Issue 45 (November 11, 2016)

Friday 11 November 2016

Darts Weekly

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

“It’s going to be special to play in the Grand Slam for the first time” Jamie Hughes looks ahead to his debut in his home tournament this weekend

23rd title of 2016 for Breakthrough win van Gerwen Pages 2-3 for Rusty Pages 14-15

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Friday 11 November 2016 Darts Weekly

Van Gerwen overcomes the partisan crowd and Wright to keep World Series Finals title Alex Moss CHIEF DARTS WRITER Title number 23 for Michael van Gerwen in a record-breaking 2016 was secured on Sunday night, with victory in the Ladbrokes World Series of Darts Final.

The world number one continued his excellent season on the PDC circuit by edging out Peter Wright 11-9 in the final, in a repeat of the deciding game 12 months ago.

Van Gerwen had defeated Wright 11-10 in the inaugural World Series of Darts Finals last year, and the pair once again met in a televised final at the weekend, and once again it was the Dutchman who was celebrating with the trophy.

It was a third successive televised title for van Gerwen, following his wins in the World Grand Prix and European Championship last month, and backed up the top seed’s World Series victories in Shanghai and Perth earlier this year.

For Wright, it was an eighth defeat in eight televised finals, one short of the nine racked up by Terry Jenkins, and six of those have seen him beaten by MVG. Wright picked up wins over Daryl Gurney, Joe Cullen and Phil Taylor on his way to TV final number eight.

The semi-final victory over Taylor was one of the most

“I’m winning most of the tournaments and I’m a happy man” dramatic games of 2016. After Taylor hit back from 5-2, 6-4 and 8-6 down to go 10-8 up, and on the brink of victory, Wright reeled off three legs on the spin to triumph in the deciding leg.

Scottish-born Wright was certainly aided by a partisan Glasgow crowd, as Taylor missed several match darts to progress, but after hitting 13 180s and

stores.ebay.co.uk/Mojo-DARTS

averaging 105, Snakebite produced an inspired performance against the 16-time world champion.

Van Gerwen enjoyed a more comfortable run to the final as he brushed aside Saturday’s narrow 6-5 win over Gerwyn Price with an unplayable 10-0 whitewash of Simon Whitlock in the quarterfinals, before sweeping past Dave Chisnall 11-3 in the semi-finals.

The final proved to be a close affair, with the lead changing hands three times as Wright took an early 4-3 lead.

Van Gerwen then won five of the next six legs to take a firm grip on the game and move 8-5 up.

And after claiming two of the next three legs to go 10-6 in front, it looked like the outcome would be victory for the Dutchman.

But Wright, backed by the Glasgow crowd, rallied and won three successive legs to close to within one.

Van Gerwen had spurned match darts during that run and missed even more in leg 20, but this time

Darts Weekly Friday 11 November 2016

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Wright could not capitalise, and van Gerwen hit double two to seal the title.

“This is another great win for me,” van Gerwen said.

“I had to work really hard. Peter played really well but I’m really glad I won the game.

“I compete in tournaments to win and if you do win then you get great confidence, and I’m feeling good.

“I played okay this weekend and it’s a good tournament in preparation for the Grand Slam of Darts.

“Things are going well for me.

I’m winning most of the tournaments and I’m a happy man.

“My confidence was not that great in the final. I didn’t play well, my darts went in the board a bit strange.

“But I won the game and that’s the most important thing.”

Wright was left to rue another defeat in a TV final against MVG, but believes he is

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Wright: “When my form starts MVG won’t be on same planet” Peter Wright is adamant he now has the darts which will help him end Michael van Gerwen’s dominance in the PDC. The world number five was narrowly beaten 11-9 by van Gerwen in the final of the Ladbrokes World Series of Darts Finals on Sunday night, in what was his sixth televised final defeat to the Dutchman.

But Wright insists his new set up is going to help him surpass van Gerwen’s form and land him his first televised title.

In an interview with the Diamond Geezer website after Sunday’s final defeat, Wright said: “I didn’t feel I got close in the final to be honest. I was miles away in Biting back: Peter Wright has high hopes for the rest of the season

against MVG, but believes he is not far away from breaking his duck and winning his first TV title.

“When you come home to Scotland, I try and play well for the fans and I think I do,” the world number five said.

“The crowd got me through in the semi-final to play against a great champion in Michael van Gerwen.

“I’ve found the right dart now and I’m sticking with it, and I’ll get back on the practice board.

“Many people out there believe that when I win my first TV title I’m going to win lots after that, and I believe that too.”

Another weekend, another title for van Gerwen. Can he continue his dominance at the Grand Slam of Darts? It is hard to see anyone stopping him right now.

my mind. I had chances to level up the game. But saying that Michael missed four darts to win it.

“It would have been nice to go 10-10 and go down to the last leg like last year.

“I’m just really angry with myself. I’m pleased in one way that the darts are working now.

“I’ve said to Red Dragon that you have found the darts eventually after all these years.

“Now it’s just up to me tinkering with the point, stem and flight.

They’ve done a fantastic job.

Watch out, I’m only just starting with these darts.

“I’m looking forward to the rest of the year, I’m going to be flying.

No one has seen anything yet.

“I know what I’ve got to do to stop Michael. When my form starts Michael won’t be on the same planet.

“These darts will make sure that I’m doing what Michael is currently doing but even better.

But I’ll get to Michael, I will do.”

Darts Weekly Friday 11 November 2016

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CHRISTOPHER KEMPF MATCH OF THE WEEK - P WRIGHT 11-10 P TAYLOR (WORLD SERIES OF DARTS FINALS) STEVE WELSH/PDC

Partisan crowd aids Wright in lastleg victory The PDC promotes a competitive atmosphere at its stage events in which spectators are allowed to take part in matches, should they choose to do so.

Apart from the occasional mild approach of “thank you, best of order, please” from the referee, fans can effectively whistle, cheer, jeer and call out to the players even when they are throwing with the intent of distracting a disliked player or spurring a favoured player on to win.

The extent to which players and commentators view this behaviour acceptable depends on their opinion of what a fan’s obligation is.

Some think that the punters, by means of paying to watch the match in person, are entitled to do as they please.

Others decry the lack of respect to the players that inevitably results from that sense of entitlement.

And some profess both opinions as the situation dictates.

The extent to which a boisterous crowd can influence the outcome of a match is incredibly difficult to analyse in a statistical way.

But there is no doubt that Phil Taylor, in his semi-final loss to Peter Wright this past weekend in Glasgow, reacted and performed directly in response to provocations from the partisan Scottish crowd.

That Taylor missed seven match darts over the final three legs is simply a fact.

But it is to Wright’s credit that he produced a sensational performance, averaging 105, in

spite of The Power’s relentless scoring and ruthless finishing.

Between his results in the European Championship and the World Series of Darts Finals, Taylor has made a case for himself as the most consistent performer and most difficult opponent - in darts.

In his past six games, consisting of 78 legs, Taylor failed to reach a finish only twice.

He had darts at double in 55 of those legs, won 45 of them, and

‘The bravado with which Taylor has reacted to the crowd noise evaporated’ checked out in 15 darts or less in 40.

Sunday’s performance at the Braehead Arena against Wright continued in that same vein of excellence and surpassed the highlights of his other recent matches.

After the 18th leg of the match, which saw him win his seventh leg out of the previous nine, Taylor was averaging over 109 and reaching a finish, on average, after 9.2 darts.

Taylor responded to pressure from Wright in the 15th leg with a magnificent 149 checkout, and to the suddenly crestfallen crowd with pantomime yawns.

Wright, who fell 10-8 behind after a spectacular 6-3 start, finished the final three legs to win one of the most suspenseful finishes of 2016.

A Wright dart at double 16 to steal the 19th leg made a visible dent in the wire as it bounced out.

But as Taylor attempted three match darts, the Scottish fans laid it on thick. The bravado with which Taylor had reacted to the crowd noise evaporated as he repeatedly failed to close out the match.

Wright goaded on the fans with a nine darter attempt which did not result, alas, in the perfect leg, but gave him a break of throw and the advantage in the deciding leg.

After surviving a dart at the bull from Taylor, Wright finished the match with 16 darts to a roar of approval from the crowd.

It was the second TV semi-final of the year in which Taylor missed seven match darts and lost the 21st leg. That he did it once with the crowd cheering him on, and once under duress, perhaps indicates more about Taylor than it does about the punters.

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Friday 11 November 2016 Darts Weekly

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

“I’ve been to watch it before a few times but to play in the Grand Slam is going to be special

Jamie Hughes chats to Alex Moss before making his Grand Slam of Darts debut tomorrow afternoon

olverhampton expects, and so does Jamie Hughes. Ahead of making his debut in what he calls his home tournament, Hughes was yesterday expecting the birth of his second child.

The 30-year-old, lives in Tipton, a mere six miles away from the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, the venue for the 10th staging of the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts, which starts tomorrow.

And for Hughes, who qualified as one of the top four ranked players in the BDO not already in the tournament, it is an occasion which he can’t wait to experience.

“It’s my home tournament so I should have a lot of support there,” he said.

“I’ve been up there and watched it a couple of times as well, so it’ll be a bit special to be going up there myself this time.”

Hughes has arguably the toughest draw of the eight BDO players in the cross-code tournament, with James Wade, Dave Chisnall and James Wilson joining him in Group G. “It’s very tough,” the former World Masters finalist said.

“James Wade and Dave Chisnall are two Premier League regulars from the last few years, and I’ve also got probably one of the most in-form players in James Wilson, so it’s going to be tough.

“I’ve played Wilson a few times before, but I’ve never played Chisnall or Wade, so that’ll be something new.”

The best of nine leg format for

“The shorter format in the group stages puts it a bit more in my favour I think”

W

the group stages of the Grand Slam is one of the shortest formats which the PDC players experience on the circuit, while for the likes of Hughes and his BDO players, he is used to even shorter formats.

“The shorter format puts it a bit more in my favour I think,” he said.

“The PDC players will be used to playing over a lot longer format.

“I suppose ranking wise you’ve got most of the top eight in the BDO there so it’s one of the best groups of players the BDO have taken there.”

Since helping England win the WDF Europe Cup team event in late September, the build up to Hughes’ Grand Slam debut has been a quiet one on the oche.

Aside from a trip to Turkey at the end of last month, which saw him lose out in the final of the Turkish Open to Martin Phillips in a deciding leg, Hughes has had his focus elsewhere.

“It’s been quite quiet to be honest,” he said. “I went to Turkey, that was the last one I went into, two weeks ago.

“I’d of preferred to be busier because it keeps your arm sharp you know.

“It is what it is. I haven’t been able to do much because my partner has been pregnant, so it’s all good preparation for the Grand Slam!

“It’ll be nice to have it off my mind but whatever happens happens. I’ll just deal with whatever happens.

“I’ve got a seven-year-old girl. I but whatever happns happens ill

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wasn’t on the circuit or anything back then (when she was born), so it didn’t really affect me. I was just a county player then.”

The Grand Slam this weekend marks the start of an important couple of months for a lot of players, including those of BDO persuasion.

At the start of December, Hughes heads to Lakeside for the Winmau World Masters, before heading out for the Finder Darts Masters and then after Christmas, back to Lakeside for the World Championship in early January.

“It’s the Masters and then Finder Masters just after that,” he said.

“And then it’ll be Lakeside. It’ll be nice to have good

runs in all the tournaments again.

“I never go into a tournament thinking I’m going to win it because that’s a bit of an arrogant attitude, and you’re disrespecting the other players.

“It would be great to have some good runs again, but I don’t think you can look that far ahead.

“It’s disrespectful to the other players thinking that you can just beat them all.

“I think

that’s when it can come back and bite you and you can lose a bit of an edge on your game as well.

“I played well in Turkey, so hopefully I can carry it on.

“It’s all on the day though, so we’ll see what happens.”

If Hughes is to have a prolonged debut year in the Grand Slam, then he will not have to travel far to get back home.

“I’m only like six, seven or eight miles away,” he said. “So it’s a £10 taxi.”

“I never go into a tournament thinking I’m going to win it because that’s disrespectful to the other players.

It would be great to have some good runs but you can’t look that far ahead”

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Friday 11 November 2016 Darts Weekly

Former winner Waites to go the furthest of the BDO eight in the Grand Slam of Darts Dave South DARTS WRITER The Grand Slam of Darts gets underway tomorrow afternoon and will see eight of the BDO’s top players join the field for the only cross-code tournament of the year.

Glen Durrant, in the view of the bookmakers, has the best chance of success on the ante-post price of 80/1, with Scott Waites at 100/1.

Speaking of Waites, he has the best chance of winning his group, with the current BDO world champion having a sound 2016 making no less than eight quarterfinals or better from 11 events.

Waites knows how to win this event, having reached the final and winning it in successive years.

With Robert Thornton up first for the former champion, it will set the tone for the rest of the group matches and with The Thorn off form, it is a great chance for Waites to make an early march.

The runner-up in the group is likely to face Michael van Gerwen in the last 16, so if Waites can finish top, there is a chance of a clash with Martin Adams, assuming he qualifies also.

At best for Waites I think it will be the quarter-finals as nothing is stopping van Gerwen right now.

Duzza’s excellent interview in last week’s issue could be influenced further with a good performance in Wolverhampton.

Durrant has been prolific on the BDO circuit this year with numerous titles to his name.

Sky Sports will be interested in putting a spin on Durrant, but he has PDC world champion Gary Anderson, the in-form Alan Norris and Nathan Derry to contend with.

For Durrant to qualify, and possibly win the group, he will have to beat Anderson first up, or at least limit any defeated scoreline to progress.

With the in-form man Mensur

Tough draw: Martin Adams is in van Gerwen’s group Suljovic possibly awaiting either the winner or runner-up in the knockout stages, Durrant will need to maintain his scoring power, but I suspect at best it will be a last 16 exit for the BDO number one.

Martin Adams is gladly back at the Grand Slam this year after a popular and entertaining debut in the tournament in 2015.

Wolfie qualified through the BDO rankings and has a tough test with van Gerwen, Brendan Dolan and Max Hopp to contend with in Group A. Adams has endured a battle with cancer during the year, but on the oche his results have been sound.

With the out of form Dolan and youngster Hopp to play, Adams’ experience can win over the day.

‘I expect three of the BDO’s stars to get through the groups at Wolverhampton’ With the possibility of Waites in the last 16, I think Wolfie will provide some great memories and entertainment again this year.

With Scott Mitchell, Jamie Hughes, Danny Noppert, Darryl Fitton and Jeff Smith also in the event, odds compliers are giving all players little chance of progressing through their respective groups.

I do think this is a little unfair in all due respect.

Admittedly Smith has Simon Whitlock and Peter Wright in his group, who are both in hot form on the PDC circuit in the last couple of months.

Hughes has James Wade, Dave Chisnall and James Wilson which will be a tough, but do-able group to get through.

Mitchell will need to show his experience against Chris Dobey and Benito van de Pas to qualify

and I think he is a shade of value at 2/1 to succeed.

Noppert will need to be on his scoring game to outdo Suljovic and Raymond van Barneveld, with Nathan Aspinall always a threat.

Fitton is playing with the group of veterans including Phil Taylor and Ian White, so we will see some upmost respect on stage.

I do think Fitton is past his best and has been for a while now, but he did win the World Trophy back in May, and will take a lot of confidence from that win heading into his return to the Grand Slam.

I expect at least three of the

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LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

YOUR GUIDE TO DAY ONE GAME OF THE ROUND Gary Anderson v Glen Durrant The reigning PDC world champion takes on the BDO’s number one ranked player in what promises to be a high quality encounter on the opening night of the tournament.

Durrant is making his debut in the Grand Slam and could not have asked for a much harder first game in the shape of the player ranked second in the PDC. This will be the second game on stage in which Anderson has worn glasses, the Scot wearing them for the first time in front of the cameras at the World Series of Darts Finals last weekend.

Despite losing in the second round, a 97 average shows he looks to be making more of a seamless transition with the specs.

SEED IN DANGER Robert Thornton (above) v Scott Waites The Thorn has lost his last seven games on TV and faces the only BDO player to have won the Grand Slam in his first game in Group B.

ORDER OF PLAY Groups in bold

BDO’s stars to progress, if not one or two more.

Although all the BDO players have it tough, Waites knows this format best, and I think he will be the furthest progressing BDO star.

Noppert could be a dark horse in his debut appearance in the Grand Slam if he can get out of the group.

If you fancy a small bet on the event, Adams is worth taking at even money with Betfred.

Admittedly I do like a BDO boys reunion treble in Chisnall, Whitlock and Waites all to qualify from the groups, where Ladbrokes pays a tasty 7/4!

Saturday November 12 (1pm): Gerwyn Price (Wal) v Dimitri van den Bergh (Bel) B; Simon Whitlock (Aus) v Ted Evetts (Eng) C; Dave Chisnall (Eng) v James Wilson (Eng) G; Mensur Suljovic (Aut) v Danny Noppert (Net) F; Robert Thornton (Sco) v Scott Waites (Eng) B; Raymond van Barneveld (Net) v Nathan Aspinall (Eng) F; James Wade (Eng) v Jamie Hughes (Eng) G; Peter Wright (Sco) v Jeff Smith (Can) C. (7.30pm): Brendan Dolan (Nir) v Max Hopp (Ger) A; Alan Norris (Eng) v Nathan Derry (Eng) E; Ian White (Eng) v Darren Webster (Eng) D; Benito van de Pas (Net) v Chris Dobey (Eng) H; Phil Taylor (Eng) v Darryl Fitton (Eng) D; Gary Anderson (Sco) v Glen Durrant (Eng) E; Michael van Gerwen (Net) v Martin Adams (Eng) A; Adrian Lewis (Eng) v Scott Mitchell (Eng) H.

Sunday November 13 (1pm): Groups B, C, F, G second matches (7pm): Groups A, D, E, H second matches Monday November 14 (7pm): Groups A, D, E, H final matches Tuesday November 15 (7pm): Groups B, C, F, G final matches Wednesday November 16 (7pm): 4x second round matches Thursday November 17 (7pm): 4x second round matches Friday November 18 (7pm): 2x quarter-final matches

ORDER OF 19 (8pm): Saturday November 2x quarter-final matches PLAY Sunday November 20 (1pm): Semi-Finals (7pm): Final All sessions will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports

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Harms topples Adams to win Italian Grand Masters crown TUTTODARTS

Wesley Harms defeated Martin Adams 6-1 to claim his first Italian Grand Masters title on Sunday.

The Dutchman was in good form throughout the weekend, teaming up with Adams to capture the men’s doubles title, before beating his doubles partner to win the men’s singles trophy.

Harms had earlier come through a decider to get the better of Adam Beck 4-3 in the last 16, but from that point onwards he never looked troubled.

A 4-0 triumph over Gianluca Grillini saw him advance to the last four, where he overcame Willem Mandigers 5-1 to set up a final with Adams.

Wolfie, who was playing in his first final since winning the Dutch Open in January, enjoyed wins over Marco Apollonio, Matthew Dickinson and Stefano Tamassetti to reach the decider.

But the three-time world champion had no answer to Harms in the final, the 32-year-old running out a 6-1 winner with a 79.06 three dart average.

Adams averaged 59.24 in comparison, more than 30 points lower than his final average (90.40) in his semi-final win against Tomassetti, which went the full nine legs.

For Harms, who will be missing out on the Grand Slam of Darts this weekend for a second consecutive year, it was a return to winning form, having been one of the favourites to crash out early in the WDF Europe Cup men’s singles in September.

Harms won the German Masters back in April, and added to his singles titles for 2016 with this triumph in Italy, which saw him pick up €1,600.

Adams took home €800 for getting to the final, and will give him confidence going into a meeting with PDC number one Michael van Gerwen in the Grand Slam tomorrow evening.

Harms’ fellow compatriot, Aileen de Graaf, also tasted success in Bologna at the weekend.

The reigning World Masters champion, continued her recent good form with victory in the ladies singles of the Italian Grand Masters.

De Graaf, who picked up both titles in Turkey last month, edged a close final against reigning

world champion Trina Gulliver, 54 to win in Italy.

The 26-year-old had recorded whitewash wins over Asia Marini and Marjolein Noijens in the quarter-finals and semi-finals to reach the final.

While Gulliver’s route to the final saw her claim 4-1 wins against both Martina Cusin and Paula Jacklin.

In brief Trio book spots at Ally Pally Australia’s Corey Cadby was one of three players to secure a spot in the William Hill World Darts Championship at the weekend.

Cadby finished top of the DPA Australian Grand Prix rankings to earn his World Championship debut, with David Platt joining him at the Alexandra Palace next month after winning the Oceanic Masters later in the weekend.

Masumi Chino will also make his debut in the World Championship next month after winning the annual PDJ Qualifier in Japan.

Chino defeated Yuya Akutsu 6-4 in the final to qualify for the event.

Former world champions to collide in Zuiderduin The last two BDO world champions will face off in the group stages of the Finder Darts Masters next month.

Reigning champion Scott Waites has been drawn in Group A with 2015 winner Scott Mitchell.

Belgium’s Andy Baetens completes Group A, while defending champion Glen Durrant is joined by Madars Razma and Tony O’Shea in Group D. Last year’s ladies champion Fallon Sherrock has been drawn in Group A along with top seed Aileen de Graaf and Lisa Ashton.

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Friday 11 November 2016 Darts Weekly

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

“It’s been a pretty busy year. It’s great to be a darts player in Asia at the moment”

Scott MacKenzie chats to Richard Edwards about playing in the PDC World Cup and his future plans

ecently I managed to catch up with Scott MacKenzie. I first met Scott a couple of months ago at the Hong Kong Open and he promised me an interview.

A couple of weeks ago we met again at the Asia Pacific Cup and it was an honour to chat with Scott about his darting life.

“I have no plans to play Q-School again, unless I lived in the UK again”

R

Most of our readers will remember you from your exploits for Hong Kong in the PDC World Cup of Darts, could you tell us how you got into darts and how you managed to represent Hong Kong at the World Cup? When I was younger I lived in the UK (my father is Scottish) and the house we lived in at the time had a games room, which had in it a full size snooker table, a dartboard etc. So from the age of around 10-years-old I played darts and snooker practically every day. At that time the dart players on TV were Jocky Wilson, Eric Bristow and John Lowe.

They were all great characters and I loved to watch these guys play.

So I really got into the game then.

From the age of 18 onwards I didn’t play darts at all. I went to university and was studying, which took up a lot of time.

Darts wasn’t really that cool a thing to play at that age and of

course with a full-time job after uni and other interests I lost touch with the game.

It was only when I stumbled into a bar in Hong Kong in 2003 or 2004 I got back into darts.

There was a league game going on and I got talking with the captain of the team and he was looking for an extra player. The rest as they say is history.

With the World Cup, the PDC got in contact with both Royden Lam and I, as they were looking to expand the World Cup by getting more countries to participate.

We were selected as both Royden and I previously went to Q-School and also we both played at the World Championship for Hong Kong. We have played in three PDC World Cups so far.

I understand November is going to be a busy month for you?

It’s been a pretty busy year, it’s great to be a darts player at the moment especially if you are based in Asia.

There are so many competitions being held both in steel tip and soft tip.

I’ve literally just got back from the Asia Pacific Cup in Japan and now in early November there is a steel tip competition being held near Shanghai.

Then I’m off to Taiwan to play in

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the PDC World Championship qualifier in mid-November.

It’s then followed by the Macau Open and then I’m off to play in the Winmau World Masters and Lakeside qualifier at the end of November in the UK. I may also fit in a soft tip tournament in China too, but I’m not sure if I’ll have the time!

What is a quiet month for you like? I’m sure our readers would love to hear more about the smaller tournaments you play in and the daily life of a darter away from the glamour of the superstars we see on TV on a regular basis.

Well to be honest it’s as quiet as you want it to be. I haven’t taken much of a break over the last 10 years really.

I play nearly every day. Monday’s there’s the Hong Kong Darts Association (HDKA) steel tip league. Tuesday’s a Dartslive league, Thursday there is a Phoenix league, Friday’s often is

the HDKA selection competition (they will be selecting the WDF 2017 World Cup team soon).

At the weekends more often than not there’s a local tournament. It’s pretty competitive in Hong Kong, there’s probably 5,000 plus regular dart players here.

Do you have any plans to try Q-School again?

I have no plans to play Q-School

“I loved to watch guys like Jocky Wilson and Eric Bristow on TV” again, unless I lived in the UK again. I don’t think there is much point in trying to get a tour card if you’re not going to be based in the UK. There’s 20 or so Pro Tours and a dozen or more other pro events in the UK/Europe so if you are not based in the UK you need to be flying out there two or three times a month. It’s expensive (air ticket,

hotel, entrance fees and expenses).

It’s not practical. For example, Haruki Muramatsu, from Japan, got his PDC tour card but has only played a handful of pro events.

To give it a good shot you need to be based in the north of England and not fly out every week on a 12 hour flight where you are tired, recovering from jet lag and general travelling.

There may be one or two from Hong Kong going next year and I mentioned it to them, if you get a tour card you have to live in the UK if you want to perform well.

Otherwise it will be a waste of time and effort.

Which brings in another issue, not many people can get a work visa for the UK which you need if you live here.

Next week: Don’t miss part two of my interview with Scott MacKenzie in next week’s issue where he talks about his ongoing battle with dartitis and his unbeaten record against Phil Taylor!

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Friday 11 November 2016 Darts Weekly

First senior title for RustyJake, 15, is ‘a great feeling’ INTERVIEW Rusty-Jake Rodriguez claimed his first senior WDF title at the age of just 15 on Sunday, with victory in the Hungarian Masters.

Rodriguez, the younger brother of PDC tour card holder RowbyJohn, thrashed Dietmar Burger 6-1 in the final in Budapest.

“It was a great feeling,” the teenager said. “Everyone told me I should cheer up a bit, but I was too tired to cheer, but I’m glad that I won.”

The young Austrian began his title-winning run with a 4-0 whitewash win over Bulgaria’s Tsetso Todorov, before a 4-1 triumph against fellow countryman Yang Yu took him into the last 32.

Another whitewash win, this time over Saso Makisivoski, of Macedonia, saw Rodriguez win his board final, before a 5-3 victory against Austria’s Michael Rasztovits sealed his place in the quarter-finals.

Rodriguez held his nerve in a deciding leg to see off Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski 5-4 to reach his first senior semi-final, but he was not finished there.

A 5-2 win against Serbia’s Oliver Ferenc put him into the final, where he breezed past Burger 6-1 to claim the title.

But for Rodriguez, who reached the last 16 of the German Masters

“I was too tired to cheer after the final but I’m glad that I won it” earlier this year, he still regards his biggest achievement in the sport so far while competing at youth level.

“It’s not the biggest achievement I’ve had,” he said. “My biggest achievement for me was the WDF World Youth Cup in 2015.

“I was runner up at the youth there and that pushed me more up.”

The previous day, Rodriguez

cruised to the Hungarian Classic boys singles title, beating Tobias Fischer 4-0 with a 92.5 average.

Rusty-Jake is the youngest of the three Rodriguez brothers, with the eldest of the trio, Rowby-John, currently ranked inside the top 50 of the PDC Order of Merit.

After winning his tour card at QSchool at the start of 2014, RowbyJohn’s next big breakthrough on the PDC’s senior tour came this year, when he teamed up with Mensur Suljovic to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup of Darts.

Rowby-John, and brother RoxyJames, have both featured on the PDC Development and Challenge tours over the last few years, and their younger brother could follow their footsteps.

But even if he does not reach those heights, Rusty-Jake has plans in place to be a success.

“I go to work,” he said. “I’m doing an apprenticeship. If I don’t go professional I have a plan B that I can go back to if it’s not working.”

Database PDC LADBROKES WORLD SERIES OF DARTS FINALS (Glasgow, Scotland) First round - G Price (97.20) bt S Beaton (97.59) 6-3; S Whitlock (93.34) bt B Dolan (92.15) 65; C Reyes (97.02) bt M Hopp (91.58) 6-5; K Huybrechts (100.80) bt J Klaasen (95.24) 65; J Cullen (92.85) bt J Murnan (93.38) 6-5; D Gurney (94.36) bt J Payne (83.36) 6-3; B van de Pas (94.95) bt M Smith (83.95) 6-3; M Suljovic (102.48) bt R Thornton (96.96) 6-0.

Second round - M van Gerwen (98.82) bt G Price (87.04) 6-5; S Whitlock (95.80) bt R van Barneveld (87.10) 6-2; A Lewis (94.29) bt C Reyes (90.32) 6-3; D Chisnall (112.94) bt K Huybrechts (103.59) 6-4; J Cullen (96.35) bt G Anderson (97.20) 6-5; P Wright (98.98) bt D Gurney (97.43) 6-3; B van de Pas (96.20) bt J Wade (97.17) 6-5; P Taylor (100.56) bt M Suljovic (94.04) 6-3. Quarter-finals - M van Gerwen (109.71) bt S Whitlock (92.93) 10-0; D Chisnall (100.86) bt A Lewis (92.46) 10-6; P Wright (99.83) bt J Cullen (93.50) 10-7; P Taylor (103.85) bt B van de Pas (94.43) 10-3. Semi-finals - M van Gerwen (108.69) bt D Chisnall (94.68) 11-3; P Wright (105.03) bt P Taylor (107.34) 11-10. Final M van Gerwen (101.18) bt P Wright (99.63) 11-9.

WDF ITALIAN GRAND MASTERS (Bologna, Italy) Men’s doubles quarter-finals Harms/Adams bt Abela/Scerri 4-3; Polese/ Micolini bt Smith/Hewson 4-3; Whitehead/ Day bt Tomassetti/Raschini 4-0; Vaes/ Mandigers bt Heywood/Plummer 4-1. Semifinals - Harms/Adams bt Polese/Micolini 43; Vaes/Mandigers bt Whitehead/Day 4-2.

Final - Harms/Adams bt Vaes/Mandigers 54. Ladies doubles quarter-finals - Berg/ Milli bt Biagetti/Marini 4-1; De Graaf/ Gulliver bt Ivan/Foconetti 4-0; Brunetti/ Marani bt Pace/Napolitano 4-3; Bellachioma /Cusin bt Brambilla/Bottazzo 4-2. Semifinals - De Graaf/Gulliver bt Berg/Milli 4-0; Brunetti/Marani bt Bellachioma/Cusin 4-1.

Final - De Graaf/Gulliver bt Brunetti/ Marani 5-0. Men’s singles last 16 - W Harms bt A Beck 4-3; G Grillini bt C Whitehead 4-3; M Unterbuchner bt S Mitchell 4-2; W Mandigers bt M Verberk 4-0; J van Egdom bt P Susanna 4-0; S Tomassetti bt A Contino 4-1; M Dickinson bt S Pohl 4-1; M Adams bt M Apollonio 4-1. Quarterfinals - W Harms bt G Grillini 4-0; W Mandigers bt M Unterbuchner 4-3; S Tomassetti bt J van Egdom 4-2; M Adams bt M Dickinson 4-1. Semi-finals - W Harms bt

W Mandigers 5-1; M Adams bt S Tomassetti 5-4. Final - W Harms bt M Adams 6-1.

Ladies singles quarter-finals - A de Graaf bt A Marini 4-0; M Noijens bt G Cioffi 4-0; P Jacklin bt N Rosa 4-3; T Gulliver bt M Cusin 4-1. Semi-finals - A de Graaf bt M Noijens 4-0; T Gulliver bt P Jacklin 4-1.

Final - A de Graaf bt T Gulliver 5-4.

HUNGARIAN CLASSIC (Budapest, Hungary) Men’s singles final - K Ratajski bt Z Lerchbacher 6-2. Ladies singles final - D Hedman bt J Cisarova 5-1. Boys final Ru-Ja Rodriguez bt T Fischer 4-0.

HUNGARIAN MASTERS (Budapest, Hungary) Men’s singles semi-finals - D Burger bt Z Lerchbacher 5-2; Ru-Ja Rodriguez bt O Ferenc 5-2. Final - Ru-Ja Rodriguez bt Z Lerchbacher 6-1. Ladies singles semi-finals - V Ihasz bt M Liri 5-1; D Hedman bt V Czipo 5-0. Final - D Hedman bt V Ihasz 5-1.

CHRIS HATTER MEMORIAL (Alberta, Canada) Men’s singles final - J Edwards bt D Christe. Ladies singles final - I Wieshlow bt C Kerrigan. Men’s doubles final - D Cameron and S Whoshaw Collins bt ADEFICATOR OPEN (Sweden)

Darts Weekly Friday 11 November 2016

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Midlands are within touching distance of top spot now after overcoming previously-unbeaten Gwent 24-12.

Dorset, the only other unbeaten side left in Division One, also tasted defeat for the first time this season after losing 20-16 at home to Cornwall.

Neil Meener was the man of the match for Cornwall with a 96.97

Lamb 4-0, as the visitors won four of the last five games to pull away to victory.

Elsewhere in Division One, Cleveland and Kent drew 18-18 and bottom side London beat County Durham 19-17.

Northamptonshire maintained top spot in Division Two with a 23-13 win at home against Staffordshire.

D Ludwig and D Fleming. Ladies doubles winners - L Ledingham and L Winder.

JERSEY CLASSIC (Jersey, Channel Isles) (November 10-13) JERSEY OPEN (Jersey, Channel Isles) (November 10-13)

SSDC OPEN (Stockholm, Sweden) Men’s singles final - D Larsson bt D Labanauskas 4-1. Ladies singles final - V Pruim bt R Eriksen 4-1.

FIXTURES

DARTS ON TV PDC LADBROKES WORLD SERIES OF DARTS FINALS ITV4 12.45pm (tomorrow through to Sunday

PDC SINGHA BEER GRAND SLAM OF DARTS (Wolverhampton) (November 1220) Order of play on page 9.

WDF JERSEY CLASSIC AND OPEN (Jersey, Channel Islands) (November 10-13) MILL RYTHE AUTUMN FESTIVAL (Hayling Island) (November 11-13) SEACOST OPEN (USA) (November 12) TED CLEMENTS MEMORIAL (Levin, New Zealand) (November 12) TARGET KOREA OPEN (Seoul, South Korea) (November 13) MALTA OPEN (November 15-17) DARTS ON TV - SINGHA BEER GRAND SLAM OF DARTS (Sky Sports)

Darius Labanauskas hit a nine darter in the Adeficator Open in Stockholm, Sweden last Saturday

triumph over Berkshire, while Cumbria slipped to fourth after losing 21-15 to Worcestershire.

The other Division Two fixture saw Northumberland win the battle of the lowly sides against Suffolk, winning 21-15.

In Division Three, Gwynedd won the battle of the top two sides with a 21-15 triumph at home over Merseyside.

It was the visitors Merseyside who held a slender 10-8 overnight lead, but hosts Gwynedd fought back on the Sunday and took the Women’s A section 4-2 and the Men’s A section 9-3 to pull away to victory over their title rivals.

And finally, Norfolk opened up an 11 point lead at the top of Division Four after thrashing bottom of the table Isle of Wight 30-6.

Closest challengers Clwyd and Wiltshire also recorded wins at the weekend, beating Shropshire (26-10) and Bedfordshire (20-1

DARTS WEEKLY DOZEN (08/11/2016) Data compiled by Christopher Kempf Player M van Gerwen P Taylor J Klaasen M Suljovic S Whitlock V van der Voort J Cullen B van de Pas M King A Norris D Gurney S Beaton

LLE 15.288 15.460 17.215 17.258 17.541 18.003 18.218 18.247 18.332 18.397 18.412 18.636

Change -0.078 0.032 -0.019 -0.093 -0.243 N/C 0.155 0.120 N/C N/C 0.133 -0.048

◊ The Darts Weekly Dozen estimates and compares the length of the average leg over players’ last 180 televised and streamed legs. ◊ Phil Taylor closes the gap between himself and Michael van Gerwen for the second straight week. ◊ Simon Whitlock, having been whitewashed 10-0 by van Gerwen, suffered the largest overall decline. ◊ Good form on doubles from Joe Cullen, finishing improved to 2.932 from 3.163 darts per leg.

Darts Weekly Friday 11 November 2016

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DARTS DEBATES in association with

LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

“Which player should be in the Premier League next year who wasn’t in it this year?”

PRIZE WINNER

The player that should be included in next year’s Premier League is Mensur Suljovic.

He has had an outstanding season that has got him into the top 10 in the PDC Order of Merit.

He has performed against all of the top 10 to a high standard and I think he should be rewarded.

It will also help to diversify the Premier League with an Austrian player playing in the competition for the first time.

The shorter format of the Premier League will suit Mensur and he can beat anyone over the shorter format.

His inclusion will show that consistency and hard work pays off and can only help Mensur with sponsorship.

It would also help promote darts in Austria.

Charles Bates, via email

I think we can all agree that Jelle Klaasen would be perfect for the Premier League.

He is a quality player with a nice fast pace. I was honestly surprised he didn’t get chosen this year and I think a lot of others were as well.

Plus we all know him and MVG don’t get along, maybe it would be interesting to see if his presence could get in MVG’s head.

Josh Houghton, via email Simon Whitlock. He’s a very popular player and is starting to show some kind of form again.

He knows what it takes to win in the Premier League and would be very popular.

Neil Mcknight, via email

WIN A BRAND NEW SET OF UNICORN DARTS FOR BEING OUR PRIZE WINNER!

I think Jelle Klaasen would be a great addition to the Premier League.

He’s a very good consistent player, hits plenty of 180s and lots of high finishes.

He had a great run to the semifinals of the World Championship and that is good enough to make

the Premier League in my view.

Also his tense relationship with MVG would spice things up!

Danny McNamara via email Mensur. Outstanding form in the Euro Tour format, has plenty of character and will be great for European darts @CaptMikeYates on Twitter Glen Durrant. If he has a good run in the Grand Slam and then wins Lakeside then give him a wildcard @jackcurtis90 on Twitter Jelle Klaasen or Benito van de Pas, both great young players with the ability to cause a few upsets @hornaldo12 on Twitter Klaasen is a terrific talent and superb to watch. Mensur a shoe in now at no.7 in the world. Norris and Whitlock are outside shouts? @WoodruffAaron on Twitter Denis Ovens because well… it’s Denis Ovens @SamNFFC on Twitter

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Friday 11 November 2016 Darts Weekly

DAVE McNALLY DARTS WRITER LAWRENCE LSUTIG/PDC

A contrast of throwing styles on the oche Chris Mason and Alan WarrinerLittle suggested that they would spend some time during a match watching Mensur Suljovic’s throw on TV at the weekend.

It has got people talking about some of the more unorthodox darting styles.

We’ve had all sorts of throws, from Colin Monk opening his mouth after every thrown dart, to twists of the shoulders and body like Jocky Wilson.

It is often described as unique as a fingerprint and once you have a throw it is extremely difficult to change.

Those old enough to remember Ceri Morgan will have noted the almost spear-like approach to throwing the dart, bringing the dart in from the side of his head and throwing it before it barely entered his line of vision.

This style looked to be disastrous and certainly someone studying the game would have struggled to pick out anything technically virtuous in the throw.

It worked for Ceri, as he made the BDO World Championship quarter-finals on a few occasions and was World Masters runner-up in the 1980s.

One of today’s throwers, Jamie Lewis, has another unique style, aiming higher than the target before bringing the arm back and throwing it from a lower place than where he set his aim.

Jamie’s throw is done in one really fast, jerky movement, suggesting that accuracy would be reduced, but it seems to work for him.

When it comes to throws that

Unique style: Jamie Lewis has a throw which is done in one really fast, jerky moment which seems to work for him don’t extend the arm, the prize surely goes to Aleksander Oreshkin.

The Russian brings his arm back, and then flicks his wrist to throw the dart, in what is probably the strangest throw imaginable.

No follow through with the arm, not even bringing it up straight. It really is a throw that would have the purist scratching their heads with disbelief.

‘It is a throw which has the purist scratching their heads with disbelief’ Dennis Smith was also renowned for his peculiar throw, not with the way he released the darts, more with the way he set himself up before the throw.

Dennis twists the dart 180 degrees in his hand, spinning it around to the front then bringing his arm back to throw.

This often contributed to a slower style of play as he had to do the same thing methodically for

every single dart, often frustrating both the opponent and the crowds.

Mensur Suljovic, some have argued, has took this to a new level.

Known for his slower style of play and meticulous attention to the whole throwing process, to set up his arm and aim with precision.

Then as he takes aim to throw, he thrusts his whole body forward almost to the point of falling over in some instances, raises his trailing leg from the floor and jolts his whole body.

It defies all the scholarly articles written and science behind throwing a dart, but it is without doubt successful as recent events have proven on the PDC circuit.

Whatever way you throw, it seems that it could be more a case of what is comfortable as opposed to the suggested ‘correct’ way.

Whether this will prove to be the case when the body needs to adapt, who knows?

One thing for sure is that it makes for an interesting contrast of styles on the oche and has started discussions among the darting fraternity.