Tag: darts event
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
James Wade and Michael van Gerwen will go head to head in the semi-finals of the McCoy’s Premier League on Thursday, when the final four will compete for the prestigious title.
Wade, a former winner of the £520,000 tournament, meets ‘Mighty Mike’ who topped the table in his debut season, as the 14 week elite darts showcase reaches its climax at London’s O2 Arena.
Raymond van Barneveld takes on defending champion Phil Taylor in the other clash of a semi-final line-up that is identical to the last four stage of January’s World Championship.
Seven-time PDC major title winner Wade believes that the tournament, which he won in 2009, is there for the taking.
“I really don’t think anyone can confidently pick a winner this year,” said ‘The Machine’.
“You’ve got four quality players, who are all capable of fantastic things so it’s all on the night.
“Michael van Gerwen is playing brilliant but we’ve had some close games recently. I’ll just concentrate on my own game and I know I what I can do.
“His strength his scoring and mine is finishing so I hope we both go up and play our best games because it could be something really great.
“I want to win a couple of majors this year and I’m hoping the first one comes my way on Thursday.”
World number two van Gerwen is chasing his second televised success in the PDC after losing two major finals since winning the World Grand Prix in October.
He said: “I want to win this Premier League. Finishing first in the table was a nice thing for me but now I have to follow it up.
“I have two more matches hopefully and I need to win them both.
“Everybody keeps saying I will win a lot in the future but you never know how your form might change.
“I’m playing well now and I want to make it count now.”
van Barneveld has set his sights on reaching a first Premier League final after five unsuccessful attempts.
But the Dutchman knows he has his work cut out against a player he is yet to beat in the competition.
“I had a good chance to beat Phil Taylor in the league this year,” said ‘Barney’, the five-time World Champion.
“But maybe that wasn’t my time. I hope Thursday night is. If I play like I can then I can do it.
“Five times I have lost in the semis so to make the final, just once, would be great for me and to win the whole tournament would be a dream come true.”
Whoever does take glory on Thursday will scoop a £150,000 first prize – the second largest winners cheque on the PDC tour.
By Chris Murphy
Individual previews can be viewed at the players’ official websites: James Wade – www.jameswade.co.uk / Michael van Gerwen – www.michaelvangerwen.tv / Raymond van Barneveld – www.barneyuk.tv
Four of the biggest names in professional darts will be on show at the Benfield Nissan Darts Masters in Sunderland next month.
The stars, including five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld, will compete at the Nissan Sports and Leisure complex on 15 June.
Dutch legend ‘Barney’ will be joined by Australian ace and European Champion Simon Whitlock, double World Champion Ted Hankey and James Wade, winner of seven major titles.
They will battle it out, alongside local qualifiers, in the type of thrilling tournament as seen on TV as high quality darts heads to Sunderland.
“This should be a great night,” said van Barneveld, who starred in the Premier League in Newcastle last week.
“I know that fans up there are very passionate about their darts. They were amazing on Thursday and I’m looking forward to meeting the guys in Sunderland.
“I’m sure there will be some good players from the local area, who will give us a run for our money.
“It is a brilliant line up and we will all be aiming to put on a show and, most importantly, win!”
Tickets for this exciting event are available online at www.dartshop.tv or by calling 08450 180 180.
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Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld could secure their places in the McCoy’s Premier League play-offs when the tournament visits Liverpool on Thursday.
But Simon Whitlock and Robert Thornton can keep their bids to reach the top four alive with victories on the penultimate night of the league stage.
Table-topping van Gerwen needs just a point from his match against Andy Hamilton after missing the chance to cement his place in the finals, which take place at London’s O2 in a fortnight, with defeat to Whitlock last week.
The 24-year-old Dutch ace bounced back to win his fifth UK Open qualifier from the series of eight events on Sunday, however, and is determined to take that form to Merseyside.
He told the PDC’s official website: “Winning on Sunday was good preparation for me because I’ve got a couple of tough weeks ahead in the Premier League.
“Last week was disappointing for me and I don’t like losing, but it’s part of the game and you can’t win for 14 weeks in a row. I missed too many doubles but it’s a new game this week and I’ve got to make sure I win against Andy.”
Thornton will need to complete a historic double over reigning champion Phil Taylor in order to stay in contention for a play-off spot.
‘The Scotsman’, whose victory over ‘The Power’ in Brighton was his third in their last four televised meetings, would be the first player in the Premier Leagues eight year history to defeat the 16-time World Champion twice in one season should he repeat the feat in Liverpool.
‘The Thorn’ conceded that Taylor, who is looking to cement his top four position, will be out for revenge.
He’ll be out for my blood!” said Thornton.
“I’m just going to go up on stage and do my best and enjoy myself, and whatever happens will happen.
“You’ve got to thrive playing against the best players and I’ve done that for most of this season. If you don’t play at your best then they’ll run riot against you.”
Wade will qualify for the play-offs if he wins both of his matches on Thursday, as he takes on Whitlock and Hamilton, who both need wins and other results to go their way to stay in with a chance of a place in the finals.
van Barneveld faces Adrian Lewis, the only player that is mathematically out of the running for a top four finish, with the Dutchman hoping to seal his play-off place after missing out last year.
By Chris Murphy
SEE SOME OF THE STARS OF PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS IN ACTION ALONGSIDE OTHER TOP PROS IN ‘OVER THE TOP’ – AN EXCLUSIVE UPCOMING EVENT IN BARNSLEY, SOUTH YORKSHIRE.
James Wade and Michael van Gerwen tightened their hold on McCoy’s Premier League play-off positions, while Simon Whitlock kept himself in the race on Thursday evening in Dublin.
Wade secured a 7-4 victory against Robert Thornton to move onto 16 points in second place behind van Gerwen, who increased his lead at the top to four points with two wins at the O2.
‘Mighty Mike’, who also claimed four points in Sheffield last week, upped his debut season tally to 20 with triumphs over Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis.
The Dutch star averaged over 106 in his 7-4 success against ‘Barney’, who shared a draw with Phil Taylor to boost his bid to stay in the top four.
Whitlock earned an impressive 7-3 victory over Andy Hamilton, who had lost out to Taylor in the opening match of the night.
van Gerwen, whose exploits included finishes of 152 and 158, admitted his delight at his Dublin double.
“This is the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of and it felt great,” said van Gerwen who also won a UK Open qualifier last Sunday.
“My confidence is high and I’m very happy with how I’ve done in this Premier League.
“I have great people behind me and I am enjoying everything at the moment.
“It is difficult playing two games but I’ve won them both times and now I just need to win once every week.”
The race for May’s finals night continues in Birmingham next Thursday.
By Chris Murphy
Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC
Further match reports and reaction can be found on the players’ official websites:
www.jameswade.co.uk www.simonwhiltock.tv www.michaelvangerwen.tv www.robertthornton.tv www.barneyuk.tv
Latest League Table
| After Week 11 | P | W | D | L | +/- | LWAT | Pts |
| Michael van Gerwen | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | +27 | 32 | 20 |
| James Wade | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | +19 | 28 | 16 |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | +10 | 31 | 15 |
| Phil Taylor | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | +9 | 30 | 13 |
| Robert Thornton | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | +2 | 25 | 11 |
| Andy Hamilton | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | -8 | 23 | 10 |
| Simon Whitlock | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | -8 | 23 | 10 |
| Adrian Lewis | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -19 | 18 | 7 |
Michael van Gerwen is hoping to extend his lead at the top of the McCoy’s Premier League with another double-header in Dublin, where James Wade, Robert Thornton, Raymond van Barneveld and Simon Whitlock will bid to boost their play-off chances.
van Gerwen, who took four points from two matches in Sheffield last week, faces van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis on the eleventh night of action in what is proving to be a fabulous debut season for the young Dutchman.
Victories over Wade and World Champion Phil Taylor pulled ‘Mighty Mike’ two points clear of the chasing pack at the top of the table and the reigning World Grand Prix champion has his eyes set on increasing that advantage in front of 10,000 fans at the O2 Arena.
He told the PDC’s official website: “I’m top of the table now and I want to keep my place there.
“I’m really happy with how I’m playing and I’m very confident at the moment.
“Last week was a difficult night for me but I walked away with four points against Phil Taylor and James Wade, and it would be great to do it again in Dublin.
“I like to play Raymond, and I think it’s a game that everyone else likes to see at the moment too because we’ve had some great matches in the Grand Slam final and at the Premier League earlier this year.
“I’m looking forward to playing Adrian too because he beat me earlier this season, so it would be nice to win this time. It’s two big games for me in a great venue and I’m going to enjoy it.”
Second-placed Wade goes head to head with Thornton, who is currently occupying the final play-off spot.
van Barneveld faces the tough task of taking on van Gerwen and Taylor in the same evening, while Whitlock is hoping victory against Andy Hamilton can put him firmly in the race for May’s finals night.
“It’s another huge game against somebody above me in the table,” said the Australian, who won a UK Open qualifying tournament at the weekend.
“Andy is a tremendous player and really tough to beat because he is so gritty.
“I’ve got eight points at the moment and am probably going to need at least 15 or 16 to make the top four.
“There’s a lot of work to do but there’s still six games left for me to play and a lot can happen in that time.”
By Chris Murphy
Images courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC
Updates from the McCoy’s Premier League will be available as usual via twitter: @modusdarts180 , Facebook and here at www.modusdarts.tv
Match reports and reaction can be found on the players’ official websites:
www.jameswade.co.uk www.simonwhiltock.tv www.michaelvangerwen.tv www.robertthornton.tv www.barneyuk.tv
Simon Whitlock and Michael van Gerwen both picked up Pro Tour victories in Wigan at the weekend.
Whitlock won Saturday’s UK Open Qualifier Five with an excellent final victory over van Gerwen, who went on to win Sunday’s event – his fourth success out of the six floor events played so far this year.
‘The Wizard’ produced some magic on Saturday to win through a tough field of players competing to gain entry for June’s UK Open.
He fought back from 5-1 down to defeat Ian White 6-5 in the quarter-finals before seeing off Peter Wright to reach the final, where he claimed an impressive 6-1 win against world number two van Gerwen.
“This is one of the best wins I’ve ever had. I’m absolutely thrilled to bits,” Whitlock told the PDC’s official website.
“I had a bit of luck earlier on but I played really well in the final and I’m over the moon.
“At 5-1 down against Ian White you don’t expect to win, but I somehow pulled one out of the bag and got there. You need a little bit of luck sometimes and I got that today, and I just rode with it.”
van Gerwen, whose run to Saturday’s final included a second victory in three days against World Champion Phil Taylor, clinched Sunday’s £6,000 first prize by edging past Kim Huybrechts in the final.
His best performance en route to glory was a 6-1 semi-final success over Michael Smith, with the Dutchman averaging over 112.
“I’m very proud of myself but I can still do better than this,” van Gerwen told the PDC’s official website.
“It feels so good to get another win. I’m very confident at the moment and that has a lot to do with it because I’m even winning bad games and I’m doing very well.
“I’m playing well and I’m happy with my form – in the semi-final against Michael Smith I threw some great darts. It was a fabulous game and I enjoyed it – but I still had to win the final and it was a very important win for me.”
Whitlock and van Gerwen will now turn their attentions back to the McCoy’s Premier League, which continues in Dublin on Thursday evening.
By Chris Murphy
VISIT SIMON WHITLOCK’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE
VISIT MICHAEL VAN GERWEN’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Michael van Gerwen moved clear at the top of the McCoy’s Premier League as James Wade, Simon Whitlock and Raymond van Barneveld all also grabbed important victories in Sheffield on Thursday evening.
van Gerwen claimed a brilliant triumph against world number one Phil Taylor before going on to edge out Wade, who had earlier seen off Adrian Lewis with an equally delightful display at the Motorpoint Arena.
van Gerwen, who also faces a double-header in Dublin next Thursday, was delighted with his evening’s exploits.
“To beat Phil Taylor in the Premier League was a huge moment for me,” said the world number two.
“I had targeted at least two points tonight so to go on and take on all four makes me very happy.
“I felt that I was much the better player against Phil and then I had to win a game that wasn’t as good against James.
“Maybe, playing twice affected us both but winning is the most important thing.”
The tenth night of action began with Whitlock, who survived a relegation scare last week, getting back to winning ways against Robert Thornton.
Wade then swept past Lewis with a 7-2 success, in which ‘The Machine’ averaged around 104 and hit five 180s before van Gerwen took to the stage against Taylor in a repeat of January’s World Championship final.
‘The Power’ prevailed on that occasion but ‘Mighty Mike’ stormed to victory in Yorkshire, also averaging 104 in a comfortable 7-3 triumph.
van Barneveld then earned a hard fought win against Andy Hamilton to leave himself tied on 14 points with Wade and van Gerwen at the top of the table.
It was van Gerwen who was to take a clear lead as he increased his tally to 16 with a 7-5 victory over the 2009 champion.
Next Thursday sees the tournament reach Dublin, where ‘Barney’ will take on Taylor and van Gerwen, who will also face Lewis.
Wade and Thornton will do battle at the O2, where Whitlock will play Hamilton.
By Chris Murphy
Visit Michael van Gerwen’s official website for further report and reaction
Visit James Wade’s official website for further report and reaction
Visit Raymond van Barneveld’s official website for further report and reaction
Visit Simon Whitlock’s official website for further report and reaction
Tickets to see some of the stars of Premier League Darts in exclusive events around the UK are available NOW at www.dartshop.tv
James Wade and Michael van Gerwen are both preparing for a double header in Sheffield, which sees the pair play their tenth and eleventh fixtures of the McCoy’s Premier League Darts season.
The top of the table duo are set to face each other in final fixture of the night in South Yorkshire, where Wade will also face Adrian Lewis and van Gerwen takes on Phil Taylor.
They are the first of the players who will have to play two fixtures in one evening following the elimination of Wes Newton and Gary Anderson in Brighton last Thursday.
‘Mighty Mike’, who lost out to Wade just a fortnight ago in Glasgow is looking forward to the challenge.
“I’d like to play five games every evening,” said van Gerwen, who is joint top of the league with Wade and Raymond van Barneveld.
“That’s not going to happen I know but I will enjoy playing two.
“I like to play darts and I like to win. I don’t really care about playing more games because I like darts and I don’t worry about anything apart from winning each game.”
Second-placed Wade also goes into the evening in fine form after defeating Anderson last week and hitting seven doubles out of eight attempts in the process.
“My finishing is going well,” said Wade, the 2009 champion.
“But my scoring is getting there as well now and I’m feeling great.
“I’ve still got a lot more in the locker so hopefully I will peak at the right time as I’m definitely in it to win it.”
van Barneveld, who secured a fine win over Lewis last Thursday, faces Andy Hamilton in Sheffield, while Robert Thornton, who currently occupies the other play-off slot takes on Judgement Night survivor Simon Whitlock.
By Chris Murphy
Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC
McCoy’s Premier League Darts Week Ten April 11 – Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield
Robert Thornton v Simon Whitlock
Adrian Lewis v James Wade
Michael van Gerwen v Phil Taylor
Andy Hamilton v Raymond van Barneveld
James Wade v Michael van Gerwen
See some of the stars of Premier League Darts in action at the Portsmouth International Masters – Tickets available from www.dartshop.tv or call 08450 180 180 now.
Robert Thornton stunned Phil Taylor with a brilliant performance in Brighton, while James Wade and Michael van Gerwen moved joint top of the McCoy’s Premier League on Thursday evening.
Thornton moved into the play-off places at the expense of world number one Taylor as the Scotsman continued to impress on his debut season.
The reigning UK Open champion averaged well over 100 for the second week running as he claimed an impressive 7-4 success over ‘The Power’.
The victory moved ‘The Thorn’ onto eleven points and third in the table, as attention turns to the race for the play-offs after Wes Newton and Gary Anderson suffered relegation.
“I’m very proud of myself,” admitted Thornton, who has now won three of his last four televised matches against Taylor.
“Not just for tonight but for how I’ve taken to the Premier League so far.
“It was a huge relief to have not been in the relegation fight tonight so I just relaxed an enjoyed myself.”
Wade defeated Anderson in convincing fashion, with ‘The Machine’ hitting seven out of eight attempts at doubles en route to a 7-3 triumph.
“It is going really well this year,” said Wade, the 2009 winner.
“It wasn’t nice to knock Gary out of the tournament but I had a job to do and I did it.
“It puts me in a good position to reach the play-offs.
“I’ve set myself a target of winning two majors this year and hopefully this can be the first of those.”
van Gerwen joined Wade at the summit of the table with victory over Simon Whitlock, who survived relegation despite the defeat.
Raymond van Barneveld claimed a comfortable victory over Adrian Lewis to join van Gerwen and Wade on twelve points, while Andy Hamilton defeated Newton in the other match of the evening.
By Chris Murphy
Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC
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| After Week Nine | P | W | D | L | +/- | LWAT | Pts |
| Michael van Gerwen | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | +16 | 21 | 12 |
| James Wade | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | +13 | 19 | 12 |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | +11 | 23 | 12 |
| Robert Thornton | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | +8 | 21 | 11 |
| Phil Taylor | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | +9 | 22 | 10 |
| Andy Hamilton | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | +2 | 18 | 10 |
| Adrian Lewis | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | -12 | 14 | 7 |
| Simon Whitlock | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | -15 | 16 | 6 |
| Relegated | |||||||
| Wes Newton | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -14 | 15 | 5 |
| Gary Anderson | 9 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -18 | 13 | 5 |
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