November 2012

Mark Webster, Michael van Gerwen, Simon Whitlock and Robert Thornton all grabbed opening night victories at the Grand Slam of Darts, while Arron Monk and Mervyn King also got off to winning starts in Wolverhampton.

Webster hit finishes of 131 and 104 in a 5-3 success over 2010 champion Scott Waites in Group A.

The Welsh star, who has struggled to find his form this year, faces Phil Taylor in his second group game on Sunday evening.

“Maybe that can be the turning point now,” said Webster.

“I’ve got a bit more confidence just from winning that game.”

van Gerwen stormed to a 5-2 triumph over Steve Beaton in Group B.

‘Mighty Mike’, who averaged over 103, will face Thornton on Saturday night, after the Scotsman whitewashed Ted Hankey 5-0.

“To win the first game is very hard and also very important,” said van Gerwen.

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow night. Both Robert and I are fast players and it is always a good game between us.”

Thornton said: “I was confident of winning but to beat Ted 5-0 is a big boost.

“I enjoyed the win and I’ll rest up now ready for tomorrow night.”

Whitlock enjoyed a 5-2 victory against the impressive James Hubbard in Group C.

‘The Wizard’ faces Kevin Painter in his second match on Saturday evening, while Hubbard will take on Dean Winstanley.

He said: “James is a great player. I practise with him sometimes and I’m very proud of him so I’m pleased with that result.

“Kevin is always tough to play and we always have good games but hopefully I can get the better of him.”

Monk and King will face each other in the second round of matches in Group D after opening night triumphs.

Monk defeated James Wade 5-1, while King saw off Jan Dekker by the same scoreline.

Wade will face Dekker on Sunday night.

Sunday afternoon sees Groups E to H play out their first round of matches, with Paul Nicholson and Raymond van Barneveld both in action.

‘The Asset’ is up against Brendan Dolan, with ‘Barney’ facing Mark Walsh.

By Chris Murphy

Click the links for full match reports on the following results:-

Mark Webster 5-3 Scott Waites

Robert Thornton 5-0 Ted Hankey

Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Steve Beaton

Simon Whitlock 5-2 James Hubbard

Book tickets to see some of the world’s top darts players in action at The Carlsberg Masters, Birmingham on Friday December 7.

Images courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC

The draw for the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts was made on Monday evening as the eight groups for the £400,000 event at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall from November 10-18 were decided.

Mark Webster and Co Stompe were drawn in Group A with the previous two winners of the tournament, Phil Taylor and Scott Waites.

In from pair Michael van Gerwen and Robert Thornton, who have both won maiden PDC major titles this year, will compete in Group B alongside Ted Hankey and Steve Beaton.

Simon Whitlock, who has also won his first PDC premier event in 2012, heads Group C, which includes PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion James Hubbard, Kevin Painter and Dean Winstanley.

Group D sees James Wade, Mervyn King and Arron Monk pitted together, along with Jan Dekker.

Paul Nicholson will face Andy Hamilton, Brendan Dolan and Barrie Bates in Group F.

Raymond van Barneveld was drawn in Group H with Christian Kist, Wayne Jones and Mark Walsh.

Group A
Phil Taylor
Scott Waites
Mark Webster
Co Stompe

Group B
Michael van Gerwen
Robert Thornton
Ted Hankey
Steve Beaton

Group C
Simon Whitlock
Kevin Painter
Dean Winstanley
James Hubbard

Group D
James Wade
Jan Dekker
Mervyn King
Arron Monk

Group E
Adrian Lewis
Gary Anderson
John Part
Tony O’Shea

Group F
Andy Hamilton
Paul Nicholson
Brendan Dolan
Barrie Bates

Group G
Wes Newton
Terry Jenkins
Wesley Harms
Martin Phillips

Group H
Christian Kist
Raymond van Barneveld
Mark Walsh
Wayne Jones

By Chris Murphy

Book tickets to see some of the world’s top darts players in action at The Carlsberg Masters, Birmingham on Friday December 7.

Arron Monk finished top of the 2012 PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit, after winning six of the 20 tournaments staged during the year.

The former World Youth Champion claimed £4,900 throughout the year, as he saw off the challenge of five-time winner Michael Smith, who picked up £3,925 in prize money.

Monk’s success, which he sealed by completing a brilliant double in Crawley at the weekend, means he has grabbed the final qualifying spot for the Grand Slam of Darts, which kicks off in Wolverhampton next weekend.

The 22-year-old defeated Chris Aubrey in Saturday’s final, when his ranking lead became unassailable, and Matthew Dennant 24 hours later to end the Youth Tour season in style.

The top 32 players from the final PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit will qualify automatically for the last 64 of the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship next spring.

Reigning World Youth Champion James Hubbard finished the year third in the rankings, while Aubrey was placed fifth in the final Order of Merit.

By Chris Murphy

Book tickets to see some of the world’s top darts players in action at The Carlsberg Masters, Birmingham on Friday December 7.

Image courtesy of PDC

Final PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit

Simon Whitlock and Michael van Gerwen each won a Players Championship in Crawley, while Arron Monk sealed a sensational Youth Tour double at the K2 Centre.

Whitlock defeated Dennis Priestley in Saturday’s final to claim his fourth PDC title in less than two months.

“It feels fantastic,” said the reigning European Champion.

“I’m looking forward to every single time I play at the moment. I love winning and I’ve got to keep trying to win more and more.”

‘The Wizard’, who was also runner-up in Championship League Darts on Thursday, went on to reach the semi-finals of Sunday’s event, which was won by van Gerwen.

The Dutch ace, who had reached the last four on Saturday, came back from 4-0 down to defeat Ian White 6-5 in the final, clinching his sixth Pro Tour success of 2012.

“It’s amazing for me and it’s probably the most difficult Pro Tour event I’ve won,” said van Gerwen, who recently won his first PDC major at the World Grand Prix.

“This will give me even more confidence for the Grand Slam of Darts next week and I’m looking forward to Wolverhampton. I’m playing very well and I want to continue this.”

Monk finished top of the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit by winning the final two events of the year.

Saturday’s final victory against Chris Aubrey saw the 22-year-old star seal his place at next week’s Grand Slam of Darts, as his lead at the top of the rankings became unassailable.

The former Under-21 World Champion went on to take his sixth Youth Tour title of 2012, defeating Matthew Dennant 4-0 in Sunday’s final, in a tournament which saw him whitewash three more opponents, including Michael Smith, who finished second to Monk in the Order of Merit.

“It feels amazing,” said Monk.

“Thanks to the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour, I’ve now qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts and made sure of my World Championship place, so I’ve got a good couple of months ahead of me.”

Whitlock, van Gerwen and Monk will all compete in the Grand Slam of Darts which kicks off next weekend in Wolverhampton.

By Chris Murphy

Book tickets to see some of the world’s top darts players in action at The Carlsberg Masters, Birmingham on Friday December 7.

Images courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC

Arron Monk sealed his place at the Grand Slam of Darts in style, winning Saturday’s PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Event in Crawley to ensure that he will top this year’s Order of Merit.

The 22-year-old ace defeated Chris Aubrey 4-1 in the final to claim his fifth Youth Tour victory of 2012.

The youngster had lead Michael Smith by just £50 at the top of the rankings ahead of this weekend’s events, the final two of the year.

But Monk’s latest success gives him an unassailable lead before Sunday’s event, with a place at the prestigious Grand Slam his reward.

“It feels amazing,” Monk told the PDC’s official website after his triumph, which also guarantees him a place in the World Championships.

“It’s been a great year on the Youth Tour and at one stage I was quite a way ahead of Michael Smith but then he won £1,200 in Wigan and caught me right up.

“Luckily enough I’ve done the business this weekend and it would be a great bonus to win Sunday’s event too.

“Michael van Gerwen has said that his success on the Youth Tour last year helped his confidence and it’s brought my confidence along as well this year.”

“Thanks to the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour, I’ve now qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts and made sure of my World Championship place, so I’ve got a good couple of months ahead of me.

“The Grand Slam’s taught me a lot in the last two years because it’s a short format and I need to start off well this time. In the last two years I’ve not done that, but this could be my year.”

Monk had also defeated Scott Pearson, Cain Unwin, Ryan Harrington, Jake Patchett and Matthew Dicken before seeing off Aubrey in the decider to clinch the £500 first prize.

He will compete in the final Youth Tour event on Sunday before the Grand Slam of Darts kicks off in Wolverhampton next weekend.

By Chris Murphy

Book tickets to see some of the world’s top darts players in action at The Carlsberg Masters, Birmingham on Friday December 7.

Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC