Friday 13 May 2016
Darts Weekly
Lewis secures play-off spot then lets rip at match-fixing claims ◊ Reports and reaction - Pages 2-4 ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Exclusive Reynolds wants major title success in BDO Page 6
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Friday 13 May 2016 Darts Weekly
Wright falls short in play-off bid as Barney rescues a point Peter Wright 6 Raymond van Barneveld 6 Peter Wright saw his hopes of reaching the Betway Premier League play-offs come to an end in Rotterdam last night. The Scot was in a defiant mood in front of a raucous crowd backing home favourite Raymond van Barneveld, but could only take a point from his final league game of
the season. And after Adrian Lewis comfortably beat Gary Anderson, it means Wright will have to wait another year to make the play-offs. Barney took out checkouts of 101, 120 and 121 but was never in front as Snakebite tried to get the win that would put the pressure on. Wright missed two darts to win in the final leg and Barney stepped in to claim a draw, much to the delight of the sell-out Dutch crowd.
Van Gerwen takes the top spot bonus Phil Taylor 5 Michael van Gerwen 7 Michael van Gerwen took home the new £25,000 Premier League leader’s bonus after edging past Phil Taylor 7-5 in the final week of the regular season. The world number one stole the show in the tournament’s first visit to continental Europe, with a brilliant 164 checkout helping him on the way to a victory which saw him finish two points clear of Taylor at the top of the table. MVG began the table-topping clash with two 180s in the first leg, but five missed doubles allowed Taylor to step in and hold throw on double tops. The first break came in the third leg when van Gerwen checked out
80, before the Power broke back straight away after the Dutchman missed tops to go 3-1 up. The next four legs all went with throw as the match was finely poised at 4-4, with van Gerwen then taking out a stunning 164 finish to break and go 5-4 in front. Taylor once again immediately broke back with double 10 to make it 5-5, before MVG won the next two legs to win 7-5. “It was amazing and it meant a lot to me,” van Gerwen said. “The pressure was really, really high but I’m glad I won the game. “I’m top of the table and it gives me great confidence for next week. My main goal is to win the title and that’s what I’m going for. “I think it’s going to be great in London and I will be ready for it.”
Wade ends 2016 campaign on Robert Thornton 3 James Wade 7 James Wade ended his Premier League campaign on a winning note after beating Robert Thornton 7-3 last night. The 2009 Premier League winner
had his play-off hopes ended by Peter Wright in Manchester last week, but made sure he signed off the season on a high with a victory in the Netherlands. Thornton took out 100 to finish off an 11 dart leg to make a strong start, before Wade went even
better to take out 160 to level the match up at 1-1. The Thorn then missed darts to go 3-1 up and Wade capitalised on the opportunity and never looked back, winning six of the next seven legs to claim a 7-3 win. “I really wanted to come here and
Darts Weekly Friday 13 May 2016
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Lewis claims last play-off spot to book return trip to The O2 Adrian Lewis 7 Gary Anderson 2 Adrian Lewis booked his place in the Premier League play-offs for the first time since 2011 after beating Gary Anderson 7-2 in Rotterdam yesterday. After play-off rival Peter Wright could only draw 6-6 with Raymond van Barneveld, Lewis knew he only needed two legs to secure fourth
place and a spot at The O2 Arena in London next Thursday. It only took Jackpot three legs to reach that target, with the twotime world champion going onto win five straight legs to finish off a 7-2 winner. “My mind set tonight was to take no notice of what Peter did and I focused on winning against Gary,” Lewis said. “I can’t wait for the play-offs.”
Van Gerwen takes the top spot bonus
high note play well and though I couldn’t make the play-offs it’s as positive as it could be for me. “The crowd was one of the best I’ve ever played in front of and they really supported both of us. I enjoyed it but it’s a shame I’m going out of the tournament now.”
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a 70 checkout in leg nine, before
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Friday 13 May 2016 Darts Weekly
Lewis speaks out against claims of match-fixing in win against Anderson in Holland Adrian Lewis spoke out against claims of match-fixing in his Betway Premier League match with Gary Anderson last night. The two-time world champion won 7-2 in their meeting at the Ahoy Arena in the Netherlands yesterday, a result which ensured Jackpot qualified for next week’s play-offs at The O2 Arena. But just hours after booking his place in London’s finals night next Thursday, the 31-year-old was left to defend the integrity of his win on Twitter. Lewis posted a screenshot of a direct message exchange between the official account of fellow Premier League star Peter Wright and another Twitter user, which read: “You just trying to be a big man cause you think I think I won’t be in the final. (sic) “Well we all know that Gary will be giving Lewis a position next week don’t we. Quite a nice bet again this year. (thumbs up emoji) “As in giving Lewis the 1 point he needs to get to the play offs. (thumbs up emoji)” In one of several tweets which was later deleted by Lewis, the world number four posted: “I really do hope that the DRA take this seriously, nobody ever throw a game, we all practice hard to win X (sic).” Another tweet in response to a different Twitter user read: “I work my hardest at the game mate. I don’t need people like her trying to bring me down.” It is assumed the tweets were directed at Wright’s wife and
manager Joanne, who firmly denies any accusations of matchfixing in the direct messages sent. Mrs Wright tweeted last night: “Was deleted because it was taken out of context. Again. There was no accusations it was a sarcastic private message 2 someone slatting Pete. “Might I add, these people have been doing it 4 about 2 years now, it’s not just a random person slatting us. Any1 who knows us knows who. (sic)” Lewis responded by tweeting: “You still shouldn’t say that me or Gary are cheats. This is the most genuine sport out there at the minute.” All of Lewis’ tweets posted last night were subsequently deleted this morning and as we went to press there had be no other
“Me and Gary are not cheats - this is the most genuine sport out there” comments made by both himself and the PDC on the matter. Earlier this week it is understood that the PDPA (Professional Dart Players Association), headed by former players Peter Manley and Alan Warriner-Little, sent out an email to players on the PDC circuit reminding them to avoid any unprofessional conduct on social networking sites. Darts is considered to be one of the cleanest sports and has very rarely been caught up in matchfixing allegations. The most recent case was at the end of last year with Gary Anderson, who Twitter storm: Adrian Lewis speaks out last night x
when asked if he intentionally lost to Adrian Lewis in a Premier League match in 2011, told BBC Scotland: “Yes. I didn’t want to win a game where that happened; I thought it was a disgrace.” Anderson quickly retracted his comments in a statement on social media saying: “I didn’t answer that question as I meant to. “I would never intentionally lose a match, nor step on to the oche and give anything other than my best, but that night I thought the crowd behaviour was disgraceful and I lost all my motivation to win and was unable to concentrate.” The PDC also released a statement of their own, which said: “Although we can see how Gary’s comments may have been misconstrued, we have confidence in the integrity of Gary and all our players, and would not want a slip in an interview to undermine this.” Anderson was later fined £3,000 by the DRA (Darts Regulation Authority) for his comments made in the BBC interview.
Darts Weekly Friday 13 May 2016
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Taylor’s return to Euro Tour on hold following withdrawal Phil Taylor’s return to the PDC European Tour has been put on hold after he withdrew from this weekend’s HappyBet European Darts Matchplay. The 16-time world champion’s last appearance on the European Tour was back in June 2014, when he lost 6-4 to Michael Smith in the last 32 of the Gibraltar Trophy. Taylor was set to make his longawaited return today in Hamburg as one of the 16 UK qualifiers for the European Matchplay in action in the first round. However, his name was absent from the draw for the £115,000 tournament, released yesterday on the PDC website. Taylor’s absence will boost the chances of Michael van Gerwen
continuing his winning form on this year’s European Tour. The world number one has won all three events on the tour so far in 2016 and will be eager to add to his collection at the Inselparkhalle on Sunday night. Van Gerwen beat Dave Chisnall 6-4 to win the inaugural European Matchplay last year and begins the defence of his title against Remco van Eijden or Andrew Gilding in the last 32 tomorrow evening. Second seed Peter Wright will play the winner of Darren Webster versus Jonathan Worsley, while third seed Michael Smith goes up against either Michel van der Horst or Rowby-John Rodriguez. Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis will be looking for good runs in Hamburg before they travel to London for the Betway Premier League play-offs next Thursday, while emerging youngsters Josh Payne, Chris Dobey and Max Hopp are all in first round action today. Watch live coverage of the Matchplay at www.livepdc.tv
Van Gerwen continues his dominance on European Tour Michael van Gerwen made it three wins out of three on this year’s PDC European Tour after beating Dave Chisnall 6-2 in the final of the Peperami Gibraltar Darts Trophy on Sunday evening. The world number one added to his Dutch Masters and German Masters triumphs this year by retaining the Gibraltar Trophy and scooping the £25,000 winner’s prize at the Victoria Stadium. MVG would not have it all his own way on the final day of the £115,000 tournament on The Rock though, as he came back from 5-3 down to beat Gibraltar’s Dyson Parody 6-5 in the quarter-finals. The Dutchman had beaten Nick Fullwell (6-4) and Mervyn King (63) to start his title defence, before coming through a nervy last eight encounter with Parody, who became the first Gibraltarian to reach the quarter-finals of a PDC European Tour event. Van Gerwen was clinical in beating Kim Huybrechts 6-0 in the semi-finals, averaging 109.92 and restricting the Belgian to just two darts at doubles to reach the final. In a high-quality final both players averaged over 103, but MVG was just too strong for Chisnall as he reeled off four consecutive legs from 2-2 to run out a 6-2 winner. An 87 checkout gave van Gerwen a break of throw in the first leg, before a 107 out shot made it backto-back 15 darters and stretched his lead to 2-0. Chizzy fought back by hitting double 18 to hold his throw in the third leg, and then took out 124 on the bull to break back and level the final at 2-2. However, two 180s in the next leg helped MVG to an 11 darter against the throw in the fifth leg, and legs of 15, 12 and 13 darts followed to continue the Dutchman’s winning start to the European Tour this year.
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Friday 13 May 2016 Darts Weekly
Reynolds is hungry for major success on the BDO circuit Alex Moss CHIEF DARTS WRITER Dean Reynolds is determined to fulfil his potential and win one of the major titles on the BDO circuit sooner rather than later. The 23-year-old Welshman made his World Championship debut at the start of this year and has continued to rise up the BDO rankings, while also claiming great success on the PDC Development Tour at the same time. Reynolds won his first title on the BDO circuit last summer with victory in the French Open, and ahead of playing in his home tournament, the Welsh Open, this Sunday is hopeful of more success before the year is out. “I don’t really look too far ahead I’m just taking it step by step,” he said. “I’d like to have a good run in a BDO major, to win one would be ideal with the World Trophy coming up soon, or even the World Masters or the worlds. “I think I’m developing quite nicely. I’m competitive in all the tournaments on the floor and a lot of people know I can do it. “They’re all behind me and I want to be a major winner in the BDO. I don’t want to be someone who never did anything.” Reynolds played both football and rugby in his teens but it was
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his introduction to darts at a young age which prompted the decision to try and progress with the sport even further. “My mum and dad owned a pub so I was always around a dartboard having a throw,” he said. “I went to a tournament in Cardiff, picked up a bit of money and thought ‘this is quite fun.’ “I remember watching Mark Webster winning the World Championship in my mum and dad’s pub. Watching him do that
On the up: Dean Reynolds enjoys his Lakeside walk-on at the World Championship PICTURE: DAVID GILL
2016 BDO World Trophy Draw (28-30 May) Men’s Last 32 (1) G Durrant v A Fordham (16) D Labanauskas v B Lynn (9) M Phillips v T Hankey (8) D Fitton v C Caldwell (5) W Harms v N Kenny (12) M McGeeney v J Smith (13) G de Vos v R Janssen (4) J Hughes v R Joyce (3) S Waites v K Ratajski (14) B Dawson v J Widmayer (11) R Veenstra v T O’Shea (6) J Williams v P Machin (7) S Mitchell v R Montgomery (10) D Noppert v S Asada (15) D Reynolds v D Cameron (2) M Adams v M Razma
Women’s Last 16 (1) L Ashton v C Gallagher (8) C Hammond v A Zijlstra (5) A Dobromyslova v S Prins (4) A de Graaf v L Turner (3) F Sherrock v R Griffiths (6) L Winstanley v Z Jones (7) T Gulliver v P Jacklin (2) D Hedman v A L Peters Format Last 32 - best of 11 legs Last 16 - best of 13/7 legs (men/women) Quarter finals - best of 19/9 legs Semi finals - best of 21/11 legs Final - best of 23/13 legs
will always be the highlight of watching darts for me. It was an inspiration and made me want to do that one day as well.” Reynolds also classes another former Welsh world champion Richie Burnett as one of his idols growing up. The Prince of Wales is set to return to competitive action this weekend at Prestatyn after serving an 18-month ban. “My first Super League game I played Richie Burnett and I beat him,” he recalls. “I always looked up to him and it’s nice to hear he’s coming back. “He’s a Welsh legend in darts and a true inspiration for Welsh darts, even though what’s gone on behind the scenes before I’m sure everyone will say how good it is to see him back. “I think if he’s willing to put the time in he’ll get back up there no problem at all.”
Darts Weekly Friday 13 May 2016
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Krcmar makes perfect start to Soft Tip title defence in Vegas Boris Krcmar got the defence of his Soft Darts World Championship crown off to the perfect start after winning the first stage in Las Vegas on Sunday. The Croatian has been the overall winner of the competition in the last two years, with victory at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino seeing his bid for a third consecutive triumph start strongly. Krcmar finished with 42 points to take top honours in the opening round of the tournament, as Korea’s Park Hyunchul (35 points) and home favourites Randy Van Deursen and Leonard Gates (both 29 points) completing the top three places at the weekend. Recent PDC World Championship Van Deursen won the Shoot Out participants Darin Young, Royden Award with a score of 11,025 points. Lam, Paul Lim and Scott Makenzie The second stage of this year’s Soft also claimed high finishes, while Darts World Championship takes
place at the Le Parc des Expos de La Rochelle in France on June 19, with the Grand Final set to be held in Hong Kong on December 4.
Database BDO WORLD TROPHY PLAY-OFFS (legs) (Wolverhampton Sports Arena)
(92.84), D van Duijvenbode (81.42) 3-6 D Parody (83.03), M Rasztovits (88.92) 6-4 S Beaton (85.66), M Walsh (82.20) 1-6 S Men’s third round - G Thompson 4-6 R Bunting (91.24), J Pipe (96.97) 6-0 J Lewis Montgomery, A Edwards 4-6 D Bird, D (82.33), G Federico (69.80) 1-6 A Norris Harbour 6-4 S Baker, L McGurn 5-6 M C (86.16), D Gurney (102.10) 6-3 D Pallett Atkins, R Langlois 1-6 M Layton, M (92.88), G Price (77.08) 6-0 D Francis Craddock bye, S Pearce 0-6 N Kenny, D (68.16), A Alcinas (89.76) 6-1 S Kellett Neads 5-6 K McDine, R Selby 1-6 B Lynn, L (90.22), R Smith (86.95) 2-6 J Murnan Russell 6-2 S Douglas, W Pepper 2-6 B Kirk, (86.51), K Anderson (90.88) 4-6 S West R Edwards 2-6 P Blackwell, P Brown 5-6 R (89.17), J Henderson (77.70) 6-5 W Jones Griffin, K Thoburn 5-6 S Ritchie, M Haynes (85.40), J Cullen (96.09) 6-5 K Painter 3-6 M Atkins, R Joyce 6-3 B Green. Fourth (92.40), R-J Rodriguez (85.44) 2-6 J round - R Montgomery 6-2 D Bird, D Wattimena (94.26). Second round - M van Harbour 3-6 M C Atkins, M Layton 6-1 M Gerwen (95.04) 6-4 N Fullwell (84.52), M Craddock, N Kenny 6-5 K McDine, B Lynn King (105.08) 6-2 C Kist (91.53), A Lewis 6-5 L Russell, B Kirk 6-5 P Blackwell, R w/d M Hopp w/o, J Klaasen (93.28) 5-6 D Griffin 6-1 S Ritchie, M Atkins 3-6 R Joyce. Parody (93.39), K Huybrechts (84.40) 6-4 M Final round - R Montgomery 6-4 M C Rasztovits (83.26), B van de Pas (100.28) Atkins, M Layton 4-6 N Kenny, B Lynn 6-5 B 6-1 S Bunting (93.97), J Wade (86.01) 6-2 J Kirk, R Griffin 4-6 R Joyce. Pipe (81.93), G Anderson (91.75) 6-2 A Norris (98.84), P Wright (95.51) 6-3 D Women’s third round - L Simmonds 2-4 Gurney (92.55), S Whitlock (92.30) 6-1 G L Turner, M Sutton 4-1 A-M Swindles, C Price (87.43), I White (89.65) 6-5 A Alcinas Brookin 4-1 D Ashton, A-M Potts 2-4 R (84.83), T Jenkins (103.88) 4-6 J Murnan Griffiths. Final round - L Turner 4-1 M (103.38), D Chisnall (98.77) 6-5 S West Sutton, C Brookin 2-4 R Griffiths. (95.90), R Thornton (88.54) 6-5 J Henderson (87.53), M Smith (98.54) 6-4 J PDC PEPERAMI GIBRALTAR DARTS Cullen (95.23), M Suljovic (91.14) 6-2 J TROPHY (ET3) (legs) (Victoria Stadium, Wattimena. Third round - M van Gerwen Gibraltar) (105.73) 6-3 M King (101.01), M Hopp (87.33) 4-6 D Parody (87.43), K Huybrechts First round - N Fullwell (83.60) 6-2 A (97.05) 6-2 B van de Pas (94.97), J Wade Lopez (85.85), C Kist (86.06) 6-1 C Reyes (100.78) 2-6 G Anderson (104.73), P Wright (82.96), A Hamilton (92.30) 4-6 M Hopp (85.70) 6-2 S Whitlock (88.84), I White
(107.33) 6-2 J Murnan (92.20), D Chisnall (110.58) 6-5 R Thornton (102.54), M Smith (104.85) 3-6 M Suljovic (101.59). Quarter finals - M van Gerwen (100.04) 6-5 D Parody (96.52), K Huybrechts (85.53) 6-5 G Anderson (87.57), P Wright (91.96) 5-6 I White (93.53), D Chisnall (108.47) 6-5 M Suljovic (97.97). Semi finals - M van Gerwen (109.98) 6-0 K Huybrechts (104.16), I White (85.52) 0-6 D Chisnall (100.20). Final - M van Gerwen (103.89) 6-2 D Chisnall (103.19). PDC BETWAY PREMIER LEAGUE (legs) (Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam) Week 15 - R Thornton (85.57) 3-7 J Wade (89.16), P Wright (90.33) 6-6 R van Barneveld (90.02), A Lewis (93.22) 7-2 G Anderson (97.21), P Taylor (95.55) 5-7 M van Gerwen (101.24).
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Friday 13 May 2016 Darts Weekly
ALEX MOSS CHIEF DARTS WRITER
Can Burnett compete at the top level again? Richie Burnett makes his return to competitive darts in the Pontins Welsh Open this weekend after serving his 18-month ban. Back in October 2014 it was announced that the 1995 BDO world champion had tested positive for cocaine. A test found benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, in Burnett’s system and Ukad (UK Anti-Doping) suspended the Welshman from all sports until May 2 of this year. With Burnett ineligible to play in any PDC events until next year (he does not have a PDPA membership) when he would be able to enter Q-School, the next seven months are expected to be spent playing on the BDO circuit. After the news broke of the ban, Burnett quite
rightly issued an apology, but also vowed he would be back on the circuit when his ban was up. “I am determined to return to the game next May and to be competitive at the highest level,” he posted on Twitter in October. “By committing to improving my mental health and well-being as well as my physical health, I am sure I
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can compete again.” In the seven months which have followed that statement, Burnett has not put out another tweet. It leaves darts fans and us who comment on the sport in the unknown. Will the Prince of Wales be able to rediscover those heights he reached in both the BDO and the PDC? Within a 12-month period between 1994 and 1995, Burnett won, in order: the Dutch Open, Welsh Open, British Matchplay, Denmark Open, World Masters and the World Championship on the BDO circuit. His recent bright spell on the PDC tour in 2011 saw him reach the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix, and also appear in back-toback last four appearances in the World Cup of Darts alongside Mark Webster. Some players will complain of rustiness after only a few weeks away from competition, but when Burnett steps up to the oche in Prestatyn this weekend it will be the first competitive darts he has thrown since November 2014. These next seven months will be important for Burnett and his followers. What sort of results will he get? Can he get near to the form he has shown in the past across both sides of the darting divide? There’s no questioning that Burnett still has plenty of fight left in him. After battling through dartitis to then be on the brink of the top 16 in the PDC shows that Burnett is not one to shy away from a challenge. The next chapter of the Richie Burnett is about to get started…
Darts Weekly Quiz 2 1 Where was the first Premier League night held in 2005? 2 Who handed Phil Taylor his first defeat in the Premier League back in Glasgow in 2008?
3 Which player has drawn the most games in the history of the Premier League? 4 How many games did Raymond van Barneveld go unbeaten to
qualify for the Premier League playoffs in 2015? Last week’s answers - 1. Keith Sullivan and James Richardson; 2. Eric Bristow; 3. 2002; 4. John Part