Van Gerwen & James Hubbard Reach Youth Championship Final
Posted on November 5th, 2011
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN and James Hubbard will contest the final of the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship next year after winning through from the Last 64 in Crawley on Friday afternoon.
The pair will compete for the £10,000 first prize during the Premier League Darts Play-Offs at The O2 on Thursday May 17, after producing some fine darts at the K2 Centre.
The duo also won spots in next week’s William Hill Grand Slam of Darts – where 19-year-old Hubbard will make his televised debut – and have secured two-year PDC ProTour Cards to compete on the professional circuit.
Dutch ace Van Gerwen – who lost to Arron Monk in last year’s final but topped the Youth Tour Order of Merit this year with four tournament victories – overcame his nerves to defeat Shaun Griffiths 5-3 in their semi-final. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Grand Slam of Darts, James Hubbard, Michael Van Gerwen, PDC Youth Championships, Results
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The Return of The King
Posted on November 1st, 2011
Mervyn King returned to winning ways on Sunday night in Benidorm, winning the 27th Players Championship of the year, and arguably the most competitive of the non-broadcasted tournaments of the season.
It is not that regularly that the world’s top eight are all out in force in the Players Championships, but with the big names all on show in sunny Spain it was the man ranked 11th who prospered on Sunday, claiming the £6,000 in prize money and moving up to seventh on the Players Championship Order of Merit.
The King has had a tough time of it over the last 18 months or so, as his performance on our television screens have proved. Unbelievably the two-time world finalist has won just one match in the last six major tournaments, when he beat Magnus Caris in the first round of this year’s world championships. First round exits in the last two Matchplays and Grand Prix and a third round defeat in this year’s UK Open add up to a miserable time in front of the cameras for the 45-year-old.
These troubles may have stemmed from the disgraceful treatment he received in the Premier League last year from the crowd. I was in Newcastle for the penultimate week of the league when he faced Barney, and although he didn’t handle it brilliantly, no one deserves the kind of abuse he was getting at any time, never mind whilst trying to throw. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Grand Slam of Darts, Mervyn King, PDC, PDPA Players Championship
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William Hill Sponsor 2011 Grand Slam of Darts
Posted on October 25th, 2011
Darts fans favourite the Grand Slam kicks off in just over a couple of weeks time in Wolverhampton. The 2011 tournament will see a new sponsor, more details below and of course DartsMad will be running another Beat The Tipster competition in association with our own new sponsors Bulls Darts and Dartscorner.co.uk. The GSOD also provides plenty of point scoring opportunities in our Premier Fantasy League Darts competition.
WILLIAM HILL, Britain’s biggest bookmaker, have been confirmed as the title sponsor of the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts, which will be held at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall from November 12-20.
William Hill, who offer betting via mobile, online, telephone, and across their 2300 betting shops, will support the Sky Sports-televised nine-day extravaganza in Wolverhampton.
The William Hill Grand Slam of Darts will feature 32 players – including three-time winner Phil Taylor, reigning champion Scott Waites and World Champion Adrian Lewis – who initially compete in eight four-man groups before the top two in each proceed to the knockout last 16.
The tournament will culminate on Sunday November 20, with the semi-finals and final played across two sessions as players battle for the £100,000 first prize. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Fantasy League Darts, Grand Slam of Darts, Prediction Competition, William Hill Grandslam of Darts Sponsor 2011
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Scott Waites Interview – Scotty 2 Hotty
Posted on August 19th, 2011
DartsMad.com – Scott Waites Interview
Edited 8th Nov 2011 – Scott Talks to DartsMad in the build up to the Grand Slam.
DM: Scott, with less than a week to go to the GSOD how is the defending Champ feeling, can you retain the title? When does work stop and the darts start?
SW: At the minute I’m a bit tired working and travelling to comps, and could have done with a couple of days off before the Grand Slam. I will be working all day Friday then driving down to Wolverhampton. 2hrs practice a night up to the Slam and the darts are going well so see what happens….
DM: Last time we spoke we established Wolfie as your Bogey player, you’ve since beaten him twice and gone on to win said tournaments, I’d like to say we motivated you! But it was nailed on really wasn’t it? Is there a feeling of relief, confidence?
SW: It was good to get past Wolfie and play proper darts against him for a change, I was more focused on the job in hand and prepared a little better and it seemed to work. Not sure it was nailed on but a win is a win, and I let him have the first set of the World Masters!
Tags: BDO Darts, Grand Slam of Darts, Interview, Scott Waites, Scott Waites Interview, Scott Waites move to PDC, Scotty 2 Hotty
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Sky Sports to Televise Grand Slam of Darts
Posted on January 25th, 2011
THE Professional Darts Corporation are delighted to announce that agreement has been reached for the Grand Slam of Darts to be shown live on Sky Sports HD for the next three years.
The 32-player tournament, which features finalists from major PDC tournaments and the semi-finalists from the Lakeside Championship over a two-year period, will be held from November 12-20 2011 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
“The Grand Slam of Darts has, over the past four years, become one of the biggest tournaments in the sport alongside the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship and Premier League Darts,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
“The £400,000 prize fund alone makes for fierce competition but the unique group stage format also provides great drama and excitement for fans at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall and television viewers on Sky Sports and around the world.
“Sky Sports has continued to lead the way in the broadcasting of professional darts in recent years, firstly with their move to High Definition and more recently with the first coverage in 3D.
Tags: Grand Slam of Darts
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Grand Slam of Darts – Waites Is 2010 Champion
Posted on November 22nd, 2010
Waites made up for his defeat to Phil Taylor in last year’s final with a thrilling fightback to claim the biggest win of his career.
The joiner from Halifax will return to his day job at 8am on Monday, having left Wolverhampton £100,000 richer following a brilliant week at the Grand Slam of Darts.
He had overcome Steve Beaton 16-9 in Sunday afternoon’s semi-finals, and produced one of the sport’s finest comebacks to claim the prestigious trophy.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” said Waites. “When I went 8-0 down I just wanted to get back into the game and make the scoreline respectable.
“But when I got closer to James I started to believe I could win it – but it’s not sunk in yet and probably won’t for some time. It feels so good to be called the Grand Slam of Darts champion.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Final, Grand Slam of Darts, Results, Review
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Grand Slam of Darts Semi Finals Review
Posted on November 21st, 2010
JAMES WADE and Scott Waites will contest the final of the Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday evening, having overcome Wayne Jones and Steve Beaton respectively in the semi-finals at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
Waites won through to his second successive Grand Slam of Darts with a 16-9 defeat of Steve Beaton, who had knocked out defending champion Phil Taylor in the quarter-finals but failed to repeat the performance.
Beaton hit back from 4-1 down to level but never led as Waites performed superbly to reach the final.
He will take on James Wade in the decider, after the left-hander defeated Wayne Jones 16-6 in the other semi-final with a fine display, winning nine of the opening ten legs before completing the win.
Wolverhampton’s Jones had won through to the semis with some fine performances in front of his home crowd, but suffered a nightmare with his doubles as Wade made him pay.
The left-hander will now compete in a second successive televised final as he bids to follow up last month’s Bodog.com World Grand Prix triumph with victory against Waites to take the £100,000 title. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Grand Slam of Darts, Results, Review
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Grand Slam of Darts Quarter Finals Review
Posted on November 21st, 2010
BEATON CUTS THE POWER IN DAILY MIRROR GRAND SLAM OF DARTS
STEVE BEATON sensationally ended Phil Taylor’s reign as the Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts champion, coming from 14-11 down to take a 16-14 quarter-final win at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Saturday.
Taylor has won the first three years of the Grand Slam tournament, and his bid for another £100,000 title looked set to continue when he took leads of 10-7 and 14-11.
But Beaton – who had also led 7-5 at one stage – produced some superb darts to reel off five straight legs to claim a momentous victory.
He almost stumbled at the winning line in the final leg, when he missed three darts at double top to take the triumph, only for Taylor to miss the bullseye and give him a reprieve, which he gleefully took on double 16 to set up a semi-final with Scott Waites. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Grand Slam of Darts, Results, Review
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Grand Slam of Darts Night 7 Review
Posted on November 20th, 2010
PHIL TAYLOR returned to his ruthless best to power into the quarter-finals of the Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts, defeating Ronnie Baxter 10-1 at the Wolves Civic.
Taylor had ditched his new-look glasses to see off Wes Newton in progressing through the group stage, and turned on the style in continuing his bid for a fourth straight Grand Slam win.
He took a 9-0 lead against Baxter as the Blackpool man suffered a nightmare with his finishing, and after dropping just one leg hit double top to secure a heavy win.
Taylor will now meet Steve Beaton in Saturday’s last eight, after the former Lakeside Champion swept aside Ted Hankey 10-6.
Hankey led 3-0 after a brilliant start but Beaton won six in a row to take command and finished the contest with a 101 average. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Grand Slam of Darts, Results, Review
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Grand Slam of Darts Night 6 Review
Posted on November 19th, 2010
JAMES WADE won a nail-biting deciding leg against Mervyn King to progress to the last eight of the Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts for the first time in four attempts at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
The left-hander has been a second round loser in the previous three years of the £400,000 tournament, but edged a thriller against King to set up a quarter-final with Terry Jenkins on Saturday.
Wade initially came from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 before the players traded legs throughout an absorbing contest, with King missing two darts for a 10-8 win and one dart to take the decider before the world number two prevailed.
Jenkins had booked his place in the quarter-finals for a fourth successive year earlier in the night, coming from 3-0 down to knock out Tony O’Shea 10-7, with the Stockport ace hitting ten 180s in defeat.
Wolverhampton’s Wayne Jones won through to the quarters in front of his home faces with a 10-6 win over Robert Thornton, and will now play Scottish star Gary Anderson. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Grand Slam of Darts, Results, Review
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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.
