9 Perfect Darts – The DartsMad Top 5
Posted on November 6th, 2011
The darting holy grail, the ultimate tungsten challenge, the perfect leg of darts, the ‘9 darter’, however we chose to label it has become common place these days, running into double figures on this years PDC Pro Tour alone. The televised 9 darter is a little more of an exclusive club, but has been achieved with relative frequency in recent times (4 to date in 2011), two 9 darters in one match is even more so and solely patronised by who else but a certain Mr Taylor.
Therefore when Brendan Dolan executed his perfect leg live on our televisions screens during the 2011 PartPoker.com World Grand Prix in Dublin, why has this author even put pen to paper or finger to key as it were? The answer lies in the format of the competition, the WGP is famed for its requirement for both double start and finish, and is coined the ‘Double in in Dublin’. This twist, whilst a staple of pub darts has been the undoing of many a player in the WGP, including the Power who has been a first round victim on a number of occasions.
Dolans achievement stands alone, not only for being the first televised perfect leg starting on the double, but also finishing on the bull, which is a necassary route to achieve this rareity. In fact ask John Lowe and he would tell you that the classy way to achieve perfection in the format would be Bull 60 60, Bull 60 60 & 60 51 Bull!
Tags: 9 Darter, John Lowe, Paul Lim, Phil Taylor, Televised 9 darter
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Bullseye Theatre Tour Derby Review
Posted on November 4th, 2011
You Can’t Beat a Bit of Bully!
It’s one of the cornerstones of darts lingo and a healthy Derby crowd found out first hand that it is absolutely spot on. You really can’t beat a bit of Bully.
There’s no Jim Bowen or Tony Green, and (some might say thankfully) there’s no sign of Dave Spikey. What we do get is a trip down memory lane with all the favourites of the popular Sunday evening show, peddled along by comedian and compere extraordinaire Neil Wheatley.
The category round (Faces, Places, Sport, Showbiz, Affairs, History, Books, Words, Britain, Spelling), pounds for points, Bully’s prize board and star prize gamble are all in attendance; the three darts legends throw for the bronze bully; the losers get a Bullseye darts and a bendy bully in a tankard; there’s even a speedboat, albeit a 17 inch long model.
Tags: Assembly Rooms, Bob Anderson, Bullseye Theatre Tour 2011, Derby Review, Eric Bristow, John Lowe
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Darts Moment of The Month: Episode 1 – Jocky Wilson’s 1st World Title (1982)
Posted on August 6th, 2011
The 1982 Embassy World Professional Darts Championship was hyped as the year Eric Bristow was going for 3 world titles in a row, but the competition was blown wide open when the Crafty Cockney suffered a shock 1st round defeat to debutant Steve Brennan (who played for Northern Ireland, but was actually from Suffolk), in one of the greatest upsets in darts history.
With Bristow gone, it was seen as the perfect opportunity for John Lowe to claim his second world title, who was competing in his 4th final in 5 years. His opponent this time was Scotland’s Jocky Wilson, who had reached the quarter-finals in the 3 previous years.
It was a final that featured two very different styles of play. Lowe was cool, full of concentration, showed very little emotion, and one of the smoothest throwing players at that time. Jocky on the other hand was brash, firey and often threw with an unnatural snatch, but was hugely talented and very popular amongst the fans.
The match was a classic. Played over two sessions, the afternoon session saw 3 sets, with Jocky leading 2 sets to 1 going into the evening session, with the “Wee ‘Un” eventually winning 5 sets to 3. Jocky’s second, and last world title came in 1989, where he beat Eric Bristow 6 sets to 4. (If you follow me on twitter -- @DerekDarts180 -- you will have seen that this was my “Darts Moment of the Week” Tweet)
Here is the closing stages of that final, which includes Jocky’s championship winning double 16 game-shot. Enjoy!
Until next time, may the darts be with you……
Tags: 1982 World Championship, Darts Video, Jocky Wilson, John Lowe
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Respect the Fearless
Posted on June 27th, 2011
Here I sit, watching an old episode of Bullseye. I feel that my youth was wasted. I could have been playing darts and getting the practice in early. One year of darts just doesn’t seem to be enough at my age! The highlight of my week could have been watching the Lakeside and looking forward to a bit of Bully on prime time TV.
By no means do I claim to know all there is about darts. But I do crave the knowledge. My Dad was never particularly into the sport, and I can only wish my Granddad was around to tell me stories of Bobby George winning the News of the World Championship or John Lowe’s incredible T17, T18, D18 finish earning him over £100,000 in 1984, first hand.
I am a late generation of darts fan, however, certainly not the latest. There’s a whole new crop after me, with talent that threatens to surpass our heroes of the past and present – the likes of Arron Monk, Michael van Gerwen and the youngster Josh Richardson who I was stunned by just a couple of weeks ago.
Tags: Arron Monk, Bobby George, bullseye, Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Michael Van Gerwen
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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.
