Issue 59 (February 17, 2017)

Friday 17 February 2017

Two good! MVG’s two nine darters analysed!

Darts Weekly

Peter Wright continues impressive form with 7-5 win against Gary Anderson in the Premier League

LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

Wright bites back STACY PASSES AWAY

DARTS IN PAKISTAN

THE WORLD DILEMNA

Tributes paid to former PDC Women’s world champ Page 6-7

Richard Edwards explores the growth in Pakistan Pages 8-9

We try to make sense of the PDC’s unusual criteria Page 12

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Friday 17 February 2017 Darts Weekly

Wright fires in four ton-plus checkouts in impressive win Gary Anderson 5 Peter Wright 7 Peter Wright leapfrogged Gary Anderson in the Premier League table with a brilliant performance, as he averaged 109 and took out four ton-plus finishes in a 7-5 win over the double world champion, who averaged 106.59 in reply.

After Anderson won the opening leg, Wright took out two 116

finishes and a 121 combination to move 3-1 up, before checking out 120 for a 4-2 cushion.

Anderson later hit back with an 11-darter and a 110 checkout to force a deciding leg at 6-5, but Wright was first to a finish as double ten sealed his second victory of the season.

“I’m pleased to get the win,” said Wright. “I think I can play better, but it was a win.”

Taylor triumphs in battle with Barney Phil Taylor 7 Raymond van Barneveld 4 Phil Taylor maintained an unbeaten start to his final Premier League season with a classy 7-4 win over great rival Raymond van Barneveld at the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night.

With Taylor poised to retire at the start of 2018, the meeting with van Barneveld - their 26th in the Premier League - marked the beginning of the end of arguably the sport’s greatest rivalry.

The contest lived up to the billing as the pair enjoyed an entertaining tussle, with van Barneveld firing in a ten-darter to level in leg four as the pair shared the opening six legs.

Taylor then finished 85, 63 and

120 to claim the first break of throw as he moved 6-3 up, with a 107 finish from Barney ensuring some nervous moments for the 16time world champion before double 16 secured the points.

“It’s one of the best venues we play in and it was fun, it was a good game,” said Taylor.

“It was a strange game and at 6-3 up I was happy to have got the draw because he was finishing well.

“I think we’ve had the best rivalry there’s been in darts and I’ll miss playing him.

“It’s going well so far and I’ve got the right darts, these are perfect for me now.”

The two will meet in the Premier League again later in the season unless one of them gets eliminated.

Van Gerwen climbs to the top, Michael van Gerwen 7 Jelle Klaasen 4 World champion Michael van Gerwen continued his Premier League title defence with a 7-4 win over Dutch rival Jelle Klaasen.

Klaasen gave the world number

one a fright by coming from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 with the aid of an 11-darter, but van Gerwen hit back to lead 4-3 before claiming the final three legs without reply for his second win of the season.

“I think I deserved to win the game but we were both trying too

hard,” said van Gerwen. “I threw a couple of good scores at the right moment and hit a few doubles with my last dart a few times.

“I’m at the top of the table and I can’t complain.

“I haven’t played my best and there’s more to come.

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Wade benefits from a midgame surge to get past Lewis Adrian Lewis 4 James Wade 7 2009 Premier League champion James Wade sits on five points following three weeks after he came from 4-3 down to defeat Adrian Lewis, benefitting from a brilliant mid-game surge.

Following a cagey opening, which included a 121 bull finish from Wade, Lewis backed up a 180 with

a 71 checkout for a 4-3 cushion.

Wade, though, levelled as he followed a maximum with a 94 finish for a 12-darter, before taking out back-to-back 11-darters as he pulled clear for the win.

“The legs of 12, 11 and 11 are probably the best I’ve strung together this season so far,” said Wade. “I was a bit lazy but I’m taking players for granted when they’re not playing their best.”

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while Chizzy gets off the mark “I feel great and I still averaged 102.7, which is not bad.”

Elsewhere, Dave Chisnall picked up his first victory of the season with a 7-4 defeat of Kim Huybrechts.

Chisnall hit back from a leg down to lead 2-1 and 5-2, with key

finishes of 78 and 68 breaking the Belgian’s throw before Huybrechts took out 66 to stay in touch at 5-3.

Chisnall, though, fired a sublime 141 checkout to secure a minimum of a point before closing out the win with a 14-darter.

“I scored well and I finished quite

well, so I’m pleased,” said Chisnall.

“For the first two weeks I was poor but I felt good all week and produced it up there, and I’m happy.”

The Premier League continues next Thursday at the Brighton Centre.

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Friday 17 February 2017 Darts Weekly

CHRISTOPHER KEMPF MATCH OF THE WEEK - MICHAEL VAN GERWEN 6-2 RYAN MURRAY (UK OPEN QUALIFIERS)

MVG makes the nine darter look too easy because it is Poor Ryan Murray. Until the Scottish darter makes a splash on the televised stage, his name will represent, to most darts fans, one half of the answer to the trivia question “which two men are the only players to have two nine-dart legs thrown against them in a single professional match?”

Answer: James Wade and Ryan Murray. For nearly seven years, Wade was alone on that list - and Phil Taylor remained alone as the only player to throw two perfect legs after doing so in the 2010 Premier League final, one of the great darts matches of all time.

Michael van Gerwen, on the other hand, made his mark on that list in a most unspectacular way,

hitting his two nine darters in the third round of a floor event, and earning £500 by virtue of winning the match, against a player whose career professional earnings amounted to £190 before the UK Open Qualifiers began this year.

We would not even have footage of the match were it not for a lucky coincidence of scheduling that caused it to be streamed live via PDC.tv.

And even though one third of the legs won by MVG were nine darters, his final average (113.2) didn’t even come close to his own record of 123.4.

All of Murray’s achievements in Wigan, unfortunately, faded into the afterglow of the world number one’s historic feat.

No one gave any notice to Murray’s performance, his average (just over 90), or the fact that the £250 he earned from reaching the third round of qualifying event number four assured him firstround qualification into the UK Open in Minehead.

stores.ebay.co.uk/Mojo-DARTS

Murray will return to the UK Open stage after a five-year absence from the event, marking an important moment of his career.

Such is the power of van Gerwen’s achievements to absorb all of the attention lavished by fans on the professional darting world.

Discerning darts fans will note, however, that van Gerwen was not merely throwing accurate darts in landing two perfect legs.

Sensing the likelihood of victory in his match, MVG made a change to his typical strategy of play in order to give himself the best possible chance to hit nine darters.

Over the past two years, ‘Mighty Mike’ has missed double 12 for a nine-dart leg countless times.

He did so most recently in the World Championship semi-final against Raymond van Barneveld, a minor disappointment which

‘MVG made a change to his typical strategy to give himself the best possible chance’ almost imperceptibly marred what was otherwise the greatest ever performance in a World Championship match.

But he attempted a different finish with his last three darts in that situation than he did in both nine-dart instances in the Murray match, 141.

This is a more difficult finish to attempt than the 144 which concluded the two perfect legs in Wigan.

Pinning double 12, near the top of the board, is a far more difficult ask after hitting the treble 19 bed, near the bottom of the board, than it is after hitting two treble 20s and making the smaller adjustment up and to the left.

In both situations, van Gerwen could have hit two 180s to leave 141 against Murray.

The treble 20 bed was not

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blocked, nor did filling up the red bit look particularly challenging for the world number one.

But MVG, perhaps growing tired of missing doubles for perfect legs, switched to treble 19 in the second visit in his first nine darter and in the first in his second.

At that point, the required 144 seemed a relatively simple matter, for the best darter on the planet, of precision of projectile motion.

There is nothing particularly noteworthy about the van GerwenMurray match that will recommend it to fans in the future, apart from, of course, the nine darters.

Cut the six imperfect legs out from the footage of the match and you’re saved from watching about ten minutes’ worth of passably proficient darts.

Along with the two 144 finishes that concluded his two perfect legs,

van Gerwen also landed a nice 105 checkout in the second leg (bull, 15, tops).

But otherwise, he was less than proficient on the doubles and allowed Murray several chances to get back into the match.

Murray missed several critical doubles of his own; this is not

‘Maybe the next item on the list is three nine darters in a single match?’ something one does if one intends to beat van Gerwen.

MVG’s were only two of the five nine-dart legs thrown this past weekend, which equates to a rate of about one per thousand legs played.

Nine darters are simply a commonplace occurrence

nowadays - given the standard at which darts is being played in 2017, a feat that amounts to little more than nine accurate strokes of the arm over the course of 90 seconds should not be exceptionally rare.

The next leap forward will be to see them with greater frequency in televised matches.

And perhaps MVG’s success this past weekend will spur him on to complete the work he started against the aforementioned Wade on December 30, 2012, when he missed double 12 for a second consecutive nine darter in a different World Championship semi-final.

Or maybe the next item on the list is three nine darters in a single match, an unthinkable achievement at the start of van Gerwen’s career.

But if anyone can accomplish either of these feats, as we saw this past Friday, it is surely MVG.

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Friday 17 February 2017 Darts Weekly

Darts world pays tribute to ‘one of the loveliest ladies you could want to meet’ Alex Moss CHIEF DARTS WRITER

Finest hour: Stacy Bromberg won the first PDC Women’s World Championship in 2010

The darting world have been paying tribute to the former PDC Women’s World Champion, Stacy Bromberg, after she sadly passed away this week.

After the sad news unravelled on social media and elsewhere online on Monday, tributes have been flooding in from players, both past and present, as well as fans, officials and others connected with the sport in some way.

The 60-year-old American had played competitive darts all around the world for over 20 years and was a hugely popular member of the darting community.

Her biggest triumph came on July 24, 2010, when she won the first, and so far only, staging of the PDC Women’s World Championship at the famous Winter Gardens, in Blackpool.

Bromberg defeated England’s Tricia Wright 6-5 in the final to lift the trophy and take home the £10,000 first place prize.

Later that year she returned to our screens and competed in the Grand Slam of Darts, the crosscode televised tournament where she went toe-to-toe with the men and took on Mervyn King, John Henderson and Terry Jenkins in her group.

Bromberg’s other big successes included the Women’s Las Vegas Desert Classic in 2003 and the WDF Women’s World Cup Singles in 2009, and she also won many more domestic titles during her distinguished career.

PDC chairman Barry Hearn was among the many personal tributes to be posted online this week since her passing, and he said: “This is very sad news and all of us at the Professional Darts Corporation send our condolences to Stacy’s family and friends at this difficult time.

“Stacy was a wonderful ambassador for darts and a lovely person whose dignity whilst battling cancer and selflessness in raising huge sums of money for the Make-A-Wish foundation was boundless.

“She was a larger-than-life character and will be missed by so many people.”

Bromberg’s world title triumph in 2010 was the first, and to date only, time an American has won a World Championship in darts, and her plethora of tournament victories made her the most decorated player in United States darting history.

Bromberg topped the American

“Stacy Bromberg was a wonderful ambassador for darts” Darts Organisation (ADO) national rankings 16 times in 18 years, a run which included 13 consecutive titles, an incredible feat which is unlikely to ever be equalled any time soon.

As well as winning three National Cricket Championships and 13 National 501 Championships on the domestic front, Bromberg also became the first female to hold all three ADO national titles at the same time.

This year will mark 30 years since Bromberg won her first ADO tournament, in Redondo Beach, in her native California, a victory which came just three months after she took up the sport.

Bromberg would go on to make her international debut a few years later, representing the USA in the WDF World Cup in the Netherlands in 1991.

Her first success in the event

came just two years later, as she partnered Kathy Maloney to the gold medal in the 1993 WDF World Cup in Las Vegas.

Two more gold medals followed four years later, this time while partnering Lori Verrier, and then in 2009 Bromberg added the one title that had eluded her, the World Cup singles.

The tournament returned to the United States and Bromberg defeated Julie Gore, of Wales, 7-3 in the final to win the WDF World Cup singles for the first time.

Steve Brown, communications officer for the ADO and a winner of countless titles both in America and around the world during his time as a player, wrote on the ADO’s website: “Firstly, Stacy Bromberg was a great playing partner and a great friend.

“I first met Stacy in Vegas at the North American Open, and I know now that it really wasn’t that long after she had got into the game.

“We played numerous events together - winning our fair share.

Darts Weekly Friday 17 February 2017

“We travelled the world together, and there were some crazy, crazy times, and I could write a whole book about our international trips.

“It’s not all about throwing darts, though. Stacy worked tirelessly to promote the women’s game, and really tried to get new people playing.

“Even more importantly, Stacy was committed to raising

“More importantly, Stacy raised thousands of dollars for good causes” thousands of dollars for good causes, mostly through her ‘Score for Charity’ darts fundraisers.

“Whenever you saw her there was always a great reason for you to give money to help others and she made you feel great about it!”

Bromberg’s ‘Score For Charity’ fundraisers raised more than $100,000 for charity.

Her nickname in darts ‘The Wish

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Granter’ could not have been more fitting.

Bromberg was born on July 27, 1956 in Los Angeles, California and later resided in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she sadly passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer on February 13, 2017, at the age of 60.

While the PDC may have no immediate plans to bring back their version of the Women’s World Championship, it is hoped that when they return to the States this summer for the US Darts Masters, there will be a tribute made in some way to the contribution Bromberg has made to the sport.

On a more domestic front, renaming one of the tournaments on the ADO circuit as the ‘Stacy Bromberg Trophy’ or another similar name, would be a fitting way to pay tribute and ensure that Bromberg’s legacy will live on.

In the words of Russ Bray: “(she was) one of the loveliest ladies you could want to meet.”

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Friday 17 February 2017 Darts Weekly

Mr Javed’s enthusiasm will help darts grow in Pakistan Richard Edwards ASIAN DARTS CORRESPONDENT When you think of darts in Asia, I am sure most of you think of the recent World Series of Darts, with packed out crowds wearing Peter Wright hair pieces, or perhaps you think of the recent Asian stars trying their luck in both the PDC and BDO World Championships.

For those who have had the pleasure of visiting Eastern Asia, perhaps your mind recalls how utterly impressive the soft top darts culture is out here.

Perhaps your only experience of darts in Asia is playing a quick game of round the clock with the locals in Bangkok.

For my first in a series of articles focusing on darts in different Asian countries, I thought I would take you far, far away from whatever Bangkok bar (or local) you are reminiscing about now.

Back in October at the Asia Pacific Cup, I met a very enthusiastic man and I have been looking forward to asking him some questions ever since.

The man I met in October was Shahid Javed.

Mr Javed arrived in Osaka at the Asia Pacific Cup with just two players, unfortunately visa issues meant his country, Pakistan, were unable to compete in the tournament.

Unperturbed, Mr Javed and his two players attended the opening ceremony and then stuck around for a chinwag and some practice.

Mr Javed was very keen for his players to be practicing with more experienced players, and he was eager to network with the other team managers.

It was very clear Mr Javed was passionate about darts, and the past week or so I am delighted to say I finally managed to catch up with him and discuss how darts is growing in Pakistan.

Mr Javed, who is the founder and general secretary of the Pakistan Darts Federation, has the tough task of promoting a pub sport in a country that is hardly renowned for its pubs.

He is also trying to promote a sport in a country that only has around 700 registered players

(Pakistan’s total population is pushing 200 million by the way!).

Understandably, for now, there is no government support as sports such as cricket, polo, squash, kabaddi and hockey are much more popular.

It was in fact hockey where Mr Javed first made his name, representing Pakistan at international level, but in 1999 Mr Javed’s focus switched from hockey to the oche!

“I was an international hockey player in Pakistan but I wanted to promote a new sport in Pakistan that was suitable for all ages,” he informs me.

“Nobody knows about darts in Pakistan so I am introducing the people to the game.

“This is a really tough task in this third world country, without a team or help from the government, but I will try my best.”

It was friends who were based outside of Pakistan that got Mr Javed enthused about the game, and after watching matches on TV he was hooked.

Now he is in charge of running tournaments like the Inter State Championship, held in Lahore last month.

This was the sixth time they held the Inter State Championship and seven teams battled it out in Pakistan’s second largest city.

It was the hosts Lahore that were the victors, but at this stage of development in Pakistan it is all about getting people playing.

Mr Javed has a tough task ahead of him, he tells me: “I dream that the Pakistan darts team can be famous all over the world.

“But our big problem is that darts and accessories are not available (to us).”

As well all know, darts truly is a sport for all and I am certain over time, with Mr Javed’s leadership, they will continue to develop.

Keep up to date with Pakistan darts at facebook.com/pakdarts

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Darts Weekly Friday 17 February 2017

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What is the Pakistan Darts Federation?

Darts is one of the youngest sports in Pakistan, with it first being officially introduced in 1999.

The Pakistan Darts Federation was founded by Shahid Javed, who acts as the general secretary of the PDF and was a former captain of Pakistan’s national roller hockey team and also an ex general secretary of the Roller Skating Promotion Associates.

The original concept of the PDF is to provide a constructive outlet for the enthusiasm of Pakistan’s youth, as well as supporting and monitoring the development of young players to perpetuate the sport of darts.

Javed’s ethos is based on the belief that every person deserves a chance, and if commitment and ambition is present then the PDF shall endeavour to nurture any possible talent and offer a world of opportunities.

In 2006, Muhammad Ishfaq claimed Pakistan’s first singles win in the Asia Pacific Cup when he beat Iran’s Amir Morovari Pilerod 3-0 in a group stage match.

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Friday 17 February 2017 Darts Weekly

World champion Duzza set to return to action this weekend DAVID GILL

Alex Moss CHIEF DARTS WRITER Glen Durrant is set to return to competitive action, for the first time since being crowned BDO world champion, this weekend.

The BDO number one took a selfimposed break from darts after triumphing in the final at Lakeside five weeks ago.

Duzza is among a list of close to a thousand men entered into the Scottish Open this weekend, a Category A event which offers a prize of £3,000 to the winner.

The newly crowned world champion has been a regular in the tournament in recent years, with his best performance a run to the final two years ago in 2015.

On that occasion, Durrant was edged out 6-5 in a decider by Dennis Harbour, while last year he also lost out in a final leg shootout, bowing out to Latvia’s Madars Razma 4-3 in the last 16.

Danny Noppert, who finished runner-up to Durrant at Lakeside last month, is the defending champion at the Scottish Open this year, after the Dutch thrower whitewashed Dean Reynolds 6-0 in the final 12 months ago.

After suffering a surprise early exit as the top seed at the Dutch Open two weeks ago, Noppert has slipped down to sixth in the current BDO rankings.

Seven of the top eight in the BDO are listed as being entered into the Scottish Open this weekend, with only World Trophy champion Darryl Fitton (ranked seventh) missing from the list.

Scott Mitchell, Jamie Hughes and new Dutch Open champion Mark McGeeney are joined by Darius Labanauskas as the other top eight players set to battle it out at the Normandy Cosmopolitan Hotel, in Renfrew this weekend.

Elsewhere, Lorraine Winstanley will be heading to Scotland to try

and defend the ladies title she won last year.

Winstanley, ranked fifth in the BDO women’s rankings, defeated Deta Hedman 5-3 to lift the title for a second time 12 months ago.

BDO number one Hedman heads up the list of 154 ladies entered into the tournament, which has a £1,000 on offer to the winner.

Hedman narrowly beat reigning ladies world champion Lisa Ashton 5-4 in the final of the Dutch Open a fortnight ago, helping her open up a 27 point lead at the top of the women’s rankings.

Ashton has yet to get her hands on the Scottish Open title, with her run to the semi-finals last year,

where she was whitewashed 4-0 by eventual winner Winstanley, her best performance in the event.

Hedman has won the Scottish Open three times, picking up the trophy in 2012, 2013 and most recently in 2015, while Anastasia Dobromyslova, who misses this weekend having recently gave birth, was the winner back in 2014.

As well as Dobromyslova, 10time world champion Trina Gulliver is also missing from the list of entries for this weekend.

The men’s and ladies singles competitions will get underway tomorrow morning, with the stage finals taking place on Sunday evening at approximately 6pm.

In brief Cambridgeshire turn round overnight deficit in away win Cambridgeshire climbed into the top half of the British InterCounties Championship Premier Division after coming from behind to win 20-16 at Warwickshire.

Hosts Warwickshire built up an 11-7 overnight lead following the first day’s matches, but Cambs fought back on the second day, as

they claimed the A matches 13-5 to complete a comeback win, which moved them up two places to fourth in the table.

Elsewhere, holders Yorkshire maintained their 30-point lead at the top with a 23-13 win away at relegation-threatened Glamorgan.

Lancashire remain in second place after beating bottom side Essex by the same scoreline.

Darts Weekly Friday 17 February 2017

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James Burton, from Winchmore Hill, in London, was the winner of our competition on Twitter to win a pair of tickets to last week’s Premier League night in Nottingham. Thank you to Betway for providing us with the tickets to give away!

Database PDC CORAL UK OPEN RILEY’S AMATEUR QUALIFIERS - Nottingham (Brett Claydon); Greenock (Andrew Davidson); Liverpool (Damian Smith); Solihull (Kevin Bambrick); Twickenham (Dean Reynolds).

CORAL UK OPEN QUALIFIERS (Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan) Qualifier Four last 32 - A Jenkins bt S Lennon 6-1; D Chisnall bt R Hewson 6-0; D Webster bt R Evans 6-4; R Searle bt C Quantock 6-2; R Cross bt M Webster 6-5; G Anderson bt J Pipe 6-3; M King bt J de Zwaan 6-2; C Dobey bt B Bates 6-2; R van Barneveld bt V Kamphuis 6-1; K Painter bt T Jenkins 6-4; J de Graaf bt B van de Pas 6-5; M Smith bt K Huybrechts 6-1; M van Gerwen bt R Lam 6-2; Z Lerchbacher bt D Johnson 6-2; G Price bt C Kist 6-5; P Wright bt R Baxter 6-1. Last 16 D Chisnall bt A Jenkins 6-3; R Searle bt D Webster 6-4; G Anderson bt R Cross 6-1; C Dobey bt M King 6-4; K Painter bt R van Barneveld 6-4; M Smith bt J de Graaf 6-4; M van Gerwen bt Z Lerchbacher 6-1; P Wright bt G Price 6-3. Quarter-finals - R Searle bt D Chisnall 6-3; G Anderson bt C Dobey 6-2; K Painter bt M Smith 6-4; M van Gerwen bt P Wright 6-3. Semi-finals - G Anderson bt R Searle 6-1; M van Gerwen bt K Painter 6-2.

Final - M van Gerwen bt G Anderson 6-3.

Qualifier Five last 32 - D Pallett bt R Twell 6-2; D Webster bt B van de Pas 6-5; R Huybrechts bt T Jenkins 6-5; I White bt B Dolan 6-5; R van Barneveld bt J Richardson 6-2; G Price bt W O’Connor 6-2; P Wright bt R North 6-4; M Smith bt V van der Voort 6-3; D Gurney bt T Evetts 6-1; J Klaasen bt J Cullen 6-4; R Cross bt D Chisnall 6-2; R Thornton bt K Fan Leung 6-3; M King bt Jam Wilson 6-5; K Huybrechts bt B Bates 6-4; S Whitlock bt B Woods 6-4; S Taylor bt M Padgett 6-5. Last 16 - D Webster bt D Pallett 6-1; R Huybrechts bt I White 6-5; G Price bt R van Barneveld 6-2; M Smith bt P Wright 6-

5; J Klaasen bt D Gurney 6-3; R Cross bt R Thornton 6-1; M King bt K Huybrechts 6-5; S Whitlock bt S Taylor 6-2. Quarter-finals R Huybrechts bt D Webster 6-4; M Smith bt G Price 6-5; R Cross bt J Klaasen 6-2; S Whitlock bt M King 6-2. Semi-finals - R Huybrechts bt M Smith 6-5; S Whitlock bt R Cross 6-4. Final - S Whitlock bt R Huybrechts 6-3. Qualifier Six last 32 - P Wright bt D van Duijvenbode 6-1; J Henderson bt S Whitlock 6-4; B van de Pas bt R Thornton 6-2; S Beaton bt V van der Voort 6-1; J Cullen bt M Smith 6-3; B Dolan bt M King 6-0; A Lewis bt G Price 6-3; C Kist bt A Alcinas 6-4; R van Barneveld bt R North 6-3; K Anderson bt C Reyes 6-3; A Norris bt S Bunting 6-3; I White bt J Caven 6-5; C Quantock bt Y Meeuwisse 6-2; K Huybrechts bt J Clayton 6-2; J Wade bt G Anderson 6-5; M McGowan bt R Meikle 6-4. Last 16 - P Wright bt J Henderson 6-4; S Beaton bt B van de Pas 6-1; B Dolan bt J Cullen 6-3; A Lewis bt C Kist 6-1; K Anderson bt R van Barneveld 6-3; A Norris bt I White 6-4; K Huybrechts bt C Quantock 6-5; J Wade bt M McGowan 6-0. Quarter-finals - P Wright bt S Beaton 6-2; A Lewis bt B Dolan 6-5; A Norris bt K Anderson 6-5; J Wade bt K Huybrechts 6-3. Semi-finals - P Wright bt A Lewis 6-5; J Wade bt A Norris 6-1. Final P Wright bt J Wade 6-3.

BETWAY PREMIER LEAGUE (First Direct Arena, Leeds) Week Three - P Wright (109.48) bt G Anderson (106.59) 7-5; J Wade (98.21) bt A Lewis (88.01) 7-4; P Taylor (96.39) bt R van Barneveld (97.32) 74; M van Gerwen (102.78) bt J Klaasen (96.24) 7-4; D Chisnall (101.20) bt K Huybrechts (95.06) 7-4. Highest checkout: D Chisnall 141.

BDO BRITISH INTER-COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIP (Various venues) Premier Division - Devon (24 pts) beat

Lincolnshire (15 pts) 21-15; Essex (13 pts) lost to Lancashire (26 pts) 23-13; Glamorgan (13 pts) lost to Lancashire (26 pts) 23-13; Nottinghamshire (19 pts) drew with Cheshire (19 pts) 18-18; Warwickshire (16 pts) lost to Cambridgeshire (23 pts) 20-16. Division One - County Durham (19 pts) drew with Gwent (19 pts) 18-18; Hampshire (22 pts) beat Dorset (17 pts) 19-17; Kent (10 pts) lost to West Midlands (29 pts) 26-10; London (31 pts) beat Cleveland (8 pts) 28-8; Oxfordshire (19 pts) drew with Cornwall (19 pts) 18-18.

Division Two - Cumbria (14 pts) lost to Northamptonshire (25 pts) 22-14; Derbyshire (13 pts) lost to Worcestershire (26 pts) 23-13; Hertfordshire (29 pts) beat Northumberland (10 pts) 26-10; Staffordshire (22 pts) beat Berkshire (17 pts) 19-17; Surrey (26 pts) beat Suffolk (13 pts) 23-13. Division Three - Buckinghamshire (16 pts) lost to Gloucestershire (23 pts) 2016; Gwynedd (19 pts) drew with Sussex (19 pts) 18-18; Leicestershire (23 pts) beat Humberside (16 pts) 20-16; Merseyside (19 pts) drew with Tyne & Wear (19 pts) 18-18; Somerset (16 pts) lost to Montgomery & Radnor (23 pts) 20-16. Division Four Breconshire (22 pts) beat West of England (17 pts) 19-17; Isle of Wight (16 pts) lost to Pembrokeshire (23 pts) 20-16; Middlesex (23 pts) beat Clwyd (16 pts) 20-16; Norfolk (28 pts) beat Bedfordshire (11 pts) 25-11; Shropshire (11 pts) lost to Wiltshire (28 pts) 25-11. Scotland North - Central (13 pts) lost to Angus (23 pts) 17-11; Fife (19 pts) beat Tay Valley (17 pts) 15-13; Grampian (28 pts) beat Highland (8 pts) 21-7; Perthshire (12 pts) lost to East Stirlingshire (24 pts) 18-10.

Scotland South - Ayrshire (23 pts) beat Renfrewshire (13 pts) 17-11; Lanarkshire (19 pts) drew with Greater Glasgow (17 pts) 1414; Lothian (14 pts) lost to Borders (22 pts) 16-12; West Lothian (8 pts) lost to Clackmannanshire (28 pts) 21-7.

TODAY-SUNDAY SCOTTISH OPEN (Renfrew, Scotland) SYRACUSE OPEN (Liverpool, New York) TOMORROW - SUNDAY PDC DEVELOPMENT TOUR 1-4 (Wigan) THURSDAY BETWAY PREMIER LEAGUE WEEK FOUR (Brighton Centre, Brighton) DARTS WEEKLY DOZEN (09/02/2017) Data compiled by Christopher Kempf Player M van Gerwen R van Barneveld P Taylor M Suljovic D Gurney S Whitlock J Klaasen B van de Pas S Beaton A Norris M King J Cullen

LLE 15.087 16.697 16.745 17.302 17.696 17.724 17.879 17.966 18.216 18.232 18.728 18.844

Change -0.091 -0.017 -0.018 N/C N/C N/C -0.044 N/C N/C N/C N/C N/C

◊ The Darts Weekly Dozen estimates and compares the length of the average leg over players’ last 180 televised and streamed legs.

0.301 ◊ All four DW12 players in the Premier League suffer slight lapses in form-0.222 after -0.081 excellent first week.

-0.824 ◊ Taylor’s scoring form drops off to its lowest 0.029 point since 2015, but ‘The Power’ improves to 2.35 darts at double per leg won.

12

Friday 17 February 2017 Darts Weekly

ALEX MOSS CHIEF DARTS WRITER LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

Lakeside or world champ?

The PDC will decide The BDO stopped crowning men’s world champions since 2006.

Whether you agree or disagree with the above statement, it is seemingly how the PDC are now viewing the prestige of the ‘other’ World Championship in darts.

Jelle Klaasen was introduced to the crowd at the Premier League in Leeds last night as a former Lakeside (not world) champion.

That triumph at Lakeside was over a decade ago, in 2006, when he beat his fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld 7-5 in the final.

Just twelve months before, van Barneveld defeated Martin Adams 6-2 in the 2005 final to win his fourth BDO World Championship.

Of course, van Barneveld was introduced last night by the master of ceremonies John McDonald as the five-time champion of the world.

So, what changed in the twelve months between Barney’s Lakeside win in 2005 and Klaasen’s triumph in 2006, to warrant losing its ‘world’ tag?

When Klaasen switched over to the PDC in 2007 he was introduced as a former world champion, even as most recently as 2013, but that moniker has been snatched away in recent years and replaced with ‘Lakeside’ instead.

Klaasen is not the only one to have had their BDO World Championship victories somewhat diminished by the powers that be at the PDC. Mark Webster, Christian Kist and Stephen Bunting, who all crossed the darting divide shortly after winning the BDO’s big title,

are introduced in front of the cameras as former ‘Lakeside’ champions.

Now here is where it gets confusing. Steve Beaton, who won the BDO World Championship in 1996, before the mysterious 2006 cut off, was welcomed to the stage at Alexandra Palace at the end of last year as a “former champion of the world”.

But all mentions of his most famous win 21 years ago is brushed

‘Klaasen is not the only one to have had their world title victory diminished’ aside as a ‘Lakeside’ win on the PDC website during the tournament.

John Part won the BDO World Championship two years before Beaton, and then claimed two PDC World Championships in 2003 and 2008, and he is portrayed as a three-time world champion.

What was different between his BDO world title triumph and Beaton’s, which are separated

apart by just two years?

Van Barneveld won four BDO World Championships before switching to the PDC in 2006, winning the event in 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2005, and then capturing the PDC version in 2007.

So, what is Barney introduced as?

You guessed it: a five-time world champion. You will not see one mention of him being a one-time world champion and a four-time ‘Lakeside champion’.

It seems for your BDO world titles to be recognised as world titles by the PDC you must also win the PDC World Championship.

If Webster, Kist or Bunting were to go and reign supreme at Ally Pally next January, would they then be introduced as a two-time ‘world champion’ or as the reigning world champion and a former ‘Lakeside champion’?

Such discrepancies may not matter much to the casual fan, but to the dedicated follower it can be confusing to understand.

More importantly it must wrangle with Beaton, Webster, Kist and Bunting that for some fans they are not known as ‘world champions’.