Hankey to Compete on The PDC Circuit & Q School 2012
Posted on January 18th, 2012
Over the weekend the PDC confirmed that all 4 Lakeside semi-fnalists would be offered 2 year tour cards to compete on the PDC circuit, following an agreement from the BDO to release said players from any of their contractual obligations.
Ted Hankey hasn’t shied away from expressing his intentions, however it appears that new BDO World Champion Kist, runner up O’Shea and the other losing semi-finalist Wesley Harms will not follow suit. The Count will add plenty of character and drama to the PDC, and if he runs true to form is sure to develop a ‘special’ relationship with the DRA.
He will though, in order to reap the potential prizemoney on offer, have to perform consistently on the demanding Pro Tour. There will be no easy games and success is far from guaranteed. A much speculated wildcard place in next years Premier League would surely only be offered subject to a reasonable level of tour success, and again is not a given by any means. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Allan Warriner-Little, BDO, Chris Mason, Dean Winstanley, PDC Darts, PDC Darts Q School 2012, PDPA, Peter Manley, Q School, Q School Entry, Ted Hankey switches
Filed under News, PDC | No Comments »
Q School Attracts Over 200 Entries
Posted on January 18th, 2012
Q-School Entries 2012, taken from the PDPA Website.
1-Andrew Cornwall
2-Ashley Holgate
3-Wilfried Hoberg
4-Peter Manley
5-Anthony Evans
6-David J Sanders
7-Paul Schofield
8-Philip Wathen
9-David Nelson Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Allen Warriner-Little, Andy Fordham, BDO, Chris Mason, Colin Monk, Darts Q School, Les Wallace, Peter Manley
Filed under News, PDC | No Comments »
Mike Gregory Interview – Part 2
Posted on December 9th, 2011
Part one of our interview with Mike Gregory can be found here.
…..continued
DM: Lets talk about your best or favourite moment in your darting career, we may have covered it already with the News of The World?
MG: Well I won it the first time in ’87, that Christmas my Mum died and then when I was preparing for the next one a few months later my Dad died, it gave me some inspiration and I decided I was going to try and win it again for him, and I did….
DM: Under the circumstances that was a good win, and nice to do it in your Dad’s memory, obviously with the highs come the lows, is there a worst or unluckiest darting moment you can recall.
MG: If I lose I lose, if have darts to win a game and I miss them, then I blame myself….I don’t think I’ve ever had a worst moment in darts no, and that includes the split. At that time it wasn’t just my decision. I sat down with my wife at the time and we thought about it and we decided that I couldn’t afford to gamble the roof over our kid’s heads.
DM: Yes, when you did switch back to the BDO was it at the same time as Chris Johns?
MG: No Chris actually went back before I did, and one day during one of my exhibitions my manager at the time turned up out the blue, and suggested I take legal advise about the writ. And not being disrespectful to the people I was with in the WDC at the time I wanted to find out for myself, so I went and met Olly Croft and his solicitors, the outcome being when I asked them to put it in plain English, was if we lost the court case I could have lost everything. At the end of the day I wasn’t in the same position as some of the others like John and Eric, who could afford to take the big bump. I had not been playing as long, and you obviously you have to live and I had a big mortgage.
DM: That year (1994), you were unable to play in either World Championship event, did that affect you at the time?
MG: No, I could understand it, I went over then I went back, even though I did qualify for the BDO one, they had already made the draw. There was nothing I could do about it….
DM: Obviously the big news in the BDO this year was the departure of Olly Croft, was this long overdue in your mind?
MG: Personally I think the PDC is doing very well and I would have liked to have seen a deal between the two, it would have lifted the BDO. There are a lot of old thoughts within the BDO and they need to bring it up to the standard of the PDC. I think they missed out by not doing a deal with Barry Hearn.
DM: Perhaps the BDO should concentrate on the amateur game and leave professional darts to the PDC?
MG: Martin Adams wouldn’t thank you for saying that…..
DM: Well it’s interesting that you mention Wolfie, his situation is obviously very different from yours, but do you subscribe to the theory that by staying in the BDO he has taken the soft option?
MG: I think he has been very clever being a big fish in a little pool with not so strong players, I’m not going to run him down because he has played well to win his World Championships, and it was inevitable that he was going to win it somewhere along the line, at the end of the day fair play to the bloke. I don’t think he could have done it in the PDC, the depth in the PDC is tremendous and not taking anything away from the other players, but unless Phil is having a bad day the rest of the field are playing for runner up spot.
DM: Prior to switching back to the BDO you had won and retained the first ever WDC event the Lada UK Masters, what did you think to the format of that tournament?
MG: I did enjoy that tournament actually, it was equal darts and it wasn’t necessarily the best player that won it was the bloke who hit the double at the end of the day, early. You could share or draw the leg whatever, I did like the format yeah, it was good.
DM: There’s a pattern to your career of winning things twice which proves it was no fluke!
MG: That’s right, I also won the bronze Bully twice!, and hold the highest score of 380 with 9 darts.
DM: We recently went to the Bullseye theatre tour in Derby which was a laugh, but there are calls to bring Bullseye back to prime time terrestrial TV, what are your thoughts on that?
MG: Well after I came back to the BDO we started doing the Embassy roadshow where I would travel round playing the county players, and after a couple of years Tony had the idea that we should bring in Bullseye. We did that for about 9 years which was really a Bullseye Roadshow. They were good shows and I was really busy I would do 250 nights for Bass, and 40 nights for the Embassy roadshow. It would be good to see it back on TV, they have tried it before but they really need Jim (Bowen), of course everyone has there own style of presenting but Jim was so good.
DM: Yes he’s a one off, and unfortunately not been well following a couple of strokes earlier this year, although I believe he is recovering well now, and obviously Tony (Green) has had health problems to….
MG: Oh dear, I hadn’t heard about Jim, but funnily enough Tony has just been in touch about me doing an exhibition in Westminster in December.
DM: So you obviously watch the PDC tournaments then, who do you like the look of in terms of the rest of the field as it were?
MG: I used to play at The Lamb in Clandown which is Steve Grubb’s pub, Gary used to come in and I have seen him play, and practised with him and he’s unreal. If he could sustain that he would be right on Phil’s heels. But he seems to go bang, bang, bang and then he goes to sleep and cant wake up. James (Wade) he’s up and down like a yo-yo, and again if he could keep a nice consistency he would be winning more, if he asked Phil nicely!
DM: We’ve seen Taylor experiment with glasses and other players having laser eye treatment, how has the eyesight held up over the years.
MG: Actually I was struggling a bit in dark venues to see the trebles, and about 4 or 5 months ago I went to SpecSavers, drew a dot on the wall, measured out at 7″9′ 1/4 etc and said I want some glasses so I can see that distance. And they made me some glasses, which I found a bit difficult at the beginning, all it is is just the lenses with no rim and a bit of wire on the side and an ear piece, and it doesn’t look like you have any on. And it is a hell of an improvement, I can see what I’m throwing at! I’m quite happy with them now.
DM: Where you much of a drinker when you played professionally and did you have a strict practise routine?
MG: Believe it or not I hardly ever practised doubles, when I did I played like a wally! What I used to do was bang the treble twenty, and I got so consistent at it. And when you reach a certain level if you look at a double you should be able to hit it. With the drinking, I used to like to get to a certain point yes, but not go over it….and I did go up onto the Embassy stage once with two shandies, I’m glad I didn’t wear white trousers! that wasnt too good. But you have to try these things dont you, I’ve cut down quite a bit now though.
DM: Mike, it’s been a pleasure talking to you, could you end our interview by taking the DartsMad double 5?
MG: No problem.
Darts used? - 25g nickel tungsten
Favourite Double or Out shot? – Double top or 10′s
Favourite venue? – Lakeside
Favourite player past or present? – Leighton Rees
Who would your ideal partner be in a pro/celebrity tournament? – Engelbert Humperdinck (I’ve played against him in Vegas)
Favourite band/singer – Meatloaf/Queen
Favourite food – Indian/Chinese
Favourite drink – Soda Water
Jeremy Clarkson, perceptive or prat? -- Perceptive
Favourite comedian – Jethro
For further information, more images/press cuttings and news on Mike’s exhibitions see the Paulton League website: http://www.paultondarts.co.uk/mike-gregory.php
Tags: 1992 Embassy World Championship, BDO, Lada Classic, Mike Gregory interview, WDC
Filed under Interviews, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Two Worlds Collide II – The Aftermath
Posted on November 24th, 2011
Two weeks ago I wrote how the Grand Slam was likely to see the boys from the BDO step under the bright lights of the PDC and show them what they are made of, and I believe they did just that, although it is somewhat up for debate.
On first glance at the fallout of what was a great tournament in Wolverhampton, the plain facts are that only PDC players reached the semi-final stage and Ted Hankey cut a solitary figure as the lone BDO man in the quarters. Furthermore, one round back and only Dean Winstanley and Martin Phillips were alongside Hankey in the last 16, meaning only three of the six that ventured in front of the Sky Sports cameras for the first time this year got beyond the group stage.
These are indisputable facts, but it is also a pretty harsh way to look at the BDO players’ performances. First of all, there were only six of them out of a field of 32, and Scott Waites was the only one of them to be seeded, so the odds were hardly in their favour from the off.
Also, although the likes of Waites, Hankey and Tony O’Shea have competed in this competition a few times before, the nature of the PDC tournaments is considerably different to the more serene BDO tournaments, and will take some getting used to for the likes of 21-year-old debutant Jan Dekker.
Although the glory that went with Waites winning the tournament last year wasn’t there for the BDO this time out, their performances and contribution to the Grand Slam will be something that they as an organisation can be extremely proud of. Hankey, until his exit, was the man that everyone was tuning in for, not just for his antics with the crowd, but because he was playing great darts in exciting matches, leading to talk of a Premier League invite.
Winstanley, although he went out in the second round, was one of only five men to win all three of his group games and in averaging 104.5 in round two, was extremely unlucky to crash out at that stage.
It was not just the performances though that were a treat for the sky viewers, the entertainment the BDO boys provided on the oche was first class, and the relationship with the PDC players also seemed to be incredibly good.
Rarely have I seen as many hugs during and after a match before Winstanley narrowly lost to Mark Walsh, and the respect between Phillips and Mark Webster in their second round tie was plain for all to see. It just makes you think that darts as a whole would be hugely better off if all these great players could play together more regularly.
Phil Haigh – twitter follow @philhaigh_
Photo – Lawrence Lustig
On demand highlights of this years Grand Slam can be viewed here.
Tags: BDO, Grand Slam of Darts, PDC Darts, Phil Haigh, Scott Waites, Ted Hankey
Filed under Darts Blog, Phil Haigh, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Mike Gregory Interview – Part 1
Posted on November 20th, 2011
From the mid 80′s through to the early 90′s, Mike Gregory was one of the top ranked darts players, he qualified for Lakeside 13 times in a row (when eligible) and reached the quarter finals or better an incredible 7 times. DartsMad recently had the pleasure of chatting to Mike, part 1 of our interview is shown below:
DM: Mike your back on the exhibition circuit, how long have you been away for and why?
MG: My partner of the last 10 years, she has a bad back and the last 2 or 3 years I’ve not been able to do anything as she has been waiting for an operation, if she had someone with her I could do 1 or 2 on a weekend. But things are ok now, she has I think one injection left and that should be it.
DM: So your looking to fill the diary up in anticipation of getting out more next year?
MG: That’s it, I’m not looking to to turn pro or anything again because its been a long time, but I do enjoy the exhibitions.
DM: Since leaving the pro circuit you have played in some capacity though?
MG: Yes I’ve played super league and county and entered a few local tournaments, but its been difficult with my partners health.
Tags: BDO, darts, Jocky Wilson, Mike Gregory interview, Paulton darts league, PDC
Filed under Interviews, Uncategorized | No Comments »
2011 William Hill GSoD Preview
Posted on November 11th, 2011
THE William Hill Grand Slam of Darts begins on Saturday, as 32 players from the world of darts compete for the £100,000 first prize at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
The tournament brings together stars from both the Professional Darts Corporation and BDO/WDF systems to do battle over nine days.
Scott Waites enters the event as the reigning champion following his incredible triumph in the final last year, as he came back from 8-0 down to defeat James Wade 16-12.
The Yorkshireman will take on Michael van Gerwen in his opening Group A game on Saturday night, having recently won the World Masters title amongst four successive tournament wins to enter Wolverhampton in top form.
“I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but I seem to come good,” said Waites, who was also the 2009 Grand Slam runner-up.
“I don’t know what it is about Wolverhampton but it’s the best darting place for me to be at the minute. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 2011 Grand Slam of Darts, BDO, PDC, Scott Waites
Filed under BDO-WDF, Grand Slam of Darts, News, PDC, Tournament News | No Comments »
Two Worlds Collide – Phil Haigh Looks at The GSoD
Posted on November 9th, 2011
As the Grand Slam of Darts comes around again for its fifth consecutive year, the inevitable question is raised of how the players from the two rival codes of darts will fair against each other in the only event that sees them toeing the same oche.
I think it is fair comment that the PDC is widely viewed as the highest standard of darting action around largely as that is where the majority of successful players in the BDO move to, but the Grand Slam has thrown a significant spanner in the works of this theory in the shape of Scott Waites.
Scotty 2 Hotty has defied the odds over the last two years by reaching the final of the tournament in 2009 and winning it last year as he came from behind to dramatically snatch victory away from James Wade, an incredible achievement seen as he was, and still is, an amateur, working as a carpenter in Yorkshire.
Tags: 2011, BDO, Grand Slam of Darts, PDC, Phil Haigh, Scott Waites, Tony O'Shea
Filed under Darts Blog, Grand Slam of Darts, PDC, Phil Haigh, Tournament News | No Comments »
Blood on Muswell Hill
Posted on August 8th, 2011
Oliver Albert Croft OBE formed the British Darts Organisation on January 7th 1973. During the next four decades he ruled British darts from Muswell Hill with an iron fist. Uncompromising, pioneering, and despotic, it is worth remembering that the BDO itself was a breakaway from the National Darts Association of Great Britain. Olly was once a rebel himself.
On August 7th 2011, precisely 38 years and 7 months after the inception of the BDO, Olly Croft was booted off the board he founded in a ruthless but long-overdue coup by his member counties. A man who once said “I don’t owe any darts player a living” now finds himself out of work.
One side of the tungsten curtain holds Olly Croft up as a standard bearer for darts, rightly stating that the sport would not be where it is today were it not for Olly’s efforts over four decades. He helped drag darts out of the pubs and onto prime time television, turning working men who throw arrers into household names.
The other side of the curtain readily grant this indisputable fact but counter that darts would now be in a much healthier condition if Olly Croft had relinquished his grip some years ago.
Given the parlous state of relations with the BBC, and the dwindling attraction of BDO darts as a sporting spectacle, this point is also difficult to refute. The world has changed, the landscape of darts has changed, but Olly and his friends have not.
Tags: BDO, Darts Split, Martin Adams, Olly Croft, PDC
Filed under BDO-WDF, Darts Blog, News | No Comments »
Olly Croft – Voted Off The Board
Posted on August 7th, 2011
The End of an Era
We usually stay away from rumours/gossip on DartsMad, however the BDO AGM has been held today and a Twitter post from @lancashiredarts (Lancashire County, presumably present at the meeting), confirmed that Croft had been voted off. (now confirmed on BDO website – DartsMad Ed.)
The new board of directors will consist of:
Barry Gilbey (Chairman)
Sue Getty
Martin Adams
Derek Weston
Wayne Williams
Vic Sexton
*Resignation of Chairman Dave Alderman was accepted.
What the future holds for the Organisation is unknown, but you may be able to get a flavour of the new boards intentions by reading the following letter to County Officials written by 5 of it’s 6 members.
http://www.derbyshiredarts.co.uk/images/Letter%20the%20future%20of%20BDO%20darts.pdf
With almost 40 years of service since the BDO’s inception in 1973, 81 year old Croft OBE has long been the butt of jokes from those who are pro-PDC. Despite this, throughout the tungsten divide Croft had many loyal servants, including Martin Adams who (to date) has not succumbed to the glitz, glamour and potential financial reward of the PDC.
Croft’s influence on regulating darts and being instrumental in bringing it to the attention of the world is undeniable. However clearly even the likes of Adams eventually became frustrated with the lack of forward thinking and treatment of their players by Croft and the previous board.
One thing is for sure, things will not change over night, but over the coming months there may be some interesting and exciting twists in the tungsten world. Of course when we hear something official we will add the information here.
Perhaps we are now a step closer to a unification of the sport of darts? Watch this space………
Tags: 2011, agm, Barry Gilbey, BDO, Derek Weston, Martin Adams, Olly Croft Voted off board, Sue Getty, Vic Sexton, Wayne Williams
Filed under BDO-WDF, News, PDC, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
2011 Grand Slam of Darts Invitations
Posted on August 4th, 2011
GRAND SLAM OF DARTS INVITATIONS CONFIRMED
THE qualification criteria for the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts has been confirmed, with John Part, Ted Hankey (who said he wouldn’t return last year – DartsMad Ed.), Co Stompe and Barrie Bates invited to compete in Wolverhampton in November.
One of DartsMad’s contributors has his own thoughts on how the criteria should be drawn up, click here to see the ‘Race2Wolves’! The PDC statement continues below….
The £400,000 tournament, to be held from November 12-20 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, features the finalists from major darts tournaments over a two-year period.
Won last year by Scott Waites, who succeeded three-time winner Phil Taylor, the event will be screened live on Sky Sports this November across nine days. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BDO, Grandslam of Darts 2011, PDC, Scott Waites, Ted Hankey, Wolverhampton
Filed under BDO-WDF, Grand Slam of Darts, News, PDC, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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.
