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.For the rest of the BDO turncoats, 4 days of sloggin it out in Barnsley is their route to gaining a tour card, with both West brothers, Dean Winstanley and Stuart Kellet to name a few who signed up alongside over 200 other hopefuls.

The deadline for Q School entries at the Metrodome has now passed, and the PDC has confirmed that in addition to automatic tour cards being awarded to the four semi-finalists from each one-day tournament staged from January 19th-22nd. The top 24 players from the Q School Order of merit will also receive a Tour Card, the order of merit being a ranking list made up of points won per leg over the 4 day tournament.

Having scanned the list there are some obvious ones to watch who are seeking a return to big time darts such as Peter Manley, Alan Warriner-Little, Les Wallace, Colin Monk, Andy Fordham and Chris Mason. However, we will also be keeping an eye on young Joe Thompson who is looking to kick start his fledgling career in tungsten and Jeff Smith, a Canadian who can already boast the scalp of Paul Nicholson from last years North American leg of the pro tour.

It was also anticipated that a raft of top BDO players were likely to throw their hats into the ring at the last minute. However, following today’s deadline there are a few names missing which many thought would take the opportunity this year, for example Scott Waites and Darryl Fitton.

The Suit has taken a more in depth look at Q School for us, with his take on this years event which can be found here, and further details on the 2012 Q School from the PDC  and PDPA can be found below.

TWO-TIME World Champion Ted Hankey has accepted his offer of a Tour Card to join the PDC circuit – while over 200 players will attempt to join him on the £5 million professional tour at Qualifying School this weekend.

Hankey, along with the other semi-finalists from the recent Lakeside Championship, has been offered a two-year Tour Card and will move onto the PDC circuit with immediate effect.

The 43-year-old from Shropshire, who won the Lakeside Championship in 2000 and 2009, has played in the Grand slam of Darts for the past three years but will now compete full-time alongside the likes of Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld.

“It’s an exciting time for me and I’m starting a new chapter in my career,” said Hankey. “I had 15 great years with the BDO and I thank them, but it’s time to move on now.

“This is a great opportunity for me and my family and one I’m really looking forward to. I can’t wait to play in Benidorm next week.”

While Hankey will make his debut in the two Players Championships in Benidorm on January 28 & 29, over 200 players – including Yorkshire’s Dean Winstanley, the 2011 Lakeside Championship runner-up who impressed in the Grand Slam of Darts last November – will be bidding for the right to win Tour Cards at Qualifying School this week.

The four-day event, being held from Thursday to Sunday at the Barnsley Metrodome, will see the players compete in four individual tournaments, with the four players on each day winning a Tour Card.

In addition, ranking points are given to the remaining players for their finishing position in each tournaments, where a further 24 Tour Cards will be handed out.

The top 64 from the PDC’s Order of Merit following the recent Ladbrokes World Darts Championship, and the 2011 Tour Card winners plus PDC Unicorn Youth Tour stars Paul Barham, Reece Robinson and James Hubbard, all bypass Qualifying School to compete on the PDC circuit this year.

The Qualifying School entrants include two former Lakeside Champions, Andy Fordham and Les Wallace, former world number one Peter Manley, 2001 World Grand Prix champion Alan Warriner-Little and 1996 World Matchplay champion Peter Evison.

A number of other experienced stars who have dropped out of the world’s top 64, headed by Andy Jenkins, Matt Clark, Colin Monk and Mick McGowan, are also bidding to win Tour Cards alongside new faces who are emerging from the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour.

Event winners Adam Hunt and Ryan Harrington have entered as they seek to step up to senior level, while a clutch of top young Dutchman are headed by Dirk van Duijvenbode, Co Stompe Jnr and Gino Vos and join leading Welsh youngster Jamie Lewis at Qualifying School.

Recent Ladbrokes World Darts Championship qualifiers Kurt van de Rijck and Geoff Kime are joined in entering by former World Masters runner-up Stuart Kellett and brothers Tony and Steve West, who recently played in the Lakeside Championship.

The 2012 PDC ProTour Card Holders are:
Top 64 from PDC Order of Merit:
Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, James Wade, Gary Anderson, Simon Whitlock, Wes Newton, Andy Hamilton, Mark Webster, Raymond van Barneveld, Kevin Painter, Terry Jenkins, Mark Walsh, Wayne Jones, Vincent van der Voort, Colin Lloyd, Mervyn King, Paul Nicholson, Ronnie Baxter, Jamie Caven, Andy Smith, Denis Ovens, Justin Pipe, Colin Osborne, John Part, Alan Tabern, Co Stompe, Steve Brown, Brendan Dolan, Peter Wright, Steve Beaton, Richie Burnett, Dave Chisnall, Mark Hylton, Robert Thornton, Jelle Klaasen, Steve Farmer, Michael van Gerwen, Mark Dudbridge, Dennis Priestley, Barrie Bates, Scott Rand, John Henderson, Nigel Heydon, Kim Huybrechts, Dennis Smith, Roland Scholten, Kevin McDine, Joe Cullen, Mensur Suljovic, Antonio Alcinas, Michael Smith, Steve Maish, Ian White, Steve Hine, Kirk Shepherd, William O’Connor, Steve Evans, Chris Thompson, Tony Ayres, James Richardson, Magnus Caris, Jyhan Artut, Alex Roy, Arron Monk.
2011 Tour Card Winners:
Shaun Griffiths, Peter Hudson, Matt Jackson, Prakash Jiwa, Ian Jopling, Michael Mansell, Dyson Parody, Devon Petersen, Michael Rosenauer, Mick Todd, Brian Woods, Andy Brown, Adam Smith-Neale, Mark Jodrill, Jason Crawley, Terry Temple, Mark Jones, Ken Dobson, Jimmy Mann, Paul Rowley.
Youth Tour Cards:
Paul Barham, Reece Robinson, James Hubbard.
Lakeside Championship Semi-Finalists:
Ted Hankey
2012 Qualifying School:
40 places, with 16 coming from each day’s four semi-finalists, plus the top 24 from the Q School Order of Merit rankings.

This will create 128 Tour Card Holders, with the remaining players granted Associate Membership of the PDPA.

Associate Members will still be able to enter UK Open Qualifiers, qualifiers for European Tour events and non-UK Players Championships, as well as topping up the field of UK-based Players Championships should any of the 128 Tour Card holders not enter.

All players will also be able to enter the PDPA Qualifier for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship in November.

Information from the Pdpa Website

Q School – January 19-22 2012

Venue: Barnsley Metrodome, Queen’s Rd, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S71 1AN

Registration & Toe The Oche

9:00 Doors will open to players and their guests

09:30 -11:00 Registration – any player not registered by 11am will be  disqualified from that day’s play

12:00 Toe The Oche

19:00 (Approx) Play Concluded

AS THE DRAWS FOR THESE TOURNAMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED ON THE DAY, ALL PLAYERS MUST REGISTER BY 11AM ON THE DAY OR THEY WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE DRAW. NO EXCUSES, NO EXCEPTIONS!

Players will be allowed one NON-TRANSFERABLE bona-fide guests each and must provide their name to PDC security if requested.  Please note that no one wearing football shirts of any kind or children under 11 years old will be admitted.

Prize Fund

There will be no Prize Money involved in this event.

Playing Format

The format is best of eleven legs throughout with an open draw on each day.. The player on the left of the draw will throw first for the bull to determine who throws first in odd-numbered legs.

Marking

This will be a loser marks event with each losing player marking the next game on their board or a board assigned to them by the Tournament Officials. There may be some volunteer markers.

Any player who does not carry out their marking duties may be disqualified from the entire event at the discretion of the Tournament Director.

Draw

The draws will be made by the PDC’s Tournament Director Tommy Cox following the procedure agreed between the PDC and PDPA and finalised at the deadline for registration on the day of each event.

The list of entries will be published on pdc.tv once the closing dates have passed.

Rules & Dress Code

Darts Regulation Authority rules and regulations will be in place for these tournaments, including dress code of: no jeans, trainers, t-shirts or shorts etc. Players are required to wear dark trousers, collared shirts and black shoes.

Players are advised to refer to the PDC’s published Order of Merit rules for 2012, which are available on pdc.tv.

Smoking & Drinking

Players are not permitted to smoke, or drink anything but water during play. This includes having a drink from the table behind you whilst your opponent is throwing or between legs. This rule must be strictly observed.

The PDC is introducing barriers behind each board, beyond which only players are permitted. The area between the barriers and the boards is a designated ‘no alcohol’ zone. Players MUST not take any alcohol in to this area.

On arrival all players will be issued with their PDPA 2012 players pack, there will be a lot of players at this event so give yourself plenty of time

Should any player have any queries whatsoever about these events please call Tournament Director Tommy Cox on             07738 015811       during office hours

Photo Lawrence Lustig/PDC

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
10-Alan Warriner-Little
11-Peter Evison
12-Ian Moss
13-Gary Eastwood
14-Darrel Claydon
15-Rocco Maes
16-James Young
17-Brandon Walsh
18-Andy Turnbull
19-Rees Hall
20-Alex Clyburn
21-Richie Howson
22-David Kelly
23-Martin Perring
24-Matthew Dicken
25-Andy Jenkins
26-Chris Aubrey
27-Jamie Landon
28-Aden Kirk
29-Rhys Dudley
30-Paul Sawyer
31-Darren Williams
32-Daniel Bunker
33-Gareth Pass
34-Darren Whittingham
35-Richard North
36-John Walton
37-John Jenkinson
38-Aodhagan O’Neill
39-John Scott
40-Tony Tasker
41-Andy Firth
42-Michael Gorst
43-Kentaro Suzuki
44-Jimmy O’Regan
45-Keegan Brown
46-James Thompson
47-Dave Ladley
48-Matthew Tedstone
49-Lee Butler
50-Gary Butcher
51-Jon Bott
52-Jim Walker
53-Gareth Cousins
54-Richard Plowman
55-James Pastfield
56-Wayne Atwood
57-Carlos Rodriguez
58-Ross Smith
59-Steven Pearson
60-Mick McGowan
61-Shaun Narain
62-Stuart Woodmore
63-Andrew Gilding
64-Joe Thompson
65-Stephen Jauch
66-Shaun Vernall
67-Stephen Hardy
68-Steve Haggerty
69-Adrian Bolitho
70-Jack Hill
71-Kevin Dowling
72-Peter Hughes
73-Michael Veitch
74-Joseph Hunt
75-Jason Simpkins
76-Mark Lawrence
77-Ron Atwill
78-Chris Mason
79-Andy Relf
80-Luke Broadbent
81-Lee Saville
82-Stephen Grubb
83-John Turnbull
84-Stuart White
85-Lewis Venes
86-Tony Wood
87-Mark Banham
88-Andrew Palmer
89-Adrian Gray
90-Sam Hill
91-Jon Archer
92-Matthew Edgar
93-Mark Frost
94-Stephen Clews
95-Johnny Haines
96-Andrew Hibbert
97-Stefanie Luck
98-Brian Kirk
99-James Guilfoyle
100-Paul Davison
101-Joe Murnan
102-Richard Slater
103-Lee White
104-Anthony Littleton
105-Peter Harris
106-Matt Clark
107-Andy Hutchings
108-Daniel Day
109-Mareno Michels
110-Damien Sherwood
111-Nathan Richards
112-Dave Honey
113-Marko Kantele
114-Andy Pearce
115-Matthew Waddoups
116-Jim McKevitt
117-Paddy Meaney
118-Martyn Turner
119-Neville Roberts
120-Martin Whatmough
121-Mark Ashby
122-Kenny MacNeil
123-Geoff Kime
124-Scott Coleman
125-Jamie Atkins
126-Michael Barnard
127-Enrico Fraccara
128-Chris Dale
129-Josh Jones
130-David Charnock
131-Nick Fullwell
132-Pat Pace
133-Sean White
134-Andrew Hodges
135-Martino Tagliapietra
136-Darren Webster
137-Dirk vanDuijvenbode
138-Matt Padgett
139-Adam Hunt
140-Steve West
141-Paul Marsh
142-Terry Rose
143-Michael Peel
144-Co Stompe Junior
145-Wayne Morgan
146-Connie Finnan
147-Mark Stephenson
148-James Stoneley
149-Richie Walsh
150-Keith Rooney
151-Kurt Van de Rijck
152-Mark Robinson
153-Toone Greebe
154-Jerry Hendriks
155-Tony West
156-Gino Vos
157-Dean Winstanley
158-Ian Lever
159-Paul Hodkin
160-Dave Smith
161-Jeff Smith
162-Richard Hosey
163-Liam Kelly
164-Joey Palfreyman
165-Gary Mawson
166-Aaron Turner
167-Chris Skeats
168-Danny Moore
169-Spencer Murphy
170-Dylan Duo
171-Yoshan Roxy lyer
172-Steve Mcinally
173-Chris Clements
174-Jamie Lewis
175-David Bloome
176-Danny Dyer
177-Bernd Roith
178-Darren Ward
179-Ryan Harrington
180-Colin Monk
181-Goeff Whitworth
182-Darren Johnson
183-Simon Burt
184-Jonathan Mulley
185-Ryan Herrington
186-Steve Barrow
187-Tim Hope
188-Hans Hagley
189-Daniel Starkey
190-Keith Stephen
191-Chris Allen
192-Thomas Jones
193-Danny Summers
194-John Bowles
195-Simon Craven
196-Tony Billett
197-Barrie Davies
198-Craig Pope
199-Andrew Johnson
200-Stuart Kellett
201-Robert Freeman
202-Darren Latham
203-Lee Whitworth
204-Karl Forrington
205-Les Wallace
206-Andy Fordham
207-Campbell Jackson
208-Wayne Pepper
209-Andrew Humphrey
210-Steven Degville
211-Nigel Birch
212-John Tremblett
213-Manuel Croskery
214-Fred Smith
215-Ricky Williams
216-John Gent
217-John Downs
218-Liam Curran

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.

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.

DM: OK, but there may be other options in the future, perhaps if something along the lines of the League of Legends, maybe a senior tour was introduced, it could provide you with an opportunity to play more competitive darts?

MG: Well, I signed a contract to be in the League of Legends, but in the end I got withdrawn………

DM: If an opportunity came along again in the future presumably you would consider it still? Do you have any relationship with those other players at all?

MG: I would yes, well, I’ve spoke to Eric and Bob and I went to support Steve Grubb at a couple of PDC events, explained to the organisers that I wasn’t there to cause trouble  and a lot of the players came over and spoke to me. But some people can harbour a grudge for a lifetime.

DM: At the time of the ‘split’ it’s fair to say you were at the top of your game, did it have a detrimental affect on the rest of your career?

MG: That’s right, but I don’t think it was too much to do with the split I actually ended up parting with my ex wife, not seeing the kids much and it done me in a little bit if you know what I mean.

DM: Yes I suppose it can be tough spending most of your life on the road and away from family, speaking of which do any of your children play darts?

MG: Yes my son who is in his late twenties plays and I’ve played him in my local league actually (Paulton), and he beat me twice! He is playing quite well, and is really interested in darts and I’d like to see him go further. I’ve been thinking about setting up a big head to head with him, anyone can win over a couple of legs but to keep the concentration going for over 2 hours is different.

DM: Well he would have to play to a pretty good standard  to nick a couple of wins over you I guess?

MG: Yes he did ring me the other day to tell me he had won the local singles league, and I said he needs to win it another 5 times to catch me up. That was a long time ago, but I won it 6 times and then I turned professional, and never played in it again.

DM: When you were playing professionally, did you have a manager to look after your business interests? If so did you benefit from it.

MG: I actually had 4, and the thing is now with the internet, facebook etc you can promote yourself and it’s basically free advertising. In my day it was necassary, you had to have people go to the breweries and attend meetings for you, but it’s all done different now.

DM: Its worth mentioning to any fans/promoters that you have a section on the Paulton website dedicated to you which lists your exhibitions. And you have recently joined facebook yourself…..

MG: I’m like any old fella trying to get into computers, I’m not too clever with it but I’ve learnt myself.

DM: I imagine it’s not easy if you haven’t been around computers before…..

MG: Well when I was a still a pro I had an old starwriter that I used for my accounting because no-one could read my handwriting, and I managed to delete 6 months of accounts. I wasn’t happy….. I had to go back through every receipt.

DM: Well what do think of drawing on your experience and managing a player yourself, much like Peter Manley and Alan Warriner-Little do with Wes Newton and Shaun Griffiths.

MG: I didn’t know they were doing it I might give one of them a ring, but I’m not really into all that I still love throwing darts. In my last super league match I played one of the best players in the Bath League and beat him with 29  average. I want to give the exhibitions a go and after a few months if I’ve got the game for it, I would like to start entering a few tournaments myself.

DM: So is there room for improvement on that average?

MG: Well I don’t know, it’s doing it when it counts that matters. As I said I just want to get back out playing and see what happens.

DM: I have a question from Steve Metalman (thedartsforum.co.uk), he asks do you think players  from your era, if they were playing under todays conditions, and with the improvement in dart and board technology and funding, would they dominate, because he remembers the sheer quality of Lowe, Bristow, Wilson Big Cliff Rees and yourself  etc all playing at the same time, whereas today its just Taylor and every couple of years a different challenger.

MG: How I look at it was in 1984 that was my first ever win, the Unipart British Professional against John Lowe, my brother wrote down every single score I had, and calculated that I had a 100 average back then, a 100 today is still a good average, I know a few players go over it. The only one really I can honestly say is Phil, he’s brilliant, he’s my hero to do what he has done keep the consistency and the concentration going thats why he is the best there ever will be.

DM: Yes,and you had your chance to beat him back in 1992 in the Embassy final which is widely regarded as the greatest dart match ever, what do you remember about that?

MG: The amazing thing about that, is the match darts I had were double 8, double top and double 10 which I couldn’t hit with 6 darts. And this is the honest truth, the very first exhibition I did after losing to Phil I left 76 and I hit it with double 8, double top and double 10 with 3 darts. I just thought… I could have been a World Champion.

DM: That’s the difference of the pressure of matchplay where the stakes are high, as opposed to practise and exhibitions.

MG: Yes, well when I was up there playing Phil in the final. it seemed like we were only up there for about an hour, and all the time it was hammer and tong, hammer and tong playing for just 1 leg. I enjoyed I thought it was superb.

DM: 53 legs of darts where played in that match, and it was the first final to go to a tie-break.

MG: The very first tie-break yes and I hit the bull to go first, and then I got a bounceout which probably cost me a shot at a double, I’m not saying I would have hit it, but it would have given me a chance…..

DM: You were playing on the old round wire boards with staples, do you see a noticeable reduction in the instances of bounceouts on the new boards?

MG: Todays boards are superb, and there are grooved points now which all help towards making the darts hold, but you will always get them, at sometime the point of the dart will hit dead centre on the wire and you will get a bounceout. I will be honest though, I played super league a few weeks ago and they had an old board and I must have had 15 darts end up on the floor. I won 3-0 but the average was absolutely terrible. But the newer boards do make a lot of difference yes and the technology keeps getting better.

DM: Moving on from the World Championships, the News of the World was your tournament wasn’t it, was it the hardest tournament to win?

MG: Yes, it was my baby I won it twice in consecutive years, only Bristow and a chap called Tom Barrett also did that. It was hard for me because the throwing distance was 8 feet, and I was playing BDO/exhibitions from 7′ 9 1/4 “. My step brother Roger Smith who was an England International got me started playing darts at the age of 4, he entered it and I thought I’m going to win that one day. And I actually got to the final 5 times. The two times a won it I played mediocre but I hit two good checkouts. The other times I played really well but couldn’t hit the doubles. That was the ones I wanted to win, it was like 3 legs and the toss of a coin.

DM: Did you have anyone that your really hated playing against, or a bogey player perhaps?

MG: No I didn’t hate playing anyone, Dave Whitcombe was my bogey player for a long time, until I think it was Denmark one year. Me and Jocky beat Dave and his partner and then I drew him again in the singles and beat him. But I never worried about playing anyone, they had 3 darts and I had 3 darts.

DM: Well, you mention Jocky there, are you still in contact with him?, he is a recluse by all accounts these days.

MG: No, about 5 or 6 years ago, maybe longer I was playing up in Fife just round the corner from where he lives, and he sent a bloke along to wish me all the best. I said won’t he come?, not play just sit and have a quiet a drink you know, but the guy said no he won’t leave the house. I used to call Jocky my dad, he looked after me we were both with Malcolm’s Management and we played a lot of pairs togther and he was really funny.

DM: I don’t know of any players doing it nowadays but were you involved in sharing prize money with Jocky or any other players?

MG: I didn’t do that until much later on, my motto was I won what I won. The title was the big thing and the money came with it. It was maybe the last 2 or 3 years of playing I did do that with mainly Eric and Jocky, it was quite good you have two chance of covering your expenses for the weekend.

………In part 2 we look at ‘the split’ in more detail and talk about Bullseye, the BDO and glasses!

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.

“I think the first game is the most important one and everyone’s going to be trying to win that.

“If you do win it, you know you’ve got to probably only win one of the next two games so you’ve got a great chance. If you do lose that, there’s a lot of pressure on the second game, which you probably dno’t need.

“I’m looking forward to playing him because I’m playing quite well.

“I’m not sure how he is playing but I owe Michael one because he beat me in the first Grand Slam! I’ll prepare myself like I did last year and hopefully get the same sort of results.”

Waites’ rivals in Group A, Mark Walsh and Tony O’Shea, also clash on Saturday night amongst eight matches being played from Groups A-D.

Wade, who hit a nine-dart finish in the 2008 event and was last year’s runner-up, opens his challenge against Dave Chisnall in Group D, with the St Helens ace having won last Sunday’s Players Championship in Crawley for his first PDC title.

They are joined in a tough Group D by in-form Justin Pipe, who has reached five out of the last eight finals on the PDC ProTour, and Terry Jenkins, who was the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts runner-up and has reached at least the quarter-finals in every year of the event.

Raymond van Barneveld plays Stoke-based Wildcard Qualifier Ian White in Group B, with Lakeside Championship finalist Dean Winstanley and two-time World Champion Ted Hankey also clashing.

Gary Anderson plays another Wildcard Qualifier, Leamington Spa’s Nigel Heydon, in Group C, where they are also draw with Wolverhampton favourite Wayne Jones and World Grand Prix finalist Brendan Dolan.

Jones won through to last year’s semi-finals in the Grand Slam of Darts, and said: “Last year was a fantastic memory and the support I got was incredible.

“It’s a very tough group this year but I’ll give it my best shot and hopefully give them plenty to cheer again.”

Sunday afternoon sees Groups E-H play their opening games, including three-time champion Phil Taylor playing 19-year-old debutant James Hubbard – who qualified last Friday when he reached the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship final.

The Norfolk youngster, whose father Vic used to play professionally, will make his televised debut against Taylor, and said: “It’s been a pretty crazy week but you can’t ask for a better experience in your first game.

“It’s not the draw that you want if you’re hoping to do well, but I’m not expected to do well so it’s a perfect draw for me, experience-wise.

“I’ve got three games on TV and that will only do me good ahead of the World Youth Championship Final.”

Mervyn King faces Steve Beaton in Group E’s other opener, with the latter having knocked out Taylor on his way to the semi-finals in Wolverhampton.

UK Open finalist Wes Newton takes on Swedish debutant Magnus Caris and Paul Nicholson plays Barrie Bates in Group F, with Mark Webster meeting Arron Monk and Jan Dekker playing John Part in Group G.

PDC World Champion Adrian Lewis opens his challenge in Group H against Welshman Martin Phillips, with Dutch pair Vincent van der Voort and Co Stompe meeting in the group’s other opener.

Lewis lost 5-2 to Phillips in last year’s opening games, and has never won beyond the last 16 in Wolverhampton in the four years of the tournament.

“It’s been a disappointment for me but I really want to do well in this one,” said Lewis. “I think my form’s coming back well, my scoring’s good and I’m sharpening up on my finishing, and I think I’ll have a really good chance here.

“I’ve started slowly in this event before but I’ve done a few things differently this year. I’ve started to play in a Tuesday night league to sharpen myself up because I knew I had to do something.

“If I can get through the group stage then the format’s longer and I think I’ll have a good chance of winning it.”

The group stages continue until Wednesday night, with the top two players from each group progressing to the knockout stage from the last 16 onwards, with the semi-finals and final being played on Sunday November 20 across two sessions.

Many sessions for the tournament have already sold out, with ticket sales already higher ahead of the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts than they were for the entire event last year.

Tickets are still available for some sessions and can be purchased from the Wolves Civic Box Office on 0870 320 7000.

William Hill Grand Slam of Darts
Schedule of Play
Saturday November 12
8pm-12am
Groups A-D First Games
Wayne Jones v Brendan Dolan (C)
Mark Walsh v Tony O’Shea (A)
Dean Winstanley v Ted Hankey (B)
Raymond van Barneveld v Ian White (B)
James Wade v Dave Chisnall (D)
Scott Waites v Michael van Gerwen (A)
Gary Anderson v Nigel Heydon (C)
Terry Jenkins v Justin Pipe (D)
TICKETS – SOLD OUT

Sunday November 13
Afternoon Session – 2pm-6pm
Groups E-H First Games
Paul Nicholson v Barrie Bates (F)
Wes Newton v Magnus Caris (F)
Mark Webster v Arron Monk (G)
Vincent van der Voort v Co Stompe (H)
Mervyn King v Steve Beaton (E)
Phil Taylor v James Hubbard (E)
Adrian Lewis v Martin Phillips (H)
Jan Dekker v John Part (G)
TICKETS: Balcony Only Remaining £20

Evening Session – 8pm-12am
Groups A-D Second Games
The winners of Saturday’s games will play each other, and the losers will play each other.
Schedule of play TBC
TICKETS: Balcony Only Remaining £20

Monday November 14
7pm-11pm
Groups E-H Second Games
The winners of Sunday afternoon’s games will play each other, and the losers will play each other.
Schedule of play TBC
TICKETS – Last Few Table Seats £20, Balcony Seating £15

Tuesday November 15
7pm-11pm
Groups A-D Final Games
Schedule of play TBC
TICKETS – Last Few Table Seats remaining £20, Balcony Seating £15

Wednesday November 16
7pm-11pm
Groups E-H Final Games
Schedule of play TBC
TICKETS: Balcony Only Remaining £15

Thursday November 17
7pm-11pm
Winner A v Runner-Up B
Winner B v Runner-Up A
Winner C v Runner-Up D
Winner D v Runner-Up C
Schedule of play TBC
TICKETS: Balcony Only Remaining £25

Friday November 18
Winner E v Runner-Up F
Winner F v Runner-Up E
Winner G v Runner-Up H
Winner H v Runner-Up G
Schedule of play TBC
TICKETS: SOLD OUT

Saturday November 19
Afternoon Session – 2pm-6pm
Quarter-Finals x2
TICKETS: Last Few Balcony Only remaining £25
NB – Please note change to start time, which was initially announced as 1pm

Evening Session – 7pm-11pm
Quarter-Finals x2
TICKETS: SOLD OUT

Sunday November 20
Afternoon Session – 2.30pm-6pm
Semi-Finals
TICKETS: Balcony Only Remaining £25

Evening Session – 8pm-10pm
Final
TICKETS: Last Few Balcony Only remaining £25

NB – Order of games from Thursday onwards TBC. Play in the Last 16 onwards is in a bracket format.

Prize Fund
Winner £100,000
Runner-Up £50,000
Semi-Finalists £25,000
Quarter-Finalists £15,000
Second Round Losers £7,500
Group Winner’s Bonus £2,500
Third Place in Group £5,000
Fourth Place in Group £2,500
Total £400,000

Format
First Round (Group Phase) Best of nine legs
Second Round Best of 19 legs
Quarter-Finals Best of 31 legs
Semi-Finals Best of 31 legs
Final Best of 31 legs

Source – PDC/Lawrence Lustig

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.

The performances of the BDO boys have been steadily improving since the inaugural tournament in 2007, when only Gary Anderson of the six competitors qualified from his group stage.  Tony O’Shea has won his group in each of his appearances in Wolverhampton, even defeating the Power last year, and three of the eight groups were topped by BDO players in the same event.

Grand Slam stalwarts Waites, O’Shea, Ted Hankey and Martin Phillips return to the competition this year whilst Jan Dekker and Dean Winstanley are set for debuts at the tournament and they will be desperate to make an impression on the “celebrities” of the PDC and I believe they have a very good chance of doing just that.

With Waites and O’Shea in the same group along with Mark Walsh and Michael van Gerwen, there’s a good chance that we could see the first ever group with a BDO top two, and with Winstanley and Hankey also drawn together with Barney and Ian White, you would expect one of them to qualify for the knockout stages as well.

For Waites to pull off another win or another BDO man to pick up the title is a fairly long shot (Waites is 20/1 with most bookies, followed by Winstanley at 50′s) but they will certainly give a great account of themselves and remind the PDC once again that they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Phil Haigh  – Twitter follow @philhaigh_

Read Scott’y 2 Hotty’s own thoughts on the build up to the GSoD here.

On August 7^th 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.

He has simply refused to adapt or buckle and has ignored all cries for change at the top. Relations with the PDC have never defrosted and the distrust of Barry Hearn’s PDC that emanates from the BDO board descends directly from Olly Croft and his maroon blazered cronies.

For years Olly and the board have had the full weight of the counties behind him and whilst the BBC and Bob Potter have been able to prop the organisation up blind eyes have been turned towards the less desirable aspects of the rose garden.

Not any longer. However, for it to come to out and out mutiny is shocking and surprising. And for the mutiny to be spear headed by a stalwart Olly ally such as Martin Adams is something that was unthinkable just a few months before.

As of Sunday the new board of directors for the British Darts Organisation is:

So how has this situation come about?

There is a depressing symmetry to the events that triggered the infamous darts split in 1993. Sixteen players were so disillusioned with dwindling sponsorship money, increasing dictatorship from the board (Olly in particular), and a dramatic fall in television exposure from the heady days of the late 70’s and early 80’s (in 1983 around 15 tournaments were broadcast, by 1993 only the Embassy World Championship remained on our screens), that they went off and formed their own organisation.

The World Darts Council (WDC) eventually became the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), triggering the biggest feud in sport. Olly has never forgiven the players who split and has been at loggerheads with the PDC ever since.

The echoes of 1993 are audible – diminishing television coverage, struggle with sponsorship, a lack of marketing nous, and a pig headed doggedness from Olly and the board – and amateur darts is suffering once again.

The BBC’s recent coverage has been wretched and their pulling out of the Winmau World Masters (handing coverage to ESPN) has made the situation perilous. The BeeB appear to have lost interest. ESPN will no doubt do a good job but millions of people will be denied the chance to see one of the BDO’s flagship events.

The fact is an ageing, out of touch board has allowed the BDO to stagnate and, viewed in the shadow of its nemesis, BDO darts is simply not as attractive a televised spectacle as PDC darts is. New ideas are required and a genuine marketing strategy needs to be put in place to secure funding and backing for the major BDO tournaments.

The PDC provide an entertainment package that is an attractive proposition for sponsors and broadcasters. The BDO rely on a purist’s view where darts is the star and the frills are a distraction. In the modern era this does not cut it for an ever more demanding public audience. The BBC’s loss of interest is telling.

On top of this a clash of bias between the BDO and PDC has caused constant bickering and does nothing to help the sport. Football suffers because of the vested interests of the FA and the Premier League who have differing ideas of where football should go. The rich are getting richer while grass roots football suffers more as each season passes.

The same is evident with the two rival darts organisations who have never worked together to the detriment of darts as a whole. Having two Professional World Championships is frankly ridiculous and the situation becomes more farcical by the year.

The answer is simple: a structured 2-tiered amateur-professional framework is essential to the continued development of the sport of darts. The money generated at the top must feed down to the grass roots and strengthen the foundations of the pyramid.

The logistics are not so simple. It will take a climb down from both sides and the desire to get round the negotiating table to thrash out an agreement that will propel darts into a new open era.

Barry Hearn’s offer to buy the BDO, made towards the end of 2009 (immediately rejected out of hand by Olly and also  later by the counties), smacked of mischief making and did not give enough assurances that the grass roots of darts will not only be protected, preserved and financed, but that it will be run in the correct manner by people with the knowledge, desire, and skills to help it flourish under a PDC ceiling.

There is little wrong with low level amateur darts that is run by a legion of unpaid volunteers. Ladies darts could be improved but it is mostly trouble at the top of the men’s game.

The career progression for any aspiring darts player has to be to make a living out of full time darts and be successful at the very pinnacle of the sport. Under Olly’s regime any player ‘defecting’ to the PDC was effectively ostracised from what was once his home.

The hope is that the new BDO board adopt a more broad minded approach to thawing the ice and that the cold war can be ended. Reunification of darts is a dream for most and perhaps this is the first step down that road?

The fear is that the ousted Olly Croft will want revenge for his humiliation and will attempt to sabotage anything that the BDO do. The BDO will unite with the PDC over my dead body is the mantra chanted from Muswell Hill.

Given that he is MD of BDO Enterprises Ltd which reputedly part-funds the BDO and is the catalyst for much that goes on in the organisation he is potentially in a position to cause much grief for the new board. He has proved in the past how vindictive he can be with his persistent attempts to wreck the careers of the fourteen players that broke away in 1993.

This day of abdication has long been on the cards; dictators always come to a sticky end. However they often try to take as much down with them as they can and Olly once issued some chilling words along the lines of “When I go, the BDO goes”. Let’s hope this is just doom mongering speculation and Olly leaves graciously.

New board member, Martin Adams, is a player who splits opinion but he has put his head above the parapet and starts with a clean sheet in his new role. He should be given the time, along with the rest of the new board, to put the house in order and determine a workable strategy for taking the BDO forward.

This needs to incorporate securing backing & funding for existing tournaments, regaining television exposure, repolishing the tarnished image that the BDO has attracted over recent years, improving the women’s game, honing the inter-county structure, helping to strengthen grass roots and youth darts, building bridges with Barry Hearn and the PDC, ensuring the BDO is never allowed to stagnate again, and actually putting the interests of the players first.

Adams’ role in the last point will be crucial given the 3-time Lakeside champion is still very much a darts player.

In fact there is a potential conflict of interest with Adams a board member of the BDO and IDPA as well as being an active player. Few sports have their number one player so involved in the mechanics of the game.

The new board, and Adams in particular, might have some work to do to assure everybody else that there is no conflict of interest. Darts is a nervous and paranoid sport; a condition that has festered over years of Croft rule. It is one legacy that Olly truly has left us.

With the momentous changes at Sunday’s BDO AGM, darts once again stands at a crossroads. The newly elected board have a huge job on their hands trying to steady a ship that is taking on water. Let’s hope they get the backing and not the meddling that will enable them to take darts into a new epoch of prosperity and success.

Surely this is what Olly Croft and every other outgoing board member would wish to see?

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………

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.

This year’s qualifiers will include the finalists from the PDC World Cup of Darts, which was held for the first time last December and saw Holland defeat Wales in the decider, as well as the previous five Ladbrokes.com World Darts Champions and Lakeside Champions.

The decision means that 2008 PDC World Champion John Part and 2009 Lakeside Champion Ted Hankey will return to the Grand Slam, with Holland’s Co Stompe and Wales’ Barrie Bates also invited to compete in Wolverhampton.

Lakeside Championship finalist Dean Winstanley and semi-finalist Jan Dekker will be invited to make their Grand Slam of Darts debuts following their success in January.

The finalists from the forthcoming World Grand Prix, to be held in October in Dublin, and Championship League Darts, the £200,000 internet-streamed event being held throughout September and October, will also be invited to compete, alongside the finalists from the Grand Slam of Darts Wildcard Qualifier on November 4.

The Wildcard Qualifier will be open to ANY darts player and played on Friday November 4 at the K2 Centre in Crawley. Entry will be available in the near future.

Alongside the finalists from the Wildcard Qualifier, the finalists of the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship, which will be held earlier on November 4, will also qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts.

In the event that the finalists from the World Grand Prix and Championship League Darts have already qualified, the remaining four places in the field will be allocated as follows (based on rankings at November 2):
1 – Highest placed non-qualified player on the main PDC Order of Merit
2 – Highest placed non-qualified player on the Players Championship Order of Merit
3 – Highest placed non-qualified player on the European Order of Merit
4 – Third-placed play-off winner at the Wildcard Qualifier

Should one of the World Youth Championship finalists have previously qualified, then an additional place would be made available to a further player from the Wildcard Qualifier.

Tickets for the Grand Slam of Darts are now on general sale from the Wolves Civic Box Office, either in person or by calling 0870 320 7000, with record early sales of almost 7,000 reported following their launch at the beginning of August.

The full list of qualifiers is:
2010 Grand Slam of Darts
Winner Scott Waites
Runner-Up James Wade
Semi-Finalist Steve Beaton
Semi-Finalist Wayne Jones

2009 Grand Slam of Darts
Winner Phil Taylor
Runner-Up Scott Waites
Semi-Finalist Raymond van Barneveld
Semi-Finalist Terry Jenkins

2011 PDC World Championship
Winner Adrian Lewis
Runner-Up Gary Anderson
Semi-Finalist Mark Webster
Semi-Finalist Terry Jenkins

2010 PDC World Championship
Winner Phil Taylor
Runner-Up Simon Whitlock
Semi-Finalist Mark Webster
Semi-Finalist Raymond van Barneveld

Previous PDC World Champions
2009 Phil Taylor
2008 John Part
2007 Raymond van Barneveld

2011 World Matchplay
Winner Phil Taylor
Runner-Up James Wade

2010 World Matchplay
Winner Phil Taylor
Runner-Up Raymond van Barneveld

2011 World Grand Prix
Winner
Runner-Up

2010 World Grand Prix
Winner James Wade
Runner-Up Adrian Lewis

2011 UK Open
Winner James Wade
Runner-Up Wes Newton

2010 UK Open
Winner Phil Taylor
Runner-Up Gary Anderson

2011 Premier League Darts
Winner Gary Anderson
Runner-Up Adrian Lewis

2010 Premier League Darts
Winner Phil Taylor
Runner-Up James Wade

2011 Championship League Darts
Winner
Runner-Up

2010 Championship League Darts
Winner James Wade
Runner-Up Phil Taylor

2011 Players Championship Finals
Winner Phil Taylor
Runner-Up Gary Anderson

2010 Players Championship Finals
Winner Paul Nicholson
Runner-Up Mervyn King

2011 European Championship
Winner Phil Taylor
Runner-Up Adrian Lewis

2010 European Championship
Winner Phil Taylor
Runner-Up Wayne Jones

2010 PDC World Cup of Darts
Winner Co Stompe
Winner Raymond van Barneveld
Runner-Up Mark Webster
Runner-Up Barrie Bates

World Youth Championship
2011 Finalists (TBC Nov 4)

2010 Winner Arron Monk

2011 Lakeside Championship
Winner Martin Adams (invitation withdrawn as per rule 2.17 of PDC rules)
Runner-Up Dean Winstanley
Semi-Finalist Martin Phillips
Semi-Finalist Jan Dekker

2010 Lakeside Championship
Winner Martin Adams
Runner-Up Dave Chisnall
Semi-Finalist Martin Phillips
Semi-Finalist Tony O’Shea

Previous Lakeside Champions
2009 Ted Hankey
2008 Mark Webster
2007 Martin Adams

Grand Slam of Darts Wildcard Qualifier
Winner
Runner-Up

Current Qualifiers (A-Z)
Gary Anderson
Barrie Bates
Steve Beaton
Dave Chisnall
Jan Dekker
Ted Hankey
Terry Jenkins
Wayne Jones
Mervyn King
Adrian Lewis
Arron Monk
Wes Newton
Paul Nicholson
Tony O’Shea
John Part
Martin Phillips
Co Stompe
Phil Taylor
Raymond van Barneveld
James Wade
Scott Waites
Mark Webster
Simon Whitlock
Dean Winstanley

Source – PDC/Lawrence Lustig