July 2012

James Hubbard kept his World Matchplay dream alive with a hard fought victory over World Championship finalist Andy Hamilton in Dusseldorf, while Simon Whitlock, James Wade, Raymond van Barneveld, Robert Thornton, Mervyn King, Michael van Gerwen and Vincent van der Voort all enjoyed first round victories in the European Darts Open.

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

Hubbard, who is perched just outside the 16 available qualifying places from the Pro-Tour order of merit, clinched victory over Premier League star Hamilton by holding his nerve to take a last leg decider.

The 19-year-old PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion will now face Steve Brown in round two, as he bids to move a step closer claiming to a place in Blackpool later this month.

Thornton, King and van der Voort all sealed spots in the World Matchplay with respective first round victories over Maik Langendorf, Stuart Kellet and Jamie Lewis.

Whitlock was forced to produce a stunning comeback, when he trailed Ross Smith 4-1 and 5-2 before winning four consecutive legs to reach round two.

Wade, who was runner up in the first European Tour Event in Austria, began the third with a 6-3 triumph over Magnus Caris, while van Barneveld swept past Ian White 6-2, with a hundred-plus average to boot.

Fellow Dutchman van Gerwen defeated Wayne Jones 6-3 to set up a second round tie with Brian Woods on Saturday afternoon, with King up against Ronnie Baxter in the same session.

Saturday evening sees van der Voort and Thornton go head to head before Wade takes on Jelle Klaasen.

Whitlock faces Ronny Huybrechts, with van Barneveld pitted against Brendan Dolan.

There was disappointment for Co Stompe, Arron Monk and Paul Nicholson, however. They all suffered first round defeats, as did Andy Jenkins, who was on the receiving end of a brilliant performance from Richie Burnett, with the Welshman posting an incredible 121.67 average.

By Chris Murphy

See four of the world’s top professional darts players go head to head in the Charlton Masters on Thursday 19 July.

Robert Thornton hailed the support of his family as he reflected on how his sensational charge to glory in the Speedy Services UK Open signalled the end of his long battle with serious illness.

The 44-year-old former World Master broke his hand before being diagnosed with pnuemonia in a disastrous 2011, but turned his nightmare into a dream when he beat the great Phil Taylor in the final at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium last month, to complete one of the biggest shocks in the history of darts.

“After all I’ve been through in the last 18 months, winning that was a piece of cake,” joked the Scotsman, who swept past a string of big-name opponents to clinch his first PDC major title, despite entering the tournament as a 250-1 long shot.

“My hand actually got broken by my granddaughter, who had a bit of a tendency to slam doors and she slammed one when my hand was in the way. Not deliberately of course, but that set me back.”

“It affected me big time really. It didn’t take too long to heal, but once it did I still struggled with it.

“It was probably more of a psychological problem than anything. It took me a long time to be able to practice often enough again and then it took me even longer to overcome the problem in my head.

“The pneumonia came from nowhere. I flew out to Canada when I was a little bit unwell, but not to the extent that it prevented me from doing anything. I thought I just had one of those bugs that you can shake off in a day or two.

“But I must have caught another cold while I was out there, and that is what the doctors thought must have caused the pneumonia.

“That just put me completely out of action. I had a lot of support during all the time I was sick though. My family kept me going. Darts was the last thing on my mind.

“It was a case of trying to keep strong and stay positive. The doctors told me to take my time, and with the brilliant support of my family and the people around me, I got through it.

“Now when I’m playing I don’t take anything too seriously. It definitely changed my outlook on life and reminded me that a career isn’t the be all and end all.”

GO TO ROBERT THORNTON’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE TO READ AN EXTENDED VERSION OF THIS INTERVIEW.