Cash Converters World Cup of Darts – Sudden-Death Win For England
Posted on February 6th, 2012
ENGLAND’S Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis took Cash Converters World Cup of Darts glory on Sunday night, defeating Australia’s Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson in a sudden-death leg in the final at the Alsterdorfer Sporthalle in Hamburg.
Taylor had been a second round loser alongside James Wade in the inaugural World Cup of Darts in 2010, but made amends by sweeping past Australia alongside World Champion Lewis to claim the £40,000 first prize.
The Australians had enjoyed a superb tournament in Germany, defeating Ireland, Belgium and reigning champions Netherlands, but lost the first three Singles games in the final.
Taylor defeated Nicholson 7-4 to take the opener before Lewis edged out Whitlock 7-5 to put England 2-0 up.
Taylor then averaged almost 106 in a brilliant 7-6 win over Whitlock – which saw him come from 3-0 down to take victory despite missing 19 darts at a double – but Nicholson edged out Lewis 7-4 to keep Australian hopes alive. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Adrian Lewis, England win the World Cup of Darts, Paul Nicholson, PDC Darts Results, Phil Taylor, Simon Whitlock
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New World Order – The Winners and Losers from the World Championships
Posted on January 5th, 2012
As the PDC board select the competitors for this year’s Premier League, the fallout from the sensational 2012 World Championships is complete and whilst some will still be celebrating, others will be looking back at the tournament with nothing but regret.
The Winners
Andy Hamilton
Coming into the competition as a 200/1 outsider may have been a little harsh on a player as consistent as the Hammer, but considering he was in the same quarter as Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld next to no one gave him a chance of improving on his previous best performance of the semi-finals. However, Hamilton proved all the doubters wrong and battled his way to the final of the competition. This is reward alone, but throw a cheque for £100,000 and a subsequent place in the Premier League into the equation and you are left with a very happy Hammer.
Dave Chisnall
Chizzy Rascal may not have reached the latter stages of the tournament, but he did something that has truly put him on the darting map – beat Phil Taylor. Chisnall’s debut in the PDC World Championships couldn’t have dealt him a tougher second round draw but he prevailed with a resounding 4-1 victory and became the first man to turn off the Power at such an early stage since Kevin Spiolek in 1993. Crucially, the £15,000 he picked up also took him into the coveted top 32 for the first time. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Adrian Lewis, Andy Hamilton, Kevin Painter, Paul Nicholson, PDC World Championship 2012, Phil Haigh, Premier League Darts 2012, Simon Whitlock
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Ally Pally Day 14 – Semi-final Results
Posted on January 1st, 2012
Andy Hamilton emerged victorious from a 2 hour plus battle with Simon Whitlock. Having initially taken a 3-1 lead courtesy of some big finishes, the Stoke chucker was pegged back by a Wizard firing in 140′s and 180′s for fun, as the treble eluded his own tungsten. At 5-3 to the Australian things we looking ominous for Hamilton.
Cue the Hammers fightback and some sloppy double attempts from Whitlock. At 5-4 down Hamilton had to break Whitlock in the tenth set to survive, he duly obliged and held his own throw in the next leg with a 110 checkout to treat the packed Alexandra Palace crowd to a final set thriller.
Both players held throw as the first 4 legs were shared, but at 2 each Hamilton pulled away taking the set 4-2 (final set has to be won by 2 clear legs) to book his place in the final of the 2012 PDC World Championship.
Andy Hamilton 6 v 5 Simon Whitlock
(3-0, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1, 0-3, 2-3, 0-3, 0-3, 3-2, 3-1, 4-2) Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Adrian Lewis, Andy Hamilton, Breeze on Stage, James Wade, PDC Darts Results, Simon Whitlock, World Championship 2012
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Ally Pally Day 13 – Evening Session, Whitlock & Lewis Reach Semi-finals
Posted on December 31st, 2011
REIGNING Ladbrokes World Darts Champion Adrian Lewis held off a thrilling Terry Jenkins fightback to reach the semi-finals of the £1 million tournament as Simon Whitlock knocked out Gary Anderson at Alexandra Palace on Friday night.
Lewis looked on course to storm into the semis when he powered to the first three sets with a brilliant opening to the match, taking nine out of 11 legs.
Jenkins, though, won the fourth set and kick-started his fightback by coming from 2-0 down in the fifth, winning six straight legs to level the game.
Lewis won a crucial seventh set 3-1 and then came from a leg down in the next to seal victory and set up a semi-final with world number three James Wade on Sunday.
“I took the 3-0 lead and thought I was going to win 5-0, but Terry came back brilliantly,” said Lewis. “Every dart I threw for a while in those three sets was on the wire and Terry put me under pressure.
“As soon as I’m under pressure, I fire, and I’m in the semi-finals now. Wadey’s got a good record against me but I’m ready for a battle.”
2010 runner-up Whitlock, meanwhile, set up a semi-final against Andy Hamilton with his 5-1 win over last year’s beaten finalist Gary Anderson, who had been the favourite with sponsors Ladbrokes going into the quarter-finals. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 2012, Adrian Lewis, Garry Anderson, PDC Darts Results, Simon Whitlock, Terry Jenkins, World Championship Quarter finals
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Ally Pally Day 12 – Evening Session Round-up
Posted on December 30th, 2011
DAVE CHISNALL’S dream debut at the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship was ended with a 4-0 defeat to Andy Hamilton on Thursday night, as former finalists Gary Anderson and Simon Whitlock set up a high-profile quarter-final clash at Alexandra Palace.
Chisnall created history on Tuesday night with a 4-1 defeat of 15-time World Champion Phil Taylor, but his hopes of following that with his first major title were shattered by Hamilton.
The St Helens ace failed to reproduce the clinical finishing which had proved the difference against Taylor as another Stoke ace, Hamilton, took full advantage.
Hamilton now meets Kim Huybrechts in the quarter-finals on Friday afternoon, and was delighted to see off Chisnall by dropping only five legs after being taken to a deciding set in the previous two rounds.
“I was prepared for a battle and I went in there solid, but maybe this will be good for me going into the quarter-finals,” said Hamilton. ”
“Dave threw brilliantly against Phil Taylor and I thought he was going to hit me with everything. When he didn’t I knew I had to close the game out quickly, and I did that. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 2012, Andy Hamilton, Colin Lloyd, Dave Chisnall, Gary Anderson, Michael Van Gerwen, PDC Darts Results, Simon Whitlock, World Championship
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Ally Pally Day 11 – van Gerwen, Whitlock & Lloyd Reach Last 16
Posted on December 28th, 2011
SIMON WHITLOCK continued to defy the pain from a broken ankle as he overcame Steve Beaton 4-1 to reach the third round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship on Wednesday afternoon.
The Australian, who played for the first time since suffering the injury in late October when he hit a 105 average against Dennis Smith in the first round last week, moved into the last 16 at Alexandra Palace with another determined effort.
He capitalised on misses from Beaton to take the first set, hitting back from 2-0 down to edge the set and win the second without reply before Beaton took three successive legs to edge the third in a decider.
However, Beaton paid the price for failing to set up a double in the fourth set’s decider, and instead of pulling back to two-all found himself 3-1 down before Whitlock sealed victory in the next, setting up a third round clash with Michael van Gerwen on Thursday.
“I’m loving every minute of this,” said Whitlock. “It’s great to be back playing again and I live for the game, so to be part of matches like that is brilliant because it was a real struggle, despite the scoreline. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Colin Lloyd, Mervyn King, Michael Van Gerwen, PDC Darts Results, Scott Rand turns professional, Simon Whitlock, Steve Beaton, World Championship 2012
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Ally Pally Day 7 – The Conclusion of Round 1
Posted on December 22nd, 2011
SIMON WHITLOCK made a stunning return from a broken ankle by storming to a 3-0 win over Dennis Smith at the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship on Wednesday – hitting a 105 average in an amazing display.
The Australian has not competed since the end of October, when he broke a bone in his left ankle, and was still limping as he took to the Alexandra Palace stage.
However, he hit seven 180s and dropped only one leg in defeating Swindon’s experienced Smith, who could only applaud Whitlock’s brilliant performance as he was knocked out of the £1 million tournament.
Whitlock, the 2010 runner-up, will now take on Steve Beaton in the second round after Christmas – with the English star also having undergone minor knee surgery this week – after firing a warning shot to the rest of the field in the World Championship.
“I’m shocked to be honest because my preparation for this has been awful,” said Whitlock. “A week ago I couldn’t hit three 20s in a row and I’ve only really had one week’s practice in the last seven. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Andy Smith, Dennis Smith, Devon Petersen, PDC Darts Results, Scott Rand, Simon Whitlock, steve brown, World Championship 2012
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Leyland Paints Throwing Darts Fans Some Early Xmas Presents
Posted on December 15th, 2011
Leyland Paints is throwing darts fanatics some early Christmas presents to coincide with the World Championships, after stepping up to the social networking oche in style.
The popular paint brand, new sponsors of World Champion hopefuls Mark Webster and Simon Whitlock, is hoping to win friends and influence people by offering signed postcards of the stars, along with other themed memorabilia including darts flights and keyrings.
All fans have to do is follow @leylandpaints on twitter or like their specially created Facebook page, before leaving their score predictions for Mark and Simon before their respective matches.
Anyone successfully predicting either or both scorelines correctly will be entitled to a prize to be announced.
Leyland will also be launching a series of ‘glossy finish’ competitions on twitter, where supporters will be invited to tell the brand what their favourite finish of the evening was, on selected evenings of play. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Leyland Paints, Mark Webster, PDC Darts, Simon Whitlock, Twitter
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Leyland Paint Sponsors Webster & Whitlock
Posted on December 12th, 2011
Leyland Paints will be throwing its name into the eyes of millions of sports fans across the UK, after unveiling a high profile darts sponsorship with two of the world’s best players.
Leyland has stepped up to the oche by agreeing to sponsor 2008 BDO world champion Mark Webster and 2010 PDC world championship runner-up Simon Whitlock for the whole of the 2012 season, as the pair bid to cement their statuses as household names in the sport.
With more than 200,000 sports fans inside the arenas along with a television audience of 12.5 million viewers in 2010 alone, the brand believes that the time has never been better to target the tungsten for a sustained period.
Marketing manager Sharon Hendry said: “The potential of our darts sponsorship is absolutely huge and we are thrilled to be involved with the sport.
“Aside from Premier League football, the darts world championship drew the biggest audience on Sky Sports last year, which underlines how powerful the sport is. Simon and Mark are firm crowd favourites already and we are thrilled to be working with from now on.”
Before turning professional, Simon was a builder by trade, while Mark Webster is a professional plumber and still likes to keep busy working in between tournaments.
Simon, known as The Wizard, said: “I am delighted to receive the support from Leyland. I have come across their product from my time as a builder, so it is great to be working even closer with brand from now on.
“I’ll be doing all I can to gain maximum exposure by winning as many tournaments as possible!”
Mark Webster, from Denbigh, Wales, said: “I have been in the Professional Darts Corporation for over two years now, and even in that time I have seen the sport grow so much.”
The current world number six added: “For me to be able to receive the backing of Leyland is the best news I could wish for. They are a huge paint brand and one I will be wearing on my shirt with pride.”
Aside from the sponsorship itself, both Simon and Mark will be making a number of personal appearances for Leyland, while incentives throughout the year mean customers will get the chance to see the pair play at future televised tournaments.
Sharon concluded: “More than 20 per cent of the UK’s population were exposed to darts in 2010 and it is now regarded as the second most popular sport on Sky behind football.
“With all this in mind, we couldn’t be more excited to be involved with Simon and Mark, who we will be cheering on from now on!”
Leyland’s sponsorship of the two players will officially kick-off at the World Championships in December at the Alexandra Palace, London.
However, Mark Webster will be wearing the Leyland branding on his shirt even sooner than that, at the Players’ Championship from December 8.
Tags: Leyland Paints, Mark Webster, PDC Darts, Simon Whitlock
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Webster & Whitlock Extend Winmau Sponsorship Deals
Posted on November 30th, 2011
Former World Champion Mark Webster and multiple tournament winner Simon Whitlock have agreed new 4 year sponsorship contracts with the world’s leading darts company Winmau. The agreements will see the hugely successful partnerships continue until 2015.
Mark Webster said “I’ve enjoyed many great years working with Winmau, which has included a World Championship and my best ever world ranking to date. With their passion for the sport and their constant desire to move forward, it’s no surprise why their products are the best in the world today”.
Simon Whitlock added “Winmau have done everything to help me play at my best. I’ve really enjoyed working with them and had a great time developing some new product ideas that are in the market and selling well. Their commitment in darts is second-to-none and they are great people to work with.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Mark Webster, PDC Darts, Simon Whitlock, Sponsorship, Winmau
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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.
