Issue 25 (June 17, 2016)

Friday 17 June 2016

Darts Weekly

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Shaun Greatbatch lifts the lid on his career in darts Pages 4-5 ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Harris eyes Q-School next year and spot on PDC tour Page 6

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Friday 17 June 2016 Darts Weekly

Taylor benefits from break by winning the Austrian Open on his European Tour return Alex Moss CHIEF DARTS WRITER Phil Taylor put his winning return on the European Tour this past weekend down to a rare break from the practice board.

In his first appearance on the European Tour for two years, the 16-time world champion was crowned Austrian Darts Open champion after beating Michael Smith 6-4 in Sunday night’s final.

Taylor fired in seven 180s during the deciding game against Smith on his way to a fourth European Tour title at the Multiversum Schewchat in Vienna.

And after scooping the £25,000 winner’s prize, a jackpot which is certain to secure him a place in October’s Unibet European Championship, Taylor cited a more relaxed schedule behind his triumph in the Austrian capital.

“I haven’t practiced as much as what I normally do,” the 55-yearold said when speaking to the PDC’s On The Wire programme.

“I’ve had a little bit of a break really. I came back from Germany for the pairs (World Cup) and had a couple of days off, then it just seemed to click.

“I don’t know why but I think sometimes a break, a couple of days, can do you good.”

Taylor’s route to victory in Vienna was not straight forward though. In the semi-finals he had to survive a match dart from Australia’s Kyle Anderson, who had led their high-quality clash 4-1 before losing in a deciding leg.

A 6-1 win over Steve West in the second round on Saturday night marked Taylor’s first game back on the European Tour. And on Sunday it looked like he had never been away at all.

The Power missed double 12 for a nine darter as he swept past Kim Huybrechts 6-3 in the last 16, before a 6-2 triumph over Stephen

Bunting set up that thrilling semifinal with Anderson.

“I can relax a little bit now,” Taylor said. “I’ve enjoyed it. I love playing Kyle Anderson, it was a brilliant game.

“The game against Michael Smith was a good game, it was a bit nip and tuck. I think both of us were shattered after today.

“It was a matter of putting him under pressure and hitting the right shots.

“The couple of 180s there was the best shot I’ve ever done for probably 10 years, that got me through it.”

Smith, who has now moved up to number seven in the PDC Order of Merit following his run to the final at the weekend, survived several scares along the way.

After squeezing past Mark Frost, 6-5, and Ron Meulenkamp, 6-4, in the earlier rounds, Bully Boy

“The couple of 180s there was the best shot I’ve done in probably 10 years” needed a decider to get the better of surprise package Nigel Heydon in the quarter-finals.

The 26-year-old claimed the first leg of the final in 13 darts, before Taylor hit back with consecutive legs to break and go 2-1 in front.

Smith broke straight back in leg four with another 13 darter, but a third break of throw in succession saw Taylor take a 3-2 lead.

The Power spurned five darts at doubles to open up a two-leg lead in the sixth leg, with Smith making the most of the unlikely opening to level the match again at 3-3.

Bully Boy then took out bullseye for a brilliant 130 checkout to go ahead at 4-3, before Taylor reeled off three legs in a row, in 11, 12 and 19 darts to win 6-4 and mark a successful return to European Tour action.

Five talking points from 1. Kyle Anderson is definitely the real deal Phil Taylor may have been the man who left Vienna with the winner’s cheque on Sunday night, but few can argue that it was Kyle Anderson who was the standout performer during the weekend.

The Australian produced a series of eye-catching performances on his way to a first semi-final on the European Tour, beating home favourite Mensur Suljovic, an inform Jelle Klaasen and world number one Michael van Gerwen on the way to the last four.

Anderson’s win over MVG was particularly impressive, as it included three checkouts on the bullseye in consecutive legs.

The 28-year-old, who now bases himself in Nottingham, let a 4-1 lead slip against Taylor in the semi-finals, but it could not deflect from a stunning weekend’s work.

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the Austrian Darts Open 2. Van Gerwen may not dominate 2016 as much as we thought he would Michael van Gerwen’s triumph in the Betway Premier League finals last month moved him onto 10 tournament wins for 2016.

Last year he picked up 18 titles and after his blistering start to 2016 many thought he would better that trophy haul this season.

But the Dutchman’s invincibility has shown signs of wear and tear over the last few weeks. It took some inspiring finishing from Kyle Anderson to see him off in Vienna, yet by MVG’s standards he would not have been pleased to have seen his 4-2 lead wiped out.

3. Players left red-faced by incredible busts It happens to the best of them, but on three occasions at the weekend

we saw three different players make calamitous errors by inadvertently busting their score.

Gerwyn Price stepped up to the oche on 173 and hit two treble 20s and a treble 19 for a score of 177, while Peter Wright (see pic), after hitting treble 20, hit a second to bust his 120 checkout in two darts.

Nigel Heydon completed the treble of mishaps when he hit treble seven when going for a single to leave double eight. It put the Undertaker back on 90 and was an error which put his hopes of glory in Vienna to rest.

4. Race for Matchplay places to go to the wire Kyle Anderson and Rowby-John Rodriguez hold the final two places on the Pro Tour Order of Merit for next month’s World Matchplay, but they must not sit back now.

A Players Championship double

header in Barnsley in two weeks will be the final chance for players to overtake them before the cut off.

5. Nicholson proves to be a valuable asset Paul Nicholson’s last European Tour appearance was more than two years ago, but the Australian took up commentary duties in Vienna and provided thoughtful and knowledgeable analysis.

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Friday 17 June 2016 Darts Weekly

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

“It’s weird how your life changes. I’ve packed up darts for years now but people don’t forget”

In part one of our interview, Shaun Greatbatch chats to Alex Moss about his battle against cancer and how it changed his career in darts

t is hard to believe that 10 years have passed since we saw Shaun Greatbatch reach the semi-finals of the BDO World Championship.

In the 10 years that followed since the run to the last four at Lakeside, Greatbatch’s life has encountered plenty of changes.

On this week, eight years ago, the former England international was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. Greatbatch received the all clear after his treatment to beat the illness, but his darts career would never be the same again.

“It was devastating,” he recalls. “I was having back problems off and on, different pains going on in my body and I was going to different osteopaths, doctors and physios.

“This went on for six to eight weeks. I missed a couple of tournaments and then I went to the Welsh Open. I couldn’t play but I managed to get some points before I had to retire.

“I had to get a sick note because I

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“I had some good times but there was more to life than playing darts”

Craig Hill (4-1) and

couldn’t work. The doctor said ‘while you’re here Shaun we’ll have another blood test.’

“I done that and at 6 o’clock that night the doctor is banging on my door saying you’ve got to get yourself to hospital.

“I said ‘I can’t go to hospital.’ I hadn’t had a shave for four or five days. She said ‘don’t worry about that. If you don’t get yourself there I’m going to call an ambulance.’

“So I said ‘all right then just left me have a shave!’ I had a shave and the missus took me to hospital. It was another week before they diagnosed what it was.

“I didn’t know really too much about what I was going to be facing with the treatment, or what was going to happen with the effects of it and what I would and wouldn’t be able to do. I just tried to remain positive for my wife and my boy.”

As a result of the treatment, Greatbatch lost all of his hair, weighed two stone lighter and dropped four inches in height. At

“Two nine darters because, you know, there’s a fella, Shaun Greatbatch, did a nine darter on TV and he got no recognition for it.

“There’s John Lowe, there’s Paul Lim, there’s myself. So there’s four people who have done it” Phil Taylor after hitting his second televised nine darter in 2004

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the start of 2009, in one of the bravest acts in the history of the sport, Greatbatch played in the World Championship at Lakeside.

After losing to John Walton in the first round, he left the stage to a guard of honour made up of players, officials, referees and former World Championship finalist Dave Whitcombe.

“The Lakeside gave me a push,”

“I lost 18 months and the game moved on. I didn’t have the energy to catch up” he said. “The main reason I never got back into it was because I was told to look after my liver and kidneys. I couldn’t play darts without a drink so I thought I’d give that a miss and give myself a chance.

“I lost 18 months and the game moved on. I didn’t think I had the energy or the enthusiasm to fight and catch up again. These top dart

players don’t do anything else.

There’s so much I wanted to do.

“There was a lot more to life than playing darts. I was all right at it and I made a few quid, but there was other things I wanted to do.

“I’m now qualified to run any construction site in the country. I work for a large, drywall company in East Anglia and that’s pushing my career on.

“It’s weird how your life changes.

I just take it in my stride really. It’s something I’ve had to do obviously because I lost my darts income.

“It’s nice to be remembered. It’s now years since I packed up but people don’t forget.

“I had some good times. I won a few tournaments, hit the nine darter and played for England as well. I didn’t have a bad run.”

Next week: In part two, Shaun delves closer into his darts career and chats about hitting the historic first live televised nine darter, representing his country and his run in the 2006 World Championship

Lynn edges a decider against Thompson to win Lincs Open Barry Lynn held his nerve in a deciding leg to beat Garry Thompson 5-4 and win the Lincolnshire Open on Sunday.

The Essex thrower came through a field of close to 100 players to win his first BDO title.

Lynn also had to come through a decider in the semi-finals on his way to lifting the trophy, with a 5-4 triumph over Steve Alker helping him book his place in the final.

Thompson had earlier beaten Jamie Hughes 5-2 in the other semi-final to get through to the last game, where Lynn took the honours and the £1,001 first prize.

In the ladies competition, Claire Brooklin got the better of Paula Burgess 4-2 in the final.

Brooklin beat Shelley Bontoft 4-0 in the semi-finals, while Burgess got the better of Tanya Anderson.

Hertfordshire win play-off to gain promotion to Division Two Hertfordshire will be playing in Division Two of the British InterCounty Darts Championship next season after they won a play-off against Gwynedd on Sunday.

The two Division Three sides finished joint second at the end of the 2015-16 season on 195 points, with a play-off set up to decide who would join champions Northumberland in Division Two next season.

Hertfordshire took a 10-8 lead into the A games, with Anthony Cox winning a decider against Heber Thomas to put them on the cusp of victory at 18-14.

Gwynedd fought back to take the final four men’s A games to ensure it finished 18-18, meaning the result went down to legs won, which Herts edged by just one leg.

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Friday 17 June 2016 Darts Weekly

The Kiwi who won a wildcard to play with the world’s best Chris Rattue NEW ZEALAND HERALD Cody Harris still confidently dreams of a rags-to-riches story which takes him to the top of the darts world.

And the 30-year-old New Zealander gets a chance today to prove his credentials when players including world champion Gary Anderson, world number one Michael van Gerwen and the 16time world champion Phil Taylor take to the Trusts Arena stage in the Auckland Darts Masters.

Harris, who has just represented New Zealand at the Betway World Cup of Darts in Germany, won a wildcard for the opening night Auckland Darts Masters Today 8AM (UK time) TV: ITV4 (delayed coverage starts at 6.30PM) where eight of the world’s best face Australasian qualifiers.

This is a David and Goliath mix

like no other in professional sport: Taylor, 55, has career earnings in the millions while Harris is an unemployed odd-job man with five kids and no permanent address.

“I’ve done warehousing, car grooming, labouring, building - I’d prefer to be working because I have a family to look after,” he says from his sister’s Manurewa house.

“But you need qualifications and

Dreaming big: Cody Harris is planning to enter Qualifying School in 2017 PICTURE: LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC every time I find something, it’s not permanent. Often it’s only work for a day.”

Harris’ practice routines include Thursday night tournaments at Manurewa’s Bellbird Arms Tavern, where 20 people put in $5 for a winner-takes-all prize. “Yes, I win the majority but they’re all getting better and better,” says Harris.

Darts Player NZ director Dale Frampton believes Harris has raised the bar and is “without doubt” good enough to make it on the world tour.

“Then his money woes would be over - but we need a backer to step forward for him,” says Frampton.

Harris also qualified for the Sydney Darts Masters last year, where he was beaten by the Dutch veteran Raymond van Barneveld, who he faces again in the first round today.

“It doesn’t bother me who I play on Friday - they are all world champions,” says Harris.

“I’ve got a bit of a plan, to go over to Q-School (in England). I still dream of making it. I can be the world champion.”

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Monk follows in dad Colin’s footsteps to regain the Hampshire Open in Pompey Arron Monk followed in his dad’s footsteps by becoming a multiple winner of the Hampshire Open on Saturday evening.

The former PDC World Youth Championship winner beat Richie North 6-4 in a brilliant final at the Pyramids Centre in Portsmouth.

Monk, who first won the title back in 2010, is now the third player to have won the Hampshire Open on more than one occasion,

with his dad Colin (2003, 2008 and 2009) and Paul Hogan (2002 and 2014) also multiple time winners of the open event.

Mitcham’s Tricia Wright was victorious in the ladies event, which was held for the first time since 1990.

Wright beat Debbie Hughes 4-1 in the final to lift the trophy, and both winners are pictured with event sponsor Dave Kattenhorn.

Wesley Harms will be targeting a record-breaking fourth England Open when he begins the defence of his title tomorrow morning.

The Dutchman beat Glen Durrant 7-5 in last year’s final to win the tournament for a third time, which equalled Ted Hankey’s record of three wins at Selsey.

Sparky is the fourth seed for this year’s event and will start his title defence against John Carey or Richard Meadows in the last 512.

A field of over 500 players will be battling it out for a place in the stage finals on Sunday evening, with the likes of Durrant, Jamie Hughes, Scott Mitchell and Darryl Fitton among those in action.

Durrant starts his campaign off against Connor Jeffreys, Mitchell faces Graham Clear and Fitton takes on Bradley Turrell.

Hughes will play the winner of Dave Harris and Dan Bradford, while Hankey’s bid for a fourth England Open crown begins against Mark Renwick.

Fallon Sherrock starts the defence of her ladies title against Maxine Cadwallader or Kayleigh Woolf in the last 128.

Database PDC AUSTRIAN DARTS OPEN (Multiversum Schewchat, Vienna) First round - J Clayton (93.38) 6-1 N Mandl (71.16), S Beaton (95.18) 6-1 V van der Voort (90.47), J de Zwaan (85.53) 4-6 Z Lerchbacher (87.31), R Smith (96.51) 4-6 K Anderson (97.05), C Dobey (83.11) 6-3 D Brown (82.18), M King (88.98) 3-6 S West (101.75), J Caven (97.41) 6-1 J Pipe (87.03), C Kist (78.73) 2-6 J Richardson (90.91), J Wattimena (96.31) 6-3 B Dolan (83.70), S McNally (77.71) 1-6 R-Jo Rodriguez (87.40), J Payne (84.21) 6-3 W Newton (88.33), W Jones (81.64) 1-6 D Van den Bergh (85.15), J Wilson (84.30) 5-6 S Stevenson (83.70), N Heydon (89.96) 6-4 R-Ja Rodriguez (86.69), M Zuydwijk (82.39) 2-6 M Frost (85.74), R Meulenkamp (91.52) 6-3 J de Graaf (85.15). Second round - M van Gerwen (109.98) 6-0 J Clayton (90.93), G Price (79.10) 3-6 S Beaton (82.37), J Klaasen

(92.02) 6-0 Z Lerchbacher (75.31), M Suljovic (94.60) 5-6 K Anderson (92.93), K Huybrechts (95.52) 6-1 C Dobey (86.63), P Taylor (96.03) 6-1 S West (90.89), D Chisnall (98.74) 6-2 J Caven (92.32), S Bunting (89.61) 6-3 J Richardson (85.35), P Wright (98.16) 6-1 J Wattimena (80.73), A Norris (96.31) 6-1 R-Jo Rodriguez (80.11), B van de Pas (98.60) 6-1 J Payne (90.03), T Jenkins (87.68) 6-4 D Van den Bergh (86.50), I White (92.90) 6-4 S Stevenson (89.11), R Thornton (76.57) 5-6 N Heydon (84.49), M Smith (89.58) 6-5 M Frost (84.02), S Whitlock (93.67) 3-6 R Meulenkamp (94.80). Third round - M van Gerwen (101.36) 6-1 S Beaton (91.28), J Klaasen (104.77) 5-6 K Anderson (103.61), K Huybrechts (102.47) 3-6 P Taylor (101.73), D Chisnall (94.42) 2-6 S Bunting (96.70), P Wright (95.46) 6-5 A Norris (102.82), B van de Pas (96.95) 3-6 T Jenkins (93.07), I White (88.88) 0-6 N Heydon (92.97), M Smith (87.65) 6-4 R

Meulenkamp (86.55). Quarter finals - M van Gerwen (95.84) 4-6 K Anderson (95.31), P Taylor (100.80) 6-2 S Bunting, P Wright (85.72) 4-6 T Jenkins (91.44), N Heydon (91.64) 5-6 M Smith (94.42).

Semi finals - K Anderson (105.14) 5-6 P Taylor, T Jenkins (86.09) 4-6 M Smith (89.33). Final - P Taylor (97.34) 6-4 M Smith (92.82).

HAMPSHIRE OPEN (Pyramids Centre, Portsmouth) Men’s quarter finals - M Grimes 2-4 R North, A Hughes 3-4 D Martin, B Kirk 2-4 J Haines, A Dyer 2-4 A Monk. Semi finals - R North 5-1 D Martin, J Haines 15 A Monk, R North 4-6 A Monk.

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Friday 17 June 2016 Darts Weekly

SEAN McCORMICK TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE DART

Taylor looks to be building momentum ahead of the Matchplay After the dust had settled from two consecutive weeks of darts on the TV, the European Tour was back in the limelight at the weekend.

Phil Taylor took home the Austrian Darts Open title, taking home £25,000 for his weekend’s work in Vienna as he capped off his first European Tour appearance for two years with victory.

It has guaranteed his place at the European Championship in October and is a second successive win after winning the World Cup of Darts the previous weekend alongside Adrian Lewis.

The 16-time world champion was a class apart in Vienna, as he consistently averaged above the 100 mark and even wired double 12 for a nine darter against Kim Huybrechts in the third round.

Many see him as favourite for the upcoming World Series double header in Auckland and Shanghai.

Crucially this upturn in form has come in the run-up to next month’s World Matchplay, with the 55-year-old looking to end his barren spell without a major trophy by winning the Blackpool event for a 16th time.

No other player has dominated a tournament quite like the Stoke ace has with the World Matchplay.

A 15-time champion, Taylor had won seven World Matchplay’s in succession, going 38 games and almost eight years unbeaten on the Winter Gardens stage.

Therefore, I along with everyone else was stunned to witness James Wade end his imperious run of

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dominance when he beat Taylor 17-14 in last year’s semi-finals.

Nonetheless, Taylor typically bounces back from such setbacks in ruthless fashion. Since his third Matchplay triumph in 2000, Taylor has twice responded to losing his title by instantly winning it back the next year.

And his recent form aside from successive titles suggests that

‘No other player has dominated an event quite like Taylor has with the Matchplay’ history could quite easily repeat itself this year.

2016 has seen Taylor arguably produce some of the greatest performances of his career, in terms of averages, and but for the continued brilliance of Michael van Gerwen, he himself would still likely be dominating on the tour.

Van Gerwen is the defending champion this year, and while at the start of the year he looked invincible, the last couple of weeks

LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

have shown there may be slight chinks in the armoury of the world number one.

Taylor might be able to exploit them. The Power beat van Gerwen at the World Cup a fortnight ago, albeit in a race to four legs, but it signalled his first TV win over the Dutch maestro for 21 months.

Many speculated that van Gerwen had developed a huge psychological advantage over Taylor, but with that now seemingly erased, who’s to back against Taylor ending his major trophy hoodoo on one of his favourite stomping grounds in Blackpool next month?

Congratulations to Lynn Connolly who won our competition for a new and sealed Game On! The Sound of Darts CD!