OLD darts articles

[Rogg]

EDITORIAL: Embassy or Skol?
https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094 ... e.asp?Nv=1
28th November 2001


In the wake of the news that seven top professionals have defected from the Embassy to the Skol, planetdarts editor Gayle Farmer asks whether the PDC has earned the right to call the Skol the most prestigious darts championship in the world.

Everyone who knows darts, knows about the rift that exists between the PDC and BDO. Individual fans and players have chosen their sides and arguments rage continually in the pages of Darts World and in pubs as to who is in the right and who in the wrong.

There is constant one-upmanship and at any given moment one organisation or another will feel they are currently on top in the war of words.

However, one point of discussion has raged hardest of all and that is which is the best, most prestigious or even 'true' darts world championship.

The PDC has Phil Taylor, which with his status as the greatest darts player who ever drew breath, has long given Skol fans the upper hand when they argued their case in favour of the Purfleet event.

The BDO corner of course, counteract with the claim that the Embassy is the original and best. It has retained its slot on the BBC and can draw in a field from a pool of hundreds of thousands of players. The event celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year, but it will be tinged with disappointment.

For a long time the Embassy boasted the most balanced international field of players. A glance at the 1992 and 1993 line-ups are mouthwatering.

Since the spilt which came into effect for the 1994 Embassy and Skol, fans have disagreed as to which turned out the best quality darts.

I would suggest that there has been little between the two tournaments over the last seven years.

Both have produced some classic matches with exceptional champions.

The BDO have argued this week that the PDC is a closed shop, that is has chosen its elite and that it intends to keep the 'gene pool' pure.

That is a tough argument to sustain when you consider that Roland Scholten, Andy Jenkins, Kevin Painter and now Paul Williams are all recent converts to the PDC circuit. You have to ask yourself why so many players are turning their attention to PDC competitions?

The PDC intends to push the Professional Darts Players Association in the coming years as a resource for players who want to make the grade. Applications will be welcomed from any player who believes he can compete with the best, or is of a high enough quality to work towards that goal.

The doors of the shop are open. All hours.

What everyone needs to keep in perspective is that both sides do important work for the sport, whether it be nurturing the grassroots or striving to give the very best, the recognition they deserve as international sportsmen.

As far as I'm aware the PDC has no intentions of trying to destroy the BDO as Olly Croft said in an article on planetdarts earlier this week. That would be self-defeating. No one can argue that many top PDC players learnt their trade through BDO competitions and infrastructure. But they need something bigger and better to move on to.

As was stated in 'Pro Life' in this month's Darts World magazine "Let everyone acknowledge that darts is a business like any other and like any other business requires competition and income to survive. Good luck to both the BDO and the PDC. We need them both to be successful."

How true. People should not react emotionally, these are two competing businesses and like any other business, each wants to have the best key personnel working for them. In commerce this is called headhunting and there is no emotion involved when one executive moves to another company to better him or herself.

What the Embassy and the BDO are failing to do however is develop and move with the times and it is this fact, which may give the Skol Championships the edge.

In a brave move, much of the PDC hierarchy stepped aside this year to allow Barry Hearn, Tim Darby and Tim Allen to work towards taking the organisation to a new level. It is a necessary development, which acknowledges the need for evolution.

Certainly, sometimes the PDC get carried away with their achievements, but the organisation is working constantly to improve the standing of the game and to return the sport to its glory days. Some see this as arrogance, others as ambition. Change upsets people and always has, but it is essential and there is no way back.

As for the most prestigious world championship ?

The Embassy may boast the World Cup winning team, but compare the top fifteen in the respective line-ups for 2002.

BDO: Walton, Adams, Pusa, King, Barneveld, Bob Taylor, Hankey, Mardle, Fordham, Komula, Clarys, Veitch, Clark, Davies, O'Shea.

PDC: Warriner, Phil Taylor, Harrington, Manley, Smith, Scholten, Part, Burnett, Ovens, Beaton, Askew, Baxter, Lowe, Priestley, Harvey.

Some simple arithmetic tells you the Embassy has three world champions in that list, while the PDC line-up can boast six champions and four runners-up to the crown (either Skol or Embassy).

Original does not always mean best and although I have made my allegiances along with everyone else, for me this year's Skol World Championship has taken the mantle as the biggest and best and can legitimately call itself the most prestigious.

[Justin Credible]

the wdc /pdc world was the ultimate and proper world champs since its first day

always has been always will be

[Rogg]

for PT13 who mentioned it earlier...


PDC HEADS TO VEGAS !
https://web.archive.org/web/20030326234 ... 86117&Nv=1
26th March 2002


In July 2002 the Professional Darts Corporation will travel across the Atlantic to stage its fourth televised tournament of the year, The Las Vegas Desert Classic at the superb MGM Grand – ‘The City of Entertainment’.

The PDC’s first ever live televised event in the United States will be staged in the prestigious MGM Grand in the heart of the city and will be screened live via Sky Sports to millions of darts fans in the UK, the US and the World with over twenty hours of coverage scheduled.

The Las Vegas Desert Classic has a guaranteed prize fund of $100, 000 making it the richest paying tournament in the United States and is yet further proof that the PDC is committed to taking darts to new heights.

Securing the MGM Grand as a venue means the PDC can capitalize on the experience of the team that has put together events such as Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Janet Jackson and Phil Collins to produce a feast of darts that promises to be truly extraordinary.

The event, the first in a series of ‘Classic’ tournaments planned to take place around the world in the next three years, guarantees to bring together the very best players in the world.

With Sky Sports providing their usual brand of fast moving, innovative coverage, alongside the exuberant, bright lights and big time style of Vegas plus the lavish surroundings of the MGM Grand, this will be one of the events of the PDC calendar.

To be held from July 3rd-7th, the event coincides with the United States’ Independence Day celebrations; something that is sure to make the tournament go with an additional bang.

PDC Chairman Barry Hearn spoke of his delight that the PDC are heading Stateside:

“This is great news for the PDC and darts. To take our first steps towards a PDC world circuit is something special but to secure the MGM Grand as a venue means we have the very best facilities to stage the Las Vegas Desert Classic.

“There could be no better platform to launch the PDC’s global darts vision and I’m sure the event will exceed all our expectations.”

[Rogg]

TIME FOR A CHANGE ?
https://web.archive.org/web/20030729064 ... 50911&Nv=1
6th July 2001




Phil 'The Power' Taylor is without question the greatest and most talented darts player of the last decade, if not of all time. But is his dominance good for the game? Planetdarts editor Gayle Farmer wrestles with the idea of craving a brand new World Matchplay Champion.

No one would grudge Phil Taylor his astonishing record of titles. Nine World Championships (bridging both the Skol and Embassy tournaments), three World Matchplay championships and three World Grand Prix titles is worthy of an MBE and more.

In the last seven years he has won thirteen out of eighteen PDC championships and has won every single Skol championship since 1995, losing out only to Dennis Priestley in the inaugural competition.

It's an astonishing record, but is it getting just a little bit tedious ? Are we bored of seeing Phil pick up the trophy at the end of every tournament ?

Well, yes and no.

We have a strange relationship to our sporting heroes. We want to see them win, because we enjoy watching them play the sports we love at the very highest level and beyond. When Taylor averaged 115 plus with three darts in the final of last year's World Matchplay against Alan Warriner, spectators, players and sports writers alike were in raptors.

We have the same reaction to Tiger Woods. When the golfing phenomenon won the US Open last year by a staggering fifeteen strokes, the world was in awe. And when he went on to hold all four major titles at one time - the first man in history to do so - golfers globally gave him a standing ovation.

The same is true of Pete Sampras. Everyone involved in tennis or with even a fleeting interest in the sport, were delighted to see the American lift his seventh Wimbledon title, equalling the Championship record.

However, it came as something of a relief to see Retief Goosen pick up a golfing major at the US Open this year, simply because it made life a little more interesting. Just as it will be thrilling to watch a tennis player other than Pete Sampras lift the famous Wimbledon trophy come Sunday - particularly if it is Tim Henman.

It's not that we don't appreciate those who dominate sport, we do. In fact we must. They set the standards and they make those who try to beat them, or aspire to emulate them, better players.

Personally though, I would like to see someone other than Phil win in Blackpool this summer.

It's not that I have a problem with Taylor. He is a supreme ambassador for the game, an extraordinary talent and a great bloke to boot. It's just that a spot of variety would spice up my life in the Winter Gardens.

I don't have a preference for who wins it, but perhaps I would drift towards a player who has yet to scoop up this particular trophy.

I'd love to see one of Taylor's more than capable colleagues shake off the belief that Phil is unbeatable in major tournaments. It would be a breakthrough. And it would be a genuinely exciting spectacle.

Indeed looking at the draw, Taylor has perhaps one of his toughest routes to a final for some time.

On form he is likely to come up against John Part in the quarter-finals, assuming he gets past Jamie Harvey, Paul Lim or Alex Roy. Part will certainly be after revenge following his defeat in the Skol Final. Going on from there, it could be a tester to get by Alan Warriner (also ripe for revenge), Chris Mason, or perhaps a very in form Denis Ovens in the semis.

A final with Dennis Priestley (another with a score to settle with Taylor), Peter Manley or Rod Harrington surely beckons. So many players who have the potential to cause an upset.

Then of course I hit a spot of bother. Casting my mind back to Phil's court case troubles earlier this year, it would be great to see him prove his worth at the oche, just as he did in Saskatoon in May. But then again, a good performance from Phil in the tournament as a whole, only to be pipped in a classic final by one of his weary colleagues would be more than satisfying.

All in all then, it's time, in my humble opinion for a new champion, to conclude what we all hope will be a Matchplay to remember. Then again, if a certain Mr The Power sweeps all before him with characteristic style and extraordinary darts, I will stand and cheer with everyone else.

[The Ginge Reaper]

We have a strange relationship to our sporting heroes. We want to see them win, because we enjoy watching them play the sports we love at the very highest level and beyond. When Taylor averaged 115 plus with three darts in the final of last year's World Matchplay against Alan Warriner, spectators, players and sports writers alike were in raptors.

Eh? He barely averaged 100!

http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventRes ... Averages=Y

[Rogg]

We have a strange relationship to our sporting heroes. We want to see them win, because we enjoy watching them play the sports we love at the very highest level and beyond. When Taylor averaged 115 plus with three darts in the final of last year's World Matchplay against Alan Warriner, spectators, players and sports writers alike were in raptors.

Eh? He barely averaged 100!

http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventRes ... Averages=Y

Both started that match in unbelievable form, famously so at the time, so the '115 plus' is probably referring to the first 5-10 legs only. Shit writing. Nobody ever has or ever will average 115 in full-length major final...

[Rogg]

....from 2:00 in this vid if anyone's interested, Wazza out of the blocks and somehow hanging on to a rampant Taylor --

[youtube][/youtube]

[Rogg]

[Rogg]

Monk Claims PDC Unicorn U21 Title
http://www.pdc.tv/news/article/29hmsm6d ... -u21-title
3rd January 2011




ARRON MONK became the inaugural PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Champion with a 6-4 triumph over Dutchman Michael van Gerwen at Alexandra Palace.

The 20-year-old took the £10,000 title, a silver salver and a sponsorship from Rileys as well as writing his name into the record books by defeating his Dutch rival in front of 2,500 fans.

The pair had won through to the final in November when the last 64 players, following a series of international qualifiers and qualifying events in Rileys Darts Zones across the UK, competed down to the last two in Barnsley.

Monk maintained the form to average 93 in the final and double van Gerwen's disappointment, following a first round defeat at Alexandra Palace a fortnight earlier in the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship to Mensur Suljovic.

"I'm over the moon," said Monk. "I didn't score too well but my doubles, which I've been practising with Simon Whitlock, came through for me.

"Every time I play Michael I always seem to go 3-0 up and he gets used to the board and the throw and comes back at me. He seems to get level and I pull away from him every time, and I did it again.

"The 121 was such a huge shot. Simon Whitlock won the deciding leg of a game against me once by going 17, treble 18 and bull and I though I would go his way, and it was brilliant when it went in.

"Simon has been great practising with me and giving me confidence and I owe a lot to him, but I can't wait for the rest of this year. It's going to be a huge year for me."

[Rogg]

WIZARD WHITLOCK BAGS AUSSIE WILD CARD
https://web.archive.org/web/20030728230 ... 19313&Nv=1
November 2002

Aussie number one Simon 'The Wizard' Whitlock grabbed a wild card place in the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship with an 8 legs to 2 victory over Brian Roach in the Final of the Oceanic Masters in Gosford, NSW on Sunday.

The 2002 Australian Masters champion lived up to his number one billing, notching up five maximums in the last match of the afternoon to book his flight to the Circus Tavern for the Championship which begins on December 27th.

The 33-year-old originally from North Sydney and now a Brisbane resident, dropped just five legs as he blazed a trail through the opposition at the Central Coast Leagues Club and thoroughly deserved to secure his place in the Ladbrokes.com World Championship.

Faced with the prospect of taking on the very best players in the world Whitlock commented:

"Although I think playing in such a huge event will be tough, my recent achievements have given me a lot of confidence in my ability, so I'm hopeful that I can give any player that I come across a great game and be grateful for the experience.

"On the other hand, I have never played in such a massive tournament so it is really hard to say how I'll be feeling until I am there."

It's culmination of a superb year for The Wizard who has dominated Aussie darts in 2002 and now looks set to show the rest of the world a thing or two about darts Down Under.

[Rogg]

Battle Of The New Boys
24th July 2000
https://web.archive.org/web/20030116080 ... 13879&Nv=1


Dave Askew and Dennis Ovens may have been around for a while but neither have appeared at the World Matchplay, until today.

Askew has had a great season so far, reaching the semi-finals of the Vauxhall Festival and the finals of the both the German Open and Saskatoon.

"I'm up for it now," Askew told us. "I've decided I'm going to win a tournament this year. On two occasions this year I've just lost out. I don't know if this is the one I'm going to win, but I am going to win one this year."

Ovens, who has been capped 17 times for England is more understated in his ambitions for the tournament.

"I'm a bit nervous but looking forward to it. Anything can happen when you walk on the stage every darts player knows that."
It's a tough one to call, but with both of them with all to prove at Matchplay level, the battle of the new boys should be a good match.

[PT13]

We have a strange relationship to our sporting heroes. We want to see them win, because we enjoy watching them play the sports we love at the very highest level and beyond. When Taylor averaged 115 plus with three darts in the final of last year's World Matchplay against Alan Warriner, spectators, players and sports writers alike were in raptors.

Eh? He barely averaged 100!

http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventRes ... Averages=Y

After 15 legs of the 2000 World Matchplay final, Taylor led 10-5 with Taylor averaging 113 and Warriner averaging 103. Taylor's average did go over 115 at some point, but there was one leg later on where both missed many darts at doubles and brought the averages down a bit.

[Rogg]

Missing arrows ... BDO darts duds need an embarrassing 58 darts to win a leg
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/othe ... qJf2TZ1.97
5th January 2016


IT’S a good thing to do around this time of year.

Taking off the scorer as another BDO darts dud hits one arrow on the 10, another on the four and his last on the wire that goes round the edge of the board.

You know how it goes, don’t you?

Fourteen, roars the scorer as if it’s a big deal. As if there’s some tungsten terminator standing at the oche.

We’ve long known the BDO – the cheap darts world championship that’s on the Beeb – is nothing compared to Barry Hearn’s PDC.

But this evening we got a little bit more confirmation. And, believe us, these protaganists aren’t going to be troubling Gary Anderson any time soon.

Step forward Mark McGeeney and Peter Sajwani. They needed an incredible 58 darts before the leg was finally won.

For anyone interested Englishman McGeeney beat Sajwani of Sweden 3-0. Are you interested by the way?

No, thought not.

Meanwhile, ladies arrars ace Dee Bateman had a moment to forget as she attempted to win a crucial leg against the legendary Trina Gulliver when she bust herself going for a 112 checkout.

Bateman hit a treble 20 with her first dart to keep the checkout alive before having her second dart bounce out. Who knows what she was thinking with her final arrar as she rattled in ANOTHER treble 20 to burst herself.

Darts at its finest, this s***

[Rogg]

Robert Thornton Joins PDC
http://www.pdc.tv/news/article/1lui0lwn ... -joins-pdc
21st May 2008


ROBERT THORNTON, the current BDO number one, has moved onto the Professional Darts Corporation circuit and joined the PDPA.

The Scottish star won the 2007 World Masters and this year's Dutch Open, before recently coming through the Holsten Qualifiers to win a place in next month's Blue Square UK Open.

Thornton, from Stevenston in Ayrshire, has now joined the Professional Dart Players Association and will play on the PDC circuit full-time from June.

He reached the quarter-finals of last weekend's Welsh Open, and is currently ranked number one in the BDO system and number three in the WDF.

Thornton will follow up his appearance in the UK Open by competing in the two Players Championship events at Bristol in June in a late bid to win a place in the Stan James World Matchplay, before travelling to the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic Qualifiers at the end of the month.

"I'm excited about coming across to the PDC," said Thornton. "I'd reached number one in the BDO but I sat down with my wife and discussed it and thought it was time for a change.

"It was a big decision for me, but I'm looking forward to my career in the PDC now.

"I know quite a lot of players already and I've got on well with James Wade when we've done some exhibitions together this year, so it won't be too hard to settle in."

He added: "My aim is initially to enjoy the Blue Square UK Open in Bolton and then break into the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit.

"I'll be trying my hardest to qualify for every major tournament from now on, and if I can play my best darts I should hopefully be able to do that."

Thornton's World Masters win over Darryl Fitton last November saw him qualify for November's PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts.

And his Blue Square UK Open challenge will begin on Thursday June 5 at Bolton against Russia's World Ladies Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova, live on Sky Sports.

Thornton did play in the Scottish Regional Final of the 2006-2007 UK Open, reaching the quarter-finals in Irvine.

PDC Chairman Barry Hearn said: "We welcome all quality players to the PDC and I applaud Robert's ambition to play amongst the sport's elite players for millions of pounds in prize money.

"I wish him the best of luck and he has already made clear his ambitions to be successful at the highest level of darts.

"He has done superbly well to become the number one in the BDO system and it's exciting to see him accept the challenge of starting afresh on the PDC Pro Tour."

[The Ginge Reaper]

Robert Thornton Joins PDC
http://www.pdc.tv/news/article/1lui0lwn ... -joins-pdc
21st May 2008


ROBERT THORNTON, the current BDO number one, has moved onto the Professional Darts Corporation circuit and joined the PDPA.

The Scottish star won the 2007 World Masters and this year's Dutch Open, before recently coming through the Holsten Qualifiers to win a place in next month's Blue Square UK Open.

Thornton, from Stevenston in Ayrshire, has now joined the Professional Dart Players Association and will play on the PDC circuit full-time from June.

He reached the quarter-finals of last weekend's Welsh Open, and is currently ranked number one in the BDO system and number three in the WDF.

Im sure he cited that as his reason for switching - he battled all day to get to a TV quarter final (it was on Setanta) and he got a measly £150 for it!!!!!

[Rogg]

Bloody hell. I was thinking that May was a strange time to switch...

[The Ginge Reaper]

Bloody hell. I was thinking that May was a strange time to switch...

Back then you could do it anytime but in the main people still did it at the start of a year. He switched and went to Vegas and qualified for the LVDC the month afterwards, the rest is history.

[Rogg]

Anderson upsets Lloyd in Dublin
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_s ... 079190.stm
23rd October 2006




Veteran Bob Anderson rolled back the years to knock world number one Colin Lloyd out of the World Grand Prix in Dublin on Monday.

The 58-year-old "Limestone Cowboy" lost the opening set but came back to win 2-1 against Lloyd, the 2004 champion and 2005 runner-up.

The first two legs of the final set were shared before Anderson nailed double 10 and a brilliant 146 checkout.

Anderson now faces local favourite Anto McCracken in the second round.

"It was an extremely hard game," said the veteran. "I thought we both played well - my finishing was probably a bit sharper."

--------

Peter Manley won in straight sets against Chris Mason, boosting his hopes of making next year's Premier League line-up, and crowd favourite Wayne Mardle also secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Denis Ovens.

Dutchman Roland Scholten overcame "Diamond" Dave Askew 2-0 in Monday's final game.

Earlier, Lionel Sams produced a superb fightback against former world champion John Part to secure his place in the second round.

Qualifier Andy Callaby, meanwhile, overcame 2004 World Championship runner-up Kevin Painter.

He will face Terry Jenkins in the second round after he edged a tense battle with the man known as 'Rocky', Andy Jenkins, 2-1.

Local favourite McCracken gave his fans something to cheer with a 2-1 win over Mark Walsh.

[Rogg]

Bloody hell. I was thinking that May was a strange time to switch...

Back then you could do it anytime but in the main people still did it at the start of a year. He switched and went to Vegas and qualified for the LVDC the month afterwards, the rest is history.

Yes I'd think Thornton must have been the very last 'profile' player to switch mid-year, impossible since 2011 of course. Mardle and Stompe also did it that way.

[Rogg]

Shock loss for James Wade at PDC World Darts
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_s ... 325226.stm
28th December 2010




World number two James Wade suffered a shock defeat in the second round of the PDC World Championship after losing 4-2 to Austrian qualifier Mensur Suljovic.

Wade struggled to find any sort of consistency and missed the treble 20 with many of his first darts.

Suljovic made the most of his chances to post the biggest win of his career.

But there were no problems for last year's beaten finalist Simon Whitlock, who easily beat Denis Ovens 4-0 at Alexandra Palace.

Although Wade took the opening set of his match, his game became more erratic and Suljovic was able to capitalise to take the next two sets.

His slow pace caused problems for Wade and the Austrian had chances to go 3-1 up but the under-pressure Wade hit double 10 to level the match at two sets apiece.

Wade struggled again in the fifth set and missed a crucial 127 checkout before the Austrian, who beat Michael van Gerwen in the opening round, held his nerve to land 74 and go 3-2 ahead.

The second seed made a bright start to the sixth set, taking the opening leg, but the Austrian roared back to take the next two legs only for Wade to take out 75 to stay in the match.

But it only delayed the inevitable as Suljovic held his nerve in the next leg, sealing the famous victory with double 20.

"I feel like never before in my life," he said afterwards. "I'm so pleased and over the moon. This is the best moment of my career. I don't have the words."

-----------

Whitlock, who is seeded to meet Phil Taylor in the semi-finals, had a checkout of 136 and was in ruthless form on the doubles as Ovens won just two legs.

"I started a bit slow but knew I was going to play well because over the last 10 days I've been putting a lot of time in on the board," he said.

"I've been working hard for this. We're all working hard and all want the same thing."

Whitlock next faces Dutchman Vincent van der Voort, who secured a last-16 berth for the first time in his career after a 4-2 win over Wayne Jones.

In the night's other game, Wes Newton hammered Kevin Painter's conqueror Brendan Dolan 4-0 and will next face Suljovic.

Earlier in the day, Mark Walsh beat Alan Tabern 4-3 in a thrilling duel that lasted almost two hours.

Tabern, who had trailed 2-0 and 3-2, fought back to give himself six darts to win the match but was unable to take his chance and was punished by Walsh, who will now meet Terry Jenkins.

Jenkins' path to a meeting with Walsh was relatively smooth as he beat Steve Brown 4-1.