay Resort.
Defending champion Taylor showed no mercy against his great rival to restrict Priestley to only two darts at a double in a superb showing.
He will now take on Gary Anderson in Saturday’s quarter-finals, with the Scot seeing off Wes Newton to continue his strong Desert Classic debut.
Raymond van Barneveld, the 2007 champion, defeated Co Stompe 8-2 in their all-Dutch battle and narrowly missed double 12 for a nine-darter in a fine display.
The Dutchman will meet number six seed Mervyn King in the last eight, with the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts runner-up producing a 13-darter to win the deciding leg of his clash with Kevin Painter.
Two ten-darters were not enough for Andy Hamilton to overcome world number two James Wade, who progressed to the quarters with an 8-4 victory in their clash.
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Party Poker Desert Classic 09 Day 2
Posted on July 3rd, 2009
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD and James Wade began their PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic campaigns with victories on Thursday, while Adrian Lewis edged an epic against Vincent van der Voort.
Van Barneveld, the 2007 Desert Classic champion, produced an assured display to see off American Bill Davis 6-2 at the Mandalay Bay Resort.
He will now take on Co Stompe in an all-Dutch second round clash on Friday, while Wade meets Andy Hamilton.
World number two Wade, the reigning Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts champion, opened his title challenge with a nervy 6-3 win over New Zealander Phillip Hazel.
Wade led 2-0 before the rookie levelled, but the left-hander pulled clear from three-all to take victory.
The game of the day saw Adrian Lewis defeat Vincent van der Voort 6-5 in a thriller, with the young Stoke ace taking out 164 in the deciding leg to snatch victory.
Lewis faces Peter Manley for a third successive year in Las Vegas on Friday, after the 2003 champion overcame in-form Mark Walsh 6-4.
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Party Poker Desert Classic 09 Day 1
Posted on July 2nd, 2009
PHIL TAYLOR began the defence of his PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic title with a 6-3 victory over Jamie Caven at the Mandalay Bay Resort.
Taylor headed to Las Vegas struggling with a back problem, but showed few ill-effects to dispose of the qualifier from Derby.
Taylor took a key 3-1 lead and held off Caven’s challenge to set up a second round clash with long-term rival Dennis Priestley on Friday.
“Jamie put me under a lot of pressure but my finishing got me through,” said Taylor. “He played very well, he’s one to watch for the future and he’s getting better every week.”
He added: “The back will be okay but it is affecting me. Now I get stiff towards the end of the day so I was glad to get through that.”
Priestley booked his spot in the last 16 with a fine 6-1 win over Colin Monk in the opening game of the tournament, while Terry Jenkins repeated that scoreline in seeing off Australian Simon Whitlock.
Jenkins now meets Colin Lloyd in round two, with the Chelmsford star defeating Lowestoft-based qualifier Peter Wright 6-3 to end a run of three successive first round losses in the Desert Classic.
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Party Poker Desert Classic 09 Draw
Posted on July 1st, 2009
PHIL TAYLOR will begin the defence of his PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic title against Jamie Caven on Wednesday.
Number one seed Taylor, who picked up the Desert Classic trophy for a fourth time in 2008, drew in-form Derby star Caven for his first round clash at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
Two-time World Champion Dennis Priestley will kick off the tournament when he takes on Colin Monk, who was one of the 12 qualifiers to come through two days of heats on Sunday and Monday.
Tuesday’s Las Vegas Players Championship winner Ronnie Baxter, who defeated Taylor 6-2 in the final, will meet Dutch ace Jelle Klaasen, while Colin Lloyd drew Lowestoft-based qualifier Peter Wright – a player with dyed pink hair nicknamed “Snakebite”.
John Part, the 2006 Desert Classic winner, will take on California’s Scott Burnett in an all-north American battle, while two-time semi-finalist Wes Newton drew Alan Tabern.
Australia’s Simon Whitlock takes on number five seed Terry Jenkins, while Wayne Mardle drew Scottish qualifier Gary Anderson.
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Desert Classic Monday Qualifiers
Posted on June 30th, 2009
FORMER champion Peter Manley was amongst the final six qualifiers for the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic on Monday.
Manley, the 2003 winner, had to enter the qualifiers at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas after dropping outside the world’s top 16 recently.
However, he bounced back from the disappointment of a defeat to Shane O’Connor on Sunday by winning through 24 hours later.
His victories on Monday included a revenge win over O’Connor, at the semi-final stage, before he whitewashed Holland’s Bryan de Hoog to win his place in the first round draw.
Wes Newton, twice a Desert Classic semi-finalist, booked his spot in this year’s event with a 5-1 defeat of Roland Scholten in his deciding game.
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Las Vegas Desert Classic Betting Preview
Posted on June 30th, 2009
The PDC circus hits Las Vegas on Wednesday with the Desert Classic held at the Mandalay Resort and Casino, more famous for its Shark Reef Aquarium than arrowsmiths. Screened live on Sky from 7pm UK time it kicks off early morning local time and is a far cry from the raucous Premier League experience. A much flatter show, think Budweiser which has been lying too long in a hot beer garden.
As for the crowd, try to envisage the Rocky Horror show add in some Vegas eccentricity and you will be close. This is the last year the tournament will run on Sky, not too much of a surprise as many view it as the least enticing propostion on the Sky darting calendar. Overseas costs have played a part as many leading global companies tighten their belts.
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Desert Classic Sunday Qualifiers
Posted on June 29th, 2009
DUTCH trio Jelle Klaasen, Vincent van der Voort and Co Stompe were amongst the first six qualifiers for the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic on Sunday.
Almost 200 players travelled to the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas in a bid to win the 12 qualifying places in the main Desert Classic event, which begins on Wednesday.
Three of the first six players will join Raymond van Barneveld as Dutch representatives in the Desert Classic, with Klaasen, van der Voort and Stompe all winning through a tough field on Sunday.
Klaasen had to take on former World Champion Mark Webster in the first round, winning 5-2, and later edged out James Barton 5-4 before seeing off Smith in his deciding game, taking out 146 and 149 in the final two legs to seal the narrowest of victories.
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Las Vegas Desert Classic Pre-Qualifiers
Posted on June 13th, 2009
MARK WALSH’S return to the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit has earned him an automatic place in the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic.
Walsh’s rise back up the world rankings has seen his career go almost full circle in the past three years – having dropped to the brink of the top 32 when he battled against dartitis.
His displays have seen him jump back up to 16th in the Order of Merit and mean he is among the 16 pre-qualified players for the Las Vegas Desert Classic.
Walsh’s rise has been at the expense of 2003 Desert Classic champion Peter Manley, who has slipped to 17th and will have to enter the qualifiers on June 28 and 29 at the Mandalay Bay.
The top 16 and four qualifiers from the North American Order of Merit are joined by 12 qualifiers in the Desert Classic’s televised stages from July 1-5.
Players wishing to enter the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic can do so online for £65 by clicking here (for PDPA members and UK players only).
All other international players should enter via Bulls-Eye News, with entry costing US$125 and available by clicking here.
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Both poker and darts are highly popular pursuits. The games are available online, in fact, that there are organizations dedicated to making sure the rules of video poker and online darts are conformed. Similar to darts having the World Darts Federation, among others, and poker has the Tournament Directors Association. These rules are put into place in highly competitive tournaments, in which as many as hundreds or even thousands of people compete for cash prizes as well as prestige.
