Tag: Darts Exhibitions

Michael van Gerwen’s 2013 success story continued as he picked up his tenth PDC title of the year with a final victory over Mervyn King in the Austrian Darts Open on Sunday.

The Dutchman’s sensational form saw him win his fifth successive tournament as he scooped the £20,000 first prize in Wiener Neustadt.

FULL STORY AT MICHAELVANGERWEN.TV

The visit of top PDC darts stars to Millwall Football Club has been moved to a new date.

Premier League Darts aces James Wade and Michael van Gerwen are still heading to do battle in Millwall, but will appear a couple of weeks later than originally planned.

The Millwall Masters will now take place on 12 September, and will feature world number two van Gerwen and Wade, who is ranked fourth, alongside three more top players.

Also on show are the charismatic trio of former World Champions Ted Hankey and Andy Fordham and former Players Champion Paul Nicholson.

Wade is the second most successful player in PDC history, having won seven major titles, while van Gerwen, the 2013 Premier League champion, is widely tipped to be a dominant force in darts for years to come.

The event will see four local qualifiers given the chance to take on the professionals. Details of how to qualify will be announced in due course.

World Grand Prix winner van Gerwen, who was a guest of honour at a Millwall home game last season, said: “I’m really looking forward to this event.

“I’m a big football fan and enjoyed visiting the club. I’m looking forward to coming back to show everyone what I do best in what is going to be a great night.

“The line-up for the event is fantastic. We are all players that would expect to meet in the quarters and semi-finals of major tournaments so fans are in for a treat.

“We will put on a good show and I hope the qualifiers will be ready because we will all be out to win!”

The date change is due to unforeseen professional commitments. Customers that have already purchased tickets are advised to contact MODUS Sports Management on 08450 180 180 or original place of purchase.

Tickets for the Millwall Masters are available from www.dartshop.tv / 08450 180 180 or from the box office 0207 740 0504.

Paul Nicholson led the MODUS charge in Wigan by reaching the final of the third Players Championship event of the year on Saturday.

Premier League star Robert Thornton also enjoyed a good run before bowing out at the semi-final stage at Robin Park Tennis Centre.

Both were denied potential glory by eventual winner Jamie Caven.

Nicholson won through to his second Pro Tour final of the year, kicking off with wins against promising youngster Chris Aubrey and Germany’s Jerry Hendriks.

The Australian ace then swept past three experienced opponents in Steve Beaton, Mervyn King and Mark Walsh, before defeating Michael Mansell to reach the last four.

There, he recorded an impressive victory over world number ten Justin Pipe but was edged out by Caven in the final.

Thornton began his campaign for a third title in Wigan this year with early successes against Jason Marriot, Darron Brown and Darren Webster.

The Scotsman defeated Andy Smith to reach the quarter-finals, where he saw off the great Dennis Priestley.

Thornton, who was denied a final spot by Caven, will be looking to continue his strong form on Sunday as he bids to grace the top ten in the PDC Order of Merit for the first time.

By Chris Murphy

SEE PAUL NICHOLSON AND ROBERT THORNTON IN ACTION IN PORTSMOUTH NEXT MONTH – CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

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

THE STARS OF WORLD DARTS ARE HEADING TO NORTH WALES NEXT MONTH – CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

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

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.

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO THIS EVENT OR FOR MORE INFORMATION

Robert Thornton and Michael van Gerwen claimed triumphs in the first two Players Championships of 2013 in Wigan at the weekend.

The pair warmed up for the final night of McCoy’s Premier League action on Thursday by each collecting the recently increased first prizes of £10,000.

Thornton, who is chasing a Premier League play-off place when he meets van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld in Newcastle, took Saturday’s title with brilliant run at Robin Park.

The Scottish ace stormed to a 6-0 final success over Ronnie Huybrechts, averaging over 111 to seal his second Pro Tour victory of the year.

van Gerwen claimed his sixth floor tournament success on Sunday when he saw off Stuart Kellet 6-1 in the final.

‘Mighty Mike’ needs a point from his match with ‘The Thorn’ to finish top of the Premier League table in his debut season.

Further reports are available at the players’ official websites: www.robertthornton.co.uk / www.michaelvangerwen.tv

 

SEE MICHAEL VAN GERWEN & ROBERT THORNTON LIVE IN PORTSMOUTH NEXT MONTH – TICKETS ON SALE NOW – CLICK HERE FOR MORE 

Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld sealed McCoy’s Premier League play-off places, leaving James Wade, Robert Thornton and Simon Whitlock to battle it out of the final top four spot after a dramatic night in Liverpool on Thursday.

van Gerwen’s victory over Andy Hamilton saw the 24-year-old reach the semi-finals on his debut season with one week of league action remaining.

And the Dutchman, who triumphed 7-4 against ‘The Hammer’, has set his sights on becoming the only player other than Phil Taylor, who has also qualified for the play-offs, to finish top of the table.

“I was always confident of making the top four but I am proud to have done it,” admitted van Gerwen, the world number two.

“Now I want to finish first. That would be a great achievement because only Phil has done it.

“It will be amazing to play in the Play-Offs at the O2 in London. I lost out in the youth final there last year so I really want to go and win the Premier League.”

van Barneveld can still catch his compatriot after enjoying a 7-4 success against Adrian Lewis in Merseyside to cement his place in the semi-finals.

Whitlock’s victory over Wade kept him in contention while Thornton can still make the top four despite losing out Taylor.

Wade, who also lost out to Hamilton, sits in the fourth and final play-off spot ahead of the last night of the league phase.

By Chris Murphy

Remaining Fixtures (Newcastle, May 9) Andy Hamilton v Adrian Lewis Robert Thornton v Raymond van Barneveld Adrian Lewis v Simon Whitlock Phil Taylor v James Wade Michael van Gerwen v Robert Thornton Simon Whitlock v Raymond van Barneveld
Latest League Table

After Week 13 P W D L +/- LWAT Pts
Michael van Gerwen (Q) 15 10 2 3 +28 36 22
Phil Taylor (Q) 15 8 3 4 +22 39 19
Raymond van Barneveld (Q) 14 8 3 3 +18 36 19
James Wade 15 7 2 6 +6 30 16
Robert Thornton 14 6 3 5 +2 30 15
Simon Whitlock 14 7 0 7 -6 31 14
Andy Hamilton 15 6 0 9 -9 29 12
Adrian Lewis 14 3 1 10 -29 21 7

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.

Michael van Gerwen topped the Order of Merit after winning five of the eight ranked Speedy Services UK Open qualifiers, as fellow Premier League stars James Wade, Robert Thornton, Simon Whitlock and Raymond van Barneveld all booked their places at the Bolton tournament.

van Gerwen won the final event of the 2013 series on Sunday, when the field of qualifiers for June’s finals were confirmed.

As one of the top 32 in the final Order of Merit, ‘Mighty Mike’ gains automatic entry to the third round on Friday June 7 along with reigning champion Thornton, Whitlock, van Barneveld, Paul Nicholson and Mark Webster.

Andy Jenkins qualified for the second round on Thursday June 6 as he collected £1,800 in prize money and returned to the top 64 in the world rankings.

Joining ‘Rocky’ in round two are Co Stompe, John Henderson and Arron Monk, while Wade, Chris Aubrey, Vincent van der Voort and James Hubbard all also qualified for the tournament and will compete in the first round on the Thursday.

 

 


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