Under-21 World Darts Championship is Launched
Posted on August 21st, 2010
£10k prize and road to pro career starts at Rileys
Young darts players have the chance to be crowned the PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Champion and pick up the £10,000 first prize.
Preliminary qualifying for the first-ever Under-21 World Championship will take place at 42 Rileys Darts Zones on Saturday October 16 and Saturday October 23.
Fifty winners from Rileys clubs across the UK will join 14 of the best young players from around the world in a 64-man tournament at the Barnsley Metrodome on Saturday November 6.
Two winners will then go head-to-head in the Final, which will be held at London’s Alexandra Palace during the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship in front of a full house and live on Sky Sports.
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Tags: Under 21 World Championship
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Bromberg Wins PDC Unicorn Women’s World Championship
Posted on July 25th, 2010
STACY BROMBERG staged a superb fightback to defeat Tricia Wright 6-5 and win the inaugural PDC Unicorn Women’s World Championship Final.
The American found herself 5-3 down in a race to six legs at the Winter Gardens, but showed her fighting spirit to battle back and claim the £10,000 first prize.
Wright held leads of 4-2 and 5-3 but failed to kill off the match, missing four match darts before Bromberg prevailed in the decider to take the £10,000 title – a record for ladies’ darts.
Bromberg had held throw to win the game’s opening leg, taking out 74, but paid for three misses in the second as Wright posted double nine to level.
Double top gave the American the third, but she then missed six darts to again break throw, with Wright taking out double ten.
Tags: Women's World Championship
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It Will Be All Wright On The Night!
Posted on July 15th, 2010
Rileys’ darts star Tricia gets ‘good luck’ call from ex-world champ Anastasia
Darts ace Tricia Wright, through to the Final of the Women’s World Championship, has had a ‘good luck’ call from top pro Anastasia Dobromyslova.
Tricia, 51, from Mitcham, Surrey, is one big game from collecting the £10,000 first prize.
She started on the road to the Final by winning an amateurs’ qualifying event at the Rileys Croydon Darts Zone.
Tricia, nicknamed The Wright Stuff, won through four more rounds to reach the Final at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, on Sunday July 25.
Tricia said: “I really appreciate the phone call I got from Anastasia.
“Anastasia’s call has really helped me get myself together for the big game. She is a great player and an inspiration to me, and I have taken all her advice on board.”
Former World Champion Anastasia went out of this inaugural PDC Unicorn Women’s World Championship to Stacy Bromberg – who Tricia now faces in the Final!
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Tags: Women's World Championship
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Wright & Bromberg Make Ladies Final
Posted on June 13th, 2010
STACY BROMBERG and Tricia Wright have won through to the final of the inaugural PDC Unicorn Women’s World Championship.
American star Bromberg and Surrey-based Wright will contest for the £10,000 winner’s cheque at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool next month, on Sunday July 25 ahead of the StanJames.com World Matchplay final, after winning through the last 32 in Barnsley.
Bromberg, who has based in Las Vegas, hit the jackpot with a narrow 4-3 win over Anastasia Dobromyslova in their semi-final contest, with the Russian hitting back from 3-0 down to force a decider.
Bromberg punished three missed doubles from Dobromyslova to win the second leg in taking a 2-0 lead, and a 15-dart finish put her three legs clear.
Dobromyslova won the next and then took out 97 in two darts to make Bromberg pay for six missed match darts, before a 16-dart leg saw her level matters.
But Bromberg hit scores of 140 and 100 in the seventh leg to be first to the finish, and took out 69 in three darts, with Dobromyslova waiting on 130, to move into the final.
Bromberg had whitewashed Japan’s Kazumi Nakagawa in the last 32 and also defeated Donna-Maria Rainsley and Denise Cassidy in the event, and admitted afterwards: “This is the greatest moment of my career and I’m delighted.
Tags: Ladies World Championship, Results, Review
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Women’s PDC World Championship Info
Posted on March 26th, 2010
THE inaugural PDC Unicorn Women’s World Championship will be played in three stages this year.
The new tournament, offering £30,000 prize money, will culminate in the final to be held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool on Sunday July 25, shown live on Sky Sports ahead of the World Matchplay Final.
Ahead of that, players will compete in two stages as the event works down to the final, with the first stage being knockout qualifying tournaments held in Rileys clubs around the UK or International Qualifiers.
The 20 Rileys Qualifiers will be joined by 12 International Qualifiers in playing off at the Barnsley Metrodome on Saturday June 12.
Play in Barnsley will be down to the last two players, who will compete in the final on stage ahead of the World Matchplay Final in Blackpool on July 25.
In the UK, 20 Rileys Darts Zones will hold knockout qualifiers for women, with the winner of each progressing to play in Barnsley.
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Taylor Nails 15th World Title
Posted on January 3rd, 2010
PHIL TAYLOR became World Darts Champion for a 15th time on Sunday night with a 7-3 victory over Australian Simon Whitlock in the final of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.
The world number one successfully defended his title by dropping just four sets during the entire tournament to claim a record £200,000 first prize.
Whitlock was not phased in the early stages of the final and led 2-1, only for Taylor to establish a 6-2 advantage before finally coming through to deny the Australian.
A classic match saw both players end with three-dart averages over 100 and a 170 checkout was hit by both finalists during the contest.
“This means everything to me,” revealed Taylor. “I think that was one of the greatest finals I’ve ever played in.
“Simon made me work really hard throughout the match. When he was 2-1 up I knew I had to hit back at him and I never, ever, gave in.”
Taylor kicked off the final in wonderful style, recording a 180 with his first three darts but then missed three darts at doubles for an early break and Whitlock capitalised with a two-dart 70 finish for the leg.
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Tags: PDC World Championship, Phil Taylor, Results, Review, Simon Whitlock
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Ladbrokes World Championship Semi Finals
Posted on January 2nd, 2010
SIMON WHITLOCK will attempt to take Phil Taylor’s Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship crown on Sunday night when the pair clash in the final at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Whitlock won through to the decider in the £1 million event with a brilliant 6-5 win over Raymond van Barneveld, the Australian coming from 4-2 down to take victory.
He will now challenge for the £200,000 first prize in Sunday’s final, having followed up wins over Colin Osborne, Wayne Jones, Terry Jenkins and James Wade by seeing off the world number two.
“Everybody dreams of being World Champion and I’m close to achieving that dream,” said Whitlock, who lost in the 2008 Lakeside Championship final to Mark Webster.
“Raymond’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen, a five-time World Champion and a lovely man, and it’s amazing to defeat him in a World Championship semi-final.
“I never gave up though and sensed Raymond was getting tired. I struggled throughout the match and it was probably my poorest performance of the tournament so far, but I felt if I could hang in there and keep pushing to the end I’d get a chance, and I did.”
Whitlock will take on Taylor in the decider, after the reigning champion remained on course for a 15th World Championship title with a 6-0 rout of Welsh left-hander Webster.
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Ladbrokes World Championship Evening Quarter Finals
Posted on January 2nd, 2010
PHIL TAYLOR and Raymond van Barneveld romped into the semi-finals of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship without dropping a set to kick off 2010 in style at Alexandra Palace.
The pair, who competed in last year’s final, remain on a collision course to meet again in this year’s decider on Sunday after powering into the last four of the £1 million event.
Taylor dropped only four legs in a 5-0 defeat of his former practice partner in Stoke Adrian Lewis, who had impressed in reaching the quarter-finals but ultimately paid the price for one missed dart to win the opening set.
Taylor then took nine successive legs in sweeping into a four-set lead before edging the fifth to complete the rout, recording the highest average of the tournament so far at 107.37 in setting up a semi-final with former Lakeside Champion Mark Webster on Saturday night.
“I finished well and matched him for 180s,” said Taylor. “I thought it was a great match, like a boxing match – I had to take the hits and hit him back, sometimes he hit me back too.
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Tags: PDC World Championship, Results, Review
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Ladbrokes World Championship Afternoon Quarter Finals
Posted on January 1st, 2010
SIMON WHITLOCK produced the performance of his life to dump world number three James Wade from the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship on Friday afternoon, and is joined in the semi-finals by Mark Webster.
Whitlock booked his semi-final place with a sensational 5-3 win over Wade, hitting the second highest average of the tournament at 105.37 as well as landing 15 maximums and a 170 checkout.
The Australian took the opening six legs without reply, including a brace of 122 checkouts, at an average of 117 to leave Wade reeling, and also led 3-1 before the left-hander took the next two sets to level the game.
But Whitlock held his nerve to hit finishes of 170 and 150 in taking the seventh set without reply, and took the next in the same manner to seal a sensational victory.
“It’s the greatest win of my career,” said Whitlock. “I’ve beaten Phil Taylor before but this beats that because it was the hardest game of my life.
“I was so focused and knew I had to play my best, and I had to throw that average to win. I’ve been putting in so much practice for this tournament and it’s paying off.
“My whole life’s changed with this whole tournament and I’m lost for words. I’ve picked up a sponsor and can move to the UK now and play on the PDC circuit full-time, which has been a dream of mine.”
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Tags: PDC World Championship, Results, Review
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Ladbrokes World Championship Night 10
Posted on December 31st, 2009
JAMES WADE edged a thrilling seven-set battle against Andy Hamilton to reach the quarter-finals of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.
The world number three was on the brink of exiting the tournament in the fourth leg of the final set when Hamilton missed double 18 to take out 156 for the match. Wade took out 64 to make it two-apiece in the set then edged in front by breaking Hamilton’s throw, before taking out 121 to clinch a breathless match and a last eight clash with Simon Whitlock on New Year’s Day.
“Obviously I’m very glad that Andy missed that dart at double 18 to win the match,” admitted Wade. “Sometimes it’s about winning ugly and fortunately I managed to do that.
“I don’t feel that I ever found top gear out there and I know that I will need to up my performance if I am going to get past Simon Whitlock.”
Whitlock continued his impressive showing at Alexandra Palace by adding world number six Terry Jenkins to the list of seeds he’s knocked in the tournament with a 4-2 win. The Australian danger man saw off world number 11 Colin Osborne in the opening round and then 22nd ranked Wayne Jones to meet Jenkins, and held off a spirited fight back from the Ledbury man, who threatened a comeback after falling 2-0 behind.
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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.
