Arrowed Be Thy Name - Darts Blog

World Grand Prix 2011 - Nights Three and Four

2011-10-07T10:00:00.002+01:00

Firstly, I must apologise for the absence of write-ups for the last couple of days. An impromptu Theology Department curry prevented me from watching the 2nd night, whilst yesterday was spent at teacher training sessions (from Monday I shall have my very own group of students to teach - which is exciting and terrifying), thus preventing me from writing up the 3rd night. Letters of complaint for this shoddy service should be addressed to Durham University Theology Department :o)

Wes Newton, John Part, Raymond van Barneveld; 3 more big names fell to relative outsiders on Night Three - Big John Henderson, Brendan Dolan and Andy Smith respectively. This tournament has inflicted heavy casualties on the bigger names this year, which is good because it demonstrates how healthy the distribution of big-match-winning talent is amongst the PDC players, and also because it is simply good to see players who don't appear on TV very often doing well on the big stage.

Two big names also went head to head - James Wade and Vincent van der Voort - and the result was no less epic for the shorter format. VvdV started brilliantly, and took the first two sets, which in previous years might have got the better of the Machine, but Wade fought back with a cool, calm, professional persistence - effectively, a point blank refusal to go away - which, if he can keep it up, marks him out as someone with dazzling potential in years to come - he is, after all, only 28 (like me) and I'd be amazed if come retirement his name didn't appear at least once on the World Championship Trophy. You've got to feel a bit sorry for VvdV as well; he's played very well this tournament, and is always an entertaining player to watch.

And so to Night 4, which held out the glittering prospect of another Taylor-Nicholson grudge match. I'm glad these two have put much of the aggro behind them; competitve fighting talk should never degenerate into personal animosity, and it's always best when players have respect for each other. For all the hype, however, the match was something of an anticlimax. True, it was a masterful display from Taylor, who won in straight sets, lost only 3 legs, and pulled off 3 ton plus checkouts, most impressively a magnificent 147 that he made look ridiculously easy. But there in lay the problem; Nicholson wasn't throwing at his best - which is superb - and there wasn't really the roller-coaster atmosphere which previous matches between these two have generated. Still, it was a cracking match nonetheless, and Taylor rather threw down the gauntlet to anyone who stands between him and the trophy with a ruthless, professional display.

Taylor said in his post match interview that he'd like to see Nicholson in the Premier League, and that it would be the making or breaking of him. It's hard to disagree with that sentiment; Nicholson would be a great asset - I'm here all week; try the fish and tip your waiter :o) - to the Premier League, and I think it would be great for him too. The downside is that my lecherous girlfriend would have many extra weeks to coo over him, but then there's no such thing as a free lunch :o)

Simon Whitlock joined the honour roll of fallen big names in the evening's big upset, losing 3-1 to Mile High Mark Hylton. Hylton was 45 when he quit his job to turn professional, and it's great to see it working out for him - even if he does have a throwing action which is almost Stompe-esque in its awkwardness :o)

Hylton shot down Whitlock in flames in a scintillating match, with both players throwing terrific darts. It really was a classy display from Hylton, who goes on to face the resurgent Richie Burnett, himself fresh from cooling the Heat of Denis Ovens.

In other quarter finals, the Power takes on Webby, Wade faces Andy 'Pieman' Smith and Brendon Dolan toes the oche with Big John Henderson. A great evening's darts ahead, I think you'll agree, and great to see that as many as 5 of the 8 quarter finalists were considered relative outsiders at the start.

Happy darting :o)

World Grand Prix 2011 - Night One

2011-10-04T09:53:00.004+01:00

The notoriously short format of this tournament's opening stages makes it difficult for commentators to make predictions; a player who seemed dead and buried can, within a short time, stage a remarkable recovery, and obituary-reading commentators are suddenly compelled to back peddle furiously, pace Wayne Mardle and Rod Harrington.

Now, to be fair to them we should put John Part's comeback against Adrian Lewis into its proper context. Imagine arriving at a post-funeral buffet and discovering that the corpse is ahead of you in the queue for the sausage rolls; that's how surprising John Part's comeback actually was.

The Jackpot must be kicking himself this morning; for the first 5 legs he was playing as if he'd floated up to the oche on a cloud, the match was looking like the most unequal contest since Mike Tyson v. Jedward (I'd have paid to watch that one), and the doorman was outside shouting "Taxi for Mr. Part". And then it all went wrong. Doubles were missed and darts were loose, opening gaps in the Lewis battle-line that Part charged into like Marshal Ney's cavalry. Full credit goes to John Part - a recovery like that showed real bottle, even from a 3-time world champion - but the fact is that Adrian Lewis should have put him to bed and put on the night-light, and the rapid change from nonchalant brilliance to baffled impotence will be worrying for the reigning world champ.

Wes Newton provided another highlight; Colin Lloyd took the first set, and Newton came back at him less like a conventional warrior than a blood-crazed berserker, racking up a 95 average and a 110 checkout in some of the finest throwing of the evening. Newton is said to be eyeing a Premier League Wildcard, and if he keeps playing like that I, for one, hope he gets it. "Jaws" looked like the oxygen cylinder had just gone off in his mouth, and Newton rampaged through by 2 sets to 1.

James Wade cruised past Steve Brown in a match which, truth be told, had few fireworks apart from a magnificent 142 checkout from the Machine; it was a workman-like performance from the defending Champion, but it did the job. Equally workman-like, but equally assured, was Raymond van Barneveld, securing his last 16 spot at the expense of Mervyn King. King has recovered from a raft of troubles lately, including elbow problems, and wasn't throwing badly, but clearly has some way to go to get back to his best.

Vincent van der Voort managed to break his four-year duck at the World Grand Prix, defeating Kevin Painter in straight sets to reach the last 16 for the first time ever, Big John Henderson took out an out-of-sorts looking Justin Pipe (of the two, Henderson looks way scarier, but Pipe used to be a cage-fighter), Brendan Dolan comfortably beat Wanderer Wayne Jones and Andy Smith defeated Irish challenger William O'Connor.

All in all, a great start to a great tournament and more first round matches to come, including Phil Taylor v. Peter "Snake Bite" Wright, Gary Anderson v. Andy Hamilton and Paul Nicholson v. Ronnie Baxter.

Until tomorrow folks... :o)

Beginning of the New "Season"

2011-09-27T13:16:00.003+01:00

Boy, do I have some cobwebs to blow away from this blog - I feel like someone who has decided to take up gardening again after ten years, opening the shed door for the first time :o)

There are reasons for this lengthy absence. The more astute amongst the readers of this blog may have noticed that there were no write-ups of either the World Matchplay or the European Championship - this is because, much as I would have liked to do them, the month of July was too frantically busy to permit it.

I know darts doesn't really have seasons, but for a TV viewer such as myself there is a definite feeling that the European Championship, at the end of July, marks the end of the "season", as there is then a two month gap before televised darts kicks off again in October with the World Grand Prix. Thus in August and September there wasn't that much for me to write about, which in a way is fortunate since I was travelling much of the time in any case.

However, we are now approaching the beginning of October and the televised "season" is just over the horizon - with the added promise of a Phil Taylor fresh from two major televised victories :o)

With 4 televised tournaments coming up over the next 3 months, we'll soon be back to full throttle, and I shall be making a valiant effort to write up every throw - which, with my PhD to finish, a group of students to teach theol0ogy to and another group's welfare to look after, should be fun :o)

Why? Why? WHY?!!!?!

2011-06-08T18:06:00.005+01:00

Why, on the rare occasions I throw two perfect darts, do I get a sudden rush of blood to the arm and throw a third dart which almost makes me a new skylight?

It's just not fair!!! :o(

The fact that it took my girlfriend five minutes to stop laughing didn't help either :o)

2011 UK Open - Super Sunday

2011-06-07T11:43:00.003+01:00

Now that the dust has had time to settle, and those in different time zones are in no danger of having the result prematurely revealed... :o)

Ask a theologian about the symbolism of baptism, particularly full-immersion baptism, and he or she will probably say that in the ritual a person dies to their old self and rises to new life.

James Wade's performance on Sunday embodied exactly the same principle. In his quarter final against Nicholson and his semi final against Mark Webster, both class players at the top of their games, Wade seemed dead and buried, when suddenly a rare slip by his opponent followed up with a cracking check out by the Machine turned him into a born-again darting superstar. His posture and expression perceptibly changed, his throwing action suddenly seemed more confident, any doubt about where his darts were going to land simply disappeared; the transformation was remarkable.

To come back from 7-3 adrift against Mark Webster, who by any standards was throwing brilliantly and had himself managed a terrific resurgence when all hope seemed lost, was a demonstration of sheer sporting class, and also stamina. Nicholson also demonstrated these attributes, but taking down first Anderson and then Taylor is no easy task and against Wade he lacked the sparkling energy he had shown in his previous two matches. Not that he didn't play superbly; it just wasn't enough to hold off Wade.

It would have taken a heart of stone not to feel sorry for Mark Webster. Having played a brilliant tournament, on the back of a Premier League performance which made Eddie the Eagle's 1988 Winter Olympics look successful, he went from being on top of the world to looking utterly crushed in a matter of a few darts. Still, if he's proved anything in this tournament it's his ability to get back on his feet and throw like a darting genius again.

And what of Wes Newton? He too proved his quality throughout the tournament (and has earned himself a well-deserved place in the Grand Slam of Darts), but against a James Wade who by the time he got to the final was walking on darting water the result was rarely in doubt; his resurgence from 4-3 down to 6-4 ahead provided a glimmer of hope for the Newton camp (and a period of nail-biting and boyfriend's-arm-twisting for my girlfriend, who had spent all day on an emotional roller-coaster :o) ), but it was short-lived as Wade took the next 4 legs on the spin.

Newton himself had taken down Denis Ovens to reach the final; Ovens had first roasted Andy Smith and then done 'Mile High' Mark Hylton to a turn to earn his place in the semis for the second time in two years - proving, in my humble opinion, that the Heat is a top notch darter who deserves to be recognised as more than just a floor player - but against Newton the Heat was on the blink, missing too many trebles and doubles to stay in contention.

So, what does this cracking tournament mean for the future?

For me, there was only one slight niggle in this tournament; I wish we'd been able to see more of the matches apart from those on the main stage - Reece Robinson v. Andy Smith, for example. Perhaps those staging and broadcasting the tournament could bear that in mind for next year, as I bet I'm by no means the only one thinking that.

Much has and will be said about the fact that Taylor and Barney were conspicuous by their absence in the latter stages. Barney just doesn't look like he's enjoying playing darts at the moment, and that really is a worry. Love for the game, coupled with ambition, is what makes a professional sportsman - it enables them to practice hard and travel the world playing in every tournament going. In any job, people who don't enjoy what they're doing lose their edge, and if Barney can't get himself back to a point where he enjoys what he's doing he may be looking at hanging up his darts shirt, which would be a great shame but is a decision only Barney can make.

Taylor's a different matter; he clearly still loves playing darts and competing. He's had a poor (by his stratospheric standards) run of form lately, but that can happen to anyone; the question is, as he gets older, can he come back? Personally, I think Taylor will astonish us yet, even if he never regains the invincibility he once had. A large part of the reason for his reduced invincibility is not his declining, but the inexorably rising standards amongst younger players, who've had him as a role model, and that's great for the sport. We have to bear in mind that whilst Taylor didn't reach the finals, neither did Gary Anderson or Adrian Lewis, and no one's suggesting they're declining. The whole point of the UK Open is that these things can happen - look at Mervyn King.

There are more terrific players out there than ever before, and they have long careers ahead of them to prove their worth - if that doesn't promise a glittering future for darts, I don't know what does :o)

Congratulations and thanks to all the players for all the great entertainment they've given us. Next stop Blackpool and the World Matchplay :o)

2011 UK Open - Time for Super Sunday!

2011-06-05T11:42:00.003+01:00

Well, the most gruelling weekend of professional darts is halfway through, and as if last night's drama wasn't enough there's the promise of plenty more today :o)

My girlfriend is rather nervous about the prospect of James Wade taking on Paul Nicholson, and after his superb performances against Gary Anderson and Phil Taylor yesterday she has every right to be. Nicholson played brilliantly in both games; holding his nerve against Taylor in an utter nail biter showed real bottle.

Not that Wade was in shrinking-violet form yesterday either - on the contrary, after his cracking defeats of Terry Jenkins and Richie Burnett he too is on the crest of a wave, mentally and physically. Pitting him against Nicholson feels a bit like firing two particles towards each other in the Large Hadron Collider - no one knows what's going to happen, but it's liable to be spectacular.

'Mile High' Mark Hylton takes on Denis Ovens, who's going to need all his experience and stamina to bring down this high-flyer. Hylton's on the form of his life, and this match too has great promise.

Dave Chisnall, who vanquished Ronnie Baxter and John Bowles, will have his work cut out against Wes 'Ave It' Newton, who demolished Raymond van Barneveld in a manner so cold and clinical it would have made Carlos the Jackal nervous.

Mark Webster, who in going from 6-0 no-hoper to 9-8 victor against Co Stompe made what must be one of the most impressive comebacks since Lazarus, will be hoping his luck holds against Robert Thornton, who looks impressively solid and workman-like.

Taylor departed, Barney following, Anderson fallen by the way side, Lewis a distant memory; so many toppled greats, and yet the remaining line up is as impressive as anyone could wish for, and crackling with sporting drama - remember those journalists who keep saying the future looks bleak for darts? :o)

Best of luck lads, and give us a Super Sunday to remember... :o)

PS - my girlfriend has just gently reminded me ("You Bugger!") that I have neglected to mention James Wade's superb 124 Checkout against Richie Burnett - I have now done so :o)

2011 UK Open - News Just In...

2011-06-04T11:48:00.008+01:00

Following his tough match against Simon Whitlock, Co Stompe heads for the practice board...

*With thanks to Darts, Beers and Cheers for the original image - hope you don't mind me modifying it :o)

2011 UK Open - Third Round

2011-06-04T10:21:00.004+01:00

Well, what a feast of delights the Third Round served up :o)

Co Stompe, looking ever-so-fetching in his blue and orange shirt (I have a feeling he's the only professional darts player to play in long sleeves), held his nerve to come through a thrilling match against Simon Whitlock by 9 legs to 7. Stompe looked comfortable early on, and racked up a healthy lead, but the Beard to be Feared came bouncing back and came within a whisker (Boom Boom Ching!) of making up the deficit. Cracking match, and emotional when Stompe revealed his sister was having cancer surgery in the post-match interview - best wishes to her.

Raymond van Barneveld held off a determined challenge from Steve Brown and won his match 9-5; that might seem a comfortable margin, but Barney was definitely looking unhappy mid-game as more and more errors - missed doubles, slips into the 5 or 1 - crept into his game. He picked up towards the end, but there were ominous signs for a player who feels his every mistake very keenly.

No surprises in the 3rd match as Phil Taylor defeated Mark "Frosty the Throwman" Frost (you've got to love that nickname) 9-3. Taylor started slowly and built up to a crescendo; nothing spectacular from him (by his standards) but a solid, workmanlike performance, and somehow he seems more dangerous when he's doing that. As Evel Knievel knows only too well, stunts can go wrong but a determined and grafting Taylor is very hard to beat.

Fireworks aplenty with the next two televised games: Terry Jenkins played brilliantly to put out World Champ Adrian Lewis by 9 legs to 7, and mid 90s BDO World Champ Richie Burnett held off a terrific comeback from Colin Lloyd to win by the same margin.

Jenkins went a Lewis like, well, a bull to a red rag :o) The Jackpot looked more like a man who's realised that the horse he's just bet his mortgage payment on has fallen at the first fence, as Jenkins took leg after leg with some inspired throwing, but Adie rallied and came back at him strongly, also throwing some brilliant darts. As Lewis began to loom large in his rear view mirror Jenkins had a few wobbles, but held his nerve and closed out the match before Lewis could take us to a photo finish.

After a 13 dart leg to kick off, Colin Lloyd soon began to look like he'd forgotten which end of the dart to throw first. Richie Burnett, "the Prince of Wales", meanwhile, was looking like he'd been born with a dart in his hand, thowing some super darts and cruising to a 7-2 lead. Lloyd looked doomed - was it Prayer? Popeye's Spinach? Who knows - whatever it was, it worked, and Lloyd began throwing like his brilliant old self again.

Once, when I was an undergraduate student, I went to watch the University rugby team play against Australia. Early in the match, with Australia deep inside our 22, the ball fell to one of our backs, who suddenly discovered that there was nothing between him and the Australian try line. As he crossed the halfway line, he risked a glance over his shoulder and realised that the entire Australian rugby team, red-eyed with fury, was bearing down on him like a pack of wild rhinos. Richie Burnett's face took on much the same expression as that back's did, as Lloyd won leg after leg in what looked like a miraculous comeback. Just like that back, who flung himself over the try line just before 15 enraged Antipodean giants could tear him limb from limb, Burnett somehow clung on and won a scintillating match by 9 legs to 7.

I wish Reece Robinson's terrific match against Wayne Jones had been televised - the Hull youngster managed a truly gutsy fightback against Wolverhampton's finest and won 9-8; he now faces Andy 'Pieman' Smith in what should be a cracking match. Dennis Priestly claimed a tough victory against Alan Tabern - it's mullets to action stations as he now takes on Phil Taylor in a classic early 90s rerun :o) "Mile High" Mark Hylton managed saturation bombing of Andy Jenkins, whitewashing the poor chap 9-0. John Part gained revenge for his defeat in the 2004 UK Open Final, taking down Roland Scholten 9-2, and elder statesman of darts Denis Ovens ended "Artist" Kevin Painter's comeback hopes 9-4.

All in all, a terrific evening's darts and some cracking fixture's ahead of us as we move into this weekend's darting marathon :o)

2011 UK Open - First and Second Rounds

2011-06-03T14:35:00.002+01:00

So many matches, so little time :o)

However, just thought I'd bung up a few observations on last night's proceedings, in no particular order...

Reece Robinson - now there's a lad who's well worth watching, and I'd be very surprised if he wasn't a future star in the making (although given my record on making predicitions (see posts passim here) he's now almost guaranteed to crash and burn in a veritable orgy of disappointing performances, but hey ho... :o) ).

19 year old Reece, who put in a stonking performance at last year's UK Open (see here and here), played another blinder in his first round match, going for Barrie Bates like Dominique Strauss-Kahn for a chamber maid. Bates, a seasoned veteran, got tonked 4-0. Not content with this, Robinson then strolled out for his second round match and casually nailed Wayne Mardle to the wall. Hawaii 5-O rapidly became Hawaii 4-0, and poor old Wayne's hopes of a comeback were sadly turned to dust; still, I quite like Mardle as a commentator - I just wish he didn't sound exactly like Rod Harrington :o)

Peter 'Rock' Hudson, in his second round match against Magnus Caris (a man with a darting pedigree stretching back to Bristow and Wilson), pulled off a comeback from 3-1 down akin to the aforementioned DSK becoming the next President of France. Caris, having dumped out Kevin McDine in his previous match, had multiple darts for the match in a nervy 5th leg, but Hudson clung on by his fingernails and stayed alive.

Hudson, in a performance his namesake Rock would have been proud of, took the next leg and then threw a magnificent 10 darter (against a Caris who was throwing back-to-back ton forties) to snatch the last leg against the throw and win the match. Caris, in the 7th leg, was on 164; Hudson was not on a finish. Caris made the questionable decision to attempt treble 20, treble 18, Bull for a swift and glorious finish, rather than setting himself up for 3 darts at an easy double, and it cost him dearly as he missed two subsequent attempts to polish off 9, double 8 and Hudson capitalised. In the commentary box, it sounded like Eric Bristow needed all his composure to stop himself walking out on stage and slapping Caris for his schoolboy error :o) Nothing should take credit from Hudson though, and for me this was the match of the evening.

'Mighty Mike' van Gerwen was on decent form, which is good to see. James Wade came through both of his matches seemingly comfortably, though there was a little bit of argy-bargy at the end of his second round match when Dave Prins at first refused to shake his hand. "A bit ungentlemanly" and "Just not cricket" I hear you cry, and I'd be inclined to agree; not sure what it was all about (and neither was Wade), but it seems to have sorted itself out.

That great character Andy 'Pieman' Smith managed a back-to-back whitewashes of his opponents - always good to see him on form - whilst Dennis 'the Menace' Priestly (gradually :o) ) overcame his opponents to book a place in the Third Round.

'Bronzed Adonis' and former World Champion Steve Beaton made his way through too - he came closest to a 9 darter, throwing 6 perfect darts before missing his 7th at the treble 20. Colin Lloyd v. Jelle Klaasen was the biggest first-round bill; neither man pulled off anything spectacular, but Lloyd did what he had to do, before going on to end youngster Arron Monk's dreams of glory in the Second Round. Monk Senior - Colin; a very nice chap, but possibly the scariest looking man in darts :o) - fell at the first hurdle.

So, 32 survivors take on the 32 big shots this evening - and what fun it promises to be :o)

2011 UK Open

2011-06-02T14:03:00.003+01:00

Or rather, the "Speedy Hire" UK Open. At least I have fewer qualms about that than I do the "Cash Converters" World Cup.

I mean honestly - the "Cash Converters" World Cup? Someone should have a word with the PDC Marketing Department, and point out that associating your competition with somewhere you can flog Granny's jewellery to pay the gas bill is hardly likely to evoke sporting glamour.

I don't doubt that Cash Converters provides people with a valuable means of raising cash when in financial difficulty - so please don't sue me; in any case, I'll probably be there myself before long :o) - but that's precisely the point. There's nothing wrong with what they do, but is skint people in trouble really the first thing you want to bring to mind when describing your competition? What next - the "Feeling Down the Back of the Sofa" Masters?

Anyhoo...

And so we prepare to head for Bolton, that jewel of Lancashire's industrial heartland, and to the Reebok Stadium for the UK Open - if anyone's wondering what Reebok has to do with Bolton, it's because a small shoe company known as J. W. Foster and Sons opened for business there in 1895 before, in a move similar in principle to Royal Mail becoming Consignia (albeit vastly more successful), renaming itself Reebok in the 60s.

I like this competition; it gives us a rare chance to see a much broader range of players on TV, from potential future stars to great names of yesteryear, and it has that frisson of potential giant-killing crackling in the air.

One newcomer getting the chance of a lifetime will be Davey Dodds, a gardener from my neck of the woods (County Durham), who will be squaring up to my girlfriend's favourite James Wade.

It sounds like the Machine has had a heck of a hard time recently - this article in the Currant Bun will give you some idea. I've had Depression, and I've worked with plenty of kids who have ADHD; Depression and ADHD are sometimes treated as jokey non-ilnesses by some people, but they are very real and can be seriously debilitating. Wade was diagnosed with both in the Priory Clinic, and Bi-polar Disorder to boot, shortly before the Premier League kicked off.

Going through with the Premier League after that must have taken real courage; Wade's statement on the PDC Website shows great dignity. These conditions still carry stigma in our society (I used to work for a disability rights group, and we worked hard on these issues), and by being open he's genuinely helping others who have them. I hope he has a great competition :o)

Best of luck to everyone taking part in the UK Open, especially those taking to the big stage for the first time :o)

Beer in the fridge, pizza standing by and darts on the box - ain't life grand? :o)

Ayup folks...

2011-04-29T14:11:00.005+01:00

Or hello, as we say outside the north east :o)

Those of you with longer memories might remember me confidently saying, around the beginning of March, that I'd have more time to watch and write about darts from then on.

Oops.

For the last few weeks, in addition to a magnificently hectic work schedule, I have had to go to Church meetings every Thursday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 which, whilst religiously edifying, comprehensively knackered my plans for watching the Premier League. I've been following the goings on, but I promised myself that I would never do a write up of a darts match I hadn't actually watched and so I've been waiting til after Easter, when I would have my Thursday evenings back, to take up my pen (ok, keyboard).

So, I thought I'd take a break from all the hustle and bustle today - some big wedding in London, apparently :o) - to write a quick post, having seen my first darts in weeks yesterday evening.

My girlfriend was at Defcon 3 as Wade took on Barney, the resurgent Machine having everything to play for to force his way back into the running for a place in the play offs. Unfortunately for Wade (and yours truly, who had to bear the brunt of his girlfriend's disappointment), Barney was doing his Stonewall Jackson impression, and the match ended in a draw, which leaves Wade in fifth and with it all to do in the next two weeks, one of which sees him playing Taylor.

Taylor was also looking solid as a rock, coming down on Gary Anderson like an avalanche and winning 8-3, whilst World Champ Adie Lewis took down Simon Whitlock, also gunning for a play offs place. Terry Jenkins heaped more misery on fellow runner-up Mark Webster, who must be counting down the minutes until the end of a Premier League which, it is safe to say, will not be taking pride of place on the Webster CV.

All to play for then, in the middle of the table at least, and I shall be doing my best to watch and write :o)

Well, it had to happen sometime...

2011-03-01T18:09:00.004Z

And now it has :o)

Following a very nice email alerting me to the existence of a darting social network site called Dartbook, I have decided to allow myself to be dragged into the 21st Century and signed up.

There's lots of strange buttons and things, and I'm not sure what most of them do yet, but I daresay I'll figure it out in the weeks to come :o)

In any case, if you've come to this blog from Dartbook, welcome! And if you've come to this blog unaware of Dartbook, do check it out.

And yes, I am aware that my portfolio of Premier League write-ups is missing Week 3. On that particular evening I was unavoidably detained in a pub by an old friend, with a quantity of alcoholic beverages which is almost certainly not recommended by leading health professionals :o) Consequently, in an unforgivable dereliction of duty, I missed Week 3.

However, my girlfriend is back with me this week, and she will be glued to James Wade as per usual, so there's no chance of me missing this week's action - not that I have any intention of doing so :o)

All the best til Thursday :o)

Premier League 2011 - Night Two

2011-02-18T10:56:00.007Z

I have to date them now - when I first started this blog, I wasn't sure it'd last a year and didn't bother :o)

For someone like me who's been going cold turkey on (televised) darts since the World Championship Final, last night's Premier League fixture was the sort of dosage that could leave one gibbering and wrapped in bacofoil in the back of an ambulance.

First up was Barney v. Whitlock. The Wizard didn't really do anything wrong, but Barney's performance made 1982 Dom Perignon look un-vintage. At times, it felt like watching a replay of a classic match from yesteryear as Barney played with a confidence, fluency and panache that we haven't seen from him in a long time. Checkouts of 116, 160 and 156, combined with 18 ton plus scores and 14 140 plus scores, saw Barney go through Whitlock like an excrement-laxative combo through a goose. A 141 checkout, accomplished in an almost insultingly casual manner, rounded off a classic match for Barneveld, and completed a crushing 8-3 victory.

Next to step up to the mark were James Wade and Adrian Lewis. Wade needed to prove himself; Lewis was riding high - this was the best sort of match, one that promised fireworks and could go either way. It did not disappoint, with 180s, sub-15 dart legs and ton plus checkouts a go-go. Wade took a commanding lead, but the new World Champ fought his way back into the match in a way that justified his title, 3 ton plus scores giving him two darts at double 18 to secure a draw.

These, he missed, leaving a clearly relieved but magnificently unrattled Wade free to slam in a 136 checkout and take the match 8-6. There were many superb examples of high checkouts in the course of the evening, but to do that with Lewis waiting on double 18 took real bottle and it was a well-earned victory for the Machine.

Then came the second wounded Titan of the evening: Phil Taylor, taking on his World Championship Nemesis Mark Webster. There was something about Taylor's expression during his walk-on that made me think "This man means business"; the way he looked, he could have thrown a dart from backstage and hit the treble 20.

The Power certainly got off to a cracking start, taking the first 3 legs in confident style. There was a sense - certainly at the back of my mind - from the very beginning that a 9 darter could be on the cards. If there had been one, this would probably have gone down as a classic Taylor performance, but sadly it was not to be; on two occasions 5 perfect darts were followed by a 6th that cruelly slipped off the barrel and just out of the treble.

Webster played a full part in making this a great match too; two superb checkouts of 170 and 160 kept him in the match, but in spite of thoroughly respectable stats he just couldn't peg back Taylor, whose match average ended up at 103.87 and at one stage was in excess of 108. The Power said afterwards that he felt was in the right place now; if that means we can look forward to more performances like that, then it can only be a good thing :o)

Last but by no means least came Terry Jenkins and Gary Anderson. The Premier League newbie showed no sign of nerves once again; Jenkins fought, and reduced his deficit to one leg at 4-3, but Anderson showed no signs of slipping up and closed out the match at 8-4 to round of an assured performance. Anderson took out 121 and Jenkins took out 120 to bring the evening's tally of ton plus checkouts to 14 - a remarkable testament to just how high the standard of darts was across the board.

There was one strange moment in this match, when Wayne Mardle declared from the commentary box that Terry Jenkins had "had a couple of loose visits", but it turned out that he meant his darts weren't on target, and not, as my girlfriend and I first thought, that Jenkins was reaching for the Diocalm Ultra :o)

Barney topped the table with 4 ton plus checkouts, followed by Wade on 3, Lewis and Webster on 2, and Whitlock, Anderson and Jenkins with 1 apiece. The only person not to hit one was Taylor, and that wasn't for want of trying - he missed the Bullseye by a margin that could only be recorded by an electron microscope, whilst having a crack at 161. The only thing missing in this darting masterclass was a nine darter - there were a couple of good tries, but no cigar. Still, can't have everything.

All in all, a superb evening of darts, and the Premier league has only just started. Anderson, with 2 wins and 4 points, is out in front; Whitlock is bringing up the rear with no wins and no points. Everyone else is on 2 points and separated only by leg difference - no draws so far.

Can't wait for next week :o)

2011 in Full Darting Swing

2011-02-16T16:45:00.008Z

Right, erm, well, ahem...

Firstly, apologies for not being around to update this blog for over a month. The good news is that from the end of this month I will have more free time to watch, play and blog about darts; the bad news is that this is because I have been made redundant from my job, and have spent the last month or so scrabbling around to find sufficent moolah to enable me to carry on studying for my PhD - hence the lack of blogging.

However, I've just about managed to do so and I think things will be ok; there's a lot of people facing harder times than me, and I'm not going to insult them by complaining about my lot.

So, just a quick catch up...

Phil Taylor took the Players' Championship, following an incredible comeback from 5-0 down to 10-8 ahead against Mervyn King with a thrilling 13-12 win over Gary Anderson. The Power's newly-rediscovered form was looking lost again, however, when he took an 8-2 drubbing (what other word is there?) from Adrian Lewis in the first Premier League match of the year.

The Premier League is looking good this year, with up-and-coming players like Mark Webster and Gary Anderson up against old(er) war-horses like Taylor and Barneveld. Come to think of it, the Premier League is damn good entertainment any year - and it has the courtesy to come to Newcastle :o)

I think we're in for a cracking 2011 darts-wise, ladies and gents - Adie Lewis is firing on all cylinders, the Power's still potent, Anderson's ambitious, and there's no shortage of other contenders snapping at their heels. What could be better?

I'll be watching and writing as much as possible from now on - heck, we unemployed students have to do something with our time :o)

Oh and speaking of which, I did manage to hit a 154 check-out the other day which I'm extraordinarily chuffed about. I've never even come close to such a feat before or since, but nothing can take the edge off my happiness about my finest darting moment.

At least, it will be until I manage to hit a 180, which at the current rate should be about August 2072 :o)

PS

Hello Lenny - very happy to give your blog Tectonic Tungsten a link :o)

Save Our Darts Shops!

2011-01-10T17:32:00.006Z

I went to a specialist darts shop for the first time yesterday.

I wanted to throw some darts of different weights before investing my Christmas money in a new set, and so I spent a good long time in the shop throwing all sorts of sizes, shapes and weights of darts, and it was great to be able to try things out thoroughly, especially for a darting novice like me who was unsure of what to choose from the bewildering variety of darts available.

The shop in question was MadHouse Darts, Harrogate, in God's own county of North Yorkshire. I had to go quite some way from Newcastle to find a specialist shop that would let me try before buying, and given that there are lots of darters out there and everyone recommends trying out darts before opening your wallet, I couldn't help wondering why. I know darts is a relatively small sport, but even so I thought a major urban area like Tyne and Wear would have at least one.

An answer may be found in what happened at the beginning of January when I tried to go to a specialist darts shop in Essex, near my parents' house where I was staying, only to discover that they were closing their doors for the last time in order to become an internet only retailer: sadly, they just couldn't afford to keep the shop open.

A quick internet search will confirm that specialist darts shops with their own oches and boards are not thick on the ground. It would be a real shame if we were to lose more of these little gems - internet shopping is ok, particularly if you're experienced enough to know exactly what you want, but you can't beat going into a shop, talking to someone and trying things out before you buy them.

So please, darters of Britain, let's try to make sure that great little shops like these still have a viable future - buying from the usually tiny sections set aside for darts in major sports shops, where the sales staff think "oche" is a game Londoners play with a stick, is far less satisfying.

Save Our Darts Shops!

PS - I hadn't forgotten that there was another darts World Championship recently. Congratulations to Martin Adams on his victory at the Lakeside. The tournament had its moments; overall it lacked the excitement, the drama and the consistent high standards of the PDC World Championship, but then we knew it would before it started. BDO tournaments sadly always do, despite having some superb players. That's all I'll say on the matter.

PPS - Thanks very much to oowashi for being so nice about my blog :o) I'll gladly add a link to his blog "Darts and Life with Dog". I can't tell you much about it, because oowashi's English is evidently light years ahead of my Japanese, but any readers who have a better command of Japanese than I do should definitely check it out :o)

Darts is Fashionable

2011-01-05T15:07:00.009Z

According to Jane Fryer in today's Daily Mail it is, anyway.

I guess if you define a sport as fashionable by whether or not celebrities go to watch it then it would be difficult to disagree with that, at least on recent evidence. Whether or not that will last, who knows?

Personally, I hope it will. Some fans may dislike the presence of people who are only there because it's a fashionable thing to do, rather than genuinely caring about the sport, and I can understand that point of view; it makes me feel slightly uneasy. That, however, comes with the territory as darts becomes a bigger, more popular and higher profile sport, and goes beyond a relatively (relative to, say, football) tight-knit group of supporters.

Celebrities mean profile these days, and a higher profile means more money, more tournaments and more players. Personally I dislike celebrity culture enormously; I find it hard to believe that anyone with at least one functioning brain cell would select an interest on the basis that Jordan likes it, but sadly many people do and not only are such people allowed out without supervision but they also have money to spend. Matt Cardle and Kerry Katona are living proof that even celebrities so vacuuous they threaten to tear the Universe asunder can make seemingly ordinary, sensible people do things they might not otherwise have done. However, that's just my opinion and it is only one of many.

If more people are enjoying darts, and some of them happen to be celebrities who can attract more coverage and more ticket sales, then good luck to them I say, whatever reasons they may be buying the tickets for, and long may this trend continue. There's no such thing as a "proper" or "real" fan of a sport in my book - we all have differing levels of interest in different things, and differing levels of knowledge of the same - and sports should be open to anyone.

I only have one concern. It's a very small one now, but I think it will become more important as the years go by, if current trends continue. If darts does start becoming popular with celebrities - be they real ones like Stephen Fry and Andrew Flintoff or pointless Z-list organ banks like the cast of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here - great, but I would not like to see a proliferation of things such as VIP Areas, Boxes and separate provision for celebrity patrons. A great aspect of darts is that it's open and unpretentious; all fans are equal, and it should stay that way.

Darts needs to make sure it retains its down-to-earth, open and accessible nature as it gets bigger, richer and more popular - that's one of the things that attracts many of us to it; as long as it does that, then let the celebrities (and Matt Cardle) keep rolling in.

I may not be able to figure out how anyone who hasn't had a full frontal lobotomy can be interested in anything Kerry Katona, Jordan and suchlike have ever done, are currently doing or will ever do, but hey - darts is a free sport, and let's keep it that way :o)

PS - there's one thing I'll miss if darts becomes fashionable; the non-conformist in me secretly quite likes the incredulous response you get when some people ask if you play or watch sport and you say 'darts' - "Da-arts?!?". I bet I'm not the only darts fan who secretly enjoys that :o)

World Championship 2011 - The Final: Lewis Wins!

2011-01-03T22:01:00.008Z

Mentor first to congratulate Lewis

Sorry, couldn't resist that :o) - I'm sure Phil Taylor will be amongst the first to add his congratulations, as Adrian Lewis celebrates his first World Championship, won in Taylor-esque style.

What a cracking game of darts that was, right from the first set. Not only was the standard of darts exceptional throughout, the Jackpot also claimed the £10,000 pot by hitting a nine darter in the third leg of the first set, becoming the first person ever to hit one in a World Championship Final.

Lewis played absolutely brilliantly, hitting 20 maximums during the match. For those who remember me picking - albeit reluctantly - Anderson to win earlier today, well... I did say I wasn't a betting man, and now you know why. It's not morality so much as avoiding bankruptcy :o)

Anderson, to be fair, played brilliantly as well, but Adie Lewis was just too strong for him. The 12th and final set was, for me, the really crucial one. Anderson was coming back and looking strong; he had taken six legs on the trot. A seventh, against the Lewis throw, would have given him a very real chance to break in that set and then Anderson would have been level at 6-6, with the throw in the decider, but sadly for him it was not to be. Lewis showed real bottle and stormed through the final set with what seemed like not a care in the world, taking the match 7-5.

Lewis is only 25, and has all the talent in the world; if with this well-deserved win he can put the inconsistency, which has sometimes held him back, behind him then he should have a glittering career ahead of him.

This is important; in the wake of Taylor's premature (by recent standards) departure journalists have already been questioning what sort of a future darts has without the Power. As I couldn't help but comment on this particular article in the Telegraph, the notion that Phil Taylor is the only great character in the PDC, and that without Phil Taylor PDC darts is in deep trouble, is basically lazy journalism. There are great talents and great characters in the PDC, as Lewis and Anderson have proved. Far from being worried for the future, I have been reassured by the drama and entertainment of this tournament, and the Grand Slam for that matter, after Taylor's exit.

I'm not disputing that Phil Taylor has been hugely beneficial for the PDC and darts as a whole, and that when he does retire he will be greatly missed; he's been a personal hero of mine for years. What I take issue with is the relentless, and frankly lazy, focus on him, to the exclusion of others, as I'm sure he does - Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Mark Webster and others have served up a superb tournament. They deserve every congratulation and respect for their achievements, especially Lewis, and the focus should be on them and their achievements, as well as on Phil Taylor.

Thanks to all the players in this year's tournament for once again serving up a magnificent piece of sporting theatre, commiserations to Gary Anderson and others, and congratulations to Adrian Lewis on a superb performance :o)

World Championship 2011 - Semi Finals

2011-01-03T10:19:00.002Z

Oh well, you can't win 'em all :o)

I did think Webby would beat Adrian Lewis, but Lewis proved me wrong with a sterling performance against the Welshman, making this the second time on the spin that the poor lad has exited the World Championship at the semi-final stage.

It was a gruelling match, with Webster two sets down at one stage and fighting his way back to parity, before finally succumbing after losing the last two closely-fought sets. Webster had three darts at a double in the penultimate leg if the match, but missed them all to allow Lewis to steal; in the final leg Lewis needed no such charity, slamming in a 180 to set up a 12 dart leg. It was without doubt a well deserved victory.

Meanwhile, in the other Semi-Final, Gary Anderson continued his run of superb form, demolishing Terry Jenkins by 6 sets to 2. Apart from a brief moment during the seventh set when he missed seven darts at doubles, the Flying Scotsman showed no signs of running out of steam as he punished the doubles with an accuracy and consistency which has at crucial moments in some previous tournaments eluded him.

So, Anderson and Lewis will contest the 2011 World Championship this evening, and it should be a scintillating spectacle. My money would still be on Anderson to win, if you held me down, placed a gun at my head and told me to choose, but I made the mistake of underestimating Adrian Lewis yesterday and he is a superbly talented player, so I'm not going to stick my neck out too far this time :o)

Until this evening... :o)

World Championship 2011 - Quarter Finals

2011-01-02T13:43:00.008Z

Something of a Changing of the Guard at the Alexandra Palace, with both Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor following Wes Newton and Vincent van der Voort out of the competition in dramatic style. Whatever happens now, there'll be a new name on the trophy come tomorrow evening.

Let's begin with the most sensational: Phil Taylor ending a two year, 16 match, unbeaten run at the Ally Pally, and losing 5 sets to 2 to Mark Webster.

It's not unusual for commentators to speculate, pretty much every time Phil Taylor loses a match, that it's the end of an era. Let's deal with that straight away by saying this: anyone, on any given Sunday, can lose a darts match, especially to someone in the kind of steady, clinical and downright excellent form Mark Webster was in last night.

For let us be in no doubt: Webster was in scintillating form and this was a convincing victory. He came out shooting from the start, and never looked back. He did, in fact, exactly what the commentators say you need to do to beat the Power: put him under pressure straight away, and make sure he can't get back into his comfort zone. Webster was solid, and in spite of Taylor's steadily rising average (101.74 by the end, higher than Webster's own) he never really looked like faltering, his clinical finishing contrasting with Taylor's own unusually slack doubles: several missed bulls, especially, costing him vital legs. And it wasn't just his doubles; Taylor is known for his exceptional ability at switching down for treble 19, but yesterday he was hitting treble 19 with all the confidence and accuracy of an England footballer taking a penalty.

Webster, in the form of his life and doubtless remembering his 6-0 semi final defeat at Taylor's hands last year, was just too strong. Adrian Lewis now stands between him and a PDC World title to add to his 2008 Lakeside title; win or lose, if his plumbing's as good as his darts he can do my bathroom any time :o)

Jackpot Adrian Lewis secured his semi-final place with an equally convincing 5-2 defeat of Vincent van der Voort, who was not the same player that took out Simon Whitlock what seems like an age ago. Lewis looked solid throughout, hitting 13 maximums and coming away with an average of 100.03, with the exception of a brief period during the middle of the match when his focus and concentration appeared to be wandering.

The ability to maintain his concentration, and thus the remarkably high standard of play we know he can produce, for the whole of a long match has let him down in the past, and if I were a betting man (which I'm not, so please don't complain on tomorrow's post about how you lost a fiver at the Bookies after reading this :o) ) I would, on the basis of yesterday, put my money on Webster to reach the Finals. However, we shall see.

Gary Anderson, who's been tipped for a World Championship win ever since decamping from the BDO at the beginning of 2009, was responsible for putting out van Barneveld, the other remaining member of the PDC Big Three (with Taylor and Wade), with darts so electrifying even Michael van Gerwen's hair was standing on end. Barney took the first set; the Scot reacted as though the Dutchman had stolen his deep fried Mars bar, taking the next 5 sets, dropping only 5 legs, hitting 10 maximums (including 4 back-to-back, setting up two possible but sadly unachieved nine darters) and posting an average of 102.75.

Anderson has been in cracking form throughout the tournament; Barney just had no answer to him no matter how hard he fought (and he did, hitting a ten dart leg in the 6th set). Anderson now faces Raging Bull Terry Jenkins.

Speaking of whom...

Terry Jenkins prevailed in a 5-4 marathon slugging match against Wes 'Av' It' (or is it the Warrior now?) Newton. Both players had their moments in this 9 set epic, which like any good drama had an uncertain outcome, but ultimately Wes Newton's missed doubles cost him the chance of a first ever semi-final appearance as Jenkins came back from 4-3 adrift to 5-4 victor, hitting a magnificent 170 check out in the 8th set along the way. Newton's a very good player, and I'm sure he'll be back, but it's good to see an old campaigner like Jenkins go a long way in this tournament. He held his nerve to come from behind, pressurising Newton into, for example, missing four doubles to save the match in the 9th. Newton will kick himself, but he shouldn't do it too hard :o)

So - Anderson v. Jenkins and Webster v. Lewis. I don't usually do this, but what the heck... Courage, mon ami!, Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead, and various other expressions of reckless derring-do :o)

I suspect that Anderson will beat Jenkins and Webster will beat Lewis; my money would then be on Anderson to come out victorious over Webster in the final, though on current form not by much. However, that is just a thought and we shall have to see what happens - which should be fun :o)

Now, I must take my other half to the Doctors - I've been writing this post all day, in between my ham-fisted attempts at nursing someone with what seems like diabolical flu. Wish us luck...

World Championship 2011 - Second and Third Round

2010-12-31T11:28:00.006Z

2010 is drawing to a close, and after some cracking darts in the Second and Third Rounds at the Ally Pally, the battle lines are drawn for the Quarter Finals on Saturday. New Year is always a hectic time of year, but there is just time to go through some of the highlights and look forward to Saturday, before I head off to see in the New Year in the traditional way :o)

More big beasts have inevitably been taken down, most prominent among whom - not just because he is the World Number 2 but also for reasons closer to home, which I may have alluded to in the past :o) - was James Wade, who went down 4-2 to Austrian newcomer Mensur Suljovic. Suljovic was doing very well to be level at 2 sets apiece, but in the 5th and 6th sets he stepped up to a whole different level. He stood up to everything the new Grand Slam Champion could throw at him, and returned the compliments with extra, hitting 36 ton plus, 18 140 plus and 7 maximums, compared to 36, 18 and 1 by Wade. Wade didn't lay down, and managed to win the 4th leg of the 6th set under tremendous pressure to keep his hopes alive, but it was just not to be and Suljovic took the next leg and the match to complete a victory he will remember all his life - and in front of his little son too, which was extra nice :o) Suljovic departed this tournament in his next match, losing 4-0 to Wes Newton, but hats off to him for getting that far in style.

Another high profile and unexpected casualty was Simon Whitlock. The Beard to be Feared had been cruising in the Second Round, taking out veteran Dennis Ovens in straight sets, and was definitely the favourite going into his Third Round match against the Dutch Machine Gunner Vincent van der Voort; however, it was not to be for the Wizard of Oz. He took the opening set and it seemed like everything was going to plan, but then that was what Roy thought before the tiger went for him. Van der Voort suddenly bared his fangs and pounced, taking the next 3 sets and hitting 6 maximums in the 4th set alone to leave Whitlock stunned. He recovered sufficiently to win the 5th set, but van der Voort now had the bit (and Whitlock) between his teeth and took the 6th set to round off a cracking and unexpected victory.

He was soon to be joined in the Quarter Finals by his fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld, who booked his place In a 7 set thriller against the other Wizard, Colin Osborne. The pride of Derby looked set for victory at 3 sets to 2, and Barney looked tired and deflated. Whatever brand of water they use for the players on stage, however, it must be worth the money, because the effect on Barney was like giving Buckey to a Glaswegian. Barney was suddenly throwing like his dangerous old self again, taking 6 of the next 7 legs to leave Osborne looking like the dazed survivor of a natural disaster on a Red Cross poster. Barney will now face Gary Anderson in the Quarter Finals, who got there via Dennis Priestly in the Second Round and Andy 'Pieman' Smith in the Third.

And so to the Quarter Finals...

Phil Taylor, who seemed happier and on better form than he has been for a while when he defeated Peter Wright 4-1 (a large part of which may be due to the fact that his third grandchild's health is now improving after an illness), will play Mark Webster, which if both guys are on top form should be a cracking fixture. Phil Taylor goes into every match he plays as the favourite, but Webster is very capable and should not be written off.

As mentioned earlier, Gary Anderson takes on Raymond van Barneveld in another match which sparkles with darting potential energy, Adrian Lewis takes on Vincent van der Voort and Wes Newton faces Terry Jenkins; what a cracking start to the darting year we have in prospect :o)

Happy New Year everyone :o)

World Championship 2011 - First Round Round-Up

2010-12-24T11:03:00.013Z

Yesterday evening brought the first round of play at the World Championships to a close and Jack and his Beanstalk have been at work from the start, with several Giant Killings taking place already.

First to go was Steve Beaton, shot from the sky by former cabin steward Mile High Mark Hylton in a 5 set thriller on Thursday 16th.

Friday 17th and Co Stompe became the second of the big names to face the final curtain. Regrets? He'd have had a few - missed doubles, and by no means too few to mention. Stompe's double trouble cost him dearly, with six misses for the first set allowing Wright to take it and more missed doubles to compound the loss. Stompe had to dig deep in the 3rd set just to avoid a whitewash, and eventually succumbed 3-1.

The same evening almost witnessed another major upset when Colin "Jaws" Lloyd took on Andree Welge. Lloydie was cruising at 2 sets to Nil when Welge, like James Bond pushing the button on the dashboard that somehow turns a 1985 Mini Metro into Thrust SSC, reeled off 8 legs on the spin to go 2 legs up in a 5th set decider. By now Lloyd had a face like Vince Cable reading the morning paper and a major upset looked on the cards, but Welge missed 3 darts for the match and Jaws managed to snatch victory from the gaping maw of defeat.

Saturday saw the arrival of the brief but bizarrely popular phenomenon that was Morohiro Hashimoto. Hashimoto won his preliminary round before being comprehensively spanked by Gary Anderson, losing in straight sets without winning a leg. Hashimoto, who seemed a little overwhelmed by his popularity with the crowd, is a great character and I hope we see more of him, but was I the only one thinking...

Hashimoto Fungus

Anyway, Sunday saw the next mega-homicide as 3 time World Champion John Part, who, it has to be said, was not very well, went down to unknown Dane Per Laursen in straight sets, whilst Monday saw my girlfriend feeling a sense of justice as James Wade beat Antonio Alcinas, also in straight sets - I just thought I'd mention that, as she's sat next to me, prodding me and glaring :o)

Jelle Klaasen became the next high profile victim, losing to Steve Brown. This one doesn't exactly (in my book) count as a Giant Killing, since Klaasen and Brown are not far apart in the rankings, but Klaasen, the youngest ever (BDO) World Champion, has had more sucess in high profile tournaments than Brown and is a prominent name, so I thought I'd mention him. Brown took the match by 3 sets to 1.

However, if Michael van Gerwen has been asking Santa to bring him some tournament success then one can only conclude he's been checked twice and put on the naughty list. Mighty Mike lost to Austrian Mensur Suljovic by 3 sets to 1 in Tuesday's other Giant Killing, although van Gerwen has been so far from top form lately that again I almost hesitate to classify it as such. Van Gerwen, the youngest ever player to win a major televised tournament, has really been playing below his best lately. Perhaps he should go back to throwing darts in the worst crap-hole he can find. After all, it worked for Rocky... :o)

From that point on the Giants have been able to sleep soundly in their beds, with no further upsets being recorded, and the stage is set for a cracking second round when play resumes on Monday 27th December.

Right, it's time for me to close the ledger, slap on my top-hat and run home to my cheerful-yet-poor family for Christmas. Well, sort of... :o)

Merry Christmas All!

Phil Taylor: Runner Up for BBC Sports Personality of the Year

2010-12-20T10:38:00.010Z

Image courtesy of the nice folks at the PDC who hopefully, since this blog is not-for-profit (much like its author, sadly), will be good sports and refrain from suing me :o)

Sadly the Power didn't win, though he was so happy you'd be forgiven for thinking he had :o)

Jockey Tony 'AP' McCoy, who has a record of victories similar to Taylor's own, did that by a margin that can only be described as 'stonking' (293,000 to Phil's 72,000). Still, coming runner-up out of 10 is pretty darn respectable; I think it's indicative of how much the perception of darts has changed over the years and that change is due, not exclusively but in no small part, to Phil Taylor.

Ok, only 1% of the population actually voted and we should keep things in perspective, but even so the BBC SPOTY is a pretty prestigious award, and to have a darts player come second at a ceremony with the likes of David Beckham, Sir Bobby Charlton, and the winning Ryder Cup Team suggests something positive, wouldn't you say?

Hope everyone's enjoying the First Round of the World Championship; tonight will feature a bit of a grudge match for my girlfriend as her hero James Wade takes on Antonio Alcinas, half of the Spanish duo who unceremoniously dumped Wade and Taylor out of the World Cup.

First Round ends on 23rd December, so on Christmas Eve I shall be sitting at my desk, like a Bob Cratchit for the Internet Age, to write up the action so far :o)

A Darting Omen...?

2010-12-14T14:13:00.006Z

Has this happened to anyone else out there?

The flights on my darts are a little loose - I might splash out on a set costing more than £3.50 if Santa brings me any money - and as I threw this dart, the flight came off just prior to the release and with a thunk, this happened...

For all I know, darters with slightly defective stems might be throwing darts and having them stick backwards in the board the whole time. Or perhaps this a darting omen and I need a darting oracle to interpet the sign for me.

Unless it's a sign I should get new darts - that much I can figure out myself :o)

Sick Note

2010-12-13T11:34:00.005Z

If anyone was wondering why coverage was suddenly interrupted during the Grand Slam, it's because your humble author has not been very well for the last 3 weeks.

So ill was I that I was unable to attend the inaugural PDC World Cup Final! Although given that we were banking on England being in the final, and they spectacularly weren't - paella, flamenco, conquering South America: these are things the Spanish are renowned for; kindness to bulls, completing an extension on time, producing darts players who can beat Phil Taylor and James Wade: these are things they aren't - I guess it could have been worse.

I did enjoy the bits of the World Cup I was able to watch though; I thought it was an enjoyable format, and it also threw up darts players outside the group of usual suspects (such as the Spanish; humph!).

I was also deeply chuffed that Scott Waites won the Grand Slam; throughout the tournament he was playing like he'd spent the previous year on a planet filled with swamps, being trained by a little green bloke saying "Treble 18, double top you should go for".

The commentators seemed to think there was some prospect of Scott Waites coming over to the PDC. I really hope he does; he seems to play darts at a different level in the Grand Slam, he's a top notch player, and the fact is that he'll get more TV time in a year with the PDC than in a career with the BDO. Players like Waites need TV time, and TV needs players like Waites; it's a win-win scenario.

Hopefully my convalesence will progress sufficiently to let me blog more regularly from now on, especially with the World Championship starting on Thursday. Nothing short of being called to the great oche in the sky is going to stop me watching that, and that's not going to happen. And even if it did, I have no doubt that God will have the darts on up there; I'm a theologian - we know about these things :o)

A happy darting Xmas to all :o)

Grand Slam of Darts 2010 - Quarter Finals

2010-11-21T12:52:00.003Z

Well, who'd a thought it eh? Taylor beaten by Beaton (sorry, couldn't help it).

Taylor looked like he was cruising at 14-11 ahead, and then Beaton, in a manner reminiscent of the Power Rangers, at the end of an episode when they're taking a kicking, all leaping together to produce something slightly more hard-core than stripey Spandex, rolled off 5 legs on the trot to take the match!

To be fair, most of the quarter finals were superb contests and great TV; Jones-Anderson saw the Wanderer go through to the semis 16-15, Wade-Jenkins was another absolute nail-biter (or, in the case of my girlfriend, boyfriend's arm-ripper-offer), with both players having darts for the match in the 31st leg but Wade taking the chance first and winning 16-15 and Taylor-Beaton was an epic contest between two brilliant players.

One could question whether Beaton would have beaten Taylor if the Power had played his best darts, but that would be somewhat unfair to Steve Beaton. No darts player, not even Taylor, is invincible, especially not by this stage of a tournament like the Grand Slam when all the players left standing can throw terrific darts. Taylor is brilliant, and has had an incredible level of consistency over the years, but he's not infallible and Steve Beaton deserves every credit for the way he's been playing throughout this tournament.

The only match which did not go all (or virtually all) the way was Scott Waites versus a certain Jacobus Wilhelm Stompe Esquire. We've seen many times that a player who produces a brilliant and dazzling display to win one match ends up running on empty for the next one, and that seems to be what happened to Stompe, who just couldn't stand upt to Waites and went down 16-10.

Wade v. Jones and Waites v. Beaton coming up today, and then the final this afternoon; all these players have given us a terrific week of brilliant darts and sheer sporting drama, and the best of luck to all of them :o)

Grand Slam of Darts 2010 - Day 7

2010-11-20T13:21:00.002Z

You know that sensation that there's something not quite right with the world? And you know the sense of relief when you realise that the world has been put right again and everything's back to normal?

That was my sensation when Phil Taylor carved Ronnie Baxter up like a Christmas Turkey, extinguishing the Rocket by 10 legs to 1. To be fair to Baxter, he didn't actually throw that badly: his scoring stats were much the same as Phil's, and he had an average over 90. Against anyone apart from an in-form Phil Taylor he might have achieved, if not a victory, a more respectable result, but the Power was back to his utterly ruthless best and when Baxter made the slightest slip up on his doubles Taylor stepped in to take the leg. It was a match played in great humour, which after Ted Hankey's match with Steve Beaton (of which more anon.) was really good to see, and I felt sorry for Baxter exiting the tournament like that, but boy did it feel good to see Taylor playing like that again :o)

Now then, Ted Hankey v. Steve Beaton. Hankey went 3-0 up with some terrific shooting, but things went downhill from there as Steve Beaton showed some of the form of his life to close out the match 10-6. What marked this match for me was Hankey's reaction to the crowd. After a period of relations with the crowd which, by Hankey's usual standards, could be said to constitute a love-in, the Count got some stick from the crowd and exploded at them, both on the stage and in the post-match interview.

Ted Hankey's a great darts player and a good man, but he is in many ways his own worst enemy when it comes to the crowd. Granted, crowds do tend to give him more stick than many other players (Mervyn King being one exception), but Hankey just doesn't seem to realise how popular he actually is. When the cameras panned over the audience, many people were cheering for him and waving placards with supportive messages written on them; he has a lot of fans. But when Hankey hears booing from some parts of the audience and turns round to give them stick back, he doesn't seem to see the (large) part of the audience that is wholeheartedly on his side. This is a great shame, because if Hankey could put his supporters at the front of his mind instead of his detractors, who he showed this week can be silenced by playing cracking darts, he really could be one of the greats.

Co Stompe showed more terrific form to take down Colin 'Jaws' Lloyd by 10 legs to 4. Co Stompe is a great player and a great character who's never won a televised major, and I hope he goes a long way in this tournament.

That just leaves Waites v. van Barneveld, which as both players admitted was not a match will live long in the annals of the sport, but then again it's a very long tournament with a lot of darts, and very few players can be on absolutely scintillating form every match they play (heck, even Phil Taylor was off the boil a bit early on due to specs issues). Waites overcame a Barney who by the end just looked like he wanted to put the whole sorry affair behind him by 10 legs to 7 to win his place in the quarter finals, leaving him the last BDO player in the Grand Slam.

Right, time for me to go shopping :o)

Grand Slam of Darts 2010 - Day 6

2010-11-19T11:16:00.002Z

Well, we've entered the knock out stages, and the Giants are beginning to fall.

First to go was Robert Thornton, defeated 10-6 by local boy Wayne Jones. Thornton's doubles let him down; 20 ton plus scores, 17 140 plus scores and an average of over 90 is not bad throwing by anyone's standards, but he missed multiple doubles to win legs, and against an in form Jones it just wasn't good enough.

Another man with double trouble was the next to leave, Silverback Tony O'Shea. O'Shea's scoring was phenomenal, with 22 ton pluses, 11 140 pluses and 10 maximums, but some missed doubles cost him, and his opponent Terry Jenkins, who's rapidly becoming part of the furniture in the Grand Slam Quarter Finals, capitalised and took the match 10-7.

Wizard Colin Osborne seemed to have broken his wand against Gary Anderson; the Flying Scot just never looked close to losing. Anderson is known for being a prolific scorer whose finishing can let him down, but despite the odd wobble he got the job done in style, defeating Osborne by 10 legs to 3.

The last match, and the match of the evening by quite some margin, saw James Wade take on Mervyn King. My girlfriend spent most of the match on the edge of her seat; she's quite fond of James Wade, as I may have mentioned before... :o)

Both players threw some fantastic darts, including a magnificent 161 checkout from Wade, and the whole match was an example of top notch darts at its nerve-racking, nail-biting best. With both players taking legs against the throw towards the end, the key question was who would have the throw in the final leg?

King looked set for victory in the 18th, at 9-8 on his own throw, but he missed two darts for the match and Wade, showing terrific nerve as he's just been staring oblivion in the face, steped up to the oche and took the leg to set up a deciding leg on his own throw.

Both men showed nerves of steel; King hit a 140 followed by 3 successive tons, but Wade was first to a finish. He couldn't take that chance, and missed double top for the match - by this point I was yelling in agony as my girlfriend gripped my arm with the sort of grip that only women in labour seem to manage. King stepped up take out 61, hit the bullseye instead of the 25, hit the big 3, and set his sights on double 4 for the match.

Then it happened, and I really wish it hadn't. As King threw for double 4 a great boo went up from the crowd, and King missed the shot. It's impossible to say whether he would have hit it without the distraction, but the thought will now always linger that this absolutely cracking match was decided by crowd intervention, which is a real pity.

Wade stepped up to the mark and took out his trusty double 10 to take the match, relieving my girlfriend by winning and me by doing it before my arm got ripped off at the shoulder. Wade was clearly unhappy with the way the match ended, and like a true hero tried to get the crowd to cheer for a clearly narked off King. Both players deserve every credit; Wade showed tremendous nerve and concentration when staring defeat in the face, and it brought him through a truly awesome game of darts.

And as if that wasn't enough excitement, tonight we have Taylor v. Baxter, Barney v. Waites, Hankey v. Beaton and Lloyd v. Stompe - isn't life just grand? :o)

Grand Slam of Darts 2010 - Day 5

2010-11-18T08:09:00.003Z

You wouldn't have thought it from looking at him, but Co Stompe doesn't half like to live dangerously. Last night saw Stompe, 4-1 down against a Martin Philips on top form, come roaring back to take the match 5-4. Judging from his darts, if I'd had to go to work on Stompe's tram in Amsterdam years ago I'd have spent most of the journey in mortal terror of imminent death, before he pulled on the brakes and screeched to a halt at my stop.

Stompe threw some terrific darts, including what I'm fairly sure is the first successful 132 checkout of Bull, Bull, Double 16 I've ever seen, to defeat an unfortunate Philips, who apart from missing two doubles for the match in separate legs really did very little wrong. It was a winner takes all match, and how much it meant to the Dutchman can be seen from his reaction when the last dart went in: the last time I saw a man do that, he was waving a sword over his head and shouting "By the power of Grayskull!".

Moving on...

Now, I knew that the scientists at CERN had just succeeded in trapping antimatter (the fuel for the Starship Enterprise, among other things), but what I didn't know was that they were using it to power Scott Waites' throwing arm. The way Scott Waites played in the first 3 legs against Adrian Lewis could have seen the Jackpot sitting in an armchair in a corner of the Dundartin nursing home gibbering "Too good... Three ton plus checkouts" into his tea.

It wasn't just the successive checkouts of 161, 137 and 127, the 5 180s or the fact that at one point he was running a 3 dart average of 120; Scott Waites just looked so deeply "in the groove" it was a wonder he could see daylight. If Scott Waites can keep up this form, it would be no surprise to me if we got a rerun of last year's result (Waites lost in the final), albeit with a slightly altered ending. Adrian Lewis threw great darts, and over a longer format might have pulled off an upset, but Waites' early form rendered Lewis effectively irrelevant to the proceedings. When Waites did descend to a more human level later on in the match, it was just too late for Lewis to peg him back and he exited the tournament, losing 5-3.

Phil Taylor abandoned the specs (nuts! - having the world's greatest darts player in glasses would have been a bit of a boost for us speccies everywhere :o) ), seemingly to good effect as he posted an average of 108 to beat Wes Newton 5-3 and avoid the upset of the tournament by going out in the groups stages. He didn't look quite as radar-guided on his doubles as he normally is, but by the end of the match it was clear that the Power was on his way back to form once more.

In other matches, Steve Beaton and Ronnie Baxter were both on scintillating form, defeating Arron Monk and Paul Nicholson respectively. Mighty Mike van Gerwen looked a little more mighty against Ted Hankey but still ended up in Vincent van der Voort's car, heading for Harwich/Hull/Newcastle (probably Hull, from Wolverhampton) to get the ferry to Holland, after losing 5-4 to a less-assured-than-previously Hankey, and in the first match of the evening Colin Lloyd eased past Tricia Wright 5-1.

Raymond van Barneveld v. Darryl Fitton was a match that promised much, but turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. Darryl Fitton didn't play anywhere close to his best, whilst Barneveld, although not really doing anything wrong, didn't provide the sparkling darts to light up the match. Barney won 5-1, and moves on to the next round.

Just thought I'd add: yesterday I put 3 darts into the treble for the very first time! I don't think the fact that it was the treble 1 should be allowed to take the edge off my sense of achievement :o)

Grand Slam of Darts 2010 - Day 4

2010-11-17T09:53:00.004Z

I just have to begin today's blog with Mark Webster.

Did anyone not feel desperately sorry for the young (he's my age - I have to say he's young :o) ) Welshman? Six darts to win his match against Gary Anderson 5-1, which was exactly what he needed to replace Wayne Jones in the next round, and which no one (honestly - did you?) thought he had a snowball in hell's chance of doing against the Flying Scot, and he missed them all before Anderson sneaked in with double top. A 5-2 victory would have put Webster and Jones into a 9 dart shoot out for the final place, but so gutted was he that he lost the next leg as well, before finally closing out the match 5-3, with no hope of progressing to the next round.

I felt for him, I really did. He just looked like he was going to weep at any moment. In the final leg you could see that all he wanted to do was get off the stage. "I just want to give him a hug" was my girlfriend's reaction; that was her reaction to James Wade too, though probably for different reasons - grrrr!

Find that match on Youtube, and show it to anyone who doubts that darts is a sport that requires not only immense physical skill but also terrific mental strength.

Next match I'll mention was King-Henderson. The big Scot took King right down to the wire before losing 5-4, with both players throwing some great darts, but what made this match most notable was Mervyn King's mood. You could see something upset him big time - he had words with the referee - and given the look on his face at one point I wasn't betting on Henderson actually leaving the stage alive. No one was quite sure what Hendo did to earn King's remarkable ire, though (perceived) encroachment on the oche while King was throwing may have been the cause. At the end, King had words with Hendo, gave him the most perfunctory handshake imagineable and stalked off the stage with a face that would scare thunder witless.

In the post-match interview King kept schtum about the reasons for his anger, but did talk quite movingly about the recent loss of his father and the effect it has had on him. I'm sure we all remember King senior sitting in the audience with a crown on his head, and jokingly describing Mervyn as the "second best darts player in the family"; King senior was a great character and anyone could see how truly proud he was of his son's achievements. I hope King can come to terms with his loss, get back on form and carry on making his father proud. All the best to him.

I'm afraid I haven't time today to write up every match; I have so many deadlines concentrated into a brief space of time that it is warping the space time continuum, and if I don't get my finger out it will actually destroy the Universe. A full write up can be found here.

I will talk about about James Wade v. Vincent van der Voort, however, because a) it was a terrific match, and b) it's more than my life's worth to pass over a match with James Wade in, for reasons which have already been alluded to :o)

Wade started off brilliantly, and the machine gunner Dutchman had to dig deep just to go in 3-1 at the break. Vincent then made a bit of a comeback, with some great shooting, including a magnificent 156 checkout, levelling the odds at 4-4 before Wade finally prevailed in the decider.

Wade didn't seem too happy with his form, and he hasn't played on top form so far this tournament, but he showed some cracking form in that last match and I think he was being a bit hard on himself.

Should be some great darts this evening, including a Taylor-Newton shoot out. Question is: will the Power still be wearing his specs? :o)

Grand Slam of Darts 2010 - Day 3

2010-11-16T09:33:00.005Z

So what happened on Monday evening then?

Scott Waites put in a terrific performance to overhaul veteran Martin Philips, who began his career playing against the likes of Bristow and Wilson many moons ago, by 5 legs to 1. This was a cracking match, with both players averaging over a ton. Philips will go on to play Co Stompe in a must win match for both men.

And speaking thereof...

Stompe put his morale sapping run of 5-4 defeats behind him, and saved himself from elimination, with some great shooting and nerve taking him to a 5-3 victory over Jackpot Adrian Lewis. On his way, Co threw a terrific 148 check out that he made look so easy you'd think they taught that in primary school.

Colin Lloyd took down Raymond van Barneveld 5-3 in a thrilling battle of the heavyweights. Both men threw some cracking darts, but Lloyd, who seemed to be very much in a dancing mood on his way to and from the oche (and gave the audience a shower of water after the match :o) ), was too strog for Barney, who now plays Daryl Fitton to keep his hopes alive.

The Dazzler himself came through a nervy encounter with Diana Trent.... sorry, Tricia Wright, who threw some good darts but succumbed 5-3. As did Rocket Ronnie Baxter, who lost a tense match with Paul Nicholson, Steve Beaton took down talented young pretender Arron Monk 5-1 with some great shooting and Wes Newton overcame Michael van Gerwen, who played much better than before but still lost in the end.

I think that about wraps up Monday night doesn't it?

What?

Oh yes, and Phil Taylor lost to Ted Hankey

Alright, Alright, I said Phil Taylor lost to Ted Hankey. There, are you satisified?

It was a cracking match, and Ted Hankey, who's really a much nicer guy than he gets credit for, threw some terrific darts. Phil responded as best he could, taking the match down to 4 a piece, but he still wasn't on top form as anyone could see, and Hankey took the match 5-4.

Full credit to Ted Hankey, who I have a great deal of respect for, but I was hoping that Phil Taylor would win their first and so far only encounter. Still, the Power goes on to play Wes Newton for the qualifying spot; I hope he gets back on top form (nothing against Wes but...) and makes a rematch a possibility. That will be one to savour :o)

Happy darting :o)

Grand Slam of Darts 2010 - Day 2

2010-11-15T15:34:00.009Z

So much darts, so little time....

If Saturday evening gave us a sedate start to the GSOD, Sunday saw the tournament put its foot down and then some.

Full reports on all Sunday's matches (of which there were a fair old few) can be read here, and I will not attempt to write about all of them, though I will flag up a few highlights.

First off: Co Stompe v. Scott Waites. Scott Waites was cruising 4-0 up at the break. Did Co Stompe try intercessionary prayer at the break? Is there a patron saint of darts? St Sebastian would be a good, if tasteless, choice...

Anyway, whatever he did, it worked. By the end of the next 4 legs my socks had been so badly blown off I had to pull them out of the dry wall. Stompe took all 4 on the trot to set up a thrilling decider, which Scott Waites finally took to secure victory. Missed doubles for the match were all that stood between the Dutchman and a remarkable come-back.

Simon Whitlock played much better than on Saturday, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Wizard of Oz from going out of the GSOD after losing to fellow wizard Colin Osborne in another nail biter. Osborne produced what must rank as his best ever televised performance, with both players averaging around the 100 mark.

Although the match itself wasn't a classic, with both players, and Michael van Gerwen in particular, throwing well under par, the Taylor v. van Gerwen match was historically noteworthy as the first occasion on which the Power played wearing glasses. He was evidently uncomfortable in them, lifting them up at every opportunity. All I'll say is: Phil, I've been wearing them for 20 years - you'll get used to them :o)

My other half was not a happy bunny as the Silverback Tony O'Shea brushed James Wade aside 5-1. I must confess that was not a result I was expecting; O'Shea winning was always possible, as he's a great player, but for him to beat the Machine by such a margin was a bit of a shock.

Has anyone else noticed that the BDO players, particularly O'Shea and Waites, are playing a higher standard of darts, and a more exciting game, than they do in BDO events?

Bring on Taylor-Hankey :o)

Grand Slam of Darts 2010 - Day 1

2010-11-14T10:41:00.003Z

Crikey - the Beard to be Feared got a little bit of a trim last night didn't he?

Dave Chisnall, whose career has generally been drifting in the BDO, his Lakeside World Finals appearance in January notwithstanding, collided with a Simon Whitlock who has been going full speed ahead, and the result was like the Titanic hitting the iceberg.

Chisnall put in a great performance, including 4 maximums, to take down a clearly-rattled Whitlock by 5 legs to 1. If he sustains that level throughout the tournament, the St Helens man is definitely one to watch.

Mervyn King strolled past Stacy Bromberg by the same scoreline; Bromberg was clearly under the kosh, and I hope she'll put in the kind of performance we know she can do in her remaining group matches.

It wasn't a great night for the wild card qualifiers; John Henderson, the rotund and rubicund Scot, fell to Terry Jenkins 5-2, though he showed some good flashes, including a brilliant 12 dart leg and hit a couple of maximums. Justin Pipe succumbed 5-2 to James Wade; it was a confident start from the Machine, and Pipe admitted that nerves had got the better of him. Mark Hylton went out 5-0 in the only whitewash of the evening against a dominant Gary Anderson; let's hope that the wild card lads get over their first night nerves and give us some giant killing, or at least some giant threatening, action.

BDO Big Noise Tony O'Shea overcame an out-of-form looking Vincent van der Voort 5-1, and Robert Thornton overcame Colin Osborne 5-2. The Thorn said that he'd been practising his finshing by having his wife shout out finishes for him to go for; if it works for him as well as it did last night, I wonder if my girlfriend would be willing to do the same... Then again, perhaps not :o)

Local hero Wayne Jones put in a stirling performance to overcome Welshman Mark Webster, also 5-2 which seems to be a popular scoreline, in a match characterised by the crowd getting right behind the Wanderer and right up Webby's nose. Boisterous crowds are to be expected and part of the drama which the PDC does so well, though I do wish people wouldn't boo/cheer individual throws when they hit/miss. Well done to Jones, who made some great finishes (despite a second leg in which both players were struggling to hit double 2, then double 1, in a manner reminiscent of me and a mate in the pub); I hope Webster gets the crowd a bit more on his side in his next matches.

Let's see what Sunday brings us...

Grand Slam of Darts 2010

2010-11-12T11:35:00.008Z

The much awaited (well, it has been by me anyway) Grand Slam of Darts kicks off tomorrow.

I love this tournament. I love the fact that you get top BDO and PDC players together; I love the fact that the ladies play along side the men; I love the fact that Tricia Wright is basically Stephanie Cole (remember Waiting for God?) with a set of darts.

Top of the bill must be Phil Taylor v. Ted Hankey, who are guaranteed a meeting having been drawn together in group H, alongside Wes Newton and Michael van Gerwen. Ted Hankey was on the brink of kicking off at the crowd during the Winmau World Masters; given that being in the crowd at a BDO tournament is a bit like being in a Library compared to being in the crowd at a major PDC tournament, it should be interesting to see how that one pans out, though I hope the two players get the chance to play their best darts against each other.

All the rest of the details of this delicious darting draw are available here. I'm aiming to write up each day's televised viewing with commentary for consumption here, which will no doubt be a great boon to my 3 or 4 regular readers :o) Still, who said building a blog following was easy eh? I'm thinking of advertising on Facebook - Driving Traffic, as it is known in the jargon heavy field of PR. Is that a good idea?

On a happier note, I have had my dartboard up for a couple of weeks now, and although my throwing is still in the shotgun range of accuracy, it is improving. Does anyone else think that an hour or so (often less) of me throwing darts per day does not render my girlfriend a "darts widow"? :o)

Winmau World Masters

2010-11-02T11:10:00.002Z

I had intended to write a blog post after the first televised day (Saturday) of the Winmau World Masters and then another after the Finals on Sunday, but when I sat down to my laptop to write, I completely drew a blank. That's how exciting the Winmau World Masters was.

Martin Adams managed to make it a hat trick of World Masters, for which he deserves every congratulation. I have a lot of respect for Martin Adams, and there's no denying he's a great darts player. The biggest problem, I find, is that with very few exceptions (Scott Waites, Tony O'Shea, Ted Hankey, Daryl Fitton) he's about the only one.

This makes for a somewhat lacklustre standard, despite the skills of certain individuals. Combine this with the almost total lack of atmosphere (even half the audience in Hull looked like they were nodding off from time to time), and it doesn't make for particularly good viewing.

I also found myself increasingly irked by the constant references to Martin Adams as "the world number 1". As I said, Martin Adams is a great darts player but he is not, by quite some margin, the best in the world. Newcastle United was the top ranked football club in England last season, as long as nobody mentions the 20 Premier League clubs.

Chris Mason's description of the last Lakeside World Championship as "car crash television" was, I thought, unfair. There is no denying, however, that when it comes to top class players and exciting television viewing, the BDO is lagging way behind the rival it never mentions.

Martin Adams once described the difference between the PDC and the BDO thus: "They do Sports Entertainment. We do pure Sport." I don't think he meant to imply that the PDC is entertaining and the BDO isn't, but sadly that seems to be exactly the case.

Bring Back Bullseye - only this time do it properly!

2010-10-18T13:17:00.010+01:00

There comes a time in every man's life when he has to take up arms and dedicate himself to a noble cause. However, as I couldn't find one of those, I'm going to dedicate myself to this instead.

We all (British readers, anyway) remember Bullseye, that great 80s game show with Jim Bowen and Bully (who, for the benefit of a certain reader who shall remain anonymous, was not, in point of fact, a hippo). I certainly loved it when I was a kid.

Ok, granted, it was a pretty budget show; one got the impression that they had to pause filming periodically to sellotape Bully's prize board back on to the wall, or send a member of the production team down the bookies to put a bet on if it looked like a contestant would win more than £200, but then back in those days darts players could still smoke on stage, the BDO was the only top-flight organisation and Phil Taylor had a mullet. It was what Big Break would have been like, had it been produced in the early 60s.

An attempt was made at a revival around 2005, but it stuck to much the same format and probably the same props, dusted off after a decade at the back of a shed.

Darts now is growing in popularity and financial clout all the time; would this not be a great time for the PDC to step in and provide a proper, well funded, darts-based gameshow, using the cracking bunch of players which the PDC now has at its disposal?

The time is right, and given the ever-growing TV audiences for darts there must be a market for such a show. It needn't (and indeed almost certainly shouldn't) be a direct knock-off of the old Bullseye; it could have a new format, new set, new players, new prizes, new games and still do what the old Bullseye did so well - introduce new people to darts. After all, the first time I ever watched darts was not a televised championship but an episode of Bullseye.

If anyone from the PDC is reading this (and I hope you are - I don't write this blog for nothing. Oh, wait...) I would ask you to consider the potential that a well designed, well funded, well supported new darts gameshow could have, in these days when darts has never been more popular.

Come on Barry - Bring Back Bully! :o)

Boy, do I feel sheepish

2010-10-12T14:10:00.002+01:00

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa

A combination of holidays, work, business travel and the fact that there was a drought of televised darts for a few weeks has seen to it that I haven't put up a post for a while. However, what with more darts coming up, and more importantly a period of my life in which I'm not running around like a blue arsed fly, hopefully I shall be able to write more often.

I managed to catch the finals of the World Grand Prix, with its clearly delighted victor James Wade, and my even more clearly delighted girlfriend, who's been waiting a while to see her favourite player pick up some silverware (or was it glass?) :o)

The fact that Adrian Lewis finally managed to defeat his mentor Phil Taylor in a televised major, in the course of an epic semi final, is probably ultimately more important than James Wade winning another title. It was one of the few times I've seen Adrian Lewis play consistently at the very, very high level which he has previously displayed in major events only for brief periods; it paid off for him, and made for a cracking game of darts. I hope it gives him confidence and that we're going to see much more of that standard of darts from the Jackpot in future.

Phil Taylor v. Gary Anderson was a cracking match too, and for a while it looked very much like Anderson would get his revenge on Phil Taylor for his UK Open Final caning back in June, but sadly for the Scot it was not to be. The way the crowd barracked the Power was a bit disappointing - cheer/boo once the person has finished his 3 throws by all means, but don't cheer/boo when they miss/hit with individual darts - but then again, darts is a raucous sport, it happens to everyone occasionally and I thought Taylor took it on the chin.

The next biggie coming up is the Winmau World Masters, taking place in Hull and therefore very near to where my girfriend lives; I'm still considering whether or not to get tickets. I'm still waiting for tickets for the inaugural PDC World Cup to go on sale - presumably James Wade's big win means he's on for being the England number 2, which will make a certain someone happy :o)

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, I've now got a dartboard, but nowhere to put it on the ****ing wall yet, as my plan to put it in my living room was firmly vetoed :o)

Bye for now...

Latest Goings On

2010-08-26T09:15:00.004+01:00

Oops - slightly missed my personal target of at least a post per week while there's no televised tournament in progress. Busy, busy, busy :o)

So what's been going on in my absence?

Dennis Priestly may now be entitled to a bus pass, but he motored through the Australian Open Players Championship last week. The Menace took out Muffin Man Steve Hine, the two local heroes (well, as local as you can be in a country that spans 3 time zones; and anyway, everyone knows Paul Nicholson's from North Shields really) Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson, and finally Mark Hylton to claim the win. The victory should help him into October's World Grand Prix in Dublin, which would be nice to see.

I'm eagerly awaiting ticket details for the inaugural PDC Darts World Cup, which will be available from the beginning of September. The PDC have, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the World Cup will be held this December in Tyne and Wear, which is very much in your humble author's neck of the woods :o)

I'm looking forward to the World Cup - top two players in the order of merit from 24 countries playing as teams against each other; it sounds like an interesting format.

Question: who will claim the second England spot - Mervyn King or James Wade? I know which one my girlfriend would prefer :o)

Get Well Soon Pieman!

2010-08-16T10:57:00.002+01:00

Andy "Pieman" Smith, one of the most likeable figures in darts, is recovering from an operation on the leg he injured by falling off a stage onto an unfortunate crowd member during an exhibition in Ireland.

He competed in the World Matchplay and European Championship with his gammy leg, and threw some pretty good darts too, which shows real character.

Best wishes to him for a swift recovery.

The Ups and Downs of Youth Development Schemes

2010-08-13T14:51:00.011+01:00

90s Darting hero Rod Harrington has launched a PDC Youth Development Scheme recently, which has set the darts world talking.

Harrington says that he wants to discover the next generation of talent that can topple and succeed Phil Taylor - to maintain the standards set by Phil Taylor in the post-Power era.

This sounds highly laudable, and on one level it is; giving talented youngsters the chance to shine in their chosen sport is always good. More and better darts players is without doubt a good thing, and will be essential if darts is to keep growing and progressing as a sport.

Call it silly if you like, but I can't help feeling a little uneasy though.

One of the things that makes Phil Taylor so compelling as a sportsman is the fact that we know he began his career making bog handles in a pottery factory; that he began playing darts by throwing in pubs and clubs; that Eric Bristow gave him ten grand to focus on darts, which Phil repaid both in cash and by becoming the world's best darter.

Likewise other darts players; they're so compelling as sportsmen because they are real people. It is easy to imagine having a pint with Terry Jenkins, Ronnie Baxter or Barney because they began their careers playing with their mates in pubs and clubs. Professional darts players, no matter how talented, are the same as us. Even Phil Taylor is one of us.

The best professional footballers or cricketers, for example, just do not give off the same vibe. Many of them (not all, but many) were spotted at primary school. They had special coaching; they went to academies and training camps; they knew they were the best, knew they were going to be professional sportsmen and were ruthless; they played their hearts out for the talent scouts. They've never had ordinary jobs. Even when the football superstars are signing autographs or embarrassing themselves in nightclubs there is still a vast gulf between them and the fans, in a way which does not exist with even the very best darts players.

Worse, the system of pushing kids through elite sporting academies and teaching them that they are born to be the best can produce the kind of arrogant, tantrummy and self-obsessed prima donnas who truly believe that they have a separate superstar destiny and thereby get right up the fans' noses.

Professionalism is one thing, but darts is partly so great to watch because the players have real lives which are similar to ours. In encouraging professionalism in young darts players, the powers that be must not lose sight of the spontaneity, the honest and unpolished reality that makes darts players so much fun to watch.

Take an example from snooker, which is a stage or two further advanced along the path from amateur heroes to big-money professionals than darts is currently: Ding Jun Hui. I'm sure in his own way he's a perfectly nice young man, but there's something about his mechanical dedication and professionalism which is just deeply boring. Whenever I see him, I get the feeling he spent his entire childhood playing snooker in a bamboo hut with a man slapping him and shouting "didi mao!" every time he missed a pot (for those who have not seen the Deer Hunter, do).

The story of Alex Higgins, who played snooker in local pubs and clubs, tried his hand at being a jockey, and then decided to become a pro snooker player will always be more compelling than a (hypothetical) child superstar who picked up a cue at two, was coached from the age of 4, won every youth trophy going, turned pro at 16 and got signed on by Terry Griffiths. Why? Because Alex Higgins (may he rest in peace) was a unique character, whereas the equally talented youngster who's been through a snooker academy and youth tournament mill is the product of a system.

Such rigorous coaching and training in young players can often produce glittering match play, but far less frequently produces the Alex Higginses, George Bests and Jocky Wilsons who make sport so much more interesting all-round. It's not guaranteed of course; Andrew Flintoff was practically born with a cricket ball in his hand, but he's done his best to be interesting off the field as well as on.

I wish Rod Harrington all the best with building a PDC Youth Training scheme; I just hope that in training the next generation of Phil Taylors and Raymond van Barnevelds they bear in mind that if Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld's talents had been spotted at the age of eight and nurtured in professional darts academies by rigorous coaches and slick sports psychologists, all the talent and darting brilliance in the world wouldn't make them sportsmen as interesting and compelling to watch as they are today. Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and other top darts players are unqiue, one-off creations - you can't mass-produce them.

Don't take the real, honest, and compelling amateurism out of professional darts.

Should snooker be more like darts?

2010-08-12T12:21:00.003+01:00

First, a correction: in my last post I said the next televised darts was the Winmau World Masters. Of course it isn't; it's the World Grand Prix in Dublin. Mea Culpa.

Moving swiftly on, there's more lively debate over on the BBC 606 Forum as to whether snooker should be more like darts.

This is something that seems to exercise snooker fans (amongst whom I count myself). Snooker still draws large TV audiences, though there's a sense that people are losing interest.

Darts, on the other hand, seems to be going from strength to strength with impressive and increasing TV audiences and more televised matches than ever. The World Matchplay this year set new TV audience records, for example.

The difference between the first darts matches I remember watching (late 80s and early 90s) and today's televised tournaments is huge (unles you're watching the BDO, when they still feel oddly old-fashioned), but I remain unconvinced that snooker would benefit from a huge injection of noise and razzmatazz. Darts has always been a loud and happy sport whereas snooker, although not always played in the cathedral-like atmosphere that prevails today, would not lend itself readily to the noise and enthusiasm of a major darts tournament.

Whatever the snooker authorities do, I hope it works.

European Championship - Day 3 and Super Sunday

2010-08-02T15:01:00.004+01:00

In my humble opinion, the last two days demonstrated clearly why we love this sport so much. The theatre, competitiveness and darting brilliance shown by the players was fantastic, and made for two great days of entertainment.

I won't go into every match in detail - reports can be found on the PDC website - but I will recall a few highlights. Terry Jenkins and Wayne Jones put in brilliant performances - it was great to see Jenkins showing what he's really capable of after a run of poor form, beating Simon Whitlock and Colin Lloyd - himself throwing some superb darts and right back on top form - and also great to see Jones performing so well on TV. His defeat of Raymond van Barneveld in the semis was one of the most enjoyable darts matches I've ever watched, as both players traded tons, ton 40s and terrific finishes like top trumps in the playground.

Barney himself survived a very near major upset against Bernd Roith on Day 3, with the Tubingen caterer showing real talent to come that far. Ronnie Baxter threw some great darts before going out to Colin Lloyd in a scintillating quarter final, and Terry Jenkins pushed Phil Taylor hard before succumbing in the semi finals.

Sadly, the Power comprehensively demolished Wayne Jones in the final. With the quarters, semis and finals in one day it seems Jones, who had played brilliantly all day, just could not maintain the standard; it would have been great to see Jones push Taylor all the way, but his final defeat should take nothing away from a great performance throughout the week.

Phil Taylor took the Championship in fine style and deserves every congratulation; some may be disappointed to see him win yet again, but I think that focusing on the final outcome misses the fact that the rest of the tournament was packed with excitement and drama.

Congratulations and thanks to all the players for a cracking week's darts. I think - and do correct me if I'm wrong - that the next televised darts in the UK is the BDO's Winmau World Masters at the end of October. Should be interesting... :o)

European Championship - Day Two

2010-07-31T11:25:00.003+01:00

Just time to dash off a few lines before heading down the Toon for the day - for those of you not from round here, that means going into Newcastle :o)

Highlight of the evening had to be the 6-5 thriller between Barneveld and Andy Hamilton. Both men threw some brilliant darts; Hamilton looked like he was running away with it at one stage but Barney fought back from 4-2 down to take the match in a final leg shoout out.

Lloyd v. Wade was another great match; Lloyd had obviously recovered from his catastrophic 8-2 ahead to 11-9 defeat at the hands of Kevin Painter, and pushed the World no. 3 from the start. Wade was not going anywhere though, and a gritty performance, including a superb 11 dart leg in the 5th, brought him to 4-4. Lloyd held out though, and some superb throwing in the last 2 legs took him to a deserved 6-4 victory.

German Bernd Roith put Dennis Ovens out in a surprising turn of events, whilst fellow German Tomas Seyler gave Michael van Gerwen a scare before succumbing 6-4.

Up and Coming Wes Newton defeated Colin Osborne 6-4 in a roller coaster match that saw Newton lead 3-0, trail 4-3 and finally win 6-4.

Ronnie Baxter v. Alan Tabern was a superb match, with the two players racking up 34 ton plus scores between them (Baxter 18, Tabern 16). Baxter took the match in the 11th with a cracking 126 Bullseye finish.

TV scoreboard was much more efficient last night, though they did still have the bingo caller refereeing a couple of legs. And why, oh, why did Dave Gorman have to do the "Hello Seyler" joke when discussing Tomas Seyler? We all knew the pun was there, but the rest of us managed to restrain ourselves.

Happy darting :o)

European Championship - Day One

2010-07-30T14:59:00.003+01:00

A couple of procedural issues arising from last night's play...

Firstly, there has been a long accepted convention as to how darts referees should sound: darts referees are supposed to sound like Russ Bray - authoritative, masculine, like they got through a pack of unfiltered Navy Cut on their way to school each day. They are not supposed to sound like a cross between Julian Clary and the caller from Mecca Bingo, Clacton on Sea.

Whoever thought the guy that referreed Klaasen v. van der Voort and another match - I forget which - was a good bet ought to bear that simple little rule in mind.

Also, what was going on with the electronic scoreboard on the TV screen? It was taking ages to catch up with the actual scores. Not keeping up with Klaasen v. van der Voort, which was a bit like watching a movie on fast forward, I could understand, but not keeping up with Dennis Priestly? Babbage's Difference Engine could figure out the score in the time it takes Dennis Priestly to throw 3 darts.

Anyhoo, over to the darts...

And a great night of entertainment it was too. Klaasen v. van der Voort was a cracker, Klaasen racing back from 3-1 down to 6-1 winner in fine style. Co Stompe v. Phil Taylor was shaping up to be a classic, until Stompe missed 3 darts to level at 3-3. Taylor pounced on the mistake like a Cheetah onto a stumbling Zebra; Stompe's game went downhill from there under relentless pressure and he went out 6-2.

Andy "Pieman" Smith capitalised on Geordie Aussie Paul Nicholson's missed doubles to take the opening match of the evening 6-3; Spanish newbie Antonio Alcinas (I kept wondering what films he'd been in, but that was Antonio Banderas) threw some great darts to give veteran Mark Walsh a scare, but Walshie pulled through to win 6-3. The crowd's vocal support for local hero Andree Welge looked like it was rattling Terry Jenkins, but Jenkins turned the heckling to his advantage, took it squarely on the chin and slammed in some clinical darts to clinch the game 6-4.

Simon Whitlock overhauled veteran Dennis Priestly in fairly comprehensive style; Priestly rallied at 5-1 one down and clawed his way back to 5-3, before Whitlock took the 9th leg and victory 6-3.

Whatever Barrie Bates was on in the first 5 legs of his match with Mervyn King, I want some. Bates went through King like a Panzer division through France, racing to a 5-0 lead. King, playing for dignity, fought back to 5-3 but Bates was unstoppable and won 6-3.

Great darts, and more to come tonight. Bring it on :o)

World Matchplay Finals and European Championship

2010-07-26T09:38:00.004+01:00

Nuts.

It's always my intention to do a post a day during televised tournaments, but travel for work and family engagements have rendered that ambition unrealisable for the World Matchplay this time, I'm sorry to say. Apologies.

Well, another trophy heads for the Taylor cabinet. I dare say the usual questions will be asked about whether it's good for a sport to be so dominated by one person for so long, but I say fair play to him. Darts is considerably more popular now than it was when he started, so he can't be putting that many people off, and the whole point of a professional sport is to play as well as you possibly can.

When Phil Taylor finally does retire, I think the world of darts will miss him an awful lot.

European Darts Championship on Bravo tomorrow - last year's Championship wasn't televised, so it's great to see it back on TV. For one thing, for those of us who are financially challenged it's always good to have more darts on TV. Also, it's good to see new TV channels and new viewers becoming interested in showing and watching darts.

I shall do my best to do a post-match write-up each day. Phil Taylor will be in action tomorrow against Co stompe, which should be fun. Whitlock v. Priestly and Klaasen v. van der Voort should be fun too.

Happy watching :o)

World Matchplay - Day Five

2010-07-22T11:44:00.005+01:00

I greatly enjoyed watching Co Stompe v. Mark Webster; not just because it was an exciting match with some great darts and great guts displayed by both players, but also because it meant hearing Sid Waddell say the word "Co". Stompe took the match 13-9, fighting off an impressive rally by Wesbster who had looked down and out earlier on, and will go on to play Barney in an all-Dutch quarter final.

Speaking of whom, Barney was in great form again for his match against Alan Tabern. The scoreline - 13-5 - would suggest that Barney went through Tabern like a dose of salts with a vindaloo chaser, but once again the match stats tell a different story. Tabern was scoring like it was going out of fashion, but Barney was clinical on his finishing whilst Tabern, though finishing very impressively early on and slamming in a 156 and a 121, lacked the consistency in that area and paid for it.

Wolverhapmton's finest Wayne Jones overcame "Rocket" Ronnie Baxter 13-9 to book his place in the quarters for the first time, managing some biblical scoring on the way - 42 ton plus scores, 14 140s and 6 maximums. Nothing against Ronnie Baxter, but it's always nice to see people come though for the first time; well done to Jones.

Tensest of the 4 matches, and highlight of the evening for me - and my girlfriend, who has this thing about James Wade :o) - was Wade v. van der Voort. The rapid fire Dutchman looked like he was going down, despite some impressive throwing, as he missed crucial doubles and slumped to 9-4 adrift. An impressive comeback from Vincent seemed to leave Wade temporarily rattled, but he pulled himself together and rallied to take the match 13-10, setting up a quarter final meeting with Wayne Jones.

Finally, my girfriend has asked me to point out that actress Sherrie Hewson is, apparently, a Darts fan. Now, I have not got the faintest clue who Sherrie Hewson is or what she's ever done, and I suspect that even if I did I wouldn't care. However, if anyone in the darting blogosphere does know who she is, feel free to enlighten me.

World Matchplay - Day Four

2010-07-21T11:55:00.003+01:00

Imagine Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet clinging to the stern of the almost vertical Titanic. Now imagine that at the last moment, Leo works out how to plug the leak with bubblegum and refloat the ship.

That's how unlikely Kevin Painter's comeback against Colin "Jaws" Lloyd was. 8-2 down, and looking for all the world like he was going out with all the red-blooded defiance of a frightened lamb, Painter came hurtling back from absolutely nowhere to win the match 11-9 with Lloyd missing a dart for the match on the way. Painter deserves credit for a classy comeback that took real bottle, but Lloyd must be kicking himself for not closing out the match.

The battle of the Marks - Dudbridge v. Walsh - was another match which went a little more than all the way, Walsh producing a stonking 160 check out and closing out a very tight match 12-10.

Barrie Bates gave Phil Taylor a bit of a shock, taking the lead at 5-4, before Taylor engaged that extra gear he just seems to have stashed away somewhere and won 5 legs on the trot. Bates pulled one back, but Taylor was unstoppable and took the match 10-6.

In the evening's final clash, Steve Beaton convincingly defeated 2010 Player's Champion Paul Nicholson. I was expectinng more from the Geordie Aussie, but it was not to be and he succumbed 10-3.

A mixed bag on the final day of the first round. Let's see what the last 16 has in store for us :o)

World Matchplay - Day Three

2010-07-20T09:43:00.001+01:00

"What a difference a day made..." sang Dinah Washington back in 1959. 41 years later in Blackpool, and boy, was she on the money with that one.

If Sunday's matches were like the First World War - long, drawn out, difficult, neck and neck for most of the way with a winner coming through at the last minute - then yesterday's matches were more like the 6 Day War: fast, one sided and over before you could get back from the khazi.

First up was Terry Jenkins v. Blackpool debutant Steve Brown. Brown began his Blackpool career with a dream start: a 127 Bullseye check out to break Jenkins' throw. 9-4 down at one stage, Jenkins managed to reel Brown back to 9-6 before Brown sealed his victory; in doing so Jenkins became the only loser that evening to win more than half the number of legs that the winner did. It was Brown's impressive finishing that clinched it for him; the scoring stats for both men are almost identical (Jenkins: 21 ton +, 10 140 +, 3 180s, av. 88.57. Brown: 22, 10, 2, 87.45) but Brown made 3 ton-plus finishes to Jenkins' highest effort of 96.

Next to put toe to oche were the Wizard of Oz Simon Whitlock, also making his first appearance at Blackpool's Winter Garden, and Tony "The Viper" Eccles. Unfortunately the Viper had lost his venom, and made about as much impact on Whitlock's game as a Smart Car ramming a tank. Eccles took the eigth leg to avoid a complete whitewash but Whitlock just rolled straight over it like a speed bump, leaving Eccles' shattered wreckage in his wake. Great darts from Whitlock: 10-1 the final score.

Trousering. For those not familiar with the concept, trousering is a standard rule which states that anyone who gets whitewashed - in table footy, pool or any other bar sport - is obliged to lower their trousers to the ground and run the whole way through the bar as a punishment for their sporting ineptitude.

The PDC does not, as far as I am aware, enforce this rule on a regular basis and one man in particular has cause to be very grateful for that. No one knew exactly what would happen when Robert Thornton took on fellow Scot Gary Anderson, but I'll bet no-one was expecting what did happen. Anderson, possibly still smarting from his collapse against Taylor at the UK Open in June, came out like a goaded tiger suddenly released from a cage; with Anderson unusually clinical on his finishing (he'd been practicing after the UK Open final, where his finishing really let him down) Thornton was soon staring defeat in the face and eventually succumbed 10-0.

As is often the case the match stats paint a more balanced picture of the first whitewash at the Winter Garden in 6 years, but there's no denying that Anderson gave Thornton a thorough drubbing.

Last up was Mervyn King v. Jelle Klaasen. By the end of the 6th leg it was 4-2 to King; then Klaasen decided he'd had enough. 8 defeats on the trot later, a shell-shocked King was picking up his darts case and walking away from a 10-4 defeat. Hats off to Klaasen for a - no, I can't bring myself to do the 'classy' pun - stirling performance.

Last of the First Round matches tonight; I'm looking forward to Paul Nicholson v. Steve Beaton and, of course, Phil Taylor takes to the oche against Barrie Bates.

World Matchplay - Day Two

2010-07-19T13:18:00.002+01:00

Professional darts can be a cruel mistress, and day two of the World Matchplay threw up two heart-breakers.

Andy "Pieman" Smith, who has never progressed beyond the first round at Blackpool, played a great match against James Wade, the world no. 2, and at times looked set for victory. But in a sign of the massive pressure on both men, they were missing doubles left right and centre with Wade missing 6 darts at his usually favourite double 10. Smith had the chance to go 9-7 in front, a scoreline which would have practically assured him of victory but missed 9 darts at the double. Wade recovered from his earlier nerves and showed real bottle to take the next 3 legs and clinch the match 10-8.

I felt so sorry for Andy Smith, one of the most likeable players on the pro circuit - big man, big personality, big heart. He threw some brilliant darts in a tense and nervy encounter, including a 151 check out and throughout the match looked the likely winner, but the missed doubles cost him a great victory and he sadly fell at the final hurdle.

The second heart-ache of the evening was for local hero Wes Newton, who like the Pieman has never been beyond the first round and was looking for a big performance in front of his home crowd. Sadly, it just wasn't to be; despite fighting his way back from 6-1 down against fellow Lancastrian Alan Tabern, Newton finally succumbed 12-10, going out in the first round at Blackpool for the 4th time.

As if that wasn't enough tragedy and drama for one evening, the second match of the evening saw Jackpot Adrian Lewis, the Phil Taylor protege with talent oozing from every pore who has never yet managed a big televised win, go out 11-9 to Mark Webster in a match which could have been an allegory for his career so far - flashes of brilliance, including a very awkward double 10 finish that Annie Oakley would have been proud of, were interspersed with moments of drifting concentration and wandering darts.

Webster, the Welshman born in the same year as yours truly (1983) and not, some would say, without a certain resemblance (people say that about me and James Wade sometimes too), was too strong and too consistent in the end, and deserves full credit for his win.

The evening's other piece of drama came in the first match, with Co Stompe battling against Andy Hamilton to win by a nose at 12-10. The Dutchman, with a throwing action so weird Stephen Hawking gave up trying to figure it out years ago, really had to fight against the Hammer, and the tense match set the scene for the dramas that were to follow.

All in all a superb night of theatre, with oodles of triumph and tragedy. Can't wait for this evening :o)

World Matchplay - Day One

2010-07-18T10:01:00.003+01:00

Doo doo doo di doo doo di doo doo doo - oi, oi, oi!

Boy, was I keen to hear that chant again :o)

The Tropicana World Series being irritatingly untelevised - why, I kept wondering, would an orange juice company want to sponsor a darts match? Don't they usually do things like cycling and running? Then I figured it out... - I was starting to get twitchy with the lack of darts.

The last couple of weeks have also been incredibly hectic; I was just about to leave for Outer Mongolia to live in a tent with a camel when, finally, along comes some top class darts to remind that if I do, I should at least take a laptop with me to watch darts on.

That said, in all fairness, Wayne Jones v. Colin Osborne would have had me throwing my bowl of rice at the camel and storming out of the tent. Well ok, it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't a game that will go down in history alongside the Battle of Actium and D-Day, let's put it that way. Wayne Jones flung himself gasping across the finish line at 10-8, having missed multiple doubles for the match. That match may not have been a classic, but it's good to see Wayne Jones winning on TV for the first time in a while.

Before that, we were treated to veteran Dennis Priestly, who celebrated his 60th Birthday on Friday, against Dutch machine gunner Vincent van der Voort.

A fixture between Dennis, who plays with the sheer undaulterated speed of a slightly lazy glacier, and Vincent, who practically has all 3 darts in the air at once, was always going to be interesting, and this one didn't disappoint. Unfortunately for Dennis the Menace, in the 14th leg Vincent took out his slipper and gave him six of the best; the Flying Dutchman slammed in a 157 check out to go 8-5 in front and never really looked back, taking the match 10-6.

Next up was the match that always looked like the highlight of the evening, and certainly didn't disappoint: Raymond van Barneveld v. Dennis Ovens.

Ovens took the second leg, making the score 1-1; Barney seems to have taken this personally, and reacted like the man in a club who breaks a pint glass over your head for catching his eye on the way to the gents. 9 victorious legs - and a 9 dart finish so perfect and seemingly effortless that you half expected Barney to tear his shirt off and reveal a blue lycra suit and red cape underneath - later it was all over at 10-1.

Barney was in great form, and it was brilliant to see. I'm still not sure if Dennis Ovens actually did that much wrong, or whether he just wasn't given the chance. A match like that from Barney must be a statement of intent...

Once Sid Waddell had been sedated and the commentary box put back together, the final fixture - Ronnie Baxter v. Jamie Caven - got under way. This was an out-and-out, toe-to-toe scrap at first, with the first four legs going against the throw and hardly a cigarette paper between the two players. Baxter finally held his throw to go 3-2 up, but it wasn't until 4-4 that Baxter found little bit extra, and won 3 legs on the trot to go 7-4 up. Caven kept battling, but it was only a matter of time before Baxter took the match, 10-7.

A great evening of darts; congratulations to Barney for that great 9 darter. Looking forward to more great darts tonight :o)

Oh, The Humiliation!

2010-07-05T11:42:00.005+01:00

My girlfriend, my best mate and I had a lovely day at the seaside yesterday.

Here's me and my buddy in the tea room on the pier:

On the pier, there was a darts stall. Four darts: put them all into numbers higher than 10, doubles and trebles lose. It sounded simple enough. Feeling confident I stepped up to the mark to win a soft toy of some description.

Did I manage it? Er, no. Double 11, treble 14, a bounce out and a 9. Knackers!

Fortunately the Hook a Duck stall came to my rescue and we won a soft toy, but the damage had been done.

Here's a picture of my girlfriend and mate watching me console myself in the pub by the pier afterwards:

Yay! I have Newcastle United Darts Flights :o)

2010-06-29T18:38:00.003+01:00

I've been looking for these for a while.

Today, a business trip to BBC Newcastle to do a little TV recording took me to St. James' Metro Station, and hence right past St. James' Park football ground. Well, I thought, if they can't supply me with a set of Magpies darts flights no one can, and now I have a set :o)

I still need a dartboard, of course, but I'm getting there :o)

Darts is a "Working Class" Sport

2010-06-27T18:23:00.006+01:00

All I will say about the football is bring on an England v. Germany darts match :o)

I must apologise to my regular readers (both of them) for the absence of a recent blog post. My work occasionally requires me to travel, and the last couple of weeks have been hectic. Apologies.

I feel I must get something off my chest which has been bugging me for a long time.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have heard darts described as a "working class" sport, as if that somehow means it should be considered less valid than other sports. When I've pointed out to the people claiming this that Wayne Rooney is not "of the Hampshire Rooneys" and didn't go to Eton, I've received, more or less, the response "Yes, but darts is different isn't it?".

I think class is irrelevant in sport (and indeed should be in any other walk of life); however, I've given up trying to convince people that darts isn't exclusively "for the working classes". That being so, I'm going to try a different tack. Instead of convincing people that darts isn't "working class", I'm going to start arguing that they are "working class".

Most people who talk about class have never actually read Marx. Marx is one of the most misunderstood writers in all history, and particularly when he talks about class.

Class, as defined by Marx, is about the ownership of the means of production. The bourgeoisie own the means of production, be it companies, factories, shops, whatever. The crucial point is that because of their ownership, they cannot be sacked. It does not matter whether you own Microsoft or the Durham City Nanomart, you own it and it cannot be taken away from you.

If you WORK for Microsoft or the Durham City Nanomart, it makes no difference whether you earn a million dollars a year or £4.00 an hour; the key point is that because you do not share in the ownership of the company (capital), you can be dispensed with at any time because you are, in effect, selling your labour and skills to the company. If they decide that they do not want to buy, or that your price is too high, you have to accept that. You are therefore selling your labour, which is the only thing you own, and therefore a member of the proletariat; you are working class.

It does not matter if you go to work wearing a suit, sit in an office, earn a large salary, have a mortgage, pay school fees, read the Daily Mail, vote Tory and attend Ascot every year; you are, as defined by Marx, working class if you cannot control your own destiny through the ownership of capital. The fact that you can command a much higher premium for your labour than your hammer and torch wielding forebears is irrelevant; the fact that you have a University education, belong the golf club and sit at a computer all day is irrelevant.

The overwhelming majority of the British population is "working class", because they do not have any control over the companies for which they work. Unless you own enough shares in Macdonalds to stop them being able to fire you, you are "a worker" because, whatever your skills are and however much you can charge for them, the only thing you own is your own labour. People talk about how there is no such thing as the working class any more, but that is rubbish; just because most people don't forge steel or mine coal for a living doesn't mean that they have any more ownership of capital than they did before. You might support capitalism, you might benefit from capitalism, but none of those things make you bourgeois or a capitalist.

So the next time some snooty sod tells you darts is "working class", just point out that they almost certainly are too :o)

I do not have a shrine to Phil Taylor, I swear!

2010-06-14T21:26:00.003+01:00

The other day a visitor to my humble abode rather sarkily suggested that I had a shrine to Phil Taylor on my dining table.

This picture should allow readers to judge for themselves...

I placed the signed photo on my dining table, against the wall, since I happened to have nowhere else to put it.

The two tea light candles were there already!

Honest :o)

Should Darts be in the Olympics?

2010-06-12T12:24:00.013+01:00

Given that, for some bizarre reason, the PDC has not yet recognised my writing talents and decided to pay me (or at least expense me) to travel to all their non-televised events and do write-ups for them - if anyone from the PDC is reading this: hint, hint... :o) - I shall have to find some way of filling the barren wasteland between televised events with stuff to blog about.

One way of doing this is to revisit some of the hoary old darting debates, and I thought I'd start with this one: should darts be in the Olympics?

My personal answer to this is simple: absolutely not.

The Olympics is the most over-rated sporting event ever to spring forth from the mind of man; it does about as much for global peace, harmony, integrity and the noble competitive spirit of all peoples as the Eurovision Song Contest. Why bringing darts into this melange of pompous corporate posturing about Olympic glory and the noble spirit of athleticism would be a good idea is frankly beyond me.

I do not wish to underplay the achievements of any Olympic participant in their chosen sport or discipline; personally I have little interest in watching athletics, but that doesn't mean I don't recognise the enormous talent, dedication and competitive spirit that is involved, and I respect the choice of people who are interested in athletics or any other Olympic sport (though I wish more people were prepared to extend that recognition and respect to darts). Also, it should be said, for many smaller sports the Olympics represents their biggest opportunity to enter the public imagination; I respect that too. Showcasing global sport isn't the issue; it's the Olympic system, with its bureaucracy, over-blown ideology and fanfare which is the problem.

During July 2005, I was rooting for the French to be saddled with the task of building expensive white elephants for a total anti-climax, but hey ho...

Anyway, I digress.

This particular debate is very good at bringing forth the preconceptions, snobberies and prejudices that many people who scoff at the idea of darts as a sport labour under, and does get the juices flowing on both sides as darters leap up to defend their sport from those detractors who, for some reason (probably related to unhappy childhoods), seem to have nothing better to do than rubbish the achievements and interests of others. Some people who oppose the idea of darts as a sport do so with reasonable, coherent and respectful arguments; sadly, many do not.

A good example can be found in this article from the Guardian in 2006 - "Should Darts be included in the Olympic Games?", in which Phil Taylor argues yes and Tom McNab, former director of coaching for British Athletics, argues no. It's rather old, but it demonstrates the prejudices very neatly.

The title of the article concerns appearing in the Olympic Games. Many sports are recognised by the International Olypmic Committee (and are thus Olympic sports), but do not actually appear in the Olympic Games. These include Bridge, Chess and Ballroom Dancing. Why should these be recognised Olympic sports, but not darts? It's not always clear whether McNab is arguing against darts appearing in the Games or becoming an Olympic sport at times, but his views of darts would presumably be much the same regardless, so it is those I shall examine.

Permit me to fisk:

"The first problem for darts obviously is the fact that its governing body is not actually recognised by the International Olympic Committee. For the games beyond London 2012, only sports represented by recognised federations may be considered to become Olympic sports and only Olympic sports may become part of the Olympic programme. The list of recognised federations does not include darts."

Well spotted, Tom. Recognition is what we (well, some of us) are looking for.

"Secondly, in a more trivial way, it's hard to imagine putting forward a sport in which you can drink beer while doing it. There are a few sports I can think of where you might have a drink afterwards but not many that permit you to have one beforehand."

I would be the first to admit that darts has had a problem in this respect (Andy Fordham being the most obvious example); however, darts has made enormous progress in cleaning up this aspect of the sport over the last 20 years. The World Darts Federation (which includes the BDO) Tournament Rules prohibit alcohol consumption during matchplay; the Darts Regulation Authority Rules (which the PDC plays by) prohibit the consumption of alcohol during televised matchplay, but do not, I must admit, specifically forbid it during any matchplay. Since I do not watch non-televised PDC matches, I cannot comment on what goes on during them (if anyone else can, please do) but I would be very surprised if many, if any, professional players drank during matchplay.

Since McNab sticks up for chess at one point, here are some enlightening quotes from the English Chess Forum:

"I always find the amount of alcohol consumed by players at chess matches staggering (no pun intended), particularly considering most of them drive to and from the venue. There's probably a genuine legal issue there."

"Even at the European Club Cup in Feugen , whilst drinking was banned at the board due to it being a high level event (the only event in the world at the time to offer the 7 round norm). Outside the playing hall was a beer van where you could drink during the game if you desired. Note that you had like 40 of the worlds top 60 at this event."

Except in cases where someone who has had a drink could pose a danger to themselves or others (shooting, archery, motorsport etc.) I can think of few sports in which the governing body directly prohibits alcohol consumption for a specified period prior to a match; football club managers, for example, set their own rules. If a sportsman was obviously affected by alcohol during play then that would surely be dealt with under general rules of good conduct? If the amount consumed is insufficient to have any affect on their standard of play or conduct, who cares? Dennis Taylor admitted that before the final frame of the 1983 Snooker World Championship he had a drop of brandy to steady his nerves. Is that such a terrible thing?

"Thirdly, I think the most important point is that for a sport to be considered for the Olympics it must represent a minimum level of physical activity. I know people will say that darts does entail a certain level but then so does marbles. Look at the bellies on these guys; some of them are more like places than people."

This sounds like he's seen one picture of Andy Fordham, so he's qualified to call darts players generally overwieght (Simon Whitlock, Steve Beaton, Colin Osborne, Jelle Klaasen, Co Stompe...?). And being overweight automatically negates any level of dedication, focus, competitiveness and physical skill? That's just prejudice - "You can't be a sportsman, you're too fat." The derogatory language doesn't help either.

"Darts does involve a physical skill, however, but no obvious physical exertion. Throwing a dart to a small area involves a great deal of physical skill, but then so does skipping. Chess is regarded as a sport in Russia but the top chess players do have to train: physical activity stimulates the brain and so they engage in that in order to play better chess."

I hadn't realised that the rules of chess require players to engage in a minimum level of physical activity to qualify for tournaments; oh wait, they don't. So you have to exercise to play chess, because it stimulates the brain, but in darts you just switch your brain off? That's just prejudice as well; anyone who has bothered to watch top-level darts can see how much mental strength and focus it requires.

"Where it falls down is that darts does not really involve any degree of physical exertion. Darts players would level that argument against archery or even curling, but they do at least involve some; in fact drawing back the string of a bow involves quite a lot. And curling requires the competitors to exert themselves physically as well."

And in shooting, competitors shout "Bang!" before sprinting down the range and pushing their bullets into the target do they? I enjoy rifle and pistol shooting; they require a lot of skill to do well and are rightly counted as sports. Yes, guns are heavy; you need exceptionally steady hands, arms and controlled breathing to shoot accurately, but then you need them in darts too. Unless you're participating in a pentathlon or a war, shooting does not require great levels of aerobic physical exertion.

"It is not easy to define a sport - you can make all sorts of arguments both ways. Where sports involve aesthetic elements, such as ice skating or dressage, there is an argument to be made against those because of the subjective nature of the competition. But look at the level of physical exertion involved in something like ballroom dancing, which could also be considered for the Olympics. Consider Darren Gough on Strictly Come Dancing for evidence of that. Ballroom dancing has a huge number of participants around the world as well and I wouldn't argue against it being included in the games."

"Fishing people would make a similar argument based on the numbers participating, but again it's difficult to define fishing as a sport on the grounds of physical exertion. It is at the parameters of where sport ends and a pastime begins. Sport England regards weight training and jogging as sports so it is not a matter of whether there is direct competition involved."

You read it here first folks: it's not about direct competition, it's all about physical exertion. What he fails to tackle, which I believe in a balanced argument he should, is why cue sports are classed as Olympic sports. If cue sports can be classed as Olympic sports, why not darts? If he doesn't believe they should be, it seems only fair to say so. In any case, Sport England has recognised darts as a sport since March 2005, almost a year before this article was written.

"When the modern Olympics started, Baron de Coubertin wanted to include cricket - and it was, in the Paris games of 1900. They had the same problem of which sports to include in those days."

"In the early years of the Olympics what was included and what was not was pretty arbitrary. In the 1900 games croquet was also in, and you don't exactly lose your breath playing that. But just because croquet was in the Olympics 100 years ago does not mean darts should be in now."

You don't lose your breath playing chess either, but a couple of paragraphs ago you were defending it. You don't have to have an active physical training regime to be a good chess player (though I do not doubt that many do), nor is there any requirement for chess players to pass a physical fitness test before entering tournaments. Either a proper sport requires aerobic exertion during matchplay or it doesn't; make up your mind.

"The spirit of Olympism in terms of sportsmanship and competition remains but I think the IOC has to be quite objective about which sports it admits. There is a minimum level of physical activity which is required and that means darts cannot be considered."

I'm always a little sceptical about the "Spirit of Olympi[ani?]sm" (see doping scandals passim); when applied to darts, it often seems to be code for "we don't want fat people with tattoos and chunky jewellery in the same event as our clean-cut heroic-looking athletes". And even if there is a minimum level of physical activity required for participating in the Games themselves (shooting?), there evidently isn't for being an IOC recognised sport, otherwise bridge and chess wouldn't be there.

End of fisk.

There is a certain snobbery against darts; the fact that, more than any other, it's seen as a working class, common man's game, whilst not stated out loud, seems to pervade much of the public discussion about the recognition of darts as a sport, by the IOC or anyone else. Many of the things said about darts to prove it's not a proper sport apply to other sports which are recognised, but that seems to be forgotten about.

The snobbery row has often surfaced regarding Honours for success in sport. Eric Bristow and Phil Taylor both received the MBE (Bristow in 1989, Taylor in the 2000 New Year's Honours List but lost it following a misdemeanour in a camper van after a tournament in Scotland; he has always denied any wrong-doing, and it's difficult to believe your heroes are villains, but I'm not going to speculate), but we all know that if Phil Taylor had been 15 times World Show Jumping Champion, he'd be in a civil partnership with Prince Charles by now.

There is, however, a much greater snobbery than class (football, after all, is primarily a "working class" sport) at play here, and it can be seen in McNab's use of the words "Spirit of Olympism"; sporting snobbery. Darts, darts players, and darts fans, simply do not fit the image of pure sporting nobility - heroic, clean-cut, sinewy young men and women, stepping forward in a quasi religious atmosphere of reverential sporting glory, epitomised by the Olympic torch, to demonstrate what is best and noblest in human sporting endeavour.

It applies particularly to athletics, which seems to resent its low TV viewing figures and therefore portrays itself as the only pure and noble forum in which human sporting endeavour can be defined according to the "Olympic" ideals, unsullied by any false notions of popularity. Chanting, drinking darts fans simply do not have a place in this golden (yet false) vision of the nobility of man epitomised through pure athletic competition. This is the over-blown ideology of the Olympics to which I referred earlier.

I personally do not believe that the noblest and purest spirit of mankind's sporting endeavours can be exclusively revealed by men and women running around a track very fast, or jumping higher than each other; however, for people who take this "Olympic" propaganda to heart (especially the promoters of professional athletics, since it is the only way they can make themselves feel superior to far more popular sports) it is extremely important, and the fact is that the type of people who watch and play darts have no place in their ideology of sporting purity.

Phil Taylor does not look like a sporting hero, an embodiment of man's pursuit of sporting excellence, to these people; the fact that he is more successful than any other sportsman in recent history does not matter; to protect the "purity" of sport as they see it, they must rubbish darts.

I'm not bothered about Olympic recognition for darts myself, but it is an issue which gets to the heart of people's prejudices against darts, darts players and darts fans.

Very long post, very tricky issue. For those who enjoy a long weekend read :o)

Dartboards

2010-06-10T16:57:00.006+01:00

As mentioned at the end of my last post, I currently lack a dartboard at home.

The one I used as a kid is still attached to a wall in my parents' house, but it's basically knackered and I need a new one.

Until I get one the only place I have to throw darts is my local pub; whilst this has certain distinct advantages, it lacks the blessed cloak of anonymity which beginners like to have when practising - and, frankly, the thought of one of the regulars challenging me to a game (we're friendly like that in the north east) is terrifying since it would make the recent Phil Taylor v. Kevin Painter fixture look like a two-sided game.

So, I need to buy a dartboard, to enable me to reach the standard at which I would feel confident about throwing darts in the presence of people who aren't terrible at it :o)

I was on fairly solid ground purchasing darts - cheapest decent set going - but I must confess I'm a bit more at sea when it comes to choosing a dartboard. I don't need something heinously expensive with wires the thickness of dental floss, but I would like something that will last a long time, and wires small enough to keep dart resharpening to a minimum. As far as I can tell dartboards are made of pretty much the same material, so I'm wondering what the major differences are between the wide variety of boards on offer, and what the extra money would buy me if I went for one of the more expensive options (at the moment I'm looking in the £20-£30 range).

If anyone has any advice on choosing a dartboard, or can enlighten me as to what the differences between board types are (beyond wire size), please do. Also, is it true that Winmau boards have slightly smaller double and treble beds than Unicorn boards, or is that just a rumour put about to try and show that BDO players are better than PDC players?

On a related note, thanks to Rags for being the first person to leave a comment on this blog (and for saying nice things about my darts). I hope others will follow his shining example... :o)

My Darts

2010-06-09T18:44:00.004+01:00

Having talked a lot about pro darts recently, I thought I'd discuss darts at the very opposite end of the spectrum :o)

Readers of this blog have already seen my darts, since they're the ones displayed in the blog title - 19 gram, steel and brass-plated Unicorn Level Ones, obtained for a discount £3.50 courtesy of a sports shop in the Metro Centre, Gateshead.

A pretty basic choice, but they throw well enough and are just fine for a darts player of my level - beginner, basically. The most consistent bit of advice I received was 'Don't spend a lot of money on your first set of darts' and I've certainly taken that advice to heart - not a sliver of tungsten in sight.

For anyone who doesn't know, tungsten is a much denser metal than steel, which enables tungsten darts to be much slimmer than steel darts for any given weight. This allows for extra tight grouping, but given that RAF pilots equipped with cluster bombs are currently achieving tighter grouping than I am it's not really something I have to worry about :o)

I did have a more expensive set when I played as a kid, but they seem to have been thrown out by my mother when I left home, though for some reason she didn't chuck out the darts wallet, and the 3 sets of flights it contained, which I'm now using. I'd like to find a set of Newcastle United flights to complement my old Spurs flights - two football teams in my life: Spurs from my childhood down south, and Newcastle from my adulthood up north. You wouldn't have thought that would be too difficult in Durham, but live and learn.

I'm getting very fond of my darts though - I suspect every darter has a soft spot for their first set of darts. If anyone has any tales of their first darts that they'd like to share, or any tips for a beginner on how to practice and improve, please do share them :o)

All I need now is a dartboard...

The Taylor Affect

2010-06-08T14:43:00.004+01:00

A post over at Andy's Blog is looking forward to the World Matchplay (the next televised PDC tournament, at the end of July) with some trepidation:
http://superstarsofdarts.blogspot.com/2010/06/taylor-triumphs-but-is-it-too.html

I guess it's inevitable after so many years of Phil Taylor being the dominant force in professional darts that the question is asked: is Taylor's dominance actually good for the sport?

I take Andy's point that for some people the sense that they already know what the outcome of the tournament will be can take the edge off watching. However, I'd like to look at things from a somewhat more optimistic point of view.

Phil Taylor has done an enormous amount to bring darts as a sport into the mainstream, and there are a large number of people out there who only got into watching darts because they heard about Phil Taylor. Those people, for whom watching Taylor is a highlight, shouldn't be put off by a continuation of his dominance. Taylor playing like he has done recently is a great thing to watch in and of itself; much excitement comes from wondering whether or not he'll surpass himself.

Also, we know for a fact that Phil Taylor is not unbeatable because we've seen him get beaten before, so there's also a certain frisson that comes from wondering whether anyone will be able to stop him this time. He sets the level which every other player wants - or should want - to beat.

Andy is right to point out that it is up to the other players to take the game to Taylor and play at his level, and he's also right to point out that even the best players can play below their usual standard when up against the Power; during the UK Open one commentator referred to this as 'The Taylor Affect'.

One thing that the darts detractors (and despite recent improvements, there are many) consistently underestimate is the psychological nature of darts, and the amount of mental strength that is required to play at the top level. To regularly put two or three darts into an area of board with roughly the surface area of a 10p piece from 7 feet 9 1/4 inches away takes a throwing action with incredible consistency. This in turn requires every muscle and sinew in the hand, arm and shoulder to act in exactly the right way; even the slightest doubts or emotions or rush of adrenalin can cause loss of focus and concentration (making the arm muscles tense up a bit, or the fingers linger on the barrel at the release, or the shoulder move out of line or the wrist bend too much) and throw the shot off target. On a board which was designed (by Brian Gamlin in 1896) to punish inaccuracy to the greatest possible extent, this matters a great deal.

Regular snooker players will know how this works: when Ronnie O'Sullivan is stroking in shots the length and breadth of the table, and everything just seems to drop in perfectly, the commentators say not that he's aiming well, but that he's cueing well. That's because aiming is a relatively small part of the shot; what really counts, and what is most difficult, is ensuring that the cue action is consistent, accurate and controlled enough to put the cue ball and the object ball where the player's eyes are telling him they should go. A little too much tension in the arm can result in, say, screwing the cue ball back too far or sending the object ball towards the pocket at the wrong angle.

Therefore 'The Taylor Affect' could aso be put down, not just to players crumbling, but on them being too focused on beating the Power and too emotionally invested in the match. When things start to go wrong, as they did for Gary Anderson in the UK Open Final, determination to get back into the match can make matters worse; then frustration and resignation set in, and as soon as that happens the match is as good as over.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Phil Taylor is only human; it is possible, although difficult, to rattle him and cause him to pull shots or slip off line - Denis Ovens demonstrated that in the UK Open Semi Final when Taylor missed several shots at a double. The players who achieve this are those who come at him like a bat out of hell, break him early and open up a lead, putting him under pressure; once Taylor gets his head in front it's almost impossible to pull him back.

I think Andy is a little harsh on Gary Anderson's performance in the UK Open Final. His scoring stats (2 180, 15 140+ and 19 100+) are not that different to Taylor's (3, 16, 20). However he hit just over a quarter of the doubles he went for, whilst Taylor hit just over half; doubling is the weakest aspect of Anderson's game and this must have played on his mind. Also, Taylor and Anderson get on well; I thought seeing Anderson take his defeat in a good spirit showed character, rather than standing by the oche with a face like a slapped arse. Finally, I suspect that when Anderson said he was happy he meant with the tournament overall, which he should have been, rather than with the final specifically. I'm sure he wasn't happy with second place, but he still had a good tournament.

I'd like to ask Andy to comment on this, but his blog isn't configured for comments and there are no contact details (reading a few posts down should explain why); if he wants to comment he's very welcome to, as is anyone else...

Overall, I think Taylor attracts many more people to darts than he puts off, but the other players do need to raise their games to his level more often. Of course, many young players have grown up watching Taylor, and I can't think of a better darting role model for them.

UK Open - Day 4: Super Sunday

2010-06-07T09:18:00.006+01:00

Picture that scene in Star Wars when Obi-wan Kenobi confronts Darth Vader on board the Death Star - "Now the circle is complete. When I left you I was the learner; now I am the master", "Only the Master of Evil, Darth." Cue light sabres...

Now imagine that Obi -wan proceeds to kick seven kinds of crap out of Darth Vader, and you've got some idea of what happened when Phil Taylor took on Adrian Lewis in yesterday's Quarter Finals (except that if Adrian Lewis had struck him down, Phil Taylor couldn't have become more powerful than we can possibly imagine, because he already is). Master defeated Apprentice 10-2.

Gary Anderson got through to the semis, as most expected he would. What they weren't expecting was Tony Ayres, a relative unknown, to beat James Wade 10-9 in a nail-biting 19 leg epic, with world no. 62 Ayres winning his first ever ranking Quarter Final.

Another great result was Denis Ovens beating Wes Newton to reach his first televised semi-final in something like 57 events. Nothing personal, Wes, but Denis Ovens is a great veteran player, with abilities way beyond his track record in televised events, who's been playing since the days when Bristow was King and Taylor was making bog handles, so to see him play brilliantly on TV and get some recognition was just great.

Not that I did see the Quarter Finals, mind, as I was walking around Newcastle in the p-ing rain. Still, I think Newcastle looks best in the grey and rain - more atmospheric around the Tyne bridges; if you want sunshine, go to Malaga. Anyway, after a thoroughly pleasant afternoon in the jewel of the North East (and having recovered from the shock of being charged £8 for two pints of lager at a certain public house on the Quayside, which shall remain nameless) I was back home, champing at the bit for the semis and finals.

First up was Anderson-Ayres. We were all rooting for Ayres - everyone loves an outsider don't they? - but he just couldn't sustain the form that had got him that far, and Anderson rapidly began to dominate, eventually taking the match 10-2. Ominous for Anderson was his finishing; such was his dominance that he should have won 10-0, but he missed several important doubles. Anderson is a fantastic scorer, but doubles have been his stumbling block and against a player like Phil Taylor you don't need stumbling blocks. Hats off to Tony Ayres; a great performance to get to the semis - players like him are what the UK Open is all about.

Next to square up were Ovens and Taylor. I'm generally non-partisan when watching darts, and I like Phil Taylor very much (he recently sent me a great personally dedicated and signed photo for my profoundly disabled mate's 20th birthday :o) ) but I must confess I was rooting for Ovens.

The Heat didn't disappoint either, coming out of the traps like a Whippet with an itch. He broke Taylor's throw (and very few people have done that recently) in the first leg with a 14 darter, then threw a great Bullseye finish to hold his own throw. 3-2 up at the break, Ovens extended his lead to 4-2. Taylor was looking rattled - no-one had come at him like this all tournament - but raised his game superbly, winning 5 straight legs to sieze back the initiative. Ovens finally succumbed 10-5 - a score line which didn't accurately reflect how well he played: he hit 19 ton plus scores, 9 140+, 6 maximums (to Taylor's 19, 12 and 7) and finished with an average of 100.68. One person who certainly wasn't surprised was Taylor: long-time pros know just how good Denis Ovens is away from the crowds and cameras, and for me this was the best match of the evening.

So we moved on to the Final. We were expecting big things from Anderson-Taylor, billed as the best England-Scotland fixture since Bristow-Wilson, but the match didn't quite live up to it in the end. Anderson's double trouble resurfaced with a vengeance, and he was clearly feeling the pressure. It was a great shame, as he'd played brilliantly up til the final, but there are a great deal of positives he can take from this tournament too, and hopefully we'll be seeing more of him in the PDC in future. Phil Taylor clinched his 68th major title 11-5.

Congratulations to Phil and everyone else who took part in the UK Open. This tournament has shown why the sport of darts has everything: brilliance, drama, sportsmanship, atmosphere, excitement and some brilliant young talent coming through.

Full round ups of the whole tournament can be found here.

UK Open - Day 3

2010-06-06T08:54:00.006+01:00

Knackers!

At the precise moment Phil Taylor set a new World Record three dart average of 118.66 during a 9-0 demolition of Kevin Painter during the 4th round (you have to feel sorry for Painter, who didn't have a shot at a double during the whole 9 legs; still, I bet it made Wayne Mardle feel better...) I was struggling up a hillside in Northumberland, pushing my girlfriend in her wheelchair up to see Houseteads Fort. Still, we had a lovely day in that most beautiful part of the world, and I'm extraordinarily proud of managing to push a wheelchair to, round and from Housesteads (if you've seen it, you'll know why), even if I am sun burned.

Anyhoo, the upshot is I missed the 4th round - results and a write up can be found here courtesy of the nice gentlemen at the PDC - so all I'll say on it is congratulations to Phil Taylor for an astonishing performance and the breaking of yet another record.

On to the 5th round, which I watched during an orgy of after-sun application, and the 16 survivors of round 4 certainly did not disappoint. Highlight of the schedule was Phil Taylor v. Simon Whitlock, which promised a cracking fixture between the two best players in the world at the present time. It was a great match, with Simon Whitlock applying more pressure to the Power than any other player has done so far; for once Phil showed signs of pressure too, missing multiple darts at a double in the 13th leg. Whitlock, also feeling the pressure as anyone who plays Taylor does, couldn't capitalise though, and the Power came through. He'll now face his own apprentice Adrian Lewis, who beat an out-of-sorts looking Wayne Jones 9-4, in the Quarter Finals.

The highlight of the evening, in this author's humble opinion, was the match between Mervyn King and Gary Anderson. This match had everything; a break down at one stage, Anderson hung in, throwing some fantastic darts and managing to overcome finishing problems which were dogging him. Mervyn King was on great form too, and slammed in a milimetre perfect 9 dart leg. Neck and neck for most of the match, it ended, as it had to, with a 17th leg shoot-out; King, who had the throw in the 17th, started as favourite, but Anderson threw brilliantly to break King's throw and clinch a well-deserved 9-8 victory.

Another great aspect of King v. Anderson was that the crowd respected and even seemed to get a bit behind Mervyn King, who has been on the receiving end of more than his fair share of stick from some crowds. Granted, he doesn't always handle stick from the crowd in the best way, some heckling is inevitable, and having heroes and villains is all part of the theatre, but sometimes it goes too far. Mervyn King is a brilliant player; when Anderson hit his final double to win the match, King reacted like a true sportsman; he deserves respect for that, and I'm glad to say that last night, he got it.

Another great match was Andy Hamilton v. Ronnie Baxter. The Hammer staged a brilliant come-back from 7-5 down to overhaul the Rocket 9-7. Andy Hamilton will now play Gary Anderson.

James Wade strolled past Kevin McDine 9-2 to book his place in the Quarter Finals, where he'll face Tony Ayres, who knocked out Alan Tabern 9-5. Veteran pro Denis Ovens overcame pie-man Andy Smith 9-1 and will go on to face Wes Newton.

Well that just about wraps up a terrific evening of sport ladies and gentlemen; I hope you all enjoy the feast of darts that is the UK Open's Super Sunday - Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and Finals all in one gruelling day.

I'll be in Newcastle for the afternoon and won't see the Quarter Finals, which means Phil Taylor will probably hit 3 back to back 9 darters or become the first man to do a perfect 3 x 167 9 dart leg :o)

I'll be watching from 7 though, so hopefully the last 4 players will save some magic for me....

UK Open - Day Two

2010-06-05T09:15:00.003+01:00

Top notch entertainment on Friday evening (and no Eastenders this time; girlfriend had to make a decision between Eastenders and James Wade, and James Wade won :o) )

James Wade did indeed win, beating Muffin Man Steve Hine in a match which Wade should have wrapped up fairly early; he allowed Hine back in though, and the Muffin Man came right back at him, having one dart at a double to set-up a 17th leg shoot out. Fortunately for Wade, Hine missed and Wade clinched it 9-7 (blaming being distracted by the air conditioning for his mid-match slump; hmmmmm). Wade moves on to play impressive young Irishman William O'Connor.

Gary Anderson was on fire, producing a scintilllating display and a 106 average to knock out Michael van Gerwen 9-6; Anderson plays Paul Nicholson in what should be a cracking match.

Poor Wayne Mardle went down 9-2 to Phil Taylor; it's not so much losing to Phil Taylor that hurts - anyone can do that - as the way he did it. He looked so focused at the start, and then gradually crumbled as everything seemed to go Phil Taylor's way. He was visibly melting on stage. Phil Taylor has said he's taking Mardle under his wing for some training; let's hope it produces some results for Mardle - if Phil can't train you, no one can. The Power goes on to play Kevin Painter.

Reece Robinson, the fresh-faced 18 year old debutant from Hull produced a performance that many a seasoned pro wouldn't have been disappointed with, losing out to Simon Whitlock 9-5; he took the opening two legs and produced several ton plus checkouts, but the Wizard (reckoned as the number two player in the world right now) was too much for him in the end. Robinson's mental stamina seemed to run out towards the end; his focus slipped and so did his darts, often in to the 5 and 1, but that's something which will naturally improve with time and experience; there's potentially great things ahead for Reece Robinson, and he should be very proud this morning.

In other games, Dennis Ovens overcame Dennis Priestly 9-8, Mervyn King overcame a spirited performance by Joe Cullen (and more crowd hostility: what is it about King?) to go through 9-5, and Jelle Klaasen beat Steve Evans 9-6. Full list of games and the 4th round draw here.

That sets us up for what should be a great day of darts today; drag the TV into the garden and watch in the glorious summer sunshine if you can :o)

I'm off to Northumberland for the day, though I'm hoping to be back by 7 pm for session 2.

UK Open - Day One

2010-06-04T13:07:00.002+01:00

One major advantage enjoyed by professional commentators and sports journalists is that their girlfriends don't usually make them turn the darts off at 10.00 pm so they can watch Eastenders. However, despite my slightly-less-than-uninterrupted spectation, I did make a few notes :o)

First, I must get this off my chest...

Note to Ashley Whisker re Chewing Gum at the Oche:

Dear Ashley,

This was your first televised darts match, and I thought you showed flashes of real talent in a difficult pairing with a previous UK Open Finalist. However, one polite request for your future career: PLEASE consider refraining from chewing gum during televised matches as it really isn't pleasant to watch on the split-screen close-up. I enjoy chewing gum as much as the next man, but then a close-up of my face isn't being displayed to TV viewers around the world while I do it.

Thanks and best wishes for the future...

OK, now that's done...

Gary Mawson fell at the second hurdle, beating Whisker in the preliminary round but losing to Dylan Duo (that's a superhero, surely?) in the first round.

Wayne Mardle survived, and will play Phil Taylor today.

Peter Manley (a top 32 player) made a surprise exit, losing 6-3 to 19 year old Michael Smith.

Most impressive to me was 23 year old Irishman William O'Connor, who showed some real class and for much of his match was running at an average of over 100.

Another impressive youngster (it seems - I missed this one) was 18 year old Reece Robinson, who'll meet Simon Whitlock in the third round - I'll be watching out for that one.

Other matches I'll be looking out for: Dennis Priestly v. Steve Maish, Kirk Shepherd v. Paul Nicholson and Wes Newton v. Terry Jenkins.

Full results and more detailed commentary here

PDC Chairman Barry Hearn takes over World Snooker

2010-06-03T14:33:00.000+01:00

Here's the full story

I hope the PDC's Great Helmsman is as successful with snooker as he was with darts. I enjoy watching and playing snooker (not much cop at it though, a bit like darts), but the recent attempts to add pizzazz with darts-style walk-on music have frankly been painful to watch - it was a bit like seeing your dad try to cut it on the dance floor at your secondary school Christmas party: everyone feels uncomfortable, and it's about as convincing as a Nissan Micra with cardboard spoilers at the British Grand Prix.

In all honesty, watching major BDO events feels a bit like that too - just uncomfortably wrong, somehow, as if someone's hired an MC, Cameramen and full lighting rig to cover a match at the Dog and Duck, Gateshead. Not that there aren't great players in the BDO - Martin Adams, Ted Hankey (love him or loathe him, he's good), Andy Fordham was a personal favourite of mine (joined the PDC last year), who I sincerely hope will make a comeback - but the Organisation itself is failing at the top level. The "World Championship" at the Lakeside feels oddly dowdy and 1980s - I keep expecting Crazy Nights to strike up and Eric Bristow to stroll out, although of course, sadly, he never does. Watch a BDO event followed by a PDC event and the contrast is obvious.

Good luck with snooker Barry...

Darts News

2010-06-03T10:26:00.000+01:00

Quick check of the stories ahead of the UK Open:

Derby Evening Telegraph has an interview with last year's UK Open losing finalist Colin Osborne, who's hoping for revenge on Phil Taylor. Given that Ladbrokes are quoting Phil at 1/2 and Osborne at 50/1, I wouldn't bet my shirt on an upset. Still, you never know...

Stoke and Staffordshire Sentinel talks to local heroes Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis.

Sky Sports - 'Underdogs on the Oche'

UK Open Starts Tomorrow

2010-06-02T15:17:00.000+01:00

I love the UK Open, known as the FA Cup of Darts, where (relative) minnows can find themselves playing the greatest professionals.

Gary Mawson and Wayne Mardle are both competing - Gary was losing finalist in 2008; best of luck to him.

Wayne Mardle hasn't performed at the top of his game for quite some time, but he's quite a character so it would be great to see him make something of a comeback; perhaps a little less focus on the famous walk-on would help his focus on the game, but then again maybe not if it helps him get psyched up... Anyone have any thoughts on Mardle?

Barneveld seemed to be finding form towards the end of the Premier League, so it's a great shame he hasn't qualified for the UK Open (having not completed the requisite 3 qualifiers). When he was interviewed during the Premier League he mentoned being blackmailed - very nasty business; there's an article on it here

As for some of the other Dutchmen, it would be great to see Jelle Klaasen do well again, having become the youngest ever world champion (BDO) in 2006 but not really set the darting world on fire since. I like watching Vincent van der Voort, with that trade-mark rapid fire throwing action, and Co Stompe's fun too - trying to figure out his throwing action is just mind-bending.

Anyone have any other suggestions for players to look out for during the UK Open - this blog is always open to suggestions...

Anyway, long-story-short, I'm looking forward to having some darts to watch again (local pub excepted) - being a poor (financially) student, the number of non-televised events I can get to is sadly limited.

Premier League Final - Phil Taylor's two 9 darters

2010-06-01T19:42:00.000+01:00

The lights may have failed at Wembley on the Sunday, but there was no "Power" failure on the Monday (sorry, couldn't resist it).

It may be a while after the event, but I've haven't been able to blog for a while and just can't resist commenting on this fantastic match.

A good thing it was on the Monday too; I would have missed it if it had been on the Sunday. Fortunately (for me, if not for those who pitched up at Wembley on Sunday) fate intervened, and on Monday I was able to watch what must be the greatest televised darts match in history.

By the time Phil came within a whisker of his 3rd 9 darter I'd left the edge of my seat and was hovering somewhere above it. Sid Waddell was so excited I was half-expecting a doctor with a sedative to storm the commentary box at any moment.

Stephen Fry in the commentary box? I missed that bit (long drive, only caught the final match), perhaps someone could enlighten me as to how well he did...? Of course, our new Prime Minister recently mentioned that he's a darts fan (was it on Desert Island Discs?) so if they're thinking of aiming even higher in the celebrity stakes in future...

Ah, what a match though. Just when you think "The Power" can't get any better, he proves you wrong. Hats off to James Wade too though, and not just because my girlfriend will moan at me for leaving him out - she rather likes him :o) It's not be easy to be Phil Taylor's opponent in any match, and especially not a match like that, but I thought Wade acquitted himself very well - especially since in the early stages it looked like he wouldn't even make the play-offs.

Congratulations to Phil Taylor for being the first to throw two 9 dart legs in a single match; as one commentator pointed out afterwards, it's probably just as well he missed the third one - if he hadn't, there'd have been nothing left for him to achieve.

May 6th - The Tension, the Drama...

2010-05-10T21:16:00.000+01:00

Unforgettable night, the 6th of May.

I was there from the start, watching the drama unfold, counting the results as they came in. Yes, I was indeed in the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, watching the Premier League Darts. My girlfriend has a thing for James Wade, so she came away disappointed. Phil Taylor-Terry Jenkins looked initially like it was going to be very close, but in that inimitable Power way Phil drew clear.

Barneveld-King was exciting, primarily for the crowd reaction - they cheered Barney to the rafters and heckled King (at least in the first half - an official came on stage and asked them not to in the second half) to an extent I'd never seen before. Short of doing his walk-on in a Sunderland strip, it's hard to see how he could have got a much more hostile reaction; Christ knows what King had done to piss the citizens of Newcastle off so much.

Anyway, having driven back from Newcastle (don't live far away) we discovered that, apparently, there was an election on that night, and settled in with beer and snacks to watch the results. Much slower, but almost as exciting :o)

Raymond van Barneveld: Nine Dart Leg - and I Missed It!

2010-05-03T00:37:00.000+01:00

This seems like a good topic for my first proper post.

I hate cooking. I spend as little of my life doing it as possible. However, I was cooking for myself and my girlfriend on Thursday 29th April, whilst watching the Premier League Darts - watching darts and cooking at the same time? How 'new man' is that? Anyhoo, I get up to make sure everything on the oven is doing ok: while my back is turned Barney makes a nine dart leg...!!!

I feel so.... Aaargh! It's not Barney's fault my back was turned. Dammit, it's so good to have him back on form and throwing properly again. After a long time with Barney off form, to see (or in my case miss) him throwing a nine dart leg is just fantastic.

Welcome

2010-05-03T00:28:00.005+01:00

Hello and welcome to my blog - well, everyone seems to be doing it these days.

I can't take credit for its name - that belongs to an article in Viz about a previously undiscovered New Testament papyrus, which describes how Jesus, during a darts match against a Pharisee, threw a miraculous eight dart leg. Being both a Theology student and a darts fan, I thought that was brilliant, and decided to name this blog after it. I'd scan it and display it for all to see, but I'd probably get sued :o)

The topic of this blog is darts - I've loved watching darts since I was little, but haven't played since I was about 11, and I wasn't that good then :o) So this blog will focus on the professional world of darts, on the trials and tribulations of me trying to play darts again and on anything else dart-related in between.

I hope you enjoy reading, and please do leave comments - tips, insights and commentary from other darters will always be welcome.

Best wishes

Darter Noster (that one's mine)