Reigning champion Lewis drew Leamington Spa’s Heydon, who qualified by virtue of his performances in Players Championship events held this year, in the first round of the event.

Lewis’ tie with Heydon will be played on the tournament’s opening night on Thursday December 15, as the 26-year-old from Stoke begins his title defence.

“It’s a tough game but I’m going to be really looking forward to it,” said Lewis, who hit an historic nine-dart finish in his victory over Gary Anderson in January’s final.

“Nigel’s had a great year and he did really well in the Grand Slam recently, so I’ve got to make sure I’m ready to go. It’s going to be a great honour going back to Alexandra Palace as reigning champion but I don’t want to let the trophy go either.”

Phil Taylor, the 15-time World Champion, will meet either Japan’s Haruki Muramatsu or Sweden’s Dennis Nilsson in his opening clash at Alexandra Palace as he bids to erase the memory of his quarter-final defeat to Mark Webster on New Year’s Day.

“It’s an exciting draw but it also poses a challenge because you don’t know which of the players you will play,” said Taylor, who will be in action on Friday December 16.

“Both of them are pretty unknown quantities but they have done really well to qualify and it will be the biggest night of their lives.

“I’ve got to make sure I’m ready and get through the first round. It’s a huge goal to win back this title and I’ll be ready!”

Scotland’s Gary Anderson, the number four seed, drew Germany’s Jyhan Artut, while world number three James Wade plays either Denmark’s Per Laursen or Finland’s Petri Korte.

Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld drew Northampton’s James Richardson in the first round, while 2010 finalist Simon Whitlock will play Swindon’s Dennis Smith.

World number six Webster, a semi-finalist in the last two years at Alexandra Palace, plays resurgent Richie Burnett in an exciting all-Welsh clash, while number seven seed Wes Newton plays Belgian debutant Kurt van de Rijck.

Number nine seed Paul Nicholson drew Austrian Mensur Suljovic, and Terry Jenkins – a semi-finalist last year – plays either Bradford’s Joe Cullen or Serbian Oliver Ferenc.

Kevin Painter, the 2004 finalist in one of the sport’s greatest games as he took Taylor to a sudden-death leg, meets Under-21 World Champion Arron Monk, who won Monday’s PDPA Qualifier to earn a debut in the World Championship.

Brendan Dolan, who hit the first double-start nine-dart finish during the recent World Grand Prix, plays Belgium’s emerging Kim Huybrechts in an eye-catching tie, while Andy Hamilton meets Spanish ace Antonio Alcinas.

Colin Osborne plays Michael van Gerwen, Colin Lloyd meets American number on Darin Young and Steve Beaton plays Swedish star Magnus Caris.

Australian qualifiers Sean Reed and Geoff Kime were handed tough tasks respectively against in-form Justin Pipe – who has risen into the world’s top 32 recently by winning three Players Championships – and former semi-finalist Mervyn King.

Tournament sponsors Ladbrokes have made Phil Taylor the best-price 5/4 favourite, with Adrian Lewis 7/1 second favourite, Gary Anderson priced at 8/1 and James Wade at 9/1.

The 72 players competing in the tournament come from 24 countries, including Portugal, Serbia and Malaysia for the first time.

The tournament’s first round will be played across seven days, with the second round split either side of the Christmas break.

The third round and quarter-finals will be played ahead of a break with no play on New Year’s Eve, with the semi-finals on January 1 and the final held on Monday January 2.

The PDC have enjoyed record pre-event sales for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship, with only tiered seating remaining on sale. Tickets can be purchased from www.seetickets.com/darts or via 0844 871 8807.

Ladbrokes World Darts Championship
Preliminary Round
Connie Finnan (Republic of Ireland) v Warren French (New Zealand)
Haruki Muramatsu (Japan) v Dennis Nilsson (Sweden)
Devon Petersen (South Africa) v Jose De Souza (Portugal)
Joe Cullen (England) v Oliver Ferenc (Serbia)
Kevin Munch (Germany) v Lee Choon Peng (Malaysia)
Paul Barham (England) v Scott MacKenzie (Hong Kong)
Per Laursen (Denmark) v Petri Korte (Finland)
Dietmar Burger (Austria) v Christian Perez (Philippines)

First Round Draw Bracket
Phil Taylor (1, England) v Muramatsu/Nilsson
Mark Dudbridge (32, England) v Dave Chisnall (England)
Vincent van der Voort (16, Netherlands) v Mark Hylton (England)
Andy Hamilton (17, England) v Antonio Alcinas (Spain)
Raymond van Barneveld (8, Netherlands) v James Richardson (England)
Brendan Dolan (25, Northern Ireland) v Kim Huybrechts (Belgium)
Paul Nicholson (9, Australia) v Mensur Suljovic (Austria)
Alan Tabern (24, England) v Burger/Perez
Simon Whitlock (5, Australia) v Dennis Smith (England)
Steve Beaton (28, England) v Magnus Caris (Sweden)
Mervyn King (12, England) v Geoff Kime (Australia)
Colin Osborne (21, England) v Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands)
Gary Anderson (4, Scotland) v Jyhan Artut (Germany)
Steve Brown (29, England) v Petersen/de Sousa
Colin Lloyd (13, England) v Darin Young (USA)
Andy Smith (20, England) v Scott Rand (England)
Adrian Lewis (2, England) v Nigel Heydon (England)
Robert Thornton (31, Scotland) v Ian White (England)
Wayne Jones (15, England) v Barham/MacKenzie
Jamie Caven (18, England) v Roland Scholten (Netherlands)
Wes Newton (7, England) v Kurt van de Rijck (Belgium)
Justin Pipe (26, England) v Sean Reed (Australia)
Terry Jenkins (10, England) v Cullen/Ferenc
Co Stompe (23, Netherlands) v Michael Smith (England)
Mark Webster (6, Wales) v Richie Burnett (Wales)
John Part (27, Canada) v John Henderson (Scotland)
Mark Walsh (11, England) v Finnan/French
Kevin Painter (22, England) v Arron Monk (England)
James Wade (3, England) v Laursen/Korte
Peter Wright (30, England) v Jelle Klaasen (Netherlands)
Ronnie Baxter (14, England) v Steve Farmer (England)
Denis Ovens (19, England) v Munch/Choon Peng

Ticket Information
Tickets for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship are on sale through www.seetickets.com/darts or by calling 0844 871 8807 (calls cost 6p per minute from BT landline plus standard network charge).

Fans who have been unable to secure a ticket for a sold-out session can still purchase tickets through viagogo, the Official Ticket Exchange Partner of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship, at www.viagogo.com.

Hospitality packages are available to watch the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship in style, including two-course meal, complimentary drinks and exclusive reserved seating, and can be purchased from the PDC Head Office on 08712 501 180.

Source – PDC/Lawrence Lustig

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 £250,000 tournament will feature the leading 32 players from the final 2011 Players Championship Order of Merit competing for the £60,000 first prize across four days from the Yorkshire venue.

Cash Converters, the world’s largest retailer of pre-owned goods, has been confirmed as the title sponsors of the tournament as they continue their association with the Professional Darts Corporation.

“The Cash Converters Players Championship has developed into one of the sport’s most important majors in recent years,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.

“The tournament features the 32 form players from our Players Championship series of events during the year, rewarding the stars of the sport for their success from the PDC ProTour and continuing the development of emerging stars in the sport.

“We thank Cash Converters for their support of this tournament. With over 200 UK stores and hundreds more worldwide, their brand is widely recognisable and we hope this tournament will help develop that further.”

David Patrick, Chief Executive of Cash Converters UK, said: “We are delighted to be title sponsor of the PDC’s Players Championship tournament.

“Darts is a strong grassroots sport with a huge following across the UK, and is a perfect fit with our customers and staff alike.

“We are pleased to be able to support and invest in this prestigious event, as the sport continues to grow in popularity and welcome new fans we are able to offer a strong synergy with our customer base.

“As we expand as a company it is important that we maximise the opportunities to engage with our existing customers and develop relationships with potential customers, darts is a great way of doing this.”

Gary Anderson, who was February’s runner-up to Phil Taylor, is currently the number one seed for the Cash Converters Players Championship after winning five of the 29 one-day events held so far in 2011, totalling £44,800 in prize money.

Justin Pipe’s three wins since October have seen him jump up to second place in the Players Championship Order of Merit on £41,200, with Paul Nicholson – the only man other than Taylor to have won the Players Championship finals event – third with £37,200 after three wins.

John Part sits fourth after also collecting a treble of victories, while Wes Newton has also topped £30,000 in prize money this year.

Two time Players Championship finals winner Taylor and five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld are also amongst the current qualifiers, with the final two qualifying events to be held on November 26 & 27 in Wigan.

Play in the Cash Converters Players Championship begins on Thursday December 8, with the first round split across that session and Friday night’s session.

The second round will be played in two sessions on Saturday December 10, with the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon and the semi-finals and final being played on Sunday night.

Tickets are available in person from the Doncaster Dome Box Office or by calling 01302 370 777, with a buy one, get one free offer available for tickets for the opening night on Thursday December 8.

Cash Converters Players Championship
Thursday December 8 (7pm-11pm)
8x First Round games
Tickets £20 – Buy One, Get One Free!

Friday December 9 (7pm-11pm)
8x First Round games
Tickets £25

Saturday December 10 (1pm-5pm)
Afternoon Session
4x Second Round games
Tickets £20

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
4x Second Round games
Tickets £25

Sunday December 11
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm)
4x Quarter-Finals
Tickets £20

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Semi-Finals & Final
Tickets £25

Tickets paid for by debit or credit card are subject to £2.40 booking fee, and there is no booking fee for cash sales in person.

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.

The 39-year-old from Taunton won his maiden professional title at the start of October when he defeated Phil Taylor in Dublin, and after picking up another victory in Killarney since he completed a notable treble in the first of two Players Championships over the weekend.

Pipe enjoyed a memorable day in Crawley, following up victories over young duo Kirk Shepherd and Reece Robinson with wins over former World Champions Steve Beaton and Mark Webster to reach the semi-finals.

There, he overcame Matt Clark 6-3 before repeating the scoreline in the decider against van der Voort.

In a clash of contrasting styles, the quick-throwing Dutchman took the final’s first break in leg five to lead 3-2.

But Pipe punished a missed bullseye from the Dutchman to break back in leg six, hit a 13-darter to lead 4-3 and then hit double eight to move 5-3 up.

He also hit a 180 in the ninth leg before double 16 gave him another title.

“I’m delighted with that,” said Pipe. “I’m really enjoying myself at the moment and I’m climbing up the rankings, and this is another massive confidence boost for me.”

Van der Voort was also looking for his third victory of the year, but had to settle for the £3,000 runners-up cheque following his run.

His victims on the day included Wayne Jones, Jamie Caven and Wes Newton before he saw off Co Stompe 6-4 in an all-Dutch semi-final.

Stompe enjoyed his best run on the circuit since August as he reached the last four alongside Clark, who has not reached a ranking semi-final since June 2010 but defeated World Champion Adrian Lewis in Crawley.

Stoke’s Ian White followed up his third-placed finish in Friday night’s William Hill Grand Slam of Darts Wildcard Qualifier by winning through to the last eight alongside Wes Newton, Colin Osborne and Mark Webster.

Play continues with a second Players Championship of the weekend on Sunday as players bid to win spots in December’s Players Championship Finals and Ladbrokes World Darts Championship.

Players Championship 28
Crawley, Saturday November 5
First Round
Wes Newton (1) Bye
Steve Maish 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Steve Farmer (32) 6-4 Mark Lawrence
Magnus Caris 6-1 Matthew Edgar
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Dave Chisnall (16)
Dennis Smith 6-4 Peter Hudson
Dave Ladley 6-5 Denis Ovens (17)
William O’Connor 6-1 Brian Woods
Vincent van der Voort (8) Bye
Wayne Atwood 6-1 Michael Barnard
Wayne Jones (25) 6-3 Louis Blundell
Prakash Jiwa 6-1 Jimmy Chojnowski
Jamie Caven (9) Bye
Darin Young 6-3 Mark Frost
Steve Brown (24) 6-4 Shane O’Connor
James Richardson 6-2 Ashley Holgate
Mark Walsh (5) Bye
Kevin McDine 6-5 Dennis Priestley
Andy Hamilton (28) 6-1 Steve Grubb
Adam Smith-Neale 6-3 Peter Manley
Colin Osborne (12) 6-1 Ryan Harrington
Steve Evans 6-0 Matt Padgett
Terry Jenkins (21) 6-2 Andy Pearce
Gary Eastwood 6-3 Adrian Bolitho
John Part (4) Bye
Dylan Duo 6-0 Barrie Bates
Co Stompe (29) 6-1 Darrell Claydon
Ken MacNeil 6-2 Dyson Parody
Kevin Painter (13) 6-1 Steven Pearson
Mark Jones 6-1 Nigel Birch
Mick Todd 6-2 Mark Hylton (20)
Steve Hine 6-4 Dave Smith
Paul Nicholson (2) Bye
Andy Brown 6-4 Martyn Turner
Adrian Lewis (31) 6-2 Shaun Griffiths
Joe Cullen 6-1 Jimmy O’Regan
Darren Johnson 6-5 Colin Lloyd (15)
Matt Clark 6-5 Alex Roy
Andy Smith (18) 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Michael Mansell 6-2 Dean Jones
Mervyn King (7) Bye
Robert Thornton 6-3 Darren Whittingham
Richie Burnett (26) 6-1 Terry Temple
Roland Scholten 6-3 Paul Rowley
James Wade (10) Bye
Ian White 6-4 Chris Aubrey
Jimmy Mann 6-5 Alan Tabern (23)
Nick Fullwell 6-5 Tony Eccles
Ronnie Baxter (6) Bye
Aodhagan O’Neill 6-2 Simon Burt
Devon Petersen 6-2 Michael van Gerwen (27)
Adam Hunt 6-4 Adrian Gray
Mark Webster (11) Bye
Geoff Whitworth 6-0 Paul Hodkin
Scott Rand (22) 6-3 Ian Jopling
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Mareno Michels
Justin Pipe (3) Bye
Kirk Shepherd 6-1 Colin Monk
Nigel Heydon (30) 6-4 Arron Monk
Reece Robinson 6-3 Andy Relf
Peter Wright (14) 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Stephen Hardy 6-4 Tony Ayres
Steve Beaton (19) 6-2 Michael Smith
Andy Jenkins 6-0 Jon Archer

Second Round
Wes Newton 6-4 Steve Maish
Magnus Caris 6-3 Steve Farmer
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Dennis Smith
Dave Ladley 6-5 William O’Connor
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Wayne Atwood
Wayne Jones 6-1 Prakash Jiwa
Jamie Caven 6-3 Darin Young
James Richardson 6-5 Steve Brown
Mark Walsh 6-3 Kevin McDine
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Colin Osborne 6-3 Steve Evans
Gary Eastwood 6-5 Terry Jenkins
John Part 6-4 Dylan Duo
Co Stompe 6-1 Ken MacNeil
Mark Jones 6-5 Kevin Painter
Mick Todd 6-2 Steve Hine
Paul Nicholson 6-3 Andy Brown
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Joe Cullen
Matt Clark 6-1 Darren Johnson
Andy Smith 6-3 Michael Mansell
Robert Thornton 6-3 Mervyn King
Richie Burnett 6-2 Roland Scholten
Ian White 6-4 James Wade
Jimmy Mann 6-4 Nick Fullwell
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Aodhagan O’Neill
Devon Petersen 6-5 Adam Hunt
Mark Webster 6-0 Geoff Whitworth
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Scott Rand
Justin Pipe 6-2 Kirk Shepherd
Reece Robinson 6-2 Nigel Heydon
Peter Wright 6-2 Stephen Hardy
Steve Beaton 6-1 Andy Jenkins
Losers £200

Third Round
Wes Newton 6-5 Magnus Caris
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Dave Ladley
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Wayne Jones
Jamie Caven 6-0 James Richardson
Mark Walsh 6-0 Andy Hamilton
Colin Osborne 6-2 Gary Eastwood
Co Stompe 6-4 John Part
Mark Jones 6-4 Mick Todd
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Paul Nicholson
Matt Clark 6-4 Andy Smith
Richie Burnett 6-4 Robert Thornton
Ian White 6-5 Jimmy Mann
Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Devon Petersen
Mark Webster 6-2 Jelle Klaasen
Justin Pipe 6-4 Reece Robinson
Steve Beaton 6-3 Peter Wright
Losers £400

Fourth Round
Wes Newton 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Jamie Caven
Colin Osborne 6-3 Mark Walsh
Co Stompe 6-3 Mark Jones
Matt Clark 6-3 Adrian Lewis
Ian White 6-5 Richie Burnett
Mark Webster 6-4 Ronnie Baxter
Justin Pipe 6-4 Steve Beaton
Losers £600

Quarter-Finals
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Wes Newton
Co Stompe 6-2 Colin Osborne
Matt Clark 6-3 Ian White
Justin Pipe 6-1 Mark Webster
Losers £1,000

Semi-Finals
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Co Stompe
Justin Pipe 6-3 Matt Clark
Losers £2,000

Final
Justin Pipe 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000

Final – leg-by-leg
Vincent van der Voort v Justin Pipe
0-0 – Justin Pipe wins the bull and throws first
0-1 *- Pipe opens up with a 14-darter to lead courtesy of double 16.
1-1 – The Dutchman levels on double eight, with Pipe waiting on 24.
1-2 – van der Voort hits a 177 but misses the bull for a 124 finish and Pipe checks out double 12 for a 13-dart leg.
2-2 – Double ten sees van der Voort level again, this time under little pressure from Pipe.
3-2 – Another 177 from van der Voort leaves him 50 after 12 darts, and although he misses two darts to break, Pipe is also off-target with a pair of darts at double ten before his opponent takes out double one to move ahead.
3-3 – Pipe misses two darts at double 16 to break back, but is given a reprieve when van der Voort misses the bull and returns to hit the bed at the fourth attempt to break.
3-4 – Pipe regains the lead with a 13-dart leg, hitting three 140s and double 12 in the process.
3-5 – The Dutchman misses five darts to level and Pipe finishes double eight to break and move a leg away from his third victory in five weeks.
3-6 – Pipe hits a 180 to leave 61, which he finishes on double 16 for the win.

Source – PDC

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 11^th 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.

The death of Mervyn’s father also badly affected his form at the tail end of last year, and when you consider that he has also been struggling with an elbow injury in his throwing arm, it is no wonder that he has struggled to perform consistently.

But it seems that the King may be getting back to his best.  After an impressive run to the semi-finals of the Championship League and then Sunday’s result, his confidence must be riding high and his sights will be very much set on Terry Jenkins and getting back into the top 10 in the world as the Bull is just £800 ahead of him in the rankings.

The real test will come in two weeks’ time when the King returns to the world of the walk-on girls and sky sports cameras in the Grand Slam in Wolverhampton.  If he can carry his good form from the floor on to the stage there and again in the Players Championships Finals in Doncaster next month then he will be a real force again come the World Championships.

Phil Haigh
Twitter – @philhaigh_

Image – Lawrence Lustig/PDC

King has spent much of 2011 battling tendinitis in his throwing elbow, but capped a recent return to form – which included a run to the semi-finals of Championship League Darts – by picking up the £6,000 first prize in Spain.

The 45-year-old began Sunday’s event with a whitewash of Spaniard Eduardo Gonzales, before defeating Steve Maish, Belgium’s Kurt van de Rijck, Ronnie Baxter and Colin Osborne to reach the semi-finals, where he saw off Jamie Caven 6-2.

In the final against Newton, King took the opening leg with a superb 138 finish before the Fleetwood ace levelled with a 97 checkout and hit double top to punish King’s misses and lead.

King broke back but was punished again in leg five as Newton hit double ten to lead 3-2.

Finishes of 124 and 98 from King moved him 4-3 up, and when Newton missed double five in the eighth he took out double ten to edge towards a victory which was sealed in style courtesy of a 136 checkout in leg nine.

Newton’s run to the final included a fine 6-3 win over Raymond van Barneveld in the semis, alongside defeats of three other World Champions in Mark Webster, Steve Beaton and Adrian Lewis.

Van Barneveld followed up his appearance in Saturday’s final with a semi-final finish 24 hours later, picking up £5,000 in total of his weekend’s work which included a memorable second win of the weekend over Phil Taylor, who was defeated 6-4 in the last 32.

The Dutch ace also defeated Peter Wright 6-5 in a tight semi-final which the Lowestoft star had a chance to win in the deciding leg.

Gary Anderson and Colin Osborne also reached the quarter-finals, alongside Mark Webster – who had opened the day with a nine-dart finish in the opening leg of his first round win over Juan Huertas, which earned him an £800 bonus.

Saturday’s champion James Wade was whitewashed by Caven in the last 16, with Baxter, Beaton, Colin Lloyd, Mark Walsh, Vincent van der Voort, Scott Rand and Justin Pipe also losing out at that stage.

Youngster Michael Smith almost matched Webster’s achievement in hitting a perfect leg during his second round loss to Wayne Jones, but missed double 15 for a nine-darter after hitting scores of 174 and 177 to leave a 150 checkout.

The Players Championships in Spain were the last European-based PDC ProTour events of 2011, with the four players from the European Order of Merit to qualify for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship in December.

The qualifiers will be confirmed once the remaining four Players Championships – to be held in Crawley next weekend and in Wigan on November 26 & 27 – have taken place, with players qualifying from the PDC Order of Merit and Players Championship Order of Merit first.

The four provisional European Order of Merit qualifiers for the World Championship are Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts, Spain’s Antonio Alcinas, Austria’s Mensur Suljovic and Germany’s Jyhan Artut.

Spanish Darts Trophy Players Championship
(PC27, Benidorm, Sunday October 30 2011)
Preliminary Round
Jesus Almazan 6-4 Sergio Garcia
Eduardo Sales Lopez 6-2 Alvaro Molina
Martin Marti 6-0 Bernd Schmidt
Jose Luis Torres 6-4 Manuel Fernandez
Dani Duran 6-1 Steffen Schaffer
Carlos Jiminez 6-2 Raul Invernon
Eduardo Gonzales 6-5 Juan Abascal
Kurt van de Rijck 6-2 Fernando Gutierrez
David Sanchez 6-0 Rudiger Lohse
Maik Langendorf 6-0 Maurizio Monterubbianesi
Jose Maria Anibarro 6-0 Michael Schmidt
Armando Frias 6-2 Raul Gutierrez
Colin Rice 6-4 Juan Carlos Albaladejo
Gregorio Garcia 6-0 Filip Grelha
Enrique Garcia 6-4 Oscar Vives
Juan Huertas 6-0 Romano Ruggeri
Jose Rodriguez Bernardino 6-1 Jonatan Loarce
Abraham Beltran Alfonso 6-4 Hugh Rowlands
Juan Jose Acs 6-0 Wilfried Hoburg
Fernando Bas 6-3 Mahdi Sadre Arhami
Guillermo Corella 6-0 Mauro Stronati
Carlos Garbayo 6-2 Hans Benseler

First Round
Gary Anderson (1) 6-0 Jesus Almazan
Ian White 6-1 Barrie Bates
Roland Scholten (32) 6-4 Ignacio Bassullas
Steve Hine 6-5 Steve Grubb
Colin Lloyd (16) 6-0 Eduardo Sales Lopez
William O’Connor 6-2 Kevin McDine
Denis Ovens (17) 6-1 Martin Marti
Matthew Edgar 6-5 Shaun Griffiths
James Wade (8) 6-0 Jose Luis Torres
Joe Cullen 6-4 Veijo Viinikka
John Henderson (25) 6-1 Simon Craven
Arron Monk 6-4 Dave Smith
Jamie Caven (9) 6-0 Dani Duran
Dyson Parody 6-5 Mark Dudbridge
Richie Burnett (24) 6-1 Diego Martinez
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Michael Mansell
Ronnie Baxter (5) 6-3 Carlos Jiminez
Dennis Priestley 6-1 Devon Petersen
Andy Hamilton (28) 6-0 Darrell Claydon
Brian Woods 6-3 Magnus Caris
Mervyn King (12) 6-0 Eduardo Gonzales
Steve Maish 6-5 Chris Thompson
Kurt van de Rijck 6-4 Steve Brown (21)
Rocco Maes 6-0 Mareno Michels
Mark Walsh (4) 6-0 David Sanchez
Andy Jenkins 6-5 Jyhan Artut
Co Stompe (29) 6-3 Geoff Whitworth
John Michael 6-2 Marko Kantele
Colin Osborne (13) 6-1 Maik Langendorf
Nick Fullwell 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Alan Tabern (20) 6-5 Jose Maria Anibarro
Aodhagan O’Neill 6-3 Chris Aubrey
Wes Newton (2) 6-3 Armando Frias
James Richardson 6-2 Darren Johnson
Adrian Lewis (31) 6-2 Lee Palfreyman
Bernd Roith 6-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Colin Rice 6-2 Dave Chisnall (15)
Jelle Klaasen 6-0 Matt Padgett
Steve Beaton (18) 6-2 Gregorio Garcia
Tim Hope 6-2 Carlos Rodriguez
Vincent van der Voort (7) 6-2 Enrique Garcia
Peter Manley 6-4 Terry Temple
Michael van Gerwen (26) 6-5 Julio Barbero
Michael Barnard 6-1 Andy Relf
Mark Webster (10) 6-3 Juan Huertas – Mark Webster hits nine-dart finish
Steve Evans 6-1 Antonio Alcinas
Wayne Jones (23) 6-1 Jose Antonio Justicia
Michael Smith 6-4 Ken MacNeil
Phil Taylor (6) 6-0 Jose Rodriguez Bernardino
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Tomas Seyler
Raymond van Barneveld (27) 6-0 Lee White
Dave Ladley 6-5 Dylan Duo
Kevin Painter (11) 6-0 Abraham Beltran Alfonso
Paul Rowley 6-4 Ken Dobson
Scott Rand (22) 6-2 Juan Jose Acs
Simon Burt 6-5 Gary Welding
Justin Pipe (3) 6-1 Fernando Bas
Michael Rosenauer 6-4 Mark Frost
Nigel Heydon (30) 6-0 Rene Hellmich
Dennis Smith 6-4 Robert Thornton
Peter Wright (14) 6-0 Guillermo Corella
Andree Welge 6-2 Adrian Gray
Mark Hylton (19) 6-1 Carlos Garbayo
Kirk Shepherd 6-2 Mick Todd

Second Round
Gary Anderson 6-5 Ian White
Roland Scholten 6-3 Steve Hine
Colin Lloyd 6-3 William O’Connor
Denis Ovens 6-2 Matthew Edgar
James Wade 6-0 Joe Cullen
John Henderson 6-5 Arron Monk
Jamie Caven 6-5 Dyson Parody
Richie Burnett 6-2 Mensur Suljovic
Ronnie Baxter Bye (Dennis Priestley withdrew through illness)
Brian Woods 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Mervyn King 6-3 Steve Maish
Kurt van de Rijck 6-1 Rocco Maes
Mark Walsh 6-4 Andy Jenkins
Co Stompe 6-4 John Michael
Colin Osborne 6-2 Nick Fullwell
Aodhagan O’Neill 6-4 Alan Tabern
Wes Newton 6-2 James Richardson
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Bernd Roith
Colin Rice 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Steve Beaton 6-1 Tim Hope
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Peter Manley
Michael Barnard 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Mark Webster 6-2 Steve Evans
Wayne Jones 6-2 Michael Smith
Phil Taylor 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Raymond van Barneveld 6-0 Dave Ladley
Paul Rowley 6-5 Kevin Painter
Scott Rand 6-0 Simon Burt
Justin Pipe 6-4 Michael Rosenauer
Nigel Heydon 6-5 Dennis Smith
Peter Wright 6-0 Andree Welge
Mark Hylton 6-4 Kirk Shepherd
Losers £200

Third Round
Gary Anderson 6-0 Roland Scholten
Colin Lloyd 6-2 Denis Ovens
James Wade 6-5 John Henderson
Jamie Caven 6-3 Richie Burnett
Ronnie Baxter 6-4 Brian Woods
Mervyn King 6-3 Kurt van de Rijck
Mark Walsh 6-3 Co Stompe
Colin Osborne 6-2 Aodhagan O’Neill
Wes Newton 6-4 Adrian Lewis
Steve Beaton 6-0 Colin Rice
Vincent van der Voort 6-0 Michael Barnard
Mark Webster 6-3 Wayne Jones
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Phil Taylor
Scott Rand 6-2 Paul Rowley
Justin Pipe 6-5 Nigel Heydon
Peter Wright 6-5 Mark Hylton
Losers £400

Fourth Round
Gary Anderson 6-0 Colin Lloyd
Jamie Caven 6-0 James Wade
Mervyn King 6-2 Ronnie Baxter
Colin Osborne 6-2 Mark Walsh
Wes Newton 6-3 Steve Beaton
Mark Webster 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Scott Rand
Peter Wright 6-4 Justin Pipe
Losers £600

Quarter-Finals
Jamie Caven Bye (Gary Anderson conceded with Caven leading 5-4)
Mervyn King 6-3 Colin Osborne
Wes Newton 6-2 Mark Webster
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Peter Wright
Losers £1,000

Semi-Finals
Mervyn King 6-2 Jamie Caven
Wes Newton 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Losers £2,000

Final
Mervyn King 6-3 Wes Newton
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000

Semi-Finals
Mervyn King defeated Jamie Caven 6-2 to win through from the first semi-final. Caven led courtesy of an 11-dart finish before King won three in a row to lead 3-1. Caven took the fifth but King again took three in a row to seal the win.
Wes Newton denied Raymond van Barneveld a place in a second successive final with a 6-3 triumph in the second semi-final. Newtn finished 146 for the opening leg, and after the Dutchman levelled he took three in a row to lead 4-1. Van Barneveld won the sixth on tops, but missed four darts to take the seventh as Newton moved 5-2 up. Double 18 kept van Barneveld in the game, but Newton finished 83 for victory.

Final
Mervyn King v Wes Newton
0-0 – Mervyn King wins the bull and will throw first.
1-0 – Newton hits a 177 but King powers home a 138 checkout to lead.
1-1 – Newton hits a 180 and finishes 97 on tops to level.
1-2 – King fires in a 180 but misses double 11 for a 124 finish and two darts at double four to allow Newton in to break on tops.
2-2 – King breaks back on double 16, initially missing the bed but being given a reprieve when Newton misses double four and two for a 68 finish.
2-3 – King misses the bull for an 86 finish and Newton takes out double ten to break again.
3-3 – King again breaks in reply, finishing 124 on double 11.
4-3 – Newton misses the bull for a 75 finish and King takes out 98 on double 16.
5-3 – King misses the bull for a 170 checkout, but Newton misses double five and he returns to hit double eight and move a leg away from the win.
6-3 – King seals the victory in style with a 136 finish.

Source – PDC

The world number three claimed his first ranking win since the Speedy Hire UK Open in June, and his first Players Championship title since September 2010, with the triumph at Gladbeck’s Van Der Valk Hotel.

Wade enjoyed a fine day in Germany in picking up the £6,000 first prize, defeating Yorkshire pair Reece Robinson and Dave Smith, world number six Wes Newton, Dave Chisnall and John Henderson to reach the semis.

There, he edged past Mervyn King 6-5 in a high-quality encounter, hitting a 180 to set up double top for a 13-dart finish in the deciding leg after King had hit back from 4-1 down to level.

After sharing the opening four legs of the final with in-form Pipe, Wade took out 104 to win the fifth leg, broke in 14 darts and then hit a 180 and a 96 finish to move 5-2 up.

Pipe replied with a 96 finish to win his third leg, but his hopes of winning a third successive Players Championship were ended in the next leg when he missed two darts to stay in the game and Wade finished double eight for victory.

Pipe had recently won his first Players Championships in back-to-back events in Dublin and Killarney, and impressed once more with his run to the final, where he picked up £3,000.

He failed to lose more than two legs in a game during his run to the final, whitewashing Gerhard Kremer and Steve Hine before also defeating Michael Rosenauer, Roland Scholten, Simon Whitlock and Jyhan Artut with 6-2 scorelines.

Artut won through to his first-ever Players Championship semi-final – and became the third German to reach a ProTour semi alongside Michael Rosenauer and Andree Welge – with his run as he claimed £2,000 prize money.

He claimed notable wins over Co Stompe, Mark Webster, Steve Brown and Mark Hylton before losing out to Pipe in the last four.

King followed up his success in reaching the semi-finals of Championship League Darts on Thursday by winning through to the last four in his second Players Championship this month.

John Henderson, Colin Lloyd, Mark Hylton and Simon Whitlock all reached the quarter-finals, while Roland Scholten improved his chances of qualifying for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship by reaching the last 16.

Sunday sees a second Players Championship held at Gladbeck’s Van Der Valk Hotel.

German Darts Classic Players Championship
(PC24, Saturday October 22, Gladbeck)
Preliminary Round
Wilhelm Schwingenschlogel 6-1 Ralf Schubert
Milos Bedy 6-4 Maximillian Thamm
Maik Langendorf 6-3 Meszaros Zsolt
Hendrik Dame 6-1 Wolfgang Hoffmann
Alexander Smyk 6-2 Joost Derksen
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Frank Kouze
Ufuk Uzuner 6-2 Marco Sieg
Karsten Koch 6-1 Heiko Menkes
Johnny Okken 6-0 Simon Priest
Ralf Sagenschneider 6-3 Lucio Rave
Jorg Mitterlehner 6-5 Marko Jovanovic
Jerry Hendriks 6-4 Oliver Gotze
Martino Tagliapietra 6-1 Florian Menzel
Detlef Barchanovitz 6-2 Mattheus Ziolkowski
Olaf Tupuschis 6-2 Frank Lommel
Steffen Siepmann 6-2 Michael Kiebel
Gino Vos 6-0 Jorg Aufmhoff
Stefen Mehl 6-0 Raphael Schoning
Marvin Esser 6-3 Michael Hurtz
Christian Kallinger 6-2 Daniel Bauerlein

First Round
Wes Newton (1) 6-0 Klaus Roger Kraske
Devon Petersen 6-4 Brian Woods
James Wade (32) 6-1 Reece Robinson
Dave Smith 6-2 Wilhelm Schwingenschlogel
Dave Chisnall (16) 6-0 Ralf Wagener
Shaun Griffiths 6-1 Nigel Birch
Terry Jenkins (17) 6-3 Reinhard Timmermann
Maik Langendorf 6-0 Milos Bedy
Jamie Caven (8) 6-5 Eduardo Sales Lopes
Antonio Alcinas 6-5 Dylan Duo
John Henderson (25) 6-5 Kevin McDine
William O’Connor 6-2 Hendrik Dame
Kevin Painter (9) 6-1 Mick Hasse
Mark Frost 6-0 Barrie Bates
Andy Hamilton (24) 6-1 James Richardson
Arron Monk 6-1 Alexander Smyk
Ronnie Baxter (5) 6-1 Pieter Romkes
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Andree Welge
Michael Smith 6-5 Nigel Heydon (28)
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Mervyn King (12) 6-1 Kevin Munch
Steve Evans 6-3 Rocco Maes
Colin Osborne (21) 6-0 Frank Bauske
Joe Cullen 6-3 Ufuk Uzuner
Mark Walsh (4) 6-0 Frank Liebeton
Matthew Edgar 6-4 John Michael
Adrian Gray 6-4 Dennis Smith (29)
Darren Whittingham 6-5 Karsten Koch
Colin Lloyd (13) 6-3 Kurt van de Rijk
Marko Kantele 6-3 Tony Eccles
Alan Tabern (20) 6-0 Markus Hoffmann
Johnny Okken 6-3 Ralf Sagenschneider
Paul Nicholson (2) 6-2 Michael Sievert
Jann Hoffmann 6-2 Andy Jenkins
Bernd Roith 6-4 Jelle Klaasen (31)
Veijo Viinikka 6-3 Jorg Mitterlehner
Wichard Knoops 6-5 Steve Beaton (15)
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Mareno Michels
Mark Hylton (18) 6-1 Stefanie Luck
Jerry Hendriks 6-1 Martino Tagliapietra
Mark Webster (7) 6-4 Michael Rasztovits
Mick Todd 6-2 Dyson Parody
Co Stompe (26) 6-2 Peter Martin
Jyhan Artut 6-3 Detlef Barchanovitz
Andy Smith (10) 6-1 Karsten Kornath
Nick Fullwell 6-3 Matt Padgett
Steve Brown (23) 6-1 Nandor Bezzeg
Olaf Tupuschis 6-1 Jon Archer
Simon Whitlock (6) 6-0 Jorg Blomenkamp
Terry Temple 6-4 Kirk Shepherd
Michael van Gerwen (27) 6-4 Mark Dudbridge
Ken MacNeil 6-1 Steffen Siepmann
Peter Wright (11) 6-0 Dirk Schenk
Ian Jopling 6-4 Magnus Caris
Wayne Jones (22) 6-4 Steve Maish
Darren Johnson 6-4 Gino Vos
Justin Pipe (3) 6-0 Gerhard Kremer
Steve Hine 6-2 Per Laursen
Ian White 6-5 Steve Farmer (30)
Michael Rosenauer 6-0 Stefen Mehl
Denis Ovens (14) 6-1 Alexander Wagener
Roland Scholten 6-3 Chris Aubrey
Scott Rand (19) 6-0 Peter Pesta
Christian Kallinger 6-2 Marvin Esser

Second Round
Wes Newton 6-3 Devon Petersen
James Wade 6-3 Dave Smith
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Shaun Griffiths
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Maik Langendorf
Antonio Alcinas 6-3 Jamie Caven
John Henderson 6-3 William O’Connor
Kevin Painter 6-1 Mark Frost
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Arron Monk
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Ronnie Baxter
Michael Smith 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Mervyn King 6-5 Steve Evans
Colin Osborne 6-2 Joe Cullen
Mark Walsh 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Adrian Gray 6-4 Darren Whittingham
Colin Lloyd 6-1 Marko Kantele
Alan Tabern 6-3 Johnny Okken
Paul Nicholson 6-3 Jann Hoffmann
Bernd Roith 6-2 Veijo Viinikka
Mensur Suljovic 6-0 Wichard Knoops
Mark Hylton 6-5 Jerry Hendriks
Mark Webster 6-2 Mick Todd
Jyhan Artut 6-3 Co Stompe
Nick Fullwell 6-4 Andy Smith
Steve Brown 6-2 Olaf Tupuschis
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Terry Temple
Ken MacNeil 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Peter Wright 6-1 Ian Jopling
Wayne Jones 6-4 Darren Johnson
Justin Pipe 6-0 Steve Hine
Michael Rosenauer 6-3 Ian White
Roland Scholten 6-2 Denis Ovens
Scott Rand 6-3 Christian Kallinger
Losers £200

Third Round
James Wade 6-5 Wes Newton
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Terry Jenkins
John Henderson 6-3 Antonio Alcinas
Kevin Painter 6-5 Andy Hamilton
Michael Smith 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Mervyn King 6-5 Colin Osborne
Mark Walsh 6-2 Adrian Gray
Colin Lloyd 6-2 Alan Tabern
Paul Nicholson 6-3 Bernd Roith
Mark Hylton 6-1 Mensur Suljovic
Jyhan Artut 6-4 Mark Webster
Steve Brown 6-1 Nick Fullwell
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Ken MacNeil
Wayne Jones 6-1 Peter Wright
Justin Pipe 6-2 Michael Rosenauer
Roland Scholten 6-1 Scott Rand
Losers £400

Fourth Round
James Wade 6-4 Dave Chisnall
John Henderson 6-0 Kevin Painter
Mervyn King 6-0 Michael Smith
Colin Lloyd 6-4 Mark Walsh
Mark Hylton 6-0 Paul Nicholson
Jyhan Artut 6-2 Steve Brown
Simon Whitlock 6-5 Wayne Jones
Justin Pipe 6-2 Roland Scholten
Losers £600

Quarter-Finals
James Wade 6-3 John Henderson
Mervyn King 6-3 Colin Lloyd
Jyhan Artut 6-5 Mark Hylton
Justin Pipe 6-2 Simon Whitlock
Losers £1,000

Semi-Finals
James Wade 6-5 Mervyn King
Justin Pipe 6-2 Jyhan Artut
Losers £2,000

Final
James Wade 6-3 Justin Pipe
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000

Final – Leg-by-leg
James Wade v Justin Pipe
1-0 – Wade hits tops to take the lead
1-1 – Pipe takes the second leg to level
2-1 – Wade lands double five to edge back ahead
2-2 – Double eight sees Pipe hold throw in the fourth leg
3-2 – Wade takes out 104 to regain the advantage
4-2 – Wade breaks for the first time, hitting tops for a 14-darter
5-2 – Wade kicks off with a 180 and finishes 96 for an 11-darter to move a leg away from his first Players Championship win in 13 months
5-3 – Pipe replies with a 96 finish of his own to keep the game alive
6-3 – Pipe opens with scores of 177 and 140 but misses darts at double eight and four to stay in the match and Wade takes out double eight for the win.

Source – PDC

Barham followed up his victories in Crawley and Nuland earlier this year with triumph in the 15th of the £2,000 Youth Tour events.

Having defeated Reece Robinson, Darren Whittingham and Adam Smith-Neale to reach the semi-finals in Germany, he whitewashed Essex rival Curtis Hammond to progress into the decider.

After taking the first leg with a 160 checkout, he won the second in 14 darts before hitting double four to lead 3-0.

Van Duijvenbode hit back on double five to take the next, after Barham had missed the bull and two darts at double 12 for victory, but the left-hander won the fifth to take the win.

Barham’s £600 first prize moves him ahead of another treble-winner, Bradford’s Joe Cullen, to finish second behind Michael van Gerwen in the final Order of Merit.

That means that he now wins a two-year PDC ProTour Card to turn professional in 2012 as he looks to take his Youth Tour success onto the main PDC circuit.

Van Duijvenbode, meanwhile, qualifies by right for the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship next month after reaching his first final, taking wins over Co Stompe Jnr, Joe Cullen, Kevin Wensink and Shaun Griffiths in the event.

The top 28 players from the final Youth Tour Order of Merit now qualify by right to compete in the World Youth Championship alongside ten International Qualifiers and 26 Rileys Qualifiers at the K2 Centre in Crawley on Friday November 4.

PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Event 15
Van Der Valk Hotel, Gladbeck
Preliminary Round
Joe Cullen 3-0 Thomas Karras
Shaun Griffiths 3-0 Arron Monk
Reece Robinson 3-0 Andreas Wimmer

First Round
Kevin Wensink 3-0 Julian Kasperczak
Gino Vos 3-0 Robin Hanke
Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-1 Co Stompe Jnr
Joe Cullen 3-0 Marco van Rens
Rainer Hofweber 3-0 Leon Crumb
James Linan Bye (Stefanie Luck timed out)
Sam Hill 3-0 Marius May
Shaun Griffiths 3-0 Mike Nissen
Adam Smith-Neale 3-1 Maximilian Thamm
Chris Aubrey 3-0 Michael Gerten
Darren Whittingham 3-2 Michael Smith
Paul Barham 3-1 Reece Robinson
Martino Tagliapietra 3-0 Lukas Sliba
Curtis Hammond 3-2 Michael van Gerwen
Max Hopp 3-0 Yannick Vrampe
Max Lohfink 3-0 Jacob Nielsen

Second Round
Kevin Wensink 3-1 Gino Vos
Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-2 Joe Cullen
Rainer Hofweber 3-0 James Linan
Shaun Griffiths 3-0 Sam Hill
Adam Smith-Neale 3-0 Chris Aubrey
Paul Barham 3-1 Darren Whittingham
Curtis Hammond 3-1 Martino Tagliapietra
Max Hopp 3-0 Max Lohfink
Losers €27.50 (£25 to Order of Merit)

Quarter-Finals
Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-0 Kevin Wensink
Shaun Griffiths 3-0 Rainer Hofweber
Paul Barham 3-1 Adam Smith-Neale
Curtis Hammond 3-2 Max Hopp
Losers €110 (£100 to Order of Merit)

Semi-Finals
Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-2 Shaun Griffiths
Paul Barham 4-0 Curtis Hammond
Losers €220 (£200 to Order of Merit)

Final
Paul Barham 4-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Winner €660 (£600 to Order of Merit)
Runner-Up €440 (£400 to Order of Merit)