John Henderson was amongst the qualifiers for Gibraltar Darts Trophy after a successful night at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan on Friday.
The Scotsman defeated Geoff Whitworth and compatriot Keith Stephen to secure his place in the main draw for the European Tour Event, which takes place from June 28-30.
The £100,000 tournament is being held at the Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar.
Michael van Gerwen won the first ever Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters, completing an amazing week with an excellent 11-7 final victory over Raymond van Barneveld on Thursday evening.
‘Mighty Mike’, who has also triumphed in the Premier League and European Masters in the last eight days, produced stunning finishes of 164 and 170 to cap a fine string of performances.
The Dutch ace had defeated Wes Newton and Andy Hamilton to set up a last two clash with compatriot van Barneveld.
“There was a little payback there because Raymond beat me in the Grand Slam, but I always enjoy playing him and it was a great final,” van Gerwen told the PDC’s official website.
“I think, with all the conditions, I played very well and put in some great averages and hit the 170 finish and 164 finish at good moments in the final so that was important to make me the champion.”
James Wade had become the first PDC player to win a professional game outdoors when he defeated Simon Whitlock in a thrilling quarter-final match on Thursday.
But ‘The Machine’ was denied a place in the final by ‘Barney’.
PDC Chairman Barry Hearn has revealed that the tournament will return to Dubai in 2014.
He said: “We’re looking forward to building on this because the crowd have created a fantastic atmosphere.
“We’ve had over 5,000 fans visit the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium for the tournament and millions watching around the world, and I’m sure we can sell out next year’s event.”
By Chris Murphy
Michael van Gerwen’s sensational run of success continued on Sunday evening as he won the European Darts Open in Dusseldorf with a 6-2 final victory over Simon Whitlock.
The 24-year-old Dutch star, who was crowned as Premier League Darts Champion on Thursday, followed it up by claiming his eight PDC title of 2013.
‘Mighty Mike’ defeated Andre Welge, Wayne Jones, Terry Jenkins, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright to reach the final, where he saw off ‘The Wizard’ to clinch the £20,000 first prize.
“It’s been a brilliant few days,” van Gerwen told the PDC’s official website.
“I’m a bit tired at the moment but winning is the most important thing, and I’m very glad I saved my best game for the final.
“Simon beat me the last time we played in a final and I knew I needed to play a proper game to beat him, and I think I showed my class with a very good performance tonight.”
The highlight of Whitlock’s charge to the final was a dazzling display in his last eight triumph over Justin Pipe, when the Australian hit eight 180s and took out a 170 finish.
van Gerwen and Whitlock will join the likes of James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld in Dubai next week as the top eight player in world darts compete in the inaugural Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters.
By Chris Murphy
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