Issue 43 (October 28, 2016)

Friday 28 October 2016

Darts Weekly

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

“The PDC have done something very special with the darts”

Gary Anderson chats to us about his career, the future of darts and becoming a film star!

The Euros are here! Chris Mason previews the European Championship Pages 2-4

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Friday 28 October 2016 Darts Weekly

Van Gerwen is playing darts from another planet right now CHRIS MASON Former professional turned pundit looks ahead to the Unibet European Championship which starts today scared of the challenge, so I It would be silly to look past wouldn’t massively Michael van Gerwen in the Unibet The Betway Premier League is set to break new be ground in surprised if Whitlock managed to pull off a win European Championship this 2018 when it goes to Germany for the first time. there. weekend.

With tickets for next year’s Premier League going in Underneath them in the draw is The world number heads to record time last week,one PDC chairman Barry Hearn told another interesting Hasselt, in Belgium, looking to win Darts Weekly he plans to bring the popular tournament totie in Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney. the tournament for a third year on Germany in 2018.

Gerwyn is due a real good run on the spindanger after winning in 2014 “One in life isitgetting complacent and I’ve never telly.

He’s obviously got stacks of and last year. been guilty of that,” he told us last week. ability.

He won two Players MVG is just playing darts from a “Things are going so well you could understand a bit of Championship different planet at the moment. complacency really, but as I say you won’t be seeing it.events this year, you don’t get given those.

He’s just got so much confidence “Premier League tickets are once again flying out Gurney’s another player who is in and he’s playing with so much everywhere. sparkling freedom.

“Aberdeen sold out. Cardiff sold out.some Rotterdam soldform out after an injury, and then below that Jelle with the tournament being inAnd eight minutes. versus in“The Belgium hasn’t run got andKlaasen sportitismeans on an he amazing again you can’tSteve take West.

West’s been in brilliant form, majoreye travelling issues. your off the ball. in Germany It’s a couple ofkeep hours up the road “You’ve got to innovating, keepover creating, becausehe played his for him and he’ll have a lot of the millennial consumer, the younger market that we are friends and family with him.so well. “Michael’s got so targeting for, is responding I“They thinkwant he’s going to really relish entertainment, the best, much and you have to give confidence the opportunity play in front of them a customertoexperience. andwe’ve he’s playing what’s almost a home crowd, “It has to be Germany in 2018, obviously got to because hesponsors will be getting 99 broadcasters, per talk to our and our but freedom” you have to with cent of the support outside of Kim go with demand. brother Tonyto and Huybrechts.

“As much as we are reliant on our UK customers, behe a averaged near on 110.

Michael’s got a tough game in the truly global brand you have to branch out.”

He’s playing well and is getting in first against Simon Theround Premier League has been one of the biggest success good runs in Players Whitlock.

It’s only a short race to stories in the PDC, from playing in leisure centres and Championship events, making six legs, although heasisDoncaster fairly halls in towns such and Colchester, to selling plentyand of quarter-finals, so he’ll dominant over that format. out large arenas across the UK and Ireland, earlier fancy that.

Whitlock’s been in fine form, he this year in the Netherlands. then the fourth game in that recently woncrowd two Players A sell-out of 10,000 packed outAnd the Ahoy Arena quarter is Michael Smith versus Championship events and hit a back in May for the final league night of Stephen Bunting. nine darter.

Both of them are a little bit out of Speaking to people behind the form at the moment and this could scenes, his form on the floor I’m be a springboard to the big part of told hasn’t been that bad, he’s just the season. been walking into some real top The next few months are massive form players, or even sort of for the players, so that should be middle ranked players that are absolutely playing out of their skin an interesting battle between those two and could be the kick they against him. need.

The people who go to the Players In the bottom half of the draw, Championships have said he’s in James Wade and Gary Anderson good form, so I think that’s a tough playing each other in the first opener for van Gerwen. round is unbelievable. Wade is one Whitlock certainly won’t be

of the original seven that played in the first European Championship in 2008.

He’s not been showing signs of any great form in recent times, so he’ll be keen to put that right.

Gary had a great run at the World Grand Prix earlier this month considering he had two weeks off to have a well needed holiday.

He played brilliant in the Grand Prix but just came up a little bit short against Michael in the final.

Even with Phil Taylor in there, the bottom half is wide open.

Phil’s first round opponent Alan Norris is more than capable and had a great result winning the German Darts Championship a few weeks ago.

Van Gerwen has been extremely dominant, but the only event he didn’t really dominate was the one he got beat twice in by Taylor, the Champions League of Darts.

Taylor beat him once in the group games and then he beat him in the final.

Taylor in the early days of this event had quite a record, winning the first four on the spin, but he hasn’t won one since.

As a rule he does have good form from the past and I think there was some good signs in that event, the Champions League.

And then he sort of went missing and got beat by Steve West in the first round of the Grand Prix, which was a bit of a shocker really.

I didn’t see that happening. I thought he was going to enter that one with good form, he was well rested, but that’s the nature of the game nowadays.

I don’t think the players are too scared to put it on you if you miss a few doubles and that’s what’s happening at the moment.

It’s been a while since the normal team did anything on ITV4, so it’s a good one to kick it off with and it’s going to have a big crowd there to watch it too!

Darts Weekly Friday 28 October 2016

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European Domination Michael van Gerwen’s 2016 European Tour campaign in numbers Matches won 36 24

Michael van Gerwen

Peter Wright

22

Mensur Suljovic

18

17

Kim Huybrechts

Dave Chisnall

Tournament record Dutch Darts Masters (February 12-14) WON German Darts Masters (March 26-28) WON Gibraltar Darts Trophy (May 6-8) WON European Darts Matchplay (May 13-15) Semi-Finals Austrian Darts Open (June 10-12) Quarter-Finals European Darts Open (July 29-31) WON International Darts Open (September 2-4) Withdrew European Darts Trophy (September 9-11) WON European Darts Grand Prix (September 16-18) WON German Darts Championship (October 14-16) Third Round

ÂŁ160,500 money earned playing on the European Tour this year

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100+ three dart averages in 39 matches

222

total legs won in 39 matches

1st

on the European Tour Order of Merit

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tournament wins on the European Tour this year

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Friday 28 October 2016 Darts Weekly

Lewis burnt the candle at both ends with his absence from the line-up for the European Championship this weekend There are only seven people that were in the original European Championship in 2008 that are actually in the line-up for the 2016 edition which starts today.

Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld are both missing, which is quite incredible really.

With Adrian I know he’s been in such demand on the exhibition circuit and it’s very hard.

Keith (Deller), who manages him, tries to limit it but the demand is there and I suppose it’s what do you do?

Do you not keep his name out there for popularity and let him do a few exhibitions, or do you hide him away and then maybe at TV tournaments he doesn’t get the same kind of support.

So it’s a catch-22 situation and a tough one, but I know that Keith is adamant to try and keep Adrian’s exhibitions down to a minimum next year.

He can then really focus on getting match sharp and tournament ready. That’ll be interesting to see how it goes.

But in another way it gives him a little bit of a break. It’s been a massively busy schedule and gives him a bit of a break before the rest of the season and the TV tournaments that come with it.

Adrian’s said on Twitter recently that he’ll be playing in more of the European Tour events next year, so hopefully that’ll mean he’ll qualify for the European Championship in 2017.

It would be hard to see him not qualify. It would have to be a monumental fall from grace and I can’t see that happening to Adrian, he’s just got so much talent.

I just think it was a case of burning the candle at both ends.

I suppose if you were going to miss out on one, the European

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LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

Chris Mason ITV PUNDIT

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Talk about who might be picked for the Premier League next year has already begun, and one name doing the rounds is Mensur Suljovic.

He’s well established now in the top 16 and won his first tournament in the PDC last month in Germany.

Will he be picked for the Premier League in 2017? I don’t think so.

Nothing against him personally or his ability, I just don’t think he’s Premier League material.

I think if he forces his way in

then that’s fair enough, but with the Premier League only the top four in the rankings are automatically selected.

The rest of the places are picked by the PDC and Sky, and no disrespect to Mensur but I don’t think he’s quick enough.

The crowd would notice that more so and get on his back.

He’s very deliberate. He takes his time. He won’t be rushed. It’s a bit like in football when the goalkeeper is trying to time waste a little bit, the crowd tend to really get on top of them and I fear for Mensur in that situation.

He is flamboyant, he celebrates well, but for me I don’t think he’s Premier League material.

I’m not sure the crowds effect with his speed whether it would do him any favours at all.

I think Jelle Klaasen has a good chance of being picked. He’s got a good fanbase, he’s quick, he hits a lot of 180s.

The Premier League is effectively a show. It’s a showpiece for the PDC and they want them exciting players and Klaasen is one of them.

Championship is not one of the mega events, like the World Championship or the World Matchplay.

So if he is going to miss one it’s the best of two evils I suppose.

Discussions about Premier League picks have started

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Friday 28 October 2016 Darts Weekly

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

“The youngsters have got a great future in darts the PDC have done something very special”

Gary Anderson chats to Alex Moss about his career, the future of darts and becoming a film star

peaking to Gary Anderson without prior knowledge of his achievements, you would be hard-pressed to know he has won the last two stagings of the William Hill World Darts Championship.

The proud Scot returns to the Alexandra Palace in seven weeks to begin the defence of his world title, but as his second year as the holder of the sport’s richest prize comes to an end, he admits it is not something he likes to boast about.

“I never mention it,” the 45-yearold proclaims. “If somebody doesn’t know me and we start talking ‘play darts?’ Yeah. ‘Any good?’ I’m all right.”

Anderson is at the media junket for the House of Flying Arrows, a brand new feature documentary which looks at the rise of darts, and also follows Anderson’s run to backto-back world titles.

“Barry (Hearn, PDC chairman) twisted my arm up my back and said ‘you are doing it’,” he jokes.

“He kind of appeared last year and said ‘we’ve got this idea, we’re going to have a couple of boys with cameras follow you about.’

“It’s been good, a bit out of my comfort

“If I stopped playing darts tomorrow I’m quite happy with what I’ve done”

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zone because I’m one of those who likes to stay in the shadows.

“Barry said to act yourself, I said to Barry there could be a lot of beeps here!

“I like a good laugh and a good wind up, some people may not like it but that’s just the way I am. I like to have a bit of banter.”

Anderson provides the fairy-tale ending for the film as he went on to successfully retain the World Championship crown at the start of this year.

“It worked well didn’t it?”

Anderson chuckles. “They hung about and we had a laugh.

“For the first world title I was playing all right and then I had a bit of a dip.

“And then going into the start of December I started playing well again, and right from the word go I played well.

“I felt like I was going to do ok, I didn’t think I was going to win it because I never think like that.

“I just keep going, keep trying to fight for everything because you don’t want to lose the title.

“Two on the trot is a big bonus. I try not to put myself under pressure.”

One scene in the film sees Anderson up on the Alexandra Palace stage a day before the

Darts Weekly Friday 28 October 2016

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World Championship begins, trying out reading glasses while throwing darts.

Simon Whitlock is the most recent high profile player to have started wearing glasses while at the oche, with Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld having also dabbled with the spectacles over the years.

“The board is crystal clear with the glasses on,” Anderson recalls.

“But with the way I throw my dart I touch my eye and I keep knocking them, and it just doesn’t feel right at all.

“I think I’d rather play blind! I don’t think I could wear glasses.

“If I did it would probably take me quite a while to get used to playing with them on.

“I’d probably have to change my throw completely. Contact lenses, you’ve got no chance.

“I’ve got a thing with eyes. We’re all right it’s just when they get near the wires and that’s when I struggle to see if they’re in or not.

“That’s the only bit but the referee’s there to tell me what bit

it’s in. Laser eye surgery? We keep going down this road and I think you’d have to knock us out to be honest.

“I’ve really got a thing with eyes.

I don’t’ know, I’ll probably have to get it when I’ve got some time, but I’ll keep going now as it is.”

Anderson is joined for the interview by his manager Tommy Gilmour, whose Dunwegan Enterprises management group

“I think I’d rather play blind! I don’t think I could wear glasses” also look after three other players who have very bright futures in the sport.

“They are three cracking lads,” Anderson says. “We’ve got Michael Smith, Adam Hunt and Chris Dobey, and I tell you Chris is going to be something else.

“He’s a lovely lad and the other two are great boys and they’ve all got a great talent.

“The way darts is now it’s getting to the stage where you’ve got to hit over 105 average just to make sure you win, because some of these boys are rattling in 109, 110 averages against you.

“The youngsters have got a great future in darts. The PDC have done something very special with the darts over the last five, six, seven years.

“If you’re a youngster out there and you want to play, now’s the time.

“I wish I was 21 again to be honest, but if I stopped playing tomorrow I’m quite happy with what I’ve done.

“I’ll not look back and say I’ve had a bad career. I’ve done all right.”

Gary Anderson was speaking at the media junket for the new House of Flying Arrows film, which is available on digital download from October 31 and on Blu-Ray and DVD from November 14. You can pre order now on www.amazon.co.uk

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Friday 28 October 2016 Darts Weekly

Dobey cracks the top 64 after run to first PDC final but is determined to climb higher Alex Moss CHIEF DARTS WRITER It was a weekend to remember for Chris Dobey as the PDC Pro Tour reached its conclusion for the year in Barnsley last week.

The Bedlington thrower reached his first final in the PDC with a run to the decider of Players Championship 19 last Friday, and then came through the qualifiers for the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday.

The 26-year-old has now also broke into the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit for the first time, and with his place secured for four of the five televised tournaments for the rest of year, darts fans will be seeing a lot of Dobey over the next few months.

Before his run to the Players Championship 19 final, which he lost 6-4 to Simon Whitlock, Dobey’s previous best had been two quarter-finals, the German Darts Masters in March, and more recently Players Championship 16

last month at the Barnsley Metrodome.

“It was a great feeling to be honest,” Dobey said. “I felt good all day and the darts were going in brilliantly leading up to the final.

“But I had a few chances in the final which I didn’t take and it cost me, but overall I was happy with my performance.”

On his way to the final, Dobey claimed wins over two former

“I felt good and the darts were going in brilliantly leading up to the final” world champions, beating Stephen Bunting 6-3 in the quarter-finals and then seeing off Adrian Lewis 6-5 in the semi-finals.

The win over Lewis was particularly notable, with Dobey punishing missed match darts from the world number three with a superb 120 checkout to book his place in a first PDC final.

“It was great to take a few scalps

stores.ebay.co.uk/Mojo-DARTS

like that but to be honest everyone on the tour are brilliant players,” he said. “So a win against anyone is good.”

Now up to 60th in the PDC Order of Merit, and with the European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals and World Championship all still to come, Dobey looks nailed on to keep hold of his tour card which he gained at Q-School two years ago.

“It’s a massive achievement for me to make the top 64 and to regain my tour card,” he said.

“But now I have to focus and build on this to try to take myself further.”

Dobey’s hopes of going one better in Players Championship 20 were quickly squashed after losing 6-5 to Jan Dekker in the first round, but on Sunday he was one of eight players to come through the qualifiers for the Grand Slam, a tournament which he holds in high regard.

“I’ve been told so many good

Darts Weekly Friday 28 October 2016

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Players Championship Diary

By Alex Moss

Key moments of the weekend Simon’s nine dart magic

Treble for van de Pas

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After ending his two year trophy drought in Dublin earlier this month, Simon Whitlock made it back-to-back titles by winning Players Championship 19, and threw in a nine darter to boot.

things about the Grand Slam,” Dobey said.

“I’m very much looking forward to it. It’s a tournament where I have said I would love to play in it one day and now I have my chance, so I’m grateful.

“To know you’ll have three games on TV is good, but I’ve just got to knuckle down and make the most of it.”

Before his first trip to Wolverhampton next month, Dobey will get more big stage experience this weekend when he makes his debut in the Unibet European Championship.

A first round clash with Joe Cullen, another one of the exciting up and coming players in the PDC, promises to produce plenty of fireworks when they meet on stage in Belgium this afternoon.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I had a little bit of an issue with my luggage, but hopefully it all falls into plan.

“But other than that I’m excited to get out there.”

◊ Nine-dart hero Simon Whitlock won his second successive Players Championship title with a 6-4 defeat of Chris Dobey in Players Championship 19 last Friday.

The Australian achieved perfection for the second time in a matter of weeks as he landed a nine darter during his first round whitewash win over Par Riihonen.

Whitlock then recorded wins over Nathan Aspinall, Mervyn King, James Wade, Jamie Lewis and Mark Frost on his way to the final, where he saw off Dobey to scoop the £10,000 prize. ◊ Benito van de Pas claimed his third Players Championship win of 2016 in the year’s final tournament in Barnsley on Saturday, defeating Dave Chisnall 6-1 in the final of Players Championship 20.

The Dutchman had won Pro Tour titles in Barnsley and Coventry earlier in the year, with Saturday’s win completing a seasonal hat-trick. Van de Pas came from 4-1 down to beat Justin Pipe 6-5 in the semi-finals.

His last Players Championship weekend was shrouded in controversy, but on Sunday, Benito van de Pas was back to his brilliant best as he won Players Championship 20.

Picture of the weekend Commentator Dan Dawson offers an insight into the glamorous world of commentating on the PDC Pro Tour

Tweets of the weekend ‘See u soon @BULLYBULLY 170’

Kevin Painter possibly hints at joining Terry Jenkins in retiring from the PDC after his early exit in Players Championship 19

‘A 1st ProTour final means @Dobey10 is inside the top 64 when the PDC Order of Merit is next released! @SWhitlock180 wins 13th ProTour event.’

Andy Scott highlights the achievements of both finalists in Players Championship 19

‘Haruki Muramatsu loses to Suljovic, extending his losing streak in ranking PDC events/ qualifiers to 18 consecutive matches.’

Burton DeWitt points out the Japanese World Cup of Darts star’s barren run on the Pro Tour

Darts Weekly Friday 28 October 2016

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CHRISTOPHER KEMPF MATCH OF THE WEEK - A LEWIS 6-4 R VAN BARNEVELD (PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP 19) LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

Jackpot overcomes furious Barney comeback Wayne Mardle recently summarised the state of competitive play in the PDC as a race between three top players: Michael van Gerwen, the deserving world number one, with Gary Anderson and Phil Taylor following close behind.

As for the other competitors, “no offence to the rest - and I couldn’t care less whether I upset them or not - they’re nowhere near them.

“They can’t compete with these two (van Gerwen and Anderson), and Phil Taylor is better than them,” said Mardle.

The year thus far has not been kind to two members of that unfortunate category called “the rest”, Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld.

Despite their unquestionable skill - seven world titles between the two players were not won by luck - they have both failed to qualify for this weekend’s European Championship by virtue of skipping many of the European Tour events.

Lewis and van Barneveld can no longer expect to automatically qualify for every major tournament and must fight to put themselves back in the spotlight.

When the two met in Barnsley last Friday, it was not even certain that van Barneveld would qualify for the Players Championship Finals by keeping himself within the top 64 on the tournament’s order of merit.

That the two met in only the second round is a result of Barney being an unseeded player and thus more likely to play difficult opponents early in the

tournament. Barney’s race to make up lost ground in the rankings was emulated by his performance against Lewis, in which he fought to overcome a large early deficit.

Lewis, in winning four of the first five legs with a 93 average, dominated the first half of the match without particularly explosive scoring or superb finishing.

Twelve darts at doubles for van Barneveld only yielded one leg on the scoreboard, and his 83.5

‘A magnificent 170 checkout was an exhibition for the streaming audience’ average in those first five legs gave Jackpot every opportunity to break his throw, which he did, twice.

Beginning in the sixth leg, Barney’s darts found much more of the red and green sisal as defeat to Lewis loomed large.

Suddenly the Dutch champion was reaching finishes in seven or eight darts, rather than 10 or 11, spurring Lewis on himself to more 140s and 100s.

Two of Barney’s missed darts at double 12 extended Lewis’ lead to

5-1, but a finish on double nine in the seventh leg, and a clinical clean up of 25 after a failed attempt at a bullseye checkout in the eighth, began to pressure Lewis as he missed match darts.

Over the last five legs, van Barneveld averaged 115.4 overall and 129 over the first nine darts of the leg in a furious comeback attempt. Any dart player, even the world number one, would be proud of such a performance.

His magnificent 170 checkout in the penultimate leg closed the gap to 5-4 - an exhibition for the streaming audience of the pyrotechnics, of which Barney is still capable under pressure.

Then seven perfect darts left a score of 62 after three visits for the needed second break of throw.

But one mistake - a missed dart to equalise the match at five legs all allowed an improving Lewis two darts at double 11 for the match, the second of which found its mark.

As his effort to qualify for Hasselt came up just short, so too did van Barneveld’s effort against Lewis.

The two darts legends will now have a weekend off in which to plot their return to major championship stardom, and out of the ignominy of “the rest”.

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Friday 28 October 2016 Darts Weekly

Glory for Shah in home stage of THE WORLD in Malaysia THE WORLD

Tengku Shah was the surprise winner of Stage Five of THE WORLD in Malaysia on Sunday.

In the final stage before the cut off for the Grand Final in December, the Malaysian beat Taiwan’s Howei Tsai in the final to scoop the $12,000 first prize.

Paul Lim, who was knocked out in the semi-finals by Tsai, finished top of the annual ranking with 150 points.

The Singaporean won stages three and four in Taipei and Korea, and pipped Croatia’s Boris Krcmar on a countback.

The top eight players in the annual ranking have automatically qualified for the Grand Final, which takes place in Hong Kong on December 4.

Along with Lim and Krcmar, Alex Reyes, who won Stage Two in France, Leonard Gates, Park Hyunchul, Yuji Eguchi, Sho Katsumi and Mitsumasa Hoshino have also qualified.

Shah’s run to the title in Malaysia began in block 12 of the round robin, with wins against Chen Hai Long, Tom Yang and Dickson Fung helping him to qualify for the knockout rounds.

A 3-0 defeat to Woong Hee Han meant Shah finished second in his block, and set up a last 64 clash with Singapore’s Harith Lim. After knocking out the PDC World Cup of Darts player, Shah then got the better of Alain Abiabi, Yuzuru Kushibiki, Lourence Ilagan and Chris White to reach the final.

Tsai’s run to the final began in block 29 of the round robin, where he was joined by former stage winner Reyes.

After being beaten 3-1 by Reyes, Tsai recorded whitewash victories over Michael Vesper, Leonard Chai and Byunghwa Jeon to finish second and progress to the last 64.

Tsai then saw off Michael Pedley, Ng Ki Fu, Jerry Salenga, Park Hyunchul and Paul Lim to get to the final against Shah, and a final

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which included two first time finalists.

It was Shah who was victorious in the final at the Vivatel Kuala Lumpur, but even that was not enough for him to finish in the top eight of the annual ranking.

With Japan’s Keita Ono having also qualified for the Grand Final

after winning the Premium Stage, there are seven places available for the Grand Final.

Shah will get the chance to try and qualify in a wildcard tournament which takes place on December 2. Players ranked between nine and tied 100th will be eligible for the tournament.

In brief Invites announced for Finals Kim Huybrechts heads the field of global invitations for the Ladbrokes World Series of Darts Finals in Glasgow next month. The Belgian was joined by Benito van de Pas, Daryl Gurney, Joe Cullen, Gerwyn Price, Cristo Reyes, Max Hopp and Josh Payne as the further eight invited players. “The concept of the World Series has been to show the sport’s leading talents on a global stage, and our field in Glasgow will represent both the established elite stars and the prospects who we hope will have long careers at the top level,” PDC chairman Barry Hearn said.

Wildcard for the Silverback

Trio secure Ally Pally spots John Michael, Boris Koltsov and Gilbert Ulang have secured their places in the William Hill World Darts Championship through recent qualifiers. Greece’s Michael won the Southern Europe Qualifier in Avila, Spain, while Russian Koltsov (EADC) and Ulang (Philippines) also won through their respective qualifiers.

Turkish treble for Phillips Martin Phillips won the Turkish Open for a third time after edging past Jamie Hughes 6-5 in the final on Monday. The Welshman also won the event in 2012 and 2013.

Darts Weekly Friday 28 October 2016

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DAVE SOUTH DARTS WRITER

What next for the greatest of all time going into 2017?

‘Taylor wants to wind down in the next 18 months’

Taylor played in all of the qualifiers this year, so time will tell in 2017, but I think he will.

We really should not be surprised, nor have reason to believe, Taylor will continue beyond the next 18 months.

With Phil’s ranking inside the top four, a well-rested Taylor in the major events could maintain his ranking solely on that basis.

Ranked at number four, Phil will continually be on the same path as Michael van Gerwen at the semifinal stage.

When Taylor retires, I hope it is handled delicately and in the right way.

If 2017 does not go to plan it could well be the World Championship in 2017/18 where we see Phil’s final appearance, culminating with a send off at the PDC Awards Dinner in January, 2018. I can vision it now!

LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

It was the weekend of the Champions League of Darts (September 24-25) when Phil Taylor won the inaugural BBC event and it was nearly a quarter of a century since seeing Taylor throwing darts on the channel.

Phil said over that weekend in other words that he wanted to wind down his career and disappear in the next 18 months or so.

To me this suggested he would not enter as many qualifying events, if any, to qualify for future events.

To ratify this, the final Players Championship entry lists last weekend did not have Phil Taylor as entered.

The money earned from the Pro Tour floor events determines qualification for the Finals at the end of November.

The PDC this year aligned the criteria for the European Championship to coincide with the UK Open and Players Championship method of qualification.

All events would have their own order of merit, with all monies from the events accumulated into the overall Pro Tour Order of Merit, which is applied for major events throughout the year.

Entering the first three Players Championship events was not enough to see Taylor qualify for Minehead next month.

Since April this year, Taylor has played in just 13 events (the European Championship this weekend will be his 14th), with six events being in the World Series.

The Power appeared in all the

other TV events since April.

2017 will be similar to 2016 for Phil. It would be a huge surprise if Taylor did not appear in the Premier League next year.

It may be less surprising if Taylor, 56, declined his invite to the World Series.

I do think with Las Vegas added to the calendar next year, it may be the determining factor that Taylor accepts the invite, having not played there since 2009.

And he was the last winner of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, so may want to go back to the States for one last experience.

Will Phil attempt to qualify for the UK Open? The six qualifiers are held on back-to-back weekends in February, so will determine Phil’s word on whether this applies to one of many of the most unique events of the year.

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Friday 28 October 2016 Darts Weekly

Australia dominate the 2016 Asia Pacific Cup in Japan Richard Edwards ASIAN DARTS CORRESPONDENT Australia swept aside their Asian opponents in Osaka, Japan at the weekend.

With six nations (Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Iran and Macau) competing at the event, every nation could compete against every other nation.

Throughout the three day event the Australians were the ones to be feared.

The group stages were played on the Thursday and concluded on Friday morning.

In the team game they brushed aside all that they faced in the group stages, with only Japan managing to win a leg against them.

The women’s pairing of Corrine Hammond and Natalie Carter won every game to top the group.

It was a similar story for the men’s pairs as the partnerships of Adam Rowe and Justin Thompson, and Peter Machin and Raymond Smith, both topped their groups.

All four also went on to top their groups in the singles, while Carter topped her group and Hammond finished second in hers.

It truly was an astonishing display from all of the Australian team.

On a personal note, I was just not ‘on’. I was feeling good as I approached the oche in Korea’s opening game against Hong Kong, but I was simply not scoring well enough.

Playing 1001 with six team members, you are generally going to only going to get two visits per leg. It is tough to find a rhythm.

I was throwing nice and slow, I was even throwing nice and straight, but it seemed like an eternity until I hit that red bit.

I learned a lot that morning about my game. I think you can be nervous without knowing it.

Months ago I would have been visibly nervous, my hand would have been shaking, but I discovered, despite feeling good, when push comes to shove, I do not throw my darts like I do in practice.

It is with a wry smile that I now recall just how ‘loopy’ I was throwing them, looking back I am surprised they stuck in the board!

The doubles was a similar story as the Hong Kong pairing of Prince Shek Ho Yin and Joey Tam brushed DoWook Jeon and myself aside 3-0 (despite a great effort from Jeon, but I guess he is not a miracle worker!).

It was now time for the singles and no team-mates to turn to. I was against Scott MacKenzie (of PDC World Cup fame).

After the chance of a couple of deep breaths and a moment to think about my new found

‘It truly was an astonishing display from all of the Australian team’ spiritual mantra (Slow, Happy and Relaxed, Positive), it was straight to the oche.

The bull off started well, we were matching each other with outer bulls, throwing three times each, things were on the up, everything was going to be ok!

But 10 minutes later I looked up at the scoreboard as Scott was hitting his winning double.

He averaged 93, I averaged 53.

This was a low point.

My always supportive partner Jeon insisted I settled my nerves by having a couple of drinks (he didn’t need to twist my arm) and next up was Macau.

In the past couple of months I have been trying to play without a drink inside me, what a mistake that was.

I should have been practicing

how much drink to put inside of me, however many I squeezed in before the Macau game was just right as the team game featured one of a few real personal highlights for me. A 180, my only one of the competition.

As I was high fiving my team walking back to my position I declared “I love beer” much to the amusement of my team-mates.

A few more tons followed and we went on to win 3-1.

On to the pairs and a 3-0 victory and then it was time for me to try and do myself justice in the singles.

My opponent, Nick Choi, started very brightly and went into a well deserved 2-0 lead and I was looking beat.

Next thing I knew, probably Asahi related, I was muttering myself and firing myself up.

After a couple of bad visits from Nick I was whipping myself into a frenzy. “He has gone, he has gone” I was telling myself.

I was ready to run through a brick wall. This is all very unlike me as usually I play the big, slow relaxed oaf very well (on and off the oche), but what followed was a great comeback and definitely another highlight for me. I won 3-2 and I was buzzing.

Next up Iran. By this time we had heard that Iran were raising a few eyebrows and were not to be taken lightly.

With this in mind we were delighted to take a 2-0 lead, but unfortunately could not get over the finishing line.

Iran came storming back and won 3-2 It was swiftly onto the doubles and a very hard fought victory against their pairing and for the first time in my short darting career a bit of aggro!

One of the Iranian players seemed to mock my score of nine (yeah I know!) during the second leg. I took great pleasure in getting in his grill when I checked out in the next three legs to help see us

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the next three legs to help see us home 3-1.

I would be lying if I said things were not starting to get a bit hazy now. The singles match that followed was a horrible mix of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s Show’ and too much of the local brew.

I took the first leg but my opponent, Alireza Izadi, came back strong and beat me 3-1.

I have no qualms in admitting my opponent was a better dart player than me, but I do regret not performing, as my top game would have been good enough on the day.

By the time it was time to face Australia I regret to tell you I was a fair bit pickled.

Yes, they were a great team, but it would have been nice to put up a fight. We lost 3-0, 3-0, 3-0.

So it seems the very reason why I played well against Macau was the very reason I was so poor against Australia.

That night, after 30 plates of sushi (not quite a PB), I pondered what might have been, and also

vowed to at least put up a good showing and do myself justice in our final match up against Japan in the morning.

We went into the team game believing if we beat Japan we would progress.

I think we shocked ourselves as we took a 2-0 lead, but just like the Iran game we could not seal the deal and finished off losing 3-2.

‘One of the two legs we got against Japan meant we got the semi-finals’ A quick tally up of the points before the doubles and we had soon realised that other results had gone our way.

One of the two legs we got against Japan had meant we had progressed to the semi-finals, now this was most definitely another highlight of the tournament.

Buoyed with this in mind, and already knowing we had qualified,

DooWook and myself beat the Japanese pairing 3-0.

Not only did we qualify from the group, we ended up winning more than we lost.

Next up, my singles game and what I was describing to myself as the biggest game of my life.

We exchanged the first two legs but then my opponent, Hiromitsu Tsuji kicked on, and to be fair played some great darts. He was too good for me and beat me 3-1, the singles dream was over.

We were then informed that the semi-finals of the team game would not take place until the next day, so the only thing to concentrate on now was the pairs.

We were playing well and relaxed, but at this stage of the tournament ‘playing well and relaxed’ doesn’t always cut it, and it didn’t then, as the other Japanese pairing got their revenge and we were dumped out of the competition.

On the third and final day of the tournament were given the task of dispatching Australia in order to reach the final of the team game.

We matched them blow for blow in the first leg and the next thing you know they missed a couple of darts to win the leg and we were sat on 50 to win the leg.

What followed was simply superb. I still remember having a virtual bet with myself as Danbi Kim approached the oche, whether she would go straight for the bull or not.

Did she? Of course she did! The first dart slid into 17 and after regaining her composure she hit one then double 16.

I really did enjoy looking over to see how the Aussies took it. They took it well and it certainly didn’t affect them too much as they destroyed us in the next three legs to win 3-1 and advance to the final, where they would beat Hong Kong with just as much ease.

This time next year Kobe, Japan will host the WDF World Cup. Everything I do now is with that in mind, I want to represent Korea again at next year’s World Cup. A big thank you to my teammates for welcoming me to the side and being so supportive.

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Friday 28 October 2016 Darts Weekly

Slow start to ticket sales for the World Masters at Lakeside Alex Moss CHIEF DARTS WRITER Ticket sales for this year’s Winmau World Masters have made a disappointing start, with the BDO struggling to shift tickets for the prestigious event.

As we went to press last night, the online booking system on the Lakeside Country Club website showed less than 200 tickets have been snapped up by darts fans across the three days of play scheduled in early December.

The organisation of this year’s World Masters, a tournament which has been running since 1974, has been far from smooth.

A venue switch from the Copper Box Arena to the more familiar setting of the Lakeside was announced a few months ago, while the date of the event was also changed, with it being put back a week to December 1-4.

Tickets for the tournament did not go on sale online until two

weeks ago, and with the Friday action on the Lakeside stage now just five weeks away, the BDO face a challenging period to try and boost ticket sales.

Tickets for the weekend are modestly priced, with a ticket for the whole weekend available for £42.50, while day tickets range between £10-20.

The Lakeside will be hosting the

‘Less than 200 tickets have been snapped up by darts fans’ World Masters in December for the first time since 2001, with various venues in Hull, such as the Hull Arena, Hull City Hall and the Costello Stadium, having hosted the major event in recent years.

It will be the third time that the Lakeside has staged a BDO tournament this year, with the World Championship back in January and the World Trophy in

May also held there in 2016. And with the top players in the BDO set to return to the Lakeside again shortly after Christmas for the 2017 World Championship, the novelty of going to watch the darts at the Lakeside may not be as visible when put against the World Masters returning to the venue.

There has yet to be an announcement in regards to television coverage for the World Masters, which has been broadcast on television in the UK for the last 25 years.

Not since 1990 has the event not had its broadcasts held by a television channel in the UK, with the likes of Sky Sports, ESPN and, most recently, Eurosport, all at some point holding the rights.

The BBC screened the World Masters for 10 years between 2001 and 2010, followed by ESPN for two years in 2011 and 2012.

Eurosport took up the mantle from 2013 and broadcast the event last year, but any deal for 2016 has yet to be announced.

Database PDC PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP 19 (Barnsley) Third round - M Suljovic bt R Huybrechts 6-4; A Lewis bt D Gurney 6-4; RJ Rodriguez bt R Green 6-4; M Webster bt A Hamilton 6-3; V van der Voort bt M Barilli 61; S Bunting bt C Reyes 6-4; C Dobey bt D Chisnall 6-5; R Meulenkamp bt S Kellett 6-2; J Payne bt P Wright 6-3; T Jenkins bt S Beaton 6-5; K Huybrechts bt V Kamphuis 65; M Frost bt J Klaasen 6-3; J Wade bt D Webster 6-2; S Whitlock bt M King 6-0; J Lewis bt R Thornton 6-5; J Cullen bt S West 6-5. Fourth round - A Lewis bt M Suljovic 6-3; R-J Rodriguez bt M Webster 6-5; S Bunting bt V van der Voort 6-4; C Dobey bt R Meulenkamp 6-1; J Payne bt T Jenkins 6-5; M Frost bt K Huybrechts 6-3; S Whitlock bt J Wade 6-3; J Lewis bt J Cullen 6-5. Quarterfinals - A Lewis bt R-J Rodriguez; C Dobey bt S Bunting; M Frost bt J Payne; S Whitlock bt J Lewis 6-5. Semi-finals - C Dobey bt A Lewis 6-5; S Whitlock bt M Frost 6-3. Final S Whitlock bt C Dobey 6-4.

PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP 20 (Barnsley) Third round - M Suljovic bt R Thornton 6-1; D Gurney bt R van Barneveld 6-2; C Kist bt P Nicholson 6-4; J Dekker bt A Norris 6-4; A Jenkins bt M Hopp 6-3, Jam

Wilson bt S Bunting 6-5; D Chisnall bt R Baxter 6-1; S West bt J Henderson 6-3; P Wright bt P Jiwa 6-5; A Lewis bt M Clark 60; J Pipe bt M Walsh 6-1; D Smith bt J Part 6-4; R Green bt R Williams 6-2; M Edgar bt C Reyes 6-2; B van de Pas bt R Owen 6-3; J Lewis bt A Gilding 6-5. Fourth round - D Gurney bt M Suljovic 6-2; C Kist bt J Dekker 6-5; Jam Wilson bt A Jenkins 6-4; D Chisnall bt S West 6-4; P Wright bt A Lewis 6-5; J Pipe bt D Smith 6-1; M Edgar bt R Green 6-4; B van de Pas bt J Lewis 6-3. Quarter-finals - D Gurney bt C Kist 6-3; D Chisnall bt Jam Wilson 6-2; J Pipe bt P Wright 6-5; B van de Pas bt M Edgar 6-2. Semi-finals - D Chisnall bt D Gurney; B van de Pas bt J Pipe 6-5. Final - B van de Pas bt D Chisnall 6-1.

SINGHA BEER GRAND SLAM OF DARTS QUALIFIER (Barnsley) Final round - R Thornton bt A Gilding 5-1; D van den Bergh bt M Mansell 5-0; T Evetts bt M Zuydwijk 5-1; B Dolan bt K Huybrechts 5-4; C Dobey bt T Newell 5-4; Jam Wilson bt T Jenkins 5-3; N Derry bt S Taylor 5-4; D Webster bt J Klaasen 5-2.

LADBROKES WORLD SERIES OF DARTS FINALS QUALIFIER (Barnsley) Final round - S Beaton bt C Kist 6-3; S Whitlock bt W O’Connor 6-5; B Dolan bt T

Jenkins 6-4; J Murnan bt A Norris 6-4.

WILLIAM HILL WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP SOUTHERN EUROPE QUALIFIER (Avila, Spain) Final - J Michael bt J Toquero 6-0.

WDF TURKISH OPEN (Antalya, Turkey) Men last 16 - J Hughes bt B MacLeod 4-1; M Gurbuz bt B Raman 4-0; W Mandigers bt S Rackel 4-1; J Sparidaans bt C Dale 4-0; A Turner bt W Vaes 4-2; U Uygunsozlu bt C van Cleef 4-0; E Toros bt C Hill 4-3; M Phillips bt J Holmes 4-0. Quarter-finals - J Hughes bt M Gurbuz; J Sparidaans bt W Mandigers 4-1; U Uygunsozlu bt A Turner 4-2; M Phillips bt E Toros 4-0. Semi-finals - J Hughes bt J Sparidaans 5-1; M Phillips bt U Uygunsozlu 5-2. Final - M Phillips bt J Hughes 6-5.

Women quarter-finals - A de Graaf bt M Iftode 4-0; E Dursun bt D Ijpeaar 4-0; S Edwards bt S Cusick 4-2; P Jacklin bt C Duffield 4-1. Semi-finals - A de Graaf bt E Dursun 5-0; S Edwards bt P Jacklin 5-0.

Final - A de Graaf bt S Edwards 5-1. Men pairs final - J Sparidaans/B Raman bt M Phillips/M Layton 3-1. Women pairs final - P Jacklin/S Edwards bt C Cruickshanks/M Cruickshanks 3-2. Mixed pairs final - J

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Hughes/P Jacklin bt J Sparidaans/D Ijpelaar 3-1. Masters men quarter-finals - J Hughes bt C Dennel 4-1; W Mandigers bt M Layton 4-2; M Symes bt C van Cleef 4-2; U Uygunsozlu bt C Hill 4-2. Semi-finals - W Mandigers bt J Hughes 5-2; U Uygunsozlu bt M Symes 5-4. Final - U Uygunsozlu bt W Mandigers 6-5. Women semi-finals - A de Graaf bt S Cusick 5-0; P Jacklin bt L Turner 5-0. Final - A de Graaf bt P Jacklin 5-1.

ASIA PACIFIC CUP (Osaka, Japan) Team - 1. Australia, 2. Hong Kong. Men Singles 1. J Thompson (Australia), 2. P Machin (Australia). Women singles - 1. M Suzuki (Japan), 2. C Hammond (Australia). Men pairs - 1. A Rowe/J Thompson (Australia), 2. K Aiba/H Ichimiya (Japan). Women pairs - 1. C Hammond/N Carter (Australia), 2. M Suzuki/S Inoue (Japan). Final placings - 1. Australia 338pts, 2. Japan 232, 3. Hong Kong 164, 4. Korea 82, 5. Iran 62, = Macau 62.

WITCH CITY OPEN (Nashua, USA) Men final - J Fitzsimmons bt T Curtin. Women final - S Pace bt C West.

ALAN KING MEMORIAL (Dunedin, New Zealand) Men final - M McGrath bt W Parry 5-4. Women final - D Mercer bt S Hohipa 5-3.

EDO LONDON LADIES CLASSIC (Spots & Stripes, Ewer Street) Quarter-finals - M O’Brien bt C Gallagher 4-1; T Gulliver bt L Winstanley 4-1; A Dobromyslova bt F Sherrock 4-1; L Ashton bt S Prins 4-3. Semifinals - M O’Brien bt T Gulliver 4-3; A Dobromyslova bt L Ashton 4-1. Final - A Dobromyslova bt M O’Brien 5-2.

EDO LONDON LADIES OPEN (Spots & Stripes, Ewer Street) Quarter-finals - A Dobromyslova bt F Sherrock 4-0; L Ashton bt S Prins 4-1; T Gulliver bt L Winstanley 40; D Niash bt D Gleed 4-0. Semi-finals - A Dobromyslova bt L Ashton 5-1; T Gulliver bt D Nash 5-1. Final - A Dobromyslova bt T Gulliver 6-3.

Anderson; J Caven v J Richardson; P Wright v J Pipe, C Reyes v R Thornton. Second round and quarter-finals (best of 19 legs), Semi-finals and final (best of 21 legs).

FIXTURES PDC UNIBET EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (Hasselt, Belgium) First round - (best of 11 legs) M van Gerwen v S Whitlock; D Gurney v G Price; J Klaasen v S West; M Smith v S Bunting; K Huybrechts v Jam Wilson; M King v D Petersen; J Wade v G Anderson, M Hopp v B van de Pas; M Suljovic v J Wattimena; I White v T Jenkins; A Norris v P Taylor; C Dobey v J Cullen, D Chisnall v K DARTS ON TV

BDO BRITISH INER-COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP (29-30 October) Premier Division - Cambridgeshire v Glamorgan; Cheshire v Warwickshire; Essex v Nottinghamshire; Lincolnshire v Lancashire; Yorkshire v Devon. Division One - Cleveland v Kent; Dorset v Cornwall; Gwent v West Midlands; Hampshire v Oxfordshire; London v Co Durham.

Division Two - Berkshire v Hertfordshire; Northamptonshire v Staffordshire; Northumberland v Suffolk; Surrey v Derbyshire; Worcestershire v Cumbria.

Division Three - Gloucestershire v Somerset; Gwynedd v Merseyside; Humberside v Buckinghamshire; Montgomery and Radnor v Sussex.

DARTS ON TV PDC UNIBET EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP ITV4 12.45pm (today through to Sunday)

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Friday 28 October 2016 Darts Weekly

DAVE McNALLY DARTS WRITER SKY SPORTS

From the big stage to the commentary box Playing golf and walking the dog, a far cry from trying to hold your nerve in front of thousands screaming fans on the PDC stage.

“I’m still playing and generally enjoying life,” Wayne Mardle is quick to point out.

Four times in the PDC, and once in the BDO, he reached the semifinals of the World Championship, Mardle could wrongly be tagged the nearly man by many.

“I won a dozen ranking events, so I did ok. My concentration was always poor, no doubt that cost me in some matches.

“I never won a major because I played Phil (Taylor) in every final I made.

“I played well in them all but wasn’t quite good enough on that given day.”

Most players fell to Phil Taylor in the World Championship, so there is some comfort that the other professionals on the circuit could relate to Mardle’s failings.

“If I could play one match again it would be the 2006 World semifinal.

“I lost 6-5, I got carried away mentally (laughs). I’d have annihilated Peter Manley in the final… I think (laughs).”

Like most pro’s on the tour, Mardle identifies travelling as the worst part of the sport, but it was during an ‘away day’ that his nickname and famous entrance started to take shape.

“I was in Las Vegas and a friend purchased a Hawaiian shirt, he joked about me wearing it for the World Championship, I did.

“Bobby George gave me the tag of Hawaii 501. I don’t like

mentioning it as I don’t want to give him any credit (laughs).

“The tour events are boring and are just a way of getting to the main stages.

“Televised events are more pressurised, that’s where the fun is. Some handle the situation some don’t. I loved it. What a buzz!”

There certainly is a buzz around darts now, with the venues the length of the UK, even stretching across into Europe, selling out in a matter of hours for tournaments.

Will darts eat itself? There have been a few well documented instances of the crowds becoming unmanageable, are we in danger of overkill?

“I love talking about darts, who doesn’t?

It’s the greatest sport of all” “Yes. We want quality not quantity. It’s hard to police.

“The fact that drinking is positively encouraged is poor.

“The majority want to watch the darts and take in the atmosphere, let’s not let a few drunken idiots spoil it.”

Mardle is heard rather than seen at darts tournaments these days, the unmistakeable tones of excitement filling households worldwide.

“Sky Sports asked me to do a bit of commentary the year before I stopped playing competitively, but the time wasn’t right.

“The following year was perfect, so I took it up. I love talking about darts, who doesn’t? It’s the greatest sport of all.”

There’s no argument from me, so have you had to be more diplomatic while commentating?

“No. I’m paid to give an honest assessment and opinion. I don’t care if the players don’t like it.”

Many slip down the rankings as they get older and try to forge other careers and Mardle is testament to this. “You can’t be good at something forever. Muscles weaken, humans become less strong the older we get, so the throw changes because the muscles and posture aren’t what they were, you start to play differently.

“Once your action isn’t as good as it was you’re no longer able to improve, then the mind starts to unravel, then you end up in a commentary box.”