Bates Takes Crawley Title
Posted on March 20th, 2010
BARRIE BATES won his first tournament since 2006 with a narrow 6-5 defeat of Denis Ovens in Saturday’s Players Championship final.
The Welshman picked up three titles and reached the UK Open four years ago in his most successful period of form and, having overcome his foot problems, enjoyed his best run since to claim the £6,000 title at the K2 Centre in Crawley.
He overcame some leading names in the process, defeating seeded players Co Stompe and Jamie Caven to reach the last 16, where he overcame his fellow countryman Richie Burnett 6-3.
In-form Mark Walsh was defeated 6-2 in the quarter-finals and Essex’s Steve Maish fell in the semis, before he came from behind to win the final.
Ovens made a fine start with two breaks of throw in the opening three legs to lead 3-0, including an 11-dart finish, before Bates landed double 16 to get off the mark and double 12 to reduce the gap to one.
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Premier League Darts Night 6 Review
Posted on March 19th, 2010
DEFENDING Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts champion James Wade picked up his first win of the 2010 season with an 8-4 defeat Simon Whitlock as Phil Taylor hit top gear at The Brighton Centre on Thursday night.
Wade looked on course to suffer a fourth defeat in the opening six weeks when Whitlock powered into an early 4-1 lead, aided by a sensational 170 checkout.
But the world number three clawed back level before pulling away for victory with a run of seven successive legs to move off the bottom of the league table.
“It’s a relief to get the two points because I’ve been putting myself under a lot of pressure to get that first win but now I hope that the relaxed and fluent James Wade will come out,” said Wade.
“I’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of me now if I’m going to get into the play-offs and it’s a huge mountain to climb but I’ll do everything I can to get in there.”
Wade jumped above Terry Jenkins in the table after the 2007 runner-up was defeated 8-3 by Phil Taylor.
Jenkins hit finishes of 122, 118 and 116 to win his three legs, but could not match Taylor’s scoring power as the World Champion powered in a 106.79 average – the second highest so far this season – to remain unbeaten at the top of the standings.
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Taylor Seals Wigan Double
Posted on March 14th, 2010
PHIL TAYLOR completed a weekend double in Wigan with a stunning whitewash of Jamie Caven in the final of Sunday’s UK Open Qualifier.
Taylor had won Saturday’s Players Championship in imperious fashion, and doubled his prize money for the weekend by picking up a further £6,000 on Sunday.
Only world number three James Wade was able to take a leg from Taylor in his opening four games, with Mark Jodrill, Sam Allen and Michael Smith all whitewashed.
He then defeated Jelle Klaasen 6-2 in the quarter-finals and repeated the scoreline in his semi-final defeat of Osborne.
However, he saved his best display for the final averaging an amazing 121.86 in a straight legs win over Derby star Caven.
Caven missed two darts at double top for a 94 finish in the final’s opening leg, and Taylor followed up an earlier 180 with double 14 for a 13-dart finish.
He added maximums in the next two legs of 11 and 13 darts, although he missed doubles to take the third in ten.
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Taylor Wins In Wigan
Posted on March 14th, 2010
PHIL TAYLOR swept to a second successive Players Championship victory, whitewashing Mark Dudbridge in the final of Saturday’s event in Wigan.
Taylor was victorious in a Players Championship two weeks ago in Derby, and claimed another £6,000 title at Wigan’s Robin Park Tennis Centre.
The 15-time World Champion won his opening three games on the day 6-2, against Darren Latham, Gary Mawson and Peter Manley, before defeating Holland’s Michael van Gerwen 6-4 in the last 16.
Following a 6-1 win over Wes Newton in the quarter-finals, he defeated Colin Lloyd 6-3 at the last four stage – winning four of the final five legs after the Essex man shared the opening stages – before powering past Dudbridge in the decider.
Dudbridge never recovered from missing three darts at double eight to win the second leg as Taylor followed up his double 16 finish to win the opening leg by hitting the same bed again.
Dudbridge hit two 180s in the next leg, but was denied a dart at a double as Taylor landed a second successive 14-darter on double eight.
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Premier League Darts Night 5 Review
Posted on March 12th, 2010
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD ignited his Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts campaign with the best performance of the season on Thursday night, while leaders Phil Taylor & Mervyn King scrapped out a draw in Manchester.
Dutch star van Barneveld bounced back from three successive defeats to average 106.9 in defeating Terry Jenkins 8-4 at the M.E.N. Arena to claim his second victory of the year.
A clinical performance included two 11-dart finishes and the highest average so far this season, putting the five-time World Champion back in the fray for a play-off place.
“I’m really pleased with that performance and the average,” said van Barneveld. “Tonight the darts went in like they can do and I was really focused.
“Hopefully I can keep this going every week because I felt comfortable on stage but know there is more in my. I’ve changed to using 23 gram darts instead of 25 gram darts and I’m already noticing an improvement.”
Van Barneveld sits one point adrift of fourth-placed Simon Whitlock, who also claimed his second win of the campaign in Manchester, punishing Adrian Lewis’ missed doubles to take an 8-4 victory.
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German Title For Lewis
Posted on March 7th, 2010
ADRIAN LEWIS claimed his first PDC ProTour win of 2010 with a 6-4 win over Mark Walsh in the final of Sunday’s German Darts Classic Players Championship.
The 25-year-old from Stoke picked up the £6,000 title in Gladbeck with a fine performance, coming from 4-3 down to take three successive legs in winning the final.
Lewis produced legs of 11 and 15 darts to lead 2-0 in the final – hitting a showpiece 96 finish of single 20, double 18 and double top in the second.
Walsh hit back to win the next three, including a 126 finish, in taking the lead, and also punished missed doubles from Lewis in leg seven to edge 4-3 up.
But Lewis took out a 14-darter to level, double four to break throw and then sealed victory with an 80 finish of two double tops in ensuring the title.
Earlier in the day, he had avenged Saturday’s defeat to Mark Dudbridge with a 6-2 win, and also overcame Mick McGowan, Maik Langendorf, Steve Hine and Robert Thornton to reach the semis.
He also found himself 4-3 down in the last four against Dolan, but included a 121 bullseye finish in winning the next three without reply in taking victory.
Walsh battled past Gary Anderson with a 6-3 semi-final win, having been taken to a deciding leg in the quarter-finals by Steve Brown.
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Van Der Voort Claims Maiden PDC Title
Posted on March 7th, 2010
VINCENT VAN DER VOORT won his first PDC title with a 6-2 defeat of Wayne Jones in the final of Saturday’s German Darts Classic Players Championship in Gladbeck.
Van der Voort celebrated three years on the PDC circuit by claiming his first title in his fourth final, having lost two previous PDC ProTour events and the 2007 UK Open final.
The Dutchman showed some fine form in Gladbeck, Germany, to win through to the final, whitewashing Steven Marckowiak in his opening game before seeing off Dennis Smith, Andy Smith and Mark Walsh to reach the quarter-finals – missing double 12 for a nine-darter against the latter.
He overcame Mark Dudbridge 6-3 in the last eight before edging out Kevin Painter 6-5 in a thrilling semi-final.
Painter led 2-0 and 3-1 before van der Voort took three legs in a row, including seven perfect darts in one leg, to hit the front.
Painter levelled with a superb ten-darter, featuring seven perfect darts of his own, but missed two darts in the next as van der Voort edged 5-4 up.
The Dutchman missed the bullseye for a 127 finish for victory in the tenth leg, as Painter took out 90 on the bull – but the English star missed the same bed for a 121 checkout in the decider and van der Voort posted tops for a 14-darter and the win.
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Premier League Darts Night 4 Results
Posted on March 5th, 2010
PHIL TAYLOR maintained his 100 percent start to the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts season with an 8-2 rout of Raymond van Barneveld at the Westpoint Arena in Exeter.
The 15-time World Champion came from 2-0 down to win eight successive legs against the Dutchman, who was condemned to defeat for a third successive game.
Taylor sealed victory with a 116 checkout to ensure that he remains two points clear of Mervyn King ahead of their meeting at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester next week.
“I’m pleased to get the win but I felt the pressure a little bit and started slowly,” said Taylor. I expected Raymond to click into gear but when I went in front his head dropped and he wasn’t the same player.
“When you see a weakness you have to exploit your opponent and hit them hard, and that’s what people are doing to Raymond at the moment.”
King picked up his third win of the season with an impressive 8-5 win over Terry Jenkins, winning four of the game’s final five legs to pull clear for victory.
Ronnie Baxter won his second successive match, seeing off Simon Whitlock 8-6 in a thriller.
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Walsh Beats Taylor to Derby Title
Posted on March 1st, 2010
MARK WALSH celebrated victory in a UK Open Qualifier in Derby for a second successive year with a 6-2 defeat of Phil Taylor in Sunday’s final.
Walsh had defeated Raymond van Barneveld to take the £6,000 title at the Moorways Centre in 2009, and this time overcame the World Champion in the decider.
He had held off a Co Stompe fightback to win their semi-final 6-4, having led 3-0 and 4-1 before the Dutchman levelled.
Walsh also took some notable scalps in the early rounds with wins over Colin Lloyd, Mark Webster and Dennis Priestley, before seeing off Colin Monk 6-1 in the quarter-finals.
He saved perhaps his best form for the final, taking out double five for the opening leg after Taylor missed two darts to break throw, before finishing 100 in the second leg to move two legs up.
Taylor hit back with a 14-darter, but paid for missed doubles in the next two as Walsh took out a brace of 14-darters on 62 in reply to move 4-1 up.
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Derby Win For Taylor
Posted on February 27th, 2010
PHIL TAYLOR powered past Terry Jenkins 6-1 to claim Saturday’s Players Championship in Derby in his first PDC ProTour appearance of 2010.
The world number one confirmed his return to top form following a virus at the Moorways Centre in Derby, backing up a third successive Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts victory on Thursday with a devastating Players Championship win.
Taylor dropped just six legs in seven matches on his way to the £6,000 title, which included whitewashes of Andy Hamilton and Chris Thompson, with Co Stompe being the only player to win two legs against him, in their quarter-final.
After storming to victory against York’s Thompson in the semi-finals, Taylor blew away Premier League rival Jenkins 6-1 in the final.
He opened the final with a 14-dart finish, and set up a double eight checkout with a 168 score in breaking Jenkins’ throw in the second leg.
A missed double 11, for a 124 finish, allowed Jenkins to hit back in the third, but Taylor slammed home checkouts of 108 and 124 in taking the next two legs, before hitting a 180 in a 13-darter to lead 5-1.
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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.
