2009 PDC World Darts Championship
Encyclopedia
The 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 16th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation
since it separated from the British Darts Organisation
.
John Part
was the defending champion having won the PDC World Championship for the second time in last year's final against Kirk Shepherd
. However, he was eliminated by Bill Davis
on the opening night. Shepherd's poor form in 2008 continued, as he was also eliminated in the first round, by Dutchman Jan van der Rassel
. Eventually, the title was won by Phil Taylor, with a 7-1 victory and a world record average for a tournament final of 110.94 – over Raymond van Barneveld
. The title was Taylor's twelfth in the PDC from fifteen finals, and his fourteenth in total. The tournament was also notable for featuring the first ever nine dart finish
at the PDC World Championship
- completed by van Barneveld in his quarter-final match with Jelle Klaasen
.
The event took place from December 19, 2008 to January 4, 2009 - albeit with two breaks in between for Christmas
and New Year
. Again, the tournament was held at London
's Alexandra Palace
having moved from the Circus Tavern
in Purfleet
for the 2008 competition
.
on December 1, 2008 will be seeded for the tournament. They will be joined by 16 PDPA
members and 22 international qualifiers to be determined by the PDC and PDPA.
The 16 PDPA members were made up from the top eight players who haven't already qualified in the PDC Pro Tour
events during 2008 and eight other qualifiers were determined at a PDPA Qualifying event which was held on December 6 2008 in Telford
.
These 48 players were joined by 22 international players who qualified through various means. Some of the players, such as the top American, Australian, Danish and Eastern European players were entered straight into the first round, while others, having won qualifying events in their countries, were entered into the preliminary round.
* In darts, as in many other sports, some non-sovereign
sub-national entities
of the United Kingdom
are treated as separate countries
for sport governance purposes.
(who was the top ranked player on the ranking system mainly by virtue of his German Darts Championship win), second placed Jelle Klaasen
, and fourth placed Jan van der Rassel
. Third place went to the Serbian-born Austrian Mensur Suljovic
.
Of the four qualifiers, three had played in the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship
, with Stompé being the only debutant having joined the PDC in June. Klaasen, on his debut in 2008, fell in the first round (albeit in a sudden death leg) to fellow countryman Vincent van der Voort
, having missed ten darts to win the match. van der Rassel fared better in 2008, beating Colin Lloyd
3-2 in his first-round match before dispatching Denis Ovens
4-1 in the second round; however he fell by the same scoreline to Peter Manley
in the last 16. van der Rassel has made two other appearances in the PDC World Championship - in the 2006 event
he lost in the second round and in 2004
he lost in the first round. Suljovic is making his second appearance in the tournament - in 2008 he defeated Andy Smith
3-2 in the first round before losing out 4-1 to eventual champion John Part
in his second match.
The first Australian qualifier was Newcastle
-born Paul Nicholson
, making his debut in the PDC World Championship. After the William Cross Pro-Am series of events in Shoalhaven
, Nicholson took an unassailable lead at the top of the Australian Grand Prix rankings - the top ranked player here would earn a place in the first round of the World Championship. His performances in Shoalhaven also earned him a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
.
The second Australian place was given to veteran Russell Stewart
, who made 11 appearances between 1984 and 2002 in the BDO World Championship
. Stewart won the Oceanic Masters, an event open to all Australian and New Zealand players, to secure his debut in the PDC World Championship, at the first round stage.
Caribbean qualifier
Sudesh Fitzgerald
, of Guyana, won the Caribbean and South American Masters to become the second ever Guyanan player to appear in the PDC World Championship, after Norman Madhoo
who qualified for the 2004 event. Fitzgerald is entered in at the preliminary stage of the tournament.
China qualifier
Shi Yongsheng
became the Chinese representative at the tournament, making this his third successive appearance in the PDC World Championship. Yongsheng played in the 2008 PDC World Championship, beating Indian qualifier Ashfaque Sayed
in the preliminary round but losing to Alan Warriner-Little
in the first round. He also played in the 2007 PDC World Championship
but fell at the first hurdle in a loss to Andy Smith. Yongsheng won the Chinese National Championship to secure his place in this year's event, at the preliminary stage.
Denmark qualifier
For the third year in a row, Per Laursen
topped the Danish Darts League to win a third successive place in the PDC World Championship. He was entered in at the first round stage. In 2007, Laursen defeated Colin Monk
3-0 in the first round but narrowly lost 4-3 to third seed Dennis Priestley
in the second round, having had eight darts to win the match. In 2008, he lost 3-1 in the opening match of the event to Alan Tabern
.
Eastern Europe qualifier
The Eastern European qualifier took place on October 31 and was open to players from 14 countries in the area. Hungary's Nándor Bezzeg
won the event to become the first ever Hungarian representative at the PDC World Championship, being given a first round place at the tournament. He succeeds the Czech Republic's Miroslav Navratil who won the previous year's Eastern European qualifier to earn a place in the 2008 World Championship. Navratil then went on to defeat Philippines qualifier Rizal Barellano
5-0 in the preliminary round before losing 3-2 to Andy Jenkins
in the first round.
Finland qualifier
Marko Kantele
will be making his debut at the PDC World Championship (and is Finland's first ever representative in the event) in 2009 having won the Finnish Pro Darts Championship. He entered at the preliminary phase.
Germany/Austria qualifier
This qualifying place was decided by the German Darts Corporation rankings, which ranks all German/Austrian players from darts events held in the two countries. Austrian Mensur Suljovic topped the rankings, however he had already qualified via the Continental Europe Order of Merit. Therefore his fellow Austrian, second-placed Hannes Schnier
, received the invite to make his debut in the event. He entered at the preliminary round.
Ireland qualifier
Shane O'Connor
won the Irish qualifying event, the inaugural Irish Matchplay, meaning he was entered into the preliminary round of the World Championship, his debut in the event.
Japan qualifier
Akihiro Nagakawa
was the Japanese representative having won the Japanese National Championship to qualify. Nagakawa played at the 2008 PDC World Championship but lost to Anthony Forde
from Barbados in the preliminary round. He will once again appear at the preliminary round this year.
New Zealand qualifier
The New Zealand qualifier was Warren French
who won New Zealand's National Singles Championship. French is no stranger to the PDC World Championship, having accompanied fellow New Zealander Warren Parry
to the 2008 event and having played in the 2007 event, where he lost to James Wade
in the first round. This year he enters in at the preliminary rounds.
North America qualifiers
The 2008 North American Order of Merit was used to decide the three North American qualifiers. Pennsylvanian Darin Young
topped the rankings, after a second round appearance in the 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic
and victory in the inaugural North American Darts Championship. As well as qualifying him for the first round of the 2009 PDC World Championship, these results gave him a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts. Young has twice appeared before in the PDC World Championship, but failed to win a game in either 2005 or 2006.
Bill Davis
finished second in the North American Order of Merit having performed consistently well in all American events, and was the only American to qualify for the televised stages of both the 2008 US Open
and the 2008 Desert Classic. This ensured him a place in the first round of the 2009 World Championship. Davis appeared in the World Championship in 2007 but lost his first game 3-1 to Andy Jenkins.
Third placed Canadian David Fatum
qualified for the preliminary round of the event, his debut in the World Championship. Fatum's high placing was mainly on merit of his run to the semi-finals of the 2008 US Open, where he was narrowly beaten 3-2 by Colin Lloyd.
Philippines qualifier
Lourence Ilagan
succeeded Rizal Barellano (who lost in the preliminary round of the 2008 event) to become the 2009 Philippines qualifier. Ilagan won the National Darts Federation of the Philippines qualifier to earn a place at the preliminary round at the Alexandra Palace
.
Russia qualifier
Current BDO Ladies' World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova
received qualification following the withdrawal of the Indian qualifier. She became the second woman to play in the PDC World Championship, following Canadian Gayl King who took part in the 2001 PDC World Championship
. Following this, Dobromyslova will join the PDC circuit full-time and therefore is not eligible to play in British Darts Organisation events, meaning she cannot defend her BDO Ladies' world title.
South Africa qualifer
Charles Losper
will return to the Alexandra Palace for this year's World Championship, after victory for the second successive year in the South African Open. Losper appeared in the first round of the 2008 World Championship, where he lost 3-1 to eventual champion John Part. He will be entered in at the preliminary stage this year.
SBS6 wildcard
The Dutch TV station SBS6
, who will be broadcasting the World Championship in the Netherlands, originally gave their wildcard to Co Stompé
, who joined the PDC in 2008. However, this decision was in early November; mere weeks later Stompé won the German Darts Championship (his maiden PDC title), beating Phil Taylor 4-2 in the final - this earned him a spot in the World Championship by right, via the Continental Europe Order of Merit.
As a result, on 30 November 2008, Remco van Eijden
was offered and accepted the wildcard, a decision which led to his expulsion from the 2008 Zuiderduin Masters to be replaced by fellow Dutchman and 2009 BDO World Championship
qualifier Willy van de Wiel
. This was van Eijden's debut in the PDC version of the World Championship, and he was entered in at the preliminary round.
by Sid Waddell and Eric Bristow
. The preliminary round draw was made on the morning of that date.
The preliminary round draw were as follows:
Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
The opening match of the tournament was an international affair, seeing Spain's Carlos Rodriguez
take on sixteenth seed Roland Scholten
of the Netherlands. Scholten was struggling with a shoulder/neck injury and in his last televised match - the first round of the 2008 European Championship
- he had averaged 52. Rodriguez on the other hand had defeated fifth seed Terry Jenkins
in the same tournament. True to form, the first set went to the Spaniard, including a 121 checkout. Scholten then hit back to take the second before Rodriguez included an 11 darter in taking the third set 3-2. The Dutchman included an 11 darter of his own as he took the next set without reply and looked to have the momentum going into the decider, but it was perhaps one set too far as the injury took its toll on Scholten's game and Rodriguez won the set - and the match - fairly comfortably. Scholten did not disgrace himself with an 80 average this time around, though Rodriguez' 88 showed the scoring power that gave him the match.
A preliminary round game followed between Japan's Akihiro Nagakawa
and New Zealand's Warren French
, to be contested over nine legs. This was probably for the better as neither player hit top form, both averaging 54, which was a factor in Sky Sports
stopping footage of the game halfway through. French had double trouble in the opening legs, letting Nagakawa take a 2-0 lead, but he soon improved, reeling off four legs on the trot to take the match.
Highly fancied Robert Thornton
took on twenty-fifth seed Wayne Jones
in the next match. Thornton, the lone Scotsman in the competition, joined the PDC in May 2008 and had already risen up to thirty-fifth in the PDC Order of Merit. Jones, a semi-finalist here in 2006, took the first set, but Thornton, averaging 94, took the next three without reply to win the match.
The tournament lit up in the next match as American Bill Davis
sensationally defeated the defending champion and fourth seed, Canadian John Part
, 3-0. A slow start from Part allowed Davis to take the first set with a 116 checkout, and the American took a two legs lead in the second set with a 120 checkout. This seemed to awaken the defending champion, who hit five 180s in the next three legs, but missed doubles for the set cost him as Davis took a 2-0 lead. The final set went to a deciding leg as well - Part almost completed a 125 checkout, missing the double 20 to save the match before Davis hit double 10 - the same double Part won his world championship on - to wrap up the win.
The final match of the night was a high quality affair with both Dutchman Co Stompé
and twenty-fourth seed Andy Jenkins
averaging 93 and 94 respectively. Both players had defeated Phil Taylor in recent events - Stompé in the final of the German Darts Championship and Jenkins in the group stages of the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
- and Stompé took the first set. A 120 checkout from the Englishman levelled the match but Stompé, himself a newcomer to the PDC this year, hit a 164 checkout - the highest of the tournament - to help him take the third set. The debutant won the final set 3-1 to win the match by the same scoreline, sending the 2007 semi-finalist Jenkins out. This result also meant all four seeds in action had crashed out.
The afternoon session of the second day of the World Championship opened with fifth seed Terry Jenkins
taking on Dennis Smith
who was returning to the event after a two year absence. Jenkins had lost in the first round the previous year to 500-1 outsider Kirk Shepherd
, who would then go on to reach the final. His woes at the Alexandra Palace
continued as Smith took a comfortable 3-1 victory. Smith took the first two sets before Jenkins looked to stage a comeback with 118 and 107 checkouts helping him take third set 3-0. However, 'Smiffy' put a stop to the resurgence with an 84 checkout on the bull to win the match, meaning all five seeds who had played so far had fallen at the first hurdle.
This was followed by a preliminary round match of considerably better quality than the previous night's. Austrian Hannes Schnier
, making his debut in the event, and China's Shi Yongsheng
, making a third consecutive appearance, faced off with Yongsheng taking an early lead. Two 180s helped Schnier to take a 4-3 lead before Yongsheng reeled off three legs in succession to take the match 6-4.
Arguably the match of the tournament so far followed as seventeenth seed and semi-finalist last year, Kevin Painter
, took on Matt Clark
. Clark took the first set 3-2 before Painter hit back taking the second 3-1. 'The Artist' then seemed to gain momentum as he took the next set without reply, including a 100 checkout with two double tops and a 126 checkout on the bull, however 'Superman' Clark comfortably won the next set 3-1 to send the match into a decider. The final set had to be won by two clear legs but no player could open up such a margin as they each held their throw for ten straight legs to send the match into a sudden death leg, something that Painter had famously been on the wrong end of in the 2004 final
. Clark won the bull, meaning he threw first, but heavy scoring from Painter meant he was first to a double - he missed one dart at double 16 for the match with Clark left on a 104 checkout. Clark got the required treble 20 but himself missed a dart at double 12 to win the contest. Painter then hit double 8 with his third dart to finally take victory and become the first seed to advance into the second round.
Dennis Priestley
, the eleventh seed, had a considerably more comfortable victory against Warren French of New Zealand. French played far better than in his preliminary round game, averaging 76 rather than 54, however Priestley's average of 87 told all as he took all three sets 3-1 for a 3-0 overall victory. Welshman and twenty-ninth seed Barrie Bates
had a similarly easy victory over Northern Ireland's Felix McBrearty
, dropping three legs before a 101 checkout gave him a 3-0 win to end the afternoon session.
The evening session opened with ninth seed Alan Tabern
producing a comfortable 3-0 victory over 1996 BDO World Champion Steve Beaton
. Tabern's average of 91 to Beaton's 82 was the decisive factor in the match as Beaton only won three legs in his defeat to the 2007 quarter-finalist. This was followed by a third preliminary game, easily the highest quality of the round so far as both the USA's David Fatum
, a semi-finalist in the 2008 US Open
, and Ireland's Shane O'Connor
produced averages of above 75. Fatum led 4-2 before missing seven match darts to let O'Connor peg the match back to 4-4, however Fatum made no mistake in taking the next two legs and the match.
Another player from the USA and the highest ranked on the North American Order of Merit, Darin Young
, took on Dutch youngster and thirty-second seed Michael van Gerwen
in the next match. Young opened with heavy scoring and took the first set before van Gerwen took the next including a 104 checkout that gave the Netherlands player a burst of momentum - he only dropped one leg in taking the next two sets to win the match.
Thirteen-time World Champion and top seed Phil Taylor opened his campaign with a dominant victory over debutant Steve Grubb
. Taylor, with a 96 average - the highest of the tournament so far - was never pushed and didn't drop a leg in a whitewash of the qualifier that acted as a warning shot to the rest of the competition. The final match of the day saw twenty-eighth seed Alex Roy
meet fast-rising youngster Kevin McDine
. McDine took the first set 3-2 and the second 3-1 - a 100 checkout and seven perfect darts in two separate legs helping the Geordie take the latter. Roy seemed to come alive as he took the third set without reply along with a 116 checkout, but McDine included a 108 finish in taking the fourth and final set 3-1 to secure the match, and finish off day two's action.
The first match of the third day was a tight affair between twenty-first seed Mark Walsh and Jamie Caven
. Both were second round losers last year and both averaged 91 in a match where the first break of throw was not until the third set. At 1-1 in sets, Walsh had eight perfect darts towards a nine dart finish
but his dart at double 12 fell well short. The following leg he broke Caven's throw and despite a break back from Caven, a 120 checkout saw him take the third set. Caven took the fourth set 3-2 but Walsh, who two years ago went out in the first round with a 71 average due to suffering from dartitis
, took the final set 4-2 to go into the second round. The match eventually ended up with a total thirteen 180s between the players; eight were from Walsh which would set a joint-record for the first round along with Adrian Lewis
.
The next match saw the second best performance from a preliminary round entrant in South Africa's Charles Losper
, who faced Guyana's Sudesh Fitzgerald
. Losper, who twelve months ago lost 3-1 in the first round to eventual champion John Part
, averaged 87 in a tidy 6-4 victory over Fitzgerald, making his debut at the World Championship. Fitzgerald started poorly and let Losper take a 3-1 lead, before a 64 finish helped him level the match. Losper then checked out 95 to retake the lead, but despite Fitzgerald hitting back the next leg, a 180 in the ninth leg and a 14 dart finish in the tenth gave Losper victory.
The 2005
runner-up and twentieth seed Mark Dudbridge
was next in action against debutant Nick Fullwell
in a match that also went to a fifth set. Dudbridge led in the first, but missed doubles let Fullwell steal it before 'Flash' Dudbridge took the next set 3-1 including a 100 checkout. Dudbridge took control of the match by taking the third set without reply, but 'Hero' Fullwell hit a 98 finish in the fourth to send the match into a decider. Dudbridge finally prevailed by taking the fourth set 4-2.
Thirty-first seed Englishman Wes Newton
faced off against Danish Per Laursen
in the next match. Both suffered first round exits last year and Laursen was condemned to the same fate in a fairly unremarkable match in which both players averaged in the 80s. Laursen took the first set 3-2 but Newton won the next by the same scoreline, before taking the lead with a 3-1 score in the third set (the only set that didn't go to a deciding leg) and finishing the match off with double 4 in the fourth set's decider. A fairly one-sided match followed as eighteenth seed Denis Ovens
took a comfortable victory over Steve Maish
. Ovens took the first set 3-1 and a tight second set which Ovens won 3-2 with a 15 darter seemed to break Maish's resolve, as finishes of 80 and 120 helped Ovens take the third set without reply to end the afternoon's action.
The evening opened with some heavy scoring from number seven seed Andy Hamilton
, who set the best average of round one (101.59) in a straight sets victory over Michael Barnard
. Barnard did not disgrace himself, averaging 93 and performing 114 checkout, but Hamilton's power play including five 180s ensured he went through while throwing down the gauntlet for the rest of the field.
What followed was one of the most hotly anticipated matches ever in the PDC World Championship
. Massive hype had gathered over the appearance of Russian Anastasia Dobromyslova
, the Ladies World Champion, facing off against Dutchman Remco van Eijden
in a preliminary round game. Both were making their debut in the PDC World Championship and both had been awarded a wild card
into the competition. However, Dobromyslova was the clear crowd favourite and the pressure showed on van Eijden as he lost the first leg. This seemed to awaken the Dutchman as he reeled off the next three legs before a thirteen darter helped the Russian to level the match. van Eijden then took the next two legs to win the match and end the dream for Dobromyslova, though both players averaged over 80 in arguably the highest quality preliminary round match so far.
Crowd favourite and eighth seed Wayne Mardle
then began his World Championship campaign against debutant American David Fatum
. The four-time (including last year) semi-finalist did not play his best game, averaging 86 to Fatum's 81, but it was enough to put him through in straight sets, dropping only one leg in the process. While his scoring was nothing to write home about, Mardle's finishing was eye-catching, including a 116 and 106 checkout in a clinical performance on the doubles - it was this part of his game that put 'Hawaii 501' through comfortably as 'The Scorpion' Fatum struggled in finishing off legs.
The 2007
champion and second seed Raymond van Barneveld
began his challenge for the championship against English qualifier Mark Stephenson
. 'Barney', a third round loser last year, was hoping to outdo both Hamilton's average and Taylor's record of not dropping a leg, and, in taking the first two sets 3-0 he looked to be doing just that. van Barneveld included a 13 darter and two 14 dart finishes in rapidly taking the first set, and a 102 finish was crucial in taking the second. However, his third set was less comfortable, as Stephenson gained his first leg with a 126 checkout and then sent the set into a deciding leg. Stephenson, averaging a respectable 88, missed a dart to take the set before 'The Man' wrapped up the game, averaging a strong 100.80 in the process.
The final match of the day saw another upset as thirteenth seed Peter Manley
fell in a deciding set to Serbian-born Austrian Mensur Suljovic
. Manley, a three-time runner-up at the PDC World Championship, took the first set with ease including a 124 checkout. He then led 2-0 in the second set before Suljovic began to hit back, with two 180s helping him take three legs on the spin to level the match 1-1. Suljovic, a second round loser to eventual champion John Part last year, led for the first time in the third set, before 'One Dart' hit a clinical 118 checkout to put him back in the game. However, his scoring was not up to par as Suljovic continued to outperform him in that area, and a 101 checkout helped him take third set 3-1. Manley, sensing a defeat, quickly took the next set 3-0 to send the match into a decider. However, it was Suljovic (averaging an impressive 91 to Manley's 88) whose nerve held when it mattered most as he broke his opponent's throw early and double ten sent Manley crashing out.
The fourth day only featured play in the evening, and began with a major upset as twenty-second seed Chris Mason
fell in straight sets to 67 year-old Irishman John MaGowan
. Mason never got going in the match, averaging 83 to MaGowan's 92. All sets went 3-1 in 'Mr Magoo's favour, with the highlight of the match being a 156 checkout from MaGowan in the final set to end Mason's hopes of a recovery - double 4 finally completed a major surprise in the opening game of the night. In the preliminary round game that followed, Finland's Marko Kantele
produced the best performance of the preliminary stage with an average of 89 to win 5-2 against Lourence Ilagan
of the Philippines. Both were debutants though it was the Finn who settled in earlier, completing a 120 checkout before a 12 darter put him 2-0 up. Ilagan won two more legs but Kantele was always in control and a 60 checkout completed the final preliminary round match.
Sixth seed young gun Adrian Lewis
, twice a quarter-finalist at the World Championship, entered the tournament facing off against veteran Australian Russell Stewart
who was making his debut at the PDC version of the event despite making eleven appearances in the BDO World Championship
. Lewis stormed through the first set, including three 180s and a 121 finish to complete a 12 darter to take the set. A 111 finish helped him open up the first set 2-0 as the youngster looked to have the match under control, but a sudden loss in form from Lewis and steady scoring from Stewart helped 'Rusty' take three legs on the trot to level the match. Stewart took the first leg of the next set to take the lead from the first time, but 'Jackpot' started to find form again as he punished missed darts at doubles from the Australian to take the third set 3-1. A 105 checkout sealed the match for Lewis in the fourth set - though he only averaged 86 to Stewart's 84, Lewis did hit eight 180s in the match, the most of the round and equalling Mark Walsh's record.
The next match was hyped before the tournament as the match of the first round, however it proved to be anything but as 2006 BDO World Champion
Jelle Klaasen
dropped only one leg in a clinical demolition of tenth seed Colin Lloyd
. Both were first round losers last year, and both had had darts to win their matches (Klaasen had missed ten match darts to put away Vincent van der Voort
), but Klaasen made no mistake in that area this time as he won the last two sets 3-0 against a disappointing Lloyd - 'Jaws' averaged 86 to 'The Matador's impressive 95. The last match of the night was another one-sided affair as twelfth seed Mervyn King didn't drop a leg against China's Shi Yongsheng
. The averages - King with 92 to Yongsheng's 75 - told all as a 105 checkout was the only real highlight in a match dominated by 'The King'.
The last day of play before the Christmas
break featured eight round one games to finish up the first round. First up was twenty-sixth seed Andy Smith
, a first round loser last year, taking on debutant Tony Ayres
. Ayres took the first set before 'The Pieman' Smith changed gears, hitting two 180s and a thirteen darter to take the second set. An even contest saw Ayres take the third with finishes of 116 and 101 but Smith took the fourth including a 155 checkout. In the deciding set, Ayres quickly took a 2-0 lead before Smith hit a 100 checkout with two double tops to save the game; it was only delaying the inevitable however as Ayres, who hit three 180s to Smith's six, and averaged 86 to Smith's 87, was on target when it mattered - he hit double four cleanly in the next leg to win the match.
The next match was an unexpected demolition of twenty-seventh seed Adrian Gray
, who did not win a leg in a whitewash defeat by top Australian player Paul Nicholson
. Gray only got one dart at a double in the entire match as his average of 84 was blown away by Nicholson's 96 (interestingly Nicholson averaged exactly the same as Phil Taylor, who did not drop a leg in his first round match either). Though Nicholson did not hit any 180s, he did hit showpiece checkouts of 142 and 100 to set up a match with Adrian Lewis
in the second round, who had beaten his fellow Australian Russell Stewart
the previous day.
Twenty-third seed Kirk Shepherd
was not to have a repeat of his fairytale run to the final in last year's 2008 event
as he was defeated in a deciding set by Dutchman Jan van der Rassel
. A 106 checkout helped Shepherd lead in the first set, but clean checkouts of 98 and 97 in two consecutive legs ensured that van der Rassel took the first set. Shepherd took the second set 3-1 before the third set went to a deciding leg - 'Rassel Dazzle' held throw to go 2-1 up. The 'Martial Dartist' Shepherd stormed through the fourth set, finishing it with a 126 checkout on the bull, but he could not keep up the momentum as van der Rassel took the final set by two clear legs with a clean 106 checkout. Shepherd's defeat also meant that both finalists from the previous year's tournament had gone out in the first round, the first time this has ever happened.
The final game of the afternoon also went to a deciding set though it did not look to be at first as thirtieth seed Tony Eccles
shot to a 2-0 in sets lead against Remco van Eijden
, the conqueror of Ladies World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova
in the preliminary round. Eccles included a 164 checkout in the first set, which he won 3-0, and though the second set was closer in going to a deciding leg, Eccles came out on top to give himself a strong lead. However, the match was far from over as van Eijden took the third set in a deciding leg with a gutsy 116 checkout, and in the deciding leg of the fourth Eccles missed five darts for the match before van Eijden levelled the match. 'The Viper' Eccles lost the first leg in the deciding set as van Eijden took the lead for the first time, but this provoked him into heavy scoring as he won the next three legs without reply to finally win the match.
The evening's play saw fifteenth seed Ronnie Baxter
take on the best performer of the preliminary round - Finn Marko Kantele
. Kantele took the first set with some eye-catching finishing, hitting checkouts of 124 and 164 both on the bull to carve himself a lead despite superior scoring from Baxter. Though Kantele again finished on the bull with a 122 checkout in the second set, Baxter held his throw under pressure to level the match. From then Baxter only lost one leg in the next two sets as he started to hit good form and Kantele's started to slip away - 'The Rocket' stormed through the third set without dropping a leg and he took the fourth, and the match, with some eye-catching finishing of his own, hitting two double tops to complete a 100 checkout. Baxter's end average of 92 to Kantele's 83 showed that it was his scoring that gave him the edge in the match despite some amazing finishing from the Finn.
The fourteenth seed Colin Osborne
, a quarter-finalist in 2007 but a first round loser last year, opened his campaign with a clinical straight-sets victory over South African Charles Losper
. Osborne rivalled Kantele's finishing as a 121 checkout helped him take the first set without reply, and a 167 checkout - the highest of the first round - was instrumental in opening a lead in the second set, which he later won with a 110 finish. Losper, now with his back to the wall, appeared to gain steam as a 14 darter gave him a two leg advantage in the third set, but Osborne regrouped and a 96 checkout gave him victory in the deciding leg of the set. 'The Wizard' Osborne's average of 95 to complement his finishing also showed that he was very much a threat following the disappointment of last year.
Brendan Dolan
gave third seed James Wade
a great scare in the first set of their match - he missed six darts for the set before an under-par Wade, who averaged 88, hit an important 106 checkout to take it and break Dolan's spirit. From then on Wade took six of the next seven legs in winning the following two sets and won the match with a thirteen dart finish to set up a match with Tony Eccles, who had famously knocked Wade out in the first round of the 2008 World Grand Prix
as 'The Machine' was the defending champion at the time. The next match was another straight-sets victory for a seed - nineteenth seed Vincent van der Voort
won the final first round match 3-0 against Hungarian Nándor Bezzeg
. The first set went to a deciding leg but van der Voort took it under pressure, and like Wade he dropped only one leg in taking the next two sets - a 106 checkout, five 180s, and a 90 average from 'Greased Lightning' proved enough to dispatch the Eastern European qualifier and end the first round.
The tournament resumed and the second round began on day six, which opened with a remarkable match between old PDC stalwart Dennis Smith
and young Kevin McDine
. In the deciding leg of the first set, Smith missed darts to take the opener so McDine stepped in to take it. The second set also went to a decider, and McDine performed an 11 dart finish to open up a 2-0 lead. Checkouts of 110 and 128 on the bull put McDine 3-0 up and on course for a comfortable victory, but Smith rallied in the fourth and began to hit top form as he broke McDine's throw for the first time in the match to win the set. Two fourteen darters and a fifteen dart finish ensured that Smith continued his resurgence in the fifth set, and he levelled the match in the deciding leg of the sixth set. Smith then led for the first time in the match as he took the opening leg of the deciding set, and he repeated McDine's feat of a 128 checkout on the bull to go 2-0 up. From here there was only going to be one winner as Smith landed double eight to complete a famous comeback. Remarkably, Smith hit thirty-one 140s (the most from one player in a single match) but no 180s, compared to McDine's statistic of fifteen 140s and eight 180s. Both players averaged above 90 in a match that would go down as a classic.
at a PDC World Darts Championship
since the split from the British Darts Organisation
in mid-1993, and only the second World Championship nine-darter (first live) after Paul Lim
's similar outshot against Jack McKenna
in 1990
. It was van Barneveld's second nine-darter on live British television after his nine-darter against Peter Manley
during the 2006 Premier League
, and he used T20, T19, D12 (just like Lim) to complete the perfect leg.
broadcast all 69 matches live in the UK, and for the first time in high-definition
. Dave Clark
presented the coverage with analysis from Rod Harrington
and Eric Bristow
. They also commentated on matches along with Sid Waddell, John Gwynne
, Dave Lanning
, Nigel Pearson and Stuart Pyke
. Interviews were handled by Clark, Bristow and Helen Chamberlain
.
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
since it separated from the British Darts Organisation
British Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
.
John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
was the defending champion having won the PDC World Championship for the second time in last year's final against Kirk Shepherd
Kirk Shepherd
Kirk Shepherd is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events, and lives in Birmingham, England. He is the youngest player ever to reach a final of the World Professional Darts Championship...
. However, he was eliminated by Bill Davis
Bill Davis (darts player)
Bill Davis is an American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Davis made his televised debut in the States, taking part in the World Series of Darts in 2006, losing in the first round to Denis Ovens in a tight game...
on the opening night. Shepherd's poor form in 2008 continued, as he was also eliminated in the first round, by Dutchman Jan van der Rassel
Jan van der Rassel
Jan van der Rassel is a Dutch darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events. He uses the nickname The Project for his matches. His former nickname was Tweety Pie....
. Eventually, the title was won by Phil Taylor, with a 7-1 victory and a world record average for a tournament final of 110.94 – over Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
. The title was Taylor's twelfth in the PDC from fifteen finals, and his fourteenth in total. The tournament was also notable for featuring the first ever nine dart finish
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
at the PDC World Championship
PDC World Darts Championship
The PDC World Darts Championship is a world championship competition for the sport of darts, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . It was introduced following a dispute in 1994 with the British Darts Organisation, which has run its own world championship since 1978...
- completed by van Barneveld in his quarter-final match with Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands...
.
The event took place from December 19, 2008 to January 4, 2009 - albeit with two breaks in between for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
. Again, the tournament was held at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
having moved from the Circus Tavern
Circus Tavern
The Circus Tavern is an entertainment venue in Purfleet, Essex, England which hosts functions, cabaret acts and is also a nightclub venue. However, it is most famous as having been a long-time venue of the PDC World Darts Championship....
in Purfleet
Purfleet
Purfleet is a place in the Thurrock unitary authority in Essex, England. It is situated south of the A13 road on the River Thames and within the easterly bounds of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater London boundary. It was within the traditional Church of England parish of West Thurrock...
for the 2008 competition
2008 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, sponsored by Ladbrokes, was the 15th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation...
.
Format and qualifiers
The televised stages will feature 70 players, an increase of two from last year. The top 32 players in the PDC Order of MeritPDC order of merit
The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation . Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded for performances in ranking tournaments.-Previous world...
on December 1, 2008 will be seeded for the tournament. They will be joined by 16 PDPA
Professional Dart Players Association
The Professional Dart Players Association is an organisation for professional dart players. Its intention is to look after the interests of professional players through an annually elected Board of six current professionals.-Formation:...
members and 22 international qualifiers to be determined by the PDC and PDPA.
The 16 PDPA members were made up from the top eight players who haven't already qualified in the PDC Pro Tour
PDC Pro Tour
The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . They comprise Professional Dart Players Association Players Championships and UK Open Regional Finals.-Players Championships:...
events during 2008 and eight other qualifiers were determined at a PDPA Qualifying event which was held on December 6 2008 in Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
.
- The final field as of 7 December 2008.
- 1-16
-
Phil Taylor -
Raymond van BarneveldRaymond van BarneveldRaymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player... - James WadeJames WadeJames Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...
-
John PartJohn PartJohn Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion... - Terry JenkinsTerry JenkinsTerry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...
- Adrian LewisAdrian LewisAdrian Lewis is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion...
- Andy HamiltonAndy Hamilton (darts player)Andy Hamilton is a full time professional English darts player widely known for his "aggressive" style of play. He is nicknamed The Hammer and is currently ranked 12th on the PDC Order of Merit....
- Wayne MardleWayne MardleWayne Mardle is a darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, and former player in the BDO. He now lives in Romford...
- Alan TabernAlan TabernAlan Tabern is an English darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, where he is also known as "The Saint" and "Tabby"...
- Colin LloydColin LloydColin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...
- Dennis PriestleyDennis PriestleyDennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...
- Mervyn King
- Peter ManleyPeter ManleyPeter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
- Colin OsborneColin OsborneColin Osborne is an English darts player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation events.-Darts career:Osborne has won two PDC Pro Tour events and he also managed to hit two perfect nine dart finishes in 2005...
- Ronnie BaxterRonnie BaxterRonnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...
- Roland ScholtenRoland ScholtenRoland Scholten is a Dutch professional darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly for the British Darts Organisation. He is nicknamed Tripod or The Flying Dutchman and uses Hey Ya by Outkast as his walk-on. He is currently ranked 45th in the PDC...
-
- 17-32
- Kevin PainterKevin PainterKevin Painter is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist"...
- Denis OvensDenis OvensDenis Ovens is an English darts player currently ranked number 29 in the PDC Order of Merit. He is nicknamed The Heat and is now based in Stevenage. Ovens is widely regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to...
- Vincent van der VoortVincent van der VoortVincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world...
- Mark DudbridgeMark DudbridgeMark Daniel Dudbridge is an English professional darts player.-Darts career:He started playing in his very early teens, citing Dennis Priestley as one of his heroes...
- Mark Walsh
- Chris MasonChris Mason (darts player)Christopher John Mason is an English darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Mace the Ace for his matches.- BDO and first PDC spell :...
- Kirk ShepherdKirk ShepherdKirk Shepherd is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events, and lives in Birmingham, England. He is the youngest player ever to reach a final of the World Professional Darts Championship...
- Andy JenkinsAndy JenkinsAndy Jenkins is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. Jenkins had trials for Southampton Football Club while at school.-BDO career:...
- Wayne JonesWayne Jones (darts player)Wayne Alan Jones is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. He uses the nickname The Wanderer for his matches....
- Andy SmithAndy Smith (darts player)Andrew Smith is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He uses the nickname Pieman for his matches...
- Adrian GrayAdrian GrayAdrian Gray is an English darts player. Previously using the nickname '3 Styler', he is now known as 'The Conqueror'. Adrian made his televised debut at the 2003 UK Open...
- Alex RoyAlex Roy (darts player)Alex Roy is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He uses the nickname Ace of Herts for this matches and is with Dave Holland Management....
Barrie BatesBarrie BatesBarrie Bates is a darts player currently residing in Bedlinog, Mid-Glamorgan. He plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is a regular on the circuit. His nickname is "Batesy"....
- Tony EcclesTony EcclesTony Eccles is a Winmau sponsored darts player currently residing in Hartlepool. He uses the nickname The Viper.-BDO career:...
- Wes NewtonWes NewtonWesley "Wes" Newton is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments.-Darts career:...
- Michael van GerwenMichael van GerwenMichael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player, nicknamed Mighty Mike. He is the youngest player in history to win a major televised tournament in either the BDO or the PDC, winning the 2006 Winmau World Masters at the age of 17...
- Pro Tour
-
Robert ThorntonRobert Thornton (darts player)Robert Thornton is a Scottish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events after his switch from the BDO in May 2008. He won the prestigious Winmau World Masters in November 2007.-BDO career:... - Jamie CavenJamie CavenJamie Robert Caven is an English darts player. He uses the nickname Jabba for his matches and is sponsored by Unicorn....
- Steve MaishSteve MaishSteve Maish is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He uses the nickname Mr Magic for his matches....
-
Felix McBreartyFelix McBreartyFelix McBrearty is a Northern Irish darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation.McBrearty began playing in PDC ranked event in 2004, playing mainly in Irish tournaments... - Steve BeatonSteve BeatonSteve Beaton is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation...
- Matt ClarkMatt Clark (darts player)Matt Clark is an English darts player who competes for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly played for the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname Superman for his matches.-Darting history:...
- Kevin McDineKevin McDineKevin McDine is an English darts player, currently residing in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire. He competes in Professional Darts Corporation events and SupaMc is currently ranked 37th on the PDC Order of Merit....
-
Carlos RodriguezCarlos Rodriguez (darts player)Carlos José Rodríguez Sequera is a Spanish professional darts player, playing in Professional Darts Corporation events.-Darts career:...
-
- Telford qualifiers
- Tony AyresTony Ayres (darts player)Tony Ayres is an English darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Ayres' first television exposure came in the 2008 UK Open, reaching the last 64 stage where he lost 9-0 to Raymond van Barneveld....
- Michael BarnardMichael Barnard (darts player)Michael Barnard is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.A winner of the World Youth Masters in 1991, Barnard joined the PDC circuit in late 2003 taking part in UK Open regionals, reaching the semi finals of the Scottish Regional and the quarter finals of the...
- Brendan DolanBrendan DolanBrendan Dolan is a Irish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.After two early exits in the 2003 and 2004 UK Open, his first major run came in the 2004 World Grand Prix where he qualified through the All Ireland qualifiers, winning one of four places...
- Nick FullwellNick FullwellNick Fullwell is an English darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Fullwell joined the PDC circuit in 2005 and narrowly missed out qualifying for the World Grand Prix, losing in the final game to Gary Welding. After that, Fullwell struggled to progress in tournaments, failing...
- Steve GrubbSteve GrubbSteve Grubb is an English darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation, nicknamed Grubby.Grubb fell two games short of qualifying for the 2006 World Matchplay, losing to Andy Hamilton who eventually qualified. He then fell one game short of qualifying for the 2007 PDC World Darts...
- John MaGowanJohn MaGowanJohn MaGowan is a Northern Irish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is nicknamed Mr. Magoo.-BDO career:...
- Dennis SmithDennis Smith (darts player)Dennis Smith is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is a stalwart on the PDC circuit, having been playing on the circuit since 1994 but has yet to capture a major title to add to his collection of Open wins...
- Mark StephensonMark StephensonMark Stephenson is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He was formerly an official, working as a marker....
- 1-16
These 48 players were joined by 22 international players who qualified through various means. Some of the players, such as the top American, Australian, Danish and Eastern European players were entered straight into the first round, while others, having won qualifying events in their countries, were entered into the preliminary round.
|
|
Representation from different countries
This table shows the number of players in the World Championship, the total number including Preliminary round.| England ENG |
Netherlands NED |
Northern Ireland NIR |
 United States USA |
 Australia AUS |
 Austria AUT |
Canada CAN |
 Denmark DEN |
 Finland FIN |
 Guyana GUY |
 Hungary HUN |
 Republic of Ireland IRL |
 Japan JPN |
 New Zealand NZL |
 People's Republic of China CHN |
 Philippines PHI |
 Russia RUS |
Scotland SCO |
 South Africa RSA |
Spain ESP |
Wales WAL |
Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Semis | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Quarters | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Round 3 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| Round 2 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 32 |
| Round 1 | 37 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 64 |
| Prelim. | n/a | 1 | n/a | 1 | n/a | 1 | n/a | n/a | 1 | 1 | n/a | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | n/a | 1 | n/a | n/a | 12 |
| Total | 37 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 70 |
* In darts, as in many other sports, some non-sovereign
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
sub-national entities
Administrative division
An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
are treated as separate countries
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
for sport governance purposes.
International qualifying
The international contingent for the championship have qualified through various means, detailed here:Continental Europe Order of Merit
The Continental Europe Order of Merit was used to decide four of the international qualifiers for the event, all of whom would be entered in the first round. The top four players in the Order of Merit who had not already qualified via the full Order of Merit or the Players Championship Order of Merit were, from the Netherlands, Co StompéCo Stompé
Jacobus Wilhelm "Co" Stompé , is a Dutch professional darts player who currently plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. Stompé is nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance making him look like a matchstick...
(who was the top ranked player on the ranking system mainly by virtue of his German Darts Championship win), second placed Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands...
, and fourth placed Jan van der Rassel
Jan van der Rassel
Jan van der Rassel is a Dutch darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events. He uses the nickname The Project for his matches. His former nickname was Tweety Pie....
. Third place went to the Serbian-born Austrian Mensur Suljovic
Mensur Suljovic
Mensur Suljović is a Serbian-born Austrian darts player. He plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and previously played for the British Darts Organisation. He was also one of the top players in the German Darts Corporation where he won three events in 2007...
.
Of the four qualifiers, three had played in the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship
2008 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, sponsored by Ladbrokes, was the 15th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation...
, with Stompé being the only debutant having joined the PDC in June. Klaasen, on his debut in 2008, fell in the first round (albeit in a sudden death leg) to fellow countryman Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world...
, having missed ten darts to win the match. van der Rassel fared better in 2008, beating Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...
3-2 in his first-round match before dispatching Denis Ovens
Denis Ovens
Denis Ovens is an English darts player currently ranked number 29 in the PDC Order of Merit. He is nicknamed The Heat and is now based in Stevenage. Ovens is widely regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to...
4-1 in the second round; however he fell by the same scoreline to Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
in the last 16. van der Rassel has made two other appearances in the PDC World Championship - in the 2006 event
2006 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2006 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was held from 19 December 2005 to 2 January 2006 at the Circus Tavern. It was the 13th staging of the Professional Darts Corporation's version of the World Championship....
he lost in the second round and in 2004
2004 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2004 Ladbrokes.com World Championship was the 10th anniversary of the PDC version of the World Darts Championship. An extra preliminary round was introduced bringing the total players at the televised stages to 48. Ladbrokes, who sponsored the event initially for one year in 2003, decided to...
he lost in the first round. Suljovic is making his second appearance in the tournament - in 2008 he defeated Andy Smith
Andy Smith (darts player)
Andrew Smith is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He uses the nickname Pieman for his matches...
3-2 in the first round before losing out 4-1 to eventual champion John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
in his second match.
International representatives
Australia qualifiersThe first Australian qualifier was Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
-born Paul Nicholson
Paul Nicholson (darts player)
Paul Nicholson is a British born darts player, who holds Australian nationality. He aims to project the image of the 'bad boy of darts'- 2008-2009 :...
, making his debut in the PDC World Championship. After the William Cross Pro-Am series of events in Shoalhaven
Shoalhaven
The City of Shoalhaven is a Local Government Area in south-eastern New South Wales , Australia, two hours south of Sydney. It is more or less conterminous with an area referred to as The Shoalhaven. It is on the Pacific Ocean and the Princes Highway and is the terminus of the South Coast line...
, Nicholson took an unassailable lead at the top of the Australian Grand Prix rankings - the top ranked player here would earn a place in the first round of the World Championship. His performances in Shoalhaven also earned him a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
2008 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2008 Grand Slam of Darts was the second staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 15–23 November 2008 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall...
.
The second Australian place was given to veteran Russell Stewart
Russell Stewart
Russell Stewart is an Australian darts player. He uses the nickname Rusty for his matches.-Playing career:...
, who made 11 appearances between 1984 and 2002 in the BDO World Championship
BDO World Darts Championship
The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...
. Stewart won the Oceanic Masters, an event open to all Australian and New Zealand players, to secure his debut in the PDC World Championship, at the first round stage.
Caribbean qualifier
Sudesh Fitzgerald
Sudesh Fitzgerald
Sudesh Fitzgerald is a Guyanese darts player.Fitzgerald reached the semi final of the 2008 WDF Americas Cup Singles, losing to Canada's Jerry Hull. Fitzgerald won the 2008 Caribbean and South American Masters to qualify for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship where he faced South African Charles...
, of Guyana, won the Caribbean and South American Masters to become the second ever Guyanan player to appear in the PDC World Championship, after Norman Madhoo
Norman Madhoo
Norman Madhoo is a Guyanese darts player.Madhoo first qualified for the PDC World Darts Championship in 2004, losing in the first round to Steven Smith....
who qualified for the 2004 event. Fitzgerald is entered in at the preliminary stage of the tournament.
China qualifier
Shi Yongsheng
Shi Yongsheng
Shi Yongsheng is a Chinese darts player.He played in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing in the first round to Andy Smith. In November 2007, Yongsheng won the Chinese qualifiers to return to the World Championship for 2008, thus becoming the first Chinese player to play in two World...
became the Chinese representative at the tournament, making this his third successive appearance in the PDC World Championship. Yongsheng played in the 2008 PDC World Championship, beating Indian qualifier Ashfaque Sayed
Ashfaque Sayed
Ashfaque Sayed is an Indian darts player.Sayed's first major tournament came in the 2005 WDF World Cup, losing in the first round 4-1 to Brazilian Artue Valle. He then played in the 2006 WDF Asia-Pacific Cup, losing all three group games in group D2...
in the preliminary round but losing to Alan Warriner-Little
Alan Warriner-Little
Alan Warriner-Little is an English professional darts player. He currently lives in Crosby, Cumbria and plays with the nickname The Iceman...
in the first round. He also played in the 2007 PDC World Championship
2007 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2007 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament began on Monday 18 December 2006 and the final was played on Monday 1 January 2007...
but fell at the first hurdle in a loss to Andy Smith. Yongsheng won the Chinese National Championship to secure his place in this year's event, at the preliminary stage.
Denmark qualifier
For the third year in a row, Per Laursen
Per Laursen
Per Laursen is a Danish darts player. He reached the final of the WDF World Cup in 2005 and won the Welsh Open earlier that year - performances which enabled him to qualify for the BDO World Darts Championship for the first time in 2006....
topped the Danish Darts League to win a third successive place in the PDC World Championship. He was entered in at the first round stage. In 2007, Laursen defeated Colin Monk
Colin Monk
Colin Monk is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events and formerly played in British Darts Organisation events. He is turning full time professional in January 2010....
3-0 in the first round but narrowly lost 4-3 to third seed Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...
in the second round, having had eight darts to win the match. In 2008, he lost 3-1 in the opening match of the event to Alan Tabern
Alan Tabern
Alan Tabern is an English darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, where he is also known as "The Saint" and "Tabby"...
.
Eastern Europe qualifier
The Eastern European qualifier took place on October 31 and was open to players from 14 countries in the area. Hungary's Nándor Bezzeg
Nándor Bezzeg
Nándor Bezzeg is a Hungarian darts player.Bezzeg reached the final of the 2007 Austrian Open, losing to Joey ten Berge. He then reached the final of the 2008 Hungarian Open, beating ten Berge in the semis before losing to another Dutchman Mareno Michels...
won the event to become the first ever Hungarian representative at the PDC World Championship, being given a first round place at the tournament. He succeeds the Czech Republic's Miroslav Navratil who won the previous year's Eastern European qualifier to earn a place in the 2008 World Championship. Navratil then went on to defeat Philippines qualifier Rizal Barellano
Rizal Barellano
Rizal Barellano is a Filipino darts player.Barellano reached the quarter finals of the 2006 WDF Asis-Pacific Cup, winning group C2 and eventually lost to Malaysian Amin Abdul Ghani who won the tournament...
5-0 in the preliminary round before losing 3-2 to Andy Jenkins
Andy Jenkins
Andy Jenkins is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. Jenkins had trials for Southampton Football Club while at school.-BDO career:...
in the first round.
Finland qualifier
Marko Kantele
Marko Kantele
Marko Kantele is a Finnish darts player.Kantele made his major debut in the 1997 Winmau World Masters, beating defending champion Colin Monk in the first round but lost in the second round to Mark Day. He returned to the Masters five years later, losing in the second round to Ted Hankey...
will be making his debut at the PDC World Championship (and is Finland's first ever representative in the event) in 2009 having won the Finnish Pro Darts Championship. He entered at the preliminary phase.
Germany/Austria qualifier
This qualifying place was decided by the German Darts Corporation rankings, which ranks all German/Austrian players from darts events held in the two countries. Austrian Mensur Suljovic topped the rankings, however he had already qualified via the Continental Europe Order of Merit. Therefore his fellow Austrian, second-placed Hannes Schnier
Hannes Schnier
Johann "Hannes" Schnier is an Austrian darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.In June 2006, Schnier won the Austrian National Championship, beating Dietmar Burger in the final...
, received the invite to make his debut in the event. He entered at the preliminary round.
Ireland qualifier
Shane O'Connor
Shane O'Connor (darts player)
Shane O'Connor is an Irish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is not a full-time professional and makes his living as a scaffolder....
won the Irish qualifying event, the inaugural Irish Matchplay, meaning he was entered into the preliminary round of the World Championship, his debut in the event.
Japan qualifier
Akihiro Nagakawa
Akihiro Nagakawa
is a Japanese darts player.Nagakawa qualified for the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship, losing in the Preliminary Round to Anthony Forde. He qualified again for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship, but lost again in the Preliminary Round, this time losing to Warren French.The match with French...
was the Japanese representative having won the Japanese National Championship to qualify. Nagakawa played at the 2008 PDC World Championship but lost to Anthony Forde
Anthony Forde
Anthony Forde is a Barbadian darts player.Forde won the 2004 Caribbean and South American Masters which earned him a place in the 2005 PDC World Darts Championship where he lost in the first round to John Verwey. He won the tournament again in 2007, which earned him a place in the 2008 PDC World...
from Barbados in the preliminary round. He will once again appear at the preliminary round this year.
New Zealand qualifier
The New Zealand qualifier was Warren French
Warren French
Warren French is a New Zealand darts player. He lives in Ashburton and uses the nickname Frog for his matches.French reached the final of the 2006 New Zealand Open, losing to former world champion Tony David. He played in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing 3-1 in the first round to James...
who won New Zealand's National Singles Championship. French is no stranger to the PDC World Championship, having accompanied fellow New Zealander Warren Parry
Warren Parry
Warren Parry is a New Zealand darts player. He is not a full-time professional and works as a slaughterman.Parry reached the final of the 1999 WDF World Cup Men's Singles event, beating Marko Kantele in the last 16, Andy Fordham in the quarter finals and fellow New Zealander Herbie Nathan in the...
to the 2008 event and having played in the 2007 event, where he lost to James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...
in the first round. This year he enters in at the preliminary rounds.
North America qualifiers
The 2008 North American Order of Merit was used to decide the three North American qualifiers. Pennsylvanian Darin Young
Darin Young
Darin Young is an American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Big Daddy....
topped the rankings, after a second round appearance in the 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic
2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic
The 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic was the seventh installment of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held in the evenings between June 30 and July 6....
and victory in the inaugural North American Darts Championship. As well as qualifying him for the first round of the 2009 PDC World Championship, these results gave him a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts. Young has twice appeared before in the PDC World Championship, but failed to win a game in either 2005 or 2006.
Bill Davis
Bill Davis (darts player)
Bill Davis is an American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Davis made his televised debut in the States, taking part in the World Series of Darts in 2006, losing in the first round to Denis Ovens in a tight game...
finished second in the North American Order of Merit having performed consistently well in all American events, and was the only American to qualify for the televised stages of both the 2008 US Open
2008 US Open Darts
The 2008 US Open is the second year of a darts tournament, organized by the Professional Darts Corporation . It was played at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort, Connecticut, USA between May 16 and May 18, 2008.Phil Taylor successfully defended his title....
and the 2008 Desert Classic. This ensured him a place in the first round of the 2009 World Championship. Davis appeared in the World Championship in 2007 but lost his first game 3-1 to Andy Jenkins.
Third placed Canadian David Fatum
David Fatum
David Fatum is a Canadian-American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. His nickname is The Scorpion. He is not a full-time professional and makes his living as a paramedic firefighter.Fatum's first major exposure came in the 2008 US Open where he reached the semi finals...
qualified for the preliminary round of the event, his debut in the World Championship. Fatum's high placing was mainly on merit of his run to the semi-finals of the 2008 US Open, where he was narrowly beaten 3-2 by Colin Lloyd.
Philippines qualifier
Lourence Ilagan
Lourence Ilagan
Lourence Ilagan is a Filipino darts player.Ilagan is a two-time quarter-finalist in the WDF Asia-Pacific Cup. He has also reached the final of the Philippines Open in 2006 and 2007 along with the final of the 2008 Malaysian Open...
succeeded Rizal Barellano (who lost in the preliminary round of the 2008 event) to become the 2009 Philippines qualifier. Ilagan won the National Darts Federation of the Philippines qualifier to earn a place at the preliminary round at the Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
.
Russia qualifier
Current BDO Ladies' World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova
Anastasia Dobromyslova
Anastasia Dobromyslova-Martin is a professional darts player. She is a former winner of the Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation, winning it in 2008...
received qualification following the withdrawal of the Indian qualifier. She became the second woman to play in the PDC World Championship, following Canadian Gayl King who took part in the 2001 PDC World Championship
2001 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2001 Skol World Darts Championship was held between December 28, 2000–January 3, 2001 at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet.The tournament saw a notable first as Gayl King of Canada became the first woman to appear in the men's World Championship, having been given a wild card by organisers the...
. Following this, Dobromyslova will join the PDC circuit full-time and therefore is not eligible to play in British Darts Organisation events, meaning she cannot defend her BDO Ladies' world title.
South Africa qualifer
Charles Losper
Charles Losper
Charles Losper is a darts player from South Africa. He is currently the highest ranked South African darts player on the PDC Order of Merit, ranked at number 71...
will return to the Alexandra Palace for this year's World Championship, after victory for the second successive year in the South African Open. Losper appeared in the first round of the 2008 World Championship, where he lost 3-1 to eventual champion John Part. He will be entered in at the preliminary stage this year.
SBS6 wildcard
The Dutch TV station SBS6
SBS6
SBS 6 is a commercial TV channel in the Netherlands owned by Sanoma and Talpa Holding . Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are NET 5 and Veronica.- History :SBS stands for Scandinavian Broadcasting System...
, who will be broadcasting the World Championship in the Netherlands, originally gave their wildcard to Co Stompé
Co Stompé
Jacobus Wilhelm "Co" Stompé , is a Dutch professional darts player who currently plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. Stompé is nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance making him look like a matchstick...
, who joined the PDC in 2008. However, this decision was in early November; mere weeks later Stompé won the German Darts Championship (his maiden PDC title), beating Phil Taylor 4-2 in the final - this earned him a spot in the World Championship by right, via the Continental Europe Order of Merit.
As a result, on 30 November 2008, Remco van Eijden
Remco van Eijden
Remco van Eijden is a Dutch darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events.van Eijden previously played in the British Darts Organisation and he played in the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, beating fellow Dutchman Mario Robbe in the first round, only to lost in the second round...
was offered and accepted the wildcard, a decision which led to his expulsion from the 2008 Zuiderduin Masters to be replaced by fellow Dutchman and 2009 BDO World Championship
2009 BDO World Darts Championship
The 2009 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 32nd World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation. Mark Webster was the defending men's champion having won the title for the first time in last year's final against Simon Whitlock, but he was eliminated convincingly...
qualifier Willy van de Wiel
Willy van de Wiel
Willy van de Wiel is a Dutch darts player who plays in British Darts Organisation events.Willy won the 2008 Norway Open, beating Dave Chisnall, Stephen Bunting and John Henderson before beating Paul Hanvidge in the final...
. This was van Eijden's debut in the PDC version of the World Championship, and he was entered in at the preliminary round.
Prize money
The 2009 World Championship will feature a prize fund of £740,000 - a rise of £140,000 on the previous year. All rounds will feature more money, except the losers in the preliminary round. However, the total prize money in the preliminary round is higher this year because of the two-player expansion. The prize money is allocated as follows:- Winner: £125,000 (up from £100,000)
- Runner-Up: £60,000 (up from £50,000)
- Semi-Finals: £30,000 (up from £22,500)
- Quarter Finals: £20,000 (up from £15,000)
- Third Round losers: £12,000 (up from £10,500)
- Second Round losers: £8,000 (up from £7,000)
- First Round losers: £5,000 (up from £4,000)
- Preliminary Round losers (6): £2,500
- PDPA Qualifying round losers fund: £16,000
Draw
The draw for the first round of the championship was made on December 8 on Sky Sports NewsSky Sports News
Sky Sports News is a 24-hour sports news channel in the United Kingdom. It is run by BSkyB whose sports channels include Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as Sky Sports HD1, HD2, HD3 and HD4....
by Sid Waddell and Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
. The preliminary round draw was made on the morning of that date.
Preliminary round
These matches were played over the course of the first six sessions of the championship, between December 19-22. The winners enter the main draw, and played their first round matches over the course of December 20-23. The matches were the best of nine legs, and had to be won by two clear legs unless the score reaches 7-7 in which case the 15th leg would be decisive.The preliminary round draw were as follows:
| Player #1 | Score | Player #2 |
|---|---|---|
| Hannes Schnier Hannes Schnier Johann "Hannes" Schnier is an Austrian darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.In June 2006, Schnier won the Austrian National Championship, beating Dietmar Burger in the final... 72.51 |
4-6 | Shi Yongsheng Shi Yongsheng Shi Yongsheng is a Chinese darts player.He played in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing in the first round to Andy Smith. In November 2007, Yongsheng won the Chinese qualifiers to return to the World Championship for 2008, thus becoming the first Chinese player to play in two World... 68.67 |
| David Fatum David Fatum David Fatum is a Canadian-American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. His nickname is The Scorpion. He is not a full-time professional and makes his living as a paramedic firefighter.Fatum's first major exposure came in the 2008 US Open where he reached the semi finals... 77.19 |
6-4 | Shane O'Connor Shane O'Connor (darts player) Shane O'Connor is an Irish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is not a full-time professional and makes his living as a scaffolder.... 75.10 |
| Warren French Warren French Warren French is a New Zealand darts player. He lives in Ashburton and uses the nickname Frog for his matches.French reached the final of the 2006 New Zealand Open, losing to former world champion Tony David. He played in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing 3-1 in the first round to James... 54.95 |
5-3 | Akihiro Nagakawa Akihiro Nagakawa is a Japanese darts player.Nagakawa qualified for the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship, losing in the Preliminary Round to Anthony Forde. He qualified again for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship, but lost again in the Preliminary Round, this time losing to Warren French.The match with French... 54.34 |
| Marko Kantele Marko Kantele Marko Kantele is a Finnish darts player.Kantele made his major debut in the 1997 Winmau World Masters, beating defending champion Colin Monk in the first round but lost in the second round to Mark Day. He returned to the Masters five years later, losing in the second round to Ted Hankey... 89.95 |
5-2 | Lourence Ilagan Lourence Ilagan Lourence Ilagan is a Filipino darts player.Ilagan is a two-time quarter-finalist in the WDF Asia-Pacific Cup. He has also reached the final of the Philippines Open in 2006 and 2007 along with the final of the 2008 Malaysian Open... 82.11 |
| Charles Losper Charles Losper Charles Losper is a darts player from South Africa. He is currently the highest ranked South African darts player on the PDC Order of Merit, ranked at number 71... 87.00 |
6-4 | Sudesh Fitzgerald Sudesh Fitzgerald Sudesh Fitzgerald is a Guyanese darts player.Fitzgerald reached the semi final of the 2008 WDF Americas Cup Singles, losing to Canada's Jerry Hull. Fitzgerald won the 2008 Caribbean and South American Masters to qualify for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship where he faced South African Charles... 77.89 |
| Remco van Eijden Remco van Eijden Remco van Eijden is a Dutch darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events.van Eijden previously played in the British Darts Organisation and he played in the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, beating fellow Dutchman Mario Robbe in the first round, only to lost in the second round... 82.46 |
5-3 | Anastasia Dobromyslova Anastasia Dobromyslova Anastasia Dobromyslova-Martin is a professional darts player. She is a former winner of the Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation, winning it in 2008... 80.46 |
- All games that went to a final set had to be won by 2 clear legs, if after six more legs the players still couldn't be separated, a sudden death leg would take place to decide the winner, i.e. if the set goes to 5-5, a decider would be played.
Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
Statistics
| Player | Played | Sets Won | Sets Lost | Legs Won | Legs Lost | 100+ | 140+ | 180s | High Checkout | 3-dart Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Taylor |
6 | 29 | 4 | 93 | 31 | 168 | 117 | 34 | 131 | 105.31 |
| Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player... |
6 | 23 | 16 | 90 | 74 | 225 | 139 | 46 | 161 | 100.05 |
| Colin Osborne Colin Osborne Colin Osborne is an English darts player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation events.-Darts career:Osborne has won two PDC Pro Tour events and he also managed to hit two perfect nine dart finishes in 2005... |
2 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 51 | 22 | 7 | 167 | 96.37 |
| Andy Hamilton Andy Hamilton (darts player) Andy Hamilton is a full time professional English darts player widely known for his "aggressive" style of play. He is nicknamed The Hammer and is currently ranked 12th on the PDC Order of Merit.... |
3 | 8 | 6 | 34 | 27 | 70 | 37 | 24 | 170 | 95.19 |
| Robert Thornton Robert Thornton (darts player) Robert Thornton is a Scottish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events after his switch from the BDO in May 2008. He won the prestigious Winmau World Masters in November 2007.-BDO career:... |
2 | 6 | 5 | 25 | 24 | 60 | 37 | 15 | 100 | 95.04 |
| Andy Jenkins Andy Jenkins Andy Jenkins is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. Jenkins had trials for Southampton Football Club while at school.-BDO career:... |
1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 30 | 13 | 1 | 120 | 94.57 |
| Jelle Klaasen Jelle Klaasen Jelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands... |
4 | 12 | 6 | 44 | 30 | 87 | 50 | 18 | 113 | 94.05 |
| Wayne Mardle Wayne Mardle Wayne Mardle is a darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, and former player in the BDO. He now lives in Romford... |
3 | 7 | 7 | 32 | 27 | 88 | 44 | 14 | 145 | 93.83 |
| Michael Barnard Michael Barnard (darts player) Michael Barnard is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.A winner of the World Youth Masters in 1991, Barnard joined the PDC circuit in late 2003 taking part in UK Open regionals, reaching the semi finals of the Scottish Regional and the quarter finals of the... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 114 | 93.65 |
| Vincent van der Voort Vincent van der Voort Vincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world... |
3 | 7 | 5 | 27 | 23 | 60 | 32 | 18 | 125 | 93.44 |
| Co Stompé Co Stompé Jacobus Wilhelm "Co" Stompé , is a Dutch professional darts player who currently plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. Stompé is nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance making him look like a matchstick... |
4 | 11 | 7 | 39 | 38 | 80 | 57 | 11 | 164 | 93.31 |
| Matt Clark Matt Clark (darts player) Matt Clark is an English darts player who competes for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly played for the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname Superman for his matches.-Darting history:... |
1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 30 | 20 | 4 | 105 | 92.88 |
| Ronnie Baxter Ronnie Baxter Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action... |
3 | 10 | 6 | 42 | 31 | 90 | 44 | 13 | 123 | 92.87 |
| Adrian Lewis Adrian Lewis Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion... |
2 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 25 | 55 | 32 | 18 | 124 | 92.65 |
| John MaGowan John MaGowan John MaGowan is a Northern Irish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is nicknamed Mr. Magoo.-BDO career:... |
2 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 53 | 24 | 7 | 156 | 92.61 |
| Mensur Suljovic Mensur Suljovic Mensur Suljović is a Serbian-born Austrian darts player. He plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and previously played for the British Darts Organisation. He was also one of the top players in the German Darts Corporation where he won three events in 2007... |
2 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 22 | 62 | 25 | 7 | 103 | 92.10 |
| Kevin Painter Kevin Painter Kevin Painter is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist"... |
3 | 8 | 7 | 32 | 29 | 84 | 34 | 18 | 136 | 91.99 |
| Dennis Priestley Dennis Priestley Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively... |
3 | 9 | 5 | 30 | 25 | 70 | 42 | 13 | 100 | 91.90 |
| Mervyn King |
5 | 18 | 11 | 65 | 49 | 153 | 78 | 16 | 134 | 91.71 |
| Mark Walsh |
2 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 27 | 63 | 36 | 12 | 120 | 91.70 |
| John Part John Part John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 82 | 91.51 |
| Paul Nicholson Paul Nicholson (darts player) Paul Nicholson is a British born darts player, who holds Australian nationality. He aims to project the image of the 'bad boy of darts'- 2008-2009 :... |
4 | 14 | 10 | 59 | 40 | 135 | 76 | 16 | 142 | 91.40 |
| Jamie Caven Jamie Caven Jamie Robert Caven is an English darts player. He uses the nickname Jabba for his matches and is sponsored by Unicorn.... |
1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 14 | 31 | 16 | 5 | 100 | 91.36 |
| Mark Dudbridge Mark Dudbridge Mark Daniel Dudbridge is an English professional darts player.-Darts career:He started playing in his very early teens, citing Dennis Priestley as one of his heroes... |
3 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 29 | 68 | 50 | 8 | 116 | 90.86 |
| Terry Jenkins Terry Jenkins Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches... |
1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 118 | 90.80 |
| Alan Tabern Alan Tabern Alan Tabern is an English darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, where he is also known as "The Saint" and "Tabby"... |
2 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 16 | 45 | 23 | 6 | 141 | 90.35 |
| Kevin McDine Kevin McDine Kevin McDine is an English darts player, currently residing in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire. He competes in Professional Darts Corporation events and SupaMc is currently ranked 37th on the PDC Order of Merit.... |
2 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 24 | 52 | 23 | 13 | 128 | 90.16 |
| Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player, nicknamed Mighty Mike. He is the youngest player in history to win a major televised tournament in either the BDO or the PDC, winning the 2006 Winmau World Masters at the age of 17... |
2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 18 | 43 | 21 | 5 | 124 | 89.79 |
| Peter Manley Peter Manley Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart... |
1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 30 | 14 | 1 | 124 | 89.19 |
| Mark Stephenson Mark Stephenson Mark Stephenson is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He was formerly an official, working as a marker.... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 126 | 88.50 |
| Barrie Bates Barrie Bates Barrie Bates is a darts player currently residing in Bedlinog, Mid-Glamorgan. He plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is a regular on the circuit. His nickname is "Batesy".... |
4 | 13 | 7 | 46 | 37 | 143 | 56 | 8 | 141 | 88.30 |
| Bill Davis Bill Davis (darts player) Bill Davis is an American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Davis made his televised debut in the States, taking part in the World Series of Darts in 2006, losing in the first round to Denis Ovens in a tight game... |
2 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 21 | 66 | 30 | 4 | 120 | 88.29 |
| Tony Ayres Tony Ayres (darts player) Tony Ayres is an English darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Ayres' first television exposure came in the 2008 UK Open, reaching the last 64 stage where he lost 9-0 to Raymond van Barneveld.... |
2 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 27 | 63 | 34 | 6 | 116 | 88.17 |
| James Wade James Wade James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007... |
5 | 20 | 11 | 67 | 56 | 165 | 69 | 31 | 160 | 87.91 |
| Wes Newton Wes Newton Wesley "Wes" Newton is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments.-Darts career:... |
2 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 21 | 48 | 25 | 6 | 122 | 87.77 |
| Andy Smith Andy Smith (darts player) Andrew Smith is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He uses the nickname Pieman for his matches... |
1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 35 | 8 | 6 | 155 | 87.77 |
| Dennis Smith Dennis Smith (darts player) Dennis Smith is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is a stalwart on the PDC circuit, having been playing on the circuit since 1994 but has yet to capture a major title to add to his collection of Open wins... |
3 | 8 | 8 | 35 | 31 | 89 | 59 | 3 | 128 | 87.16 |
| Tony Eccles Tony Eccles Tony Eccles is a Winmau sponsored darts player currently residing in Hartlepool. He uses the nickname The Viper.-BDO career:... |
2 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 22 | 64 | 27 | 4 | 164 | 87.12 |
| Colin Lloyd Colin Lloyd Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 78 | 86.70 |
| Jan van der Rassel Jan van der Rassel Jan van der Rassel is a Dutch darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events. He uses the nickname The Project for his matches. His former nickname was Tweety Pie.... |
2 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 47 | 19 | 8 | 106 | 86.39 |
| Carlos Rodriguez Carlos Rodriguez (darts player) Carlos José Rodríguez Sequera is a Spanish professional darts player, playing in Professional Darts Corporation events.-Darts career:... |
2 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 24 | 37 | 21 | 10 | 121 | 86.22 |
| Denis Ovens Denis Ovens Denis Ovens is an English darts player currently ranked number 29 in the PDC Order of Merit. He is nicknamed The Heat and is now based in Stevenage. Ovens is widely regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to... |
2 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 16 | 43 | 19 | 6 | 120 | 86.19 |
| Charles Losper Charles Losper Charles Losper is a darts player from South Africa. He is currently the highest ranked South African darts player on the PDC Order of Merit, ranked at number 71... |
2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 29 | 13 | 3 | 95 | 85.96 |
| Marko Kantele Marko Kantele Marko Kantele is a Finnish darts player.Kantele made his major debut in the 1997 Winmau World Masters, beating defending champion Colin Monk in the first round but lost in the second round to Mark Day. He returned to the Masters five years later, losing in the second round to Ted Hankey... |
2 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 28 | 13 | 4 | 164 | 85.66 |
| Brendan Dolan Brendan Dolan Brendan Dolan is a Irish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.After two early exits in the 2003 and 2004 UK Open, his first major run came in the 2004 World Grand Prix where he qualified through the All Ireland qualifiers, winning one of four places... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 32 | 85.61 |
| Wayne Jones Wayne Jones (darts player) Wayne Alan Jones is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. He uses the nickname The Wanderer for his matches.... |
1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 29 | 12 | 1 | 62 | 85.23 |
| Remco van Eijden Remco van Eijden Remco van Eijden is a Dutch darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events.van Eijden previously played in the British Darts Organisation and he played in the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, beating fellow Dutchman Mario Robbe in the first round, only to lost in the second round... |
2 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 32 | 17 | 4 | 116 | 84.72 |
| Adrian Gray Adrian Gray Adrian Gray is an English darts player. Previously using the nickname '3 Styler', he is now known as 'The Conqueror'. Adrian made his televised debut at the 2003 UK Open... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 0 | — | 84.63 |
| Russell Stewart Russell Stewart Russell Stewart is an Australian darts player. He uses the nickname Rusty for his matches.-Playing career:... |
1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 25 | 11 | 2 | 47 | 84.58 |
| Alex Roy Alex Roy (darts player) Alex Roy is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He uses the nickname Ace of Herts for this matches and is with Dave Holland Management.... |
1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 116 | 84.53 |
| Per Laursen Per Laursen Per Laursen is a Danish darts player. He reached the final of the WDF World Cup in 2005 and won the Welsh Open earlier that year - performances which enabled him to qualify for the BDO World Darts Championship for the first time in 2006.... |
1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 39 | 9 | 0 | 76 | 83.68 |
| Chris Mason Chris Mason (darts player) Christopher John Mason is an English darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Mace the Ace for his matches.- BDO and first PDC spell :... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 64 | 83.10 |
| Kirk Shepherd Kirk Shepherd Kirk Shepherd is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events, and lives in Birmingham, England. He is the youngest player ever to reach a final of the World Professional Darts Championship... |
1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 126 | 83.03 |
| Steve Beaton Steve Beaton Steve Beaton is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 82.81 |
| Lourence Ilagan Lourence Ilagan Lourence Ilagan is a Filipino darts player.Ilagan is a two-time quarter-finalist in the WDF Asia-Pacific Cup. He has also reached the final of the Philippines Open in 2006 and 2007 along with the final of the 2008 Malaysian Open... |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 82.11 |
| Steve Maish Steve Maish Steve Maish is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He uses the nickname Mr Magic for his matches.... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 101 | 81.60 |
| Roland Scholten Roland Scholten Roland Scholten is a Dutch professional darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly for the British Darts Organisation. He is nicknamed Tripod or The Flying Dutchman and uses Hey Ya by Outkast as his walk-on. He is currently ranked 45th in the PDC... |
1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 85 | 80.93 |
| Nándor Bezzeg Nándor Bezzeg Nándor Bezzeg is a Hungarian darts player.Bezzeg reached the final of the 2007 Austrian Open, losing to Joey ten Berge. He then reached the final of the 2008 Hungarian Open, beating ten Berge in the semis before losing to another Dutchman Mareno Michels... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 96 | 80.91 |
| Anastasia Dobromyslova Anastasia Dobromyslova Anastasia Dobromyslova-Martin is a professional darts player. She is a former winner of the Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation, winning it in 2008... |
1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 60 | 80.46 |
| Steve Grubb Steve Grubb Steve Grubb is an English darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation, nicknamed Grubby.Grubb fell two games short of qualifying for the 2006 World Matchplay, losing to Andy Hamilton who eventually qualified. He then fell one game short of qualifying for the 2007 PDC World Darts... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 0 | — | 80.44 |
| Darin Young Darin Young Darin Young is an American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Big Daddy.... |
1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 47 | 80.12 |
| Nick Fullwell Nick Fullwell Nick Fullwell is an English darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Fullwell joined the PDC circuit in 2005 and narrowly missed out qualifying for the World Grand Prix, losing in the final game to Gary Welding. After that, Fullwell struggled to progress in tournaments, failing... |
1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 98 | 79.73 |
| David Fatum David Fatum David Fatum is a Canadian-American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. His nickname is The Scorpion. He is not a full-time professional and makes his living as a paramedic firefighter.Fatum's first major exposure came in the 2008 US Open where he reached the semi finals... |
2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 83 | 79.31 |
| Sudesh Fitzgerald Sudesh Fitzgerald Sudesh Fitzgerald is a Guyanese darts player.Fitzgerald reached the semi final of the 2008 WDF Americas Cup Singles, losing to Canada's Jerry Hull. Fitzgerald won the 2008 Caribbean and South American Masters to qualify for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship where he faced South African Charles... |
1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 64 | 77.89 |
| Felix McBrearty Felix McBrearty Felix McBrearty is a Northern Irish darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation.McBrearty began playing in PDC ranked event in 2004, playing mainly in Irish tournaments... |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 91 | 77.71 |
| Shane O'Connor Shane O'Connor (darts player) Shane O'Connor is an Irish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is not a full-time professional and makes his living as a scaffolder.... |
1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 90 | 75.10 |
| Hannes Schnier Hannes Schnier Johann "Hannes" Schnier is an Austrian darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.In June 2006, Schnier won the Austrian National Championship, beating Dietmar Burger in the final... |
1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 80 | 72.51 |
| Shi Yongsheng Shi Yongsheng Shi Yongsheng is a Chinese darts player.He played in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing in the first round to Andy Smith. In November 2007, Yongsheng won the Chinese qualifiers to return to the World Championship for 2008, thus becoming the first Chinese player to play in two World... |
2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 98 | 71.34 |
| Warren French Warren French Warren French is a New Zealand darts player. He lives in Ashburton and uses the nickname Frog for his matches.French reached the final of the 2006 New Zealand Open, losing to former world champion Tony David. He played in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing 3-1 in the first round to James... |
2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 64.85 |
| Akihiro Nagakawa Akihiro Nagakawa is a Japanese darts player.Nagakawa qualified for the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship, losing in the Preliminary Round to Anthony Forde. He qualified again for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship, but lost again in the Preliminary Round, this time losing to Warren French.The match with French... |
1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 54.34 |
First Round
- Roland Scholten 2-3 Carlos Rodriguez (2-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-0, 1-3)
- Wayne Jones 1-3 Robert Thornton (3-2, 1-3, 2-3, 2-3)
- John Part 0-3 Bill Davis (1-3, 2-3, 2-3)
- Andy Jenkins 1-3 Co Stompé (1-3, 3-0, 1-3, 1-3)
The opening match of the tournament was an international affair, seeing Spain's Carlos Rodriguez
Carlos Rodriguez (darts player)
Carlos José Rodríguez Sequera is a Spanish professional darts player, playing in Professional Darts Corporation events.-Darts career:...
take on sixteenth seed Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten is a Dutch professional darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly for the British Darts Organisation. He is nicknamed Tripod or The Flying Dutchman and uses Hey Ya by Outkast as his walk-on. He is currently ranked 45th in the PDC...
of the Netherlands. Scholten was struggling with a shoulder/neck injury and in his last televised match - the first round of the 2008 European Championship
2008 European Championship Darts
The 2008 European Championship was the inaugural edition of the PDC tournament, the European Championship, which allowed the top European players to compete against the highest ranked players from the PDC Order of Merit...
- he had averaged 52. Rodriguez on the other hand had defeated fifth seed Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...
in the same tournament. True to form, the first set went to the Spaniard, including a 121 checkout. Scholten then hit back to take the second before Rodriguez included an 11 darter in taking the third set 3-2. The Dutchman included an 11 darter of his own as he took the next set without reply and looked to have the momentum going into the decider, but it was perhaps one set too far as the injury took its toll on Scholten's game and Rodriguez won the set - and the match - fairly comfortably. Scholten did not disgrace himself with an 80 average this time around, though Rodriguez' 88 showed the scoring power that gave him the match.
A preliminary round game followed between Japan's Akihiro Nagakawa
Akihiro Nagakawa
is a Japanese darts player.Nagakawa qualified for the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship, losing in the Preliminary Round to Anthony Forde. He qualified again for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship, but lost again in the Preliminary Round, this time losing to Warren French.The match with French...
and New Zealand's Warren French
Warren French
Warren French is a New Zealand darts player. He lives in Ashburton and uses the nickname Frog for his matches.French reached the final of the 2006 New Zealand Open, losing to former world champion Tony David. He played in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing 3-1 in the first round to James...
, to be contested over nine legs. This was probably for the better as neither player hit top form, both averaging 54, which was a factor in Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
stopping footage of the game halfway through. French had double trouble in the opening legs, letting Nagakawa take a 2-0 lead, but he soon improved, reeling off four legs on the trot to take the match.
Highly fancied Robert Thornton
Robert Thornton (darts player)
Robert Thornton is a Scottish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events after his switch from the BDO in May 2008. He won the prestigious Winmau World Masters in November 2007.-BDO career:...
took on twenty-fifth seed Wayne Jones
Wayne Jones (darts player)
Wayne Alan Jones is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. He uses the nickname The Wanderer for his matches....
in the next match. Thornton, the lone Scotsman in the competition, joined the PDC in May 2008 and had already risen up to thirty-fifth in the PDC Order of Merit. Jones, a semi-finalist here in 2006, took the first set, but Thornton, averaging 94, took the next three without reply to win the match.
The tournament lit up in the next match as American Bill Davis
Bill Davis (darts player)
Bill Davis is an American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Davis made his televised debut in the States, taking part in the World Series of Darts in 2006, losing in the first round to Denis Ovens in a tight game...
sensationally defeated the defending champion and fourth seed, Canadian John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
, 3-0. A slow start from Part allowed Davis to take the first set with a 116 checkout, and the American took a two legs lead in the second set with a 120 checkout. This seemed to awaken the defending champion, who hit five 180s in the next three legs, but missed doubles for the set cost him as Davis took a 2-0 lead. The final set went to a deciding leg as well - Part almost completed a 125 checkout, missing the double 20 to save the match before Davis hit double 10 - the same double Part won his world championship on - to wrap up the win.
The final match of the night was a high quality affair with both Dutchman Co Stompé
Co Stompé
Jacobus Wilhelm "Co" Stompé , is a Dutch professional darts player who currently plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. Stompé is nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance making him look like a matchstick...
and twenty-fourth seed Andy Jenkins
Andy Jenkins
Andy Jenkins is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. Jenkins had trials for Southampton Football Club while at school.-BDO career:...
averaging 93 and 94 respectively. Both players had defeated Phil Taylor in recent events - Stompé in the final of the German Darts Championship and Jenkins in the group stages of the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
2008 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2008 Grand Slam of Darts was the second staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 15–23 November 2008 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall...
- and Stompé took the first set. A 120 checkout from the Englishman levelled the match but Stompé, himself a newcomer to the PDC this year, hit a 164 checkout - the highest of the tournament - to help him take the third set. The debutant won the final set 3-1 to win the match by the same scoreline, sending the 2007 semi-finalist Jenkins out. This result also meant all four seeds in action had crashed out.
First Round
- Terry Jenkins 1-3 Dennis Smith (1-3, 1-3, 3-0, 0-3)
- Kevin Painter 3-2 Matt Clark (2-3, 3-1, 3-0, 1-3, 6-5)
- Dennis Priestley 3-0 Warren French (3-1, 3-1, 3-1)
- Barrie Bates 3-0 Felix McBrearty (3-2, 3-1, 3-0)
- Alan Tabern 3-0 Steve Beaton (3-0, 3-1, 3-2)
- Michael van Gerwen 3-1 Darin Young (2-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-0)
- Phil Taylor 3-0 Steve Grubb (3-0, 3-0, 3-0)
- Alex Roy 1-3 Kevin McDine (2-3, 1-3, 3-0, 1-3)
The afternoon session of the second day of the World Championship opened with fifth seed Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...
taking on Dennis Smith
Dennis Smith (darts player)
Dennis Smith is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is a stalwart on the PDC circuit, having been playing on the circuit since 1994 but has yet to capture a major title to add to his collection of Open wins...
who was returning to the event after a two year absence. Jenkins had lost in the first round the previous year to 500-1 outsider Kirk Shepherd
Kirk Shepherd
Kirk Shepherd is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events, and lives in Birmingham, England. He is the youngest player ever to reach a final of the World Professional Darts Championship...
, who would then go on to reach the final. His woes at the Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
continued as Smith took a comfortable 3-1 victory. Smith took the first two sets before Jenkins looked to stage a comeback with 118 and 107 checkouts helping him take third set 3-0. However, 'Smiffy' put a stop to the resurgence with an 84 checkout on the bull to win the match, meaning all five seeds who had played so far had fallen at the first hurdle.
This was followed by a preliminary round match of considerably better quality than the previous night's. Austrian Hannes Schnier
Hannes Schnier
Johann "Hannes" Schnier is an Austrian darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.In June 2006, Schnier won the Austrian National Championship, beating Dietmar Burger in the final...
, making his debut in the event, and China's Shi Yongsheng
Shi Yongsheng
Shi Yongsheng is a Chinese darts player.He played in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing in the first round to Andy Smith. In November 2007, Yongsheng won the Chinese qualifiers to return to the World Championship for 2008, thus becoming the first Chinese player to play in two World...
, making a third consecutive appearance, faced off with Yongsheng taking an early lead. Two 180s helped Schnier to take a 4-3 lead before Yongsheng reeled off three legs in succession to take the match 6-4.
Arguably the match of the tournament so far followed as seventeenth seed and semi-finalist last year, Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist"...
, took on Matt Clark
Matt Clark (darts player)
Matt Clark is an English darts player who competes for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly played for the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname Superman for his matches.-Darting history:...
. Clark took the first set 3-2 before Painter hit back taking the second 3-1. 'The Artist' then seemed to gain momentum as he took the next set without reply, including a 100 checkout with two double tops and a 126 checkout on the bull, however 'Superman' Clark comfortably won the next set 3-1 to send the match into a decider. The final set had to be won by two clear legs but no player could open up such a margin as they each held their throw for ten straight legs to send the match into a sudden death leg, something that Painter had famously been on the wrong end of in the 2004 final
2004 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2004 Ladbrokes.com World Championship was the 10th anniversary of the PDC version of the World Darts Championship. An extra preliminary round was introduced bringing the total players at the televised stages to 48. Ladbrokes, who sponsored the event initially for one year in 2003, decided to...
. Clark won the bull, meaning he threw first, but heavy scoring from Painter meant he was first to a double - he missed one dart at double 16 for the match with Clark left on a 104 checkout. Clark got the required treble 20 but himself missed a dart at double 12 to win the contest. Painter then hit double 8 with his third dart to finally take victory and become the first seed to advance into the second round.
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...
, the eleventh seed, had a considerably more comfortable victory against Warren French of New Zealand. French played far better than in his preliminary round game, averaging 76 rather than 54, however Priestley's average of 87 told all as he took all three sets 3-1 for a 3-0 overall victory. Welshman and twenty-ninth seed Barrie Bates
Barrie Bates
Barrie Bates is a darts player currently residing in Bedlinog, Mid-Glamorgan. He plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is a regular on the circuit. His nickname is "Batesy"....
had a similarly easy victory over Northern Ireland's Felix McBrearty
Felix McBrearty
Felix McBrearty is a Northern Irish darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation.McBrearty began playing in PDC ranked event in 2004, playing mainly in Irish tournaments...
, dropping three legs before a 101 checkout gave him a 3-0 win to end the afternoon session.
The evening session opened with ninth seed Alan Tabern
Alan Tabern
Alan Tabern is an English darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, where he is also known as "The Saint" and "Tabby"...
producing a comfortable 3-0 victory over 1996 BDO World Champion Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation...
. Tabern's average of 91 to Beaton's 82 was the decisive factor in the match as Beaton only won three legs in his defeat to the 2007 quarter-finalist. This was followed by a third preliminary game, easily the highest quality of the round so far as both the USA's David Fatum
David Fatum
David Fatum is a Canadian-American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. His nickname is The Scorpion. He is not a full-time professional and makes his living as a paramedic firefighter.Fatum's first major exposure came in the 2008 US Open where he reached the semi finals...
, a semi-finalist in the 2008 US Open
2008 US Open Darts
The 2008 US Open is the second year of a darts tournament, organized by the Professional Darts Corporation . It was played at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort, Connecticut, USA between May 16 and May 18, 2008.Phil Taylor successfully defended his title....
, and Ireland's Shane O'Connor
Shane O'Connor (darts player)
Shane O'Connor is an Irish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is not a full-time professional and makes his living as a scaffolder....
produced averages of above 75. Fatum led 4-2 before missing seven match darts to let O'Connor peg the match back to 4-4, however Fatum made no mistake in taking the next two legs and the match.
Another player from the USA and the highest ranked on the North American Order of Merit, Darin Young
Darin Young
Darin Young is an American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Big Daddy....
, took on Dutch youngster and thirty-second seed Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player, nicknamed Mighty Mike. He is the youngest player in history to win a major televised tournament in either the BDO or the PDC, winning the 2006 Winmau World Masters at the age of 17...
in the next match. Young opened with heavy scoring and took the first set before van Gerwen took the next including a 104 checkout that gave the Netherlands player a burst of momentum - he only dropped one leg in taking the next two sets to win the match.
Thirteen-time World Champion and top seed Phil Taylor opened his campaign with a dominant victory over debutant Steve Grubb
Steve Grubb
Steve Grubb is an English darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation, nicknamed Grubby.Grubb fell two games short of qualifying for the 2006 World Matchplay, losing to Andy Hamilton who eventually qualified. He then fell one game short of qualifying for the 2007 PDC World Darts...
. Taylor, with a 96 average - the highest of the tournament so far - was never pushed and didn't drop a leg in a whitewash of the qualifier that acted as a warning shot to the rest of the competition. The final match of the day saw twenty-eighth seed Alex Roy
Alex Roy (darts player)
Alex Roy is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He uses the nickname Ace of Herts for this matches and is with Dave Holland Management....
meet fast-rising youngster Kevin McDine
Kevin McDine
Kevin McDine is an English darts player, currently residing in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire. He competes in Professional Darts Corporation events and SupaMc is currently ranked 37th on the PDC Order of Merit....
. McDine took the first set 3-2 and the second 3-1 - a 100 checkout and seven perfect darts in two separate legs helping the Geordie take the latter. Roy seemed to come alive as he took the third set without reply along with a 116 checkout, but McDine included a 108 finish in taking the fourth and final set 3-1 to secure the match, and finish off day two's action.
Preliminary Round
- Charles Losper 6-4 Sudesh Fitzgerald
- Remco van Eijden 5-3 Anastasia Dobromyslova
First Round
- Mark Walsh 3-2 Jamie Caven (3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 2-3, 4-2)
- Mark Dudbridge 3-2 Nick Fullwell (2-3, 3-1, 3-0, 1-3, 4-2)
- Wes Newton 3-1 Per Laursen (2-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2)
- Denis Ovens 3-0 Steve Maish (3-1, 3-2, 3-0)
- Andy Hamilton 3-0 Michael Barnard (3-1, 3-1, 3-2)
- Wayne Mardle 3-0 David Fatum (3-0, 3-1, 3-0)
- Raymond van Barneveld 3-0 Mark Stephenson (3-0, 3-0, 3-2)
- Peter Manley 2-3 Mensur Suljovic (3-1, 2-3, 1-3, 3-0, 1-3)
The first match of the third day was a tight affair between twenty-first seed Mark Walsh and Jamie Caven
Jamie Caven
Jamie Robert Caven is an English darts player. He uses the nickname Jabba for his matches and is sponsored by Unicorn....
. Both were second round losers last year and both averaged 91 in a match where the first break of throw was not until the third set. At 1-1 in sets, Walsh had eight perfect darts towards a nine dart finish
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
but his dart at double 12 fell well short. The following leg he broke Caven's throw and despite a break back from Caven, a 120 checkout saw him take the third set. Caven took the fourth set 3-2 but Walsh, who two years ago went out in the first round with a 71 average due to suffering from dartitis
Dartitis
Dartitis is a condition which can affect dart players, and severely damage their performance and results. It can be compared to the 'yips', an expression used to describe apparent loss of fine motor skills without any explanation...
, took the final set 4-2 to go into the second round. The match eventually ended up with a total thirteen 180s between the players; eight were from Walsh which would set a joint-record for the first round along with Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion...
.
The next match saw the second best performance from a preliminary round entrant in South Africa's Charles Losper
Charles Losper
Charles Losper is a darts player from South Africa. He is currently the highest ranked South African darts player on the PDC Order of Merit, ranked at number 71...
, who faced Guyana's Sudesh Fitzgerald
Sudesh Fitzgerald
Sudesh Fitzgerald is a Guyanese darts player.Fitzgerald reached the semi final of the 2008 WDF Americas Cup Singles, losing to Canada's Jerry Hull. Fitzgerald won the 2008 Caribbean and South American Masters to qualify for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship where he faced South African Charles...
. Losper, who twelve months ago lost 3-1 in the first round to eventual champion John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
, averaged 87 in a tidy 6-4 victory over Fitzgerald, making his debut at the World Championship. Fitzgerald started poorly and let Losper take a 3-1 lead, before a 64 finish helped him level the match. Losper then checked out 95 to retake the lead, but despite Fitzgerald hitting back the next leg, a 180 in the ninth leg and a 14 dart finish in the tenth gave Losper victory.
The 2005
2005 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2005 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, sponsored by Ladbrokes, was held at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet and started on Boxing Day, 2004...
runner-up and twentieth seed Mark Dudbridge
Mark Dudbridge
Mark Daniel Dudbridge is an English professional darts player.-Darts career:He started playing in his very early teens, citing Dennis Priestley as one of his heroes...
was next in action against debutant Nick Fullwell
Nick Fullwell
Nick Fullwell is an English darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Fullwell joined the PDC circuit in 2005 and narrowly missed out qualifying for the World Grand Prix, losing in the final game to Gary Welding. After that, Fullwell struggled to progress in tournaments, failing...
in a match that also went to a fifth set. Dudbridge led in the first, but missed doubles let Fullwell steal it before 'Flash' Dudbridge took the next set 3-1 including a 100 checkout. Dudbridge took control of the match by taking the third set without reply, but 'Hero' Fullwell hit a 98 finish in the fourth to send the match into a decider. Dudbridge finally prevailed by taking the fourth set 4-2.
Thirty-first seed Englishman Wes Newton
Wes Newton
Wesley "Wes" Newton is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments.-Darts career:...
faced off against Danish Per Laursen
Per Laursen
Per Laursen is a Danish darts player. He reached the final of the WDF World Cup in 2005 and won the Welsh Open earlier that year - performances which enabled him to qualify for the BDO World Darts Championship for the first time in 2006....
in the next match. Both suffered first round exits last year and Laursen was condemned to the same fate in a fairly unremarkable match in which both players averaged in the 80s. Laursen took the first set 3-2 but Newton won the next by the same scoreline, before taking the lead with a 3-1 score in the third set (the only set that didn't go to a deciding leg) and finishing the match off with double 4 in the fourth set's decider. A fairly one-sided match followed as eighteenth seed Denis Ovens
Denis Ovens
Denis Ovens is an English darts player currently ranked number 29 in the PDC Order of Merit. He is nicknamed The Heat and is now based in Stevenage. Ovens is widely regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to...
took a comfortable victory over Steve Maish
Steve Maish
Steve Maish is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He uses the nickname Mr Magic for his matches....
. Ovens took the first set 3-1 and a tight second set which Ovens won 3-2 with a 15 darter seemed to break Maish's resolve, as finishes of 80 and 120 helped Ovens take the third set without reply to end the afternoon's action.
The evening opened with some heavy scoring from number seven seed Andy Hamilton
Andy Hamilton (darts player)
Andy Hamilton is a full time professional English darts player widely known for his "aggressive" style of play. He is nicknamed The Hammer and is currently ranked 12th on the PDC Order of Merit....
, who set the best average of round one (101.59) in a straight sets victory over Michael Barnard
Michael Barnard (darts player)
Michael Barnard is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.A winner of the World Youth Masters in 1991, Barnard joined the PDC circuit in late 2003 taking part in UK Open regionals, reaching the semi finals of the Scottish Regional and the quarter finals of the...
. Barnard did not disgrace himself, averaging 93 and performing 114 checkout, but Hamilton's power play including five 180s ensured he went through while throwing down the gauntlet for the rest of the field.
What followed was one of the most hotly anticipated matches ever in the PDC World Championship
PDC World Darts Championship
The PDC World Darts Championship is a world championship competition for the sport of darts, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . It was introduced following a dispute in 1994 with the British Darts Organisation, which has run its own world championship since 1978...
. Massive hype had gathered over the appearance of Russian Anastasia Dobromyslova
Anastasia Dobromyslova
Anastasia Dobromyslova-Martin is a professional darts player. She is a former winner of the Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation, winning it in 2008...
, the Ladies World Champion, facing off against Dutchman Remco van Eijden
Remco van Eijden
Remco van Eijden is a Dutch darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events.van Eijden previously played in the British Darts Organisation and he played in the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, beating fellow Dutchman Mario Robbe in the first round, only to lost in the second round...
in a preliminary round game. Both were making their debut in the PDC World Championship and both had been awarded a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
into the competition. However, Dobromyslova was the clear crowd favourite and the pressure showed on van Eijden as he lost the first leg. This seemed to awaken the Dutchman as he reeled off the next three legs before a thirteen darter helped the Russian to level the match. van Eijden then took the next two legs to win the match and end the dream for Dobromyslova, though both players averaged over 80 in arguably the highest quality preliminary round match so far.
Crowd favourite and eighth seed Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle is a darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, and former player in the BDO. He now lives in Romford...
then began his World Championship campaign against debutant American David Fatum
David Fatum
David Fatum is a Canadian-American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. His nickname is The Scorpion. He is not a full-time professional and makes his living as a paramedic firefighter.Fatum's first major exposure came in the 2008 US Open where he reached the semi finals...
. The four-time (including last year) semi-finalist did not play his best game, averaging 86 to Fatum's 81, but it was enough to put him through in straight sets, dropping only one leg in the process. While his scoring was nothing to write home about, Mardle's finishing was eye-catching, including a 116 and 106 checkout in a clinical performance on the doubles - it was this part of his game that put 'Hawaii 501' through comfortably as 'The Scorpion' Fatum struggled in finishing off legs.
The 2007
2007 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2007 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament began on Monday 18 December 2006 and the final was played on Monday 1 January 2007...
champion and second seed Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
began his challenge for the championship against English qualifier Mark Stephenson
Mark Stephenson
Mark Stephenson is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He was formerly an official, working as a marker....
. 'Barney', a third round loser last year, was hoping to outdo both Hamilton's average and Taylor's record of not dropping a leg, and, in taking the first two sets 3-0 he looked to be doing just that. van Barneveld included a 13 darter and two 14 dart finishes in rapidly taking the first set, and a 102 finish was crucial in taking the second. However, his third set was less comfortable, as Stephenson gained his first leg with a 126 checkout and then sent the set into a deciding leg. Stephenson, averaging a respectable 88, missed a dart to take the set before 'The Man' wrapped up the game, averaging a strong 100.80 in the process.
The final match of the day saw another upset as thirteenth seed Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
fell in a deciding set to Serbian-born Austrian Mensur Suljovic
Mensur Suljovic
Mensur Suljović is a Serbian-born Austrian darts player. He plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and previously played for the British Darts Organisation. He was also one of the top players in the German Darts Corporation where he won three events in 2007...
. Manley, a three-time runner-up at the PDC World Championship, took the first set with ease including a 124 checkout. He then led 2-0 in the second set before Suljovic began to hit back, with two 180s helping him take three legs on the spin to level the match 1-1. Suljovic, a second round loser to eventual champion John Part last year, led for the first time in the third set, before 'One Dart' hit a clinical 118 checkout to put him back in the game. However, his scoring was not up to par as Suljovic continued to outperform him in that area, and a 101 checkout helped him take third set 3-1. Manley, sensing a defeat, quickly took the next set 3-0 to send the match into a decider. However, it was Suljovic (averaging an impressive 91 to Manley's 88) whose nerve held when it mattered most as he broke his opponent's throw early and double ten sent Manley crashing out.
First Round
- Chris Mason 0-3 John MaGowan (1-3, 1-3, 1-3)
- Adrian Lewis 3-1 Russell Stewart (3-1, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1)
- Colin Lloyd 0-3 Jelle Klaasen (1-3, 0-3, 0-3)
- Mervyn King 3-0 Shi Yongsheng (3-0, 3-0, 3-0)
The fourth day only featured play in the evening, and began with a major upset as twenty-second seed Chris Mason
Chris Mason (darts player)
Christopher John Mason is an English darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Mace the Ace for his matches.- BDO and first PDC spell :...
fell in straight sets to 67 year-old Irishman John MaGowan
John MaGowan
John MaGowan is a Northern Irish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is nicknamed Mr. Magoo.-BDO career:...
. Mason never got going in the match, averaging 83 to MaGowan's 92. All sets went 3-1 in 'Mr Magoo's favour, with the highlight of the match being a 156 checkout from MaGowan in the final set to end Mason's hopes of a recovery - double 4 finally completed a major surprise in the opening game of the night. In the preliminary round game that followed, Finland's Marko Kantele
Marko Kantele
Marko Kantele is a Finnish darts player.Kantele made his major debut in the 1997 Winmau World Masters, beating defending champion Colin Monk in the first round but lost in the second round to Mark Day. He returned to the Masters five years later, losing in the second round to Ted Hankey...
produced the best performance of the preliminary stage with an average of 89 to win 5-2 against Lourence Ilagan
Lourence Ilagan
Lourence Ilagan is a Filipino darts player.Ilagan is a two-time quarter-finalist in the WDF Asia-Pacific Cup. He has also reached the final of the Philippines Open in 2006 and 2007 along with the final of the 2008 Malaysian Open...
of the Philippines. Both were debutants though it was the Finn who settled in earlier, completing a 120 checkout before a 12 darter put him 2-0 up. Ilagan won two more legs but Kantele was always in control and a 60 checkout completed the final preliminary round match.
Sixth seed young gun Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion...
, twice a quarter-finalist at the World Championship, entered the tournament facing off against veteran Australian Russell Stewart
Russell Stewart
Russell Stewart is an Australian darts player. He uses the nickname Rusty for his matches.-Playing career:...
who was making his debut at the PDC version of the event despite making eleven appearances in the BDO World Championship
BDO World Darts Championship
The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...
. Lewis stormed through the first set, including three 180s and a 121 finish to complete a 12 darter to take the set. A 111 finish helped him open up the first set 2-0 as the youngster looked to have the match under control, but a sudden loss in form from Lewis and steady scoring from Stewart helped 'Rusty' take three legs on the trot to level the match. Stewart took the first leg of the next set to take the lead from the first time, but 'Jackpot' started to find form again as he punished missed darts at doubles from the Australian to take the third set 3-1. A 105 checkout sealed the match for Lewis in the fourth set - though he only averaged 86 to Stewart's 84, Lewis did hit eight 180s in the match, the most of the round and equalling Mark Walsh's record.
The next match was hyped before the tournament as the match of the first round, however it proved to be anything but as 2006 BDO World Champion
2006 BDO World Darts Championship
-Women:-External links:*...
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands...
dropped only one leg in a clinical demolition of tenth seed Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...
. Both were first round losers last year, and both had had darts to win their matches (Klaasen had missed ten match darts to put away Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world...
), but Klaasen made no mistake in that area this time as he won the last two sets 3-0 against a disappointing Lloyd - 'Jaws' averaged 86 to 'The Matador's impressive 95. The last match of the night was another one-sided affair as twelfth seed Mervyn King didn't drop a leg against China's Shi Yongsheng
Shi Yongsheng
Shi Yongsheng is a Chinese darts player.He played in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing in the first round to Andy Smith. In November 2007, Yongsheng won the Chinese qualifiers to return to the World Championship for 2008, thus becoming the first Chinese player to play in two World...
. The averages - King with 92 to Yongsheng's 75 - told all as a 105 checkout was the only real highlight in a match dominated by 'The King'.
Day Five, Tuesday 23 December
- The eight remaining first round matches.
- Andy Smith 2-3 Tony Ayres (2-3, 3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 1-3)
- Adrian Gray 0-3 Paul Nicholson (0-3, 0-3, 0-3)
- Kirk Shepherd 2-3 Jan van der Rassel (2-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-0, 2-4)
- Tony Eccles 3-2 Remco van Eijden (3-0, 3-2, 2-3, 2-3, 3-1)
- Ronnie Baxter 3-1 Marko Kantele (2-3, 3-2, 3-0, 3-1)
- Colin Osborne 3-0 Charles Losper (3-0, 3-1, 3-2)
- James Wade 3-0 Brendan Dolan (3-2, 3-0, 3-1)
- Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Nándor Bezzeg (3-2, 3-1, 3-0)
The last day of play before the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
break featured eight round one games to finish up the first round. First up was twenty-sixth seed Andy Smith
Andy Smith (darts player)
Andrew Smith is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. He uses the nickname Pieman for his matches...
, a first round loser last year, taking on debutant Tony Ayres
Tony Ayres (darts player)
Tony Ayres is an English darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Ayres' first television exposure came in the 2008 UK Open, reaching the last 64 stage where he lost 9-0 to Raymond van Barneveld....
. Ayres took the first set before 'The Pieman' Smith changed gears, hitting two 180s and a thirteen darter to take the second set. An even contest saw Ayres take the third with finishes of 116 and 101 but Smith took the fourth including a 155 checkout. In the deciding set, Ayres quickly took a 2-0 lead before Smith hit a 100 checkout with two double tops to save the game; it was only delaying the inevitable however as Ayres, who hit three 180s to Smith's six, and averaged 86 to Smith's 87, was on target when it mattered - he hit double four cleanly in the next leg to win the match.
The next match was an unexpected demolition of twenty-seventh seed Adrian Gray
Adrian Gray
Adrian Gray is an English darts player. Previously using the nickname '3 Styler', he is now known as 'The Conqueror'. Adrian made his televised debut at the 2003 UK Open...
, who did not win a leg in a whitewash defeat by top Australian player Paul Nicholson
Paul Nicholson (darts player)
Paul Nicholson is a British born darts player, who holds Australian nationality. He aims to project the image of the 'bad boy of darts'- 2008-2009 :...
. Gray only got one dart at a double in the entire match as his average of 84 was blown away by Nicholson's 96 (interestingly Nicholson averaged exactly the same as Phil Taylor, who did not drop a leg in his first round match either). Though Nicholson did not hit any 180s, he did hit showpiece checkouts of 142 and 100 to set up a match with Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion...
in the second round, who had beaten his fellow Australian Russell Stewart
Russell Stewart
Russell Stewart is an Australian darts player. He uses the nickname Rusty for his matches.-Playing career:...
the previous day.
Twenty-third seed Kirk Shepherd
Kirk Shepherd
Kirk Shepherd is a darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events, and lives in Birmingham, England. He is the youngest player ever to reach a final of the World Professional Darts Championship...
was not to have a repeat of his fairytale run to the final in last year's 2008 event
2008 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, sponsored by Ladbrokes, was the 15th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation...
as he was defeated in a deciding set by Dutchman Jan van der Rassel
Jan van der Rassel
Jan van der Rassel is a Dutch darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events. He uses the nickname The Project for his matches. His former nickname was Tweety Pie....
. A 106 checkout helped Shepherd lead in the first set, but clean checkouts of 98 and 97 in two consecutive legs ensured that van der Rassel took the first set. Shepherd took the second set 3-1 before the third set went to a deciding leg - 'Rassel Dazzle' held throw to go 2-1 up. The 'Martial Dartist' Shepherd stormed through the fourth set, finishing it with a 126 checkout on the bull, but he could not keep up the momentum as van der Rassel took the final set by two clear legs with a clean 106 checkout. Shepherd's defeat also meant that both finalists from the previous year's tournament had gone out in the first round, the first time this has ever happened.
The final game of the afternoon also went to a deciding set though it did not look to be at first as thirtieth seed Tony Eccles
Tony Eccles
Tony Eccles is a Winmau sponsored darts player currently residing in Hartlepool. He uses the nickname The Viper.-BDO career:...
shot to a 2-0 in sets lead against Remco van Eijden
Remco van Eijden
Remco van Eijden is a Dutch darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events.van Eijden previously played in the British Darts Organisation and he played in the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, beating fellow Dutchman Mario Robbe in the first round, only to lost in the second round...
, the conqueror of Ladies World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova
Anastasia Dobromyslova
Anastasia Dobromyslova-Martin is a professional darts player. She is a former winner of the Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation, winning it in 2008...
in the preliminary round. Eccles included a 164 checkout in the first set, which he won 3-0, and though the second set was closer in going to a deciding leg, Eccles came out on top to give himself a strong lead. However, the match was far from over as van Eijden took the third set in a deciding leg with a gutsy 116 checkout, and in the deciding leg of the fourth Eccles missed five darts for the match before van Eijden levelled the match. 'The Viper' Eccles lost the first leg in the deciding set as van Eijden took the lead for the first time, but this provoked him into heavy scoring as he won the next three legs without reply to finally win the match.
The evening's play saw fifteenth seed Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...
take on the best performer of the preliminary round - Finn Marko Kantele
Marko Kantele
Marko Kantele is a Finnish darts player.Kantele made his major debut in the 1997 Winmau World Masters, beating defending champion Colin Monk in the first round but lost in the second round to Mark Day. He returned to the Masters five years later, losing in the second round to Ted Hankey...
. Kantele took the first set with some eye-catching finishing, hitting checkouts of 124 and 164 both on the bull to carve himself a lead despite superior scoring from Baxter. Though Kantele again finished on the bull with a 122 checkout in the second set, Baxter held his throw under pressure to level the match. From then Baxter only lost one leg in the next two sets as he started to hit good form and Kantele's started to slip away - 'The Rocket' stormed through the third set without dropping a leg and he took the fourth, and the match, with some eye-catching finishing of his own, hitting two double tops to complete a 100 checkout. Baxter's end average of 92 to Kantele's 83 showed that it was his scoring that gave him the edge in the match despite some amazing finishing from the Finn.
The fourteenth seed Colin Osborne
Colin Osborne
Colin Osborne is an English darts player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation events.-Darts career:Osborne has won two PDC Pro Tour events and he also managed to hit two perfect nine dart finishes in 2005...
, a quarter-finalist in 2007 but a first round loser last year, opened his campaign with a clinical straight-sets victory over South African Charles Losper
Charles Losper
Charles Losper is a darts player from South Africa. He is currently the highest ranked South African darts player on the PDC Order of Merit, ranked at number 71...
. Osborne rivalled Kantele's finishing as a 121 checkout helped him take the first set without reply, and a 167 checkout - the highest of the first round - was instrumental in opening a lead in the second set, which he later won with a 110 finish. Losper, now with his back to the wall, appeared to gain steam as a 14 darter gave him a two leg advantage in the third set, but Osborne regrouped and a 96 checkout gave him victory in the deciding leg of the set. 'The Wizard' Osborne's average of 95 to complement his finishing also showed that he was very much a threat following the disappointment of last year.
Brendan Dolan
Brendan Dolan
Brendan Dolan is a Irish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events.After two early exits in the 2003 and 2004 UK Open, his first major run came in the 2004 World Grand Prix where he qualified through the All Ireland qualifiers, winning one of four places...
gave third seed James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...
a great scare in the first set of their match - he missed six darts for the set before an under-par Wade, who averaged 88, hit an important 106 checkout to take it and break Dolan's spirit. From then on Wade took six of the next seven legs in winning the following two sets and won the match with a thirteen dart finish to set up a match with Tony Eccles, who had famously knocked Wade out in the first round of the 2008 World Grand Prix
2008 World Grand Prix Darts
The 2008 Sky Poker World Grand Prix was the eleventh instance of the darts tournament held by the Professional Darts Corporation, the World Grand Prix. It was held from October 6 to October 12. As usual it was staged at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Dublin...
as 'The Machine' was the defending champion at the time. The next match was another straight-sets victory for a seed - nineteenth seed Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world...
won the final first round match 3-0 against Hungarian Nándor Bezzeg
Nándor Bezzeg
Nándor Bezzeg is a Hungarian darts player.Bezzeg reached the final of the 2007 Austrian Open, losing to Joey ten Berge. He then reached the final of the 2008 Hungarian Open, beating ten Berge in the semis before losing to another Dutchman Mareno Michels...
. The first set went to a deciding leg but van der Voort took it under pressure, and like Wade he dropped only one leg in taking the next two sets - a 106 checkout, five 180s, and a 90 average from 'Greased Lightning' proved enough to dispatch the Eastern European qualifier and end the first round.
Wednesday 24 December to Friday 26 December
- The tournament goes into hiatus for the annual ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
break.
Day Six, Saturday 27 December
- The first six second round matches.
- Dennis Smith 4-3 Kevin McDine (2-3, 2-3, 1-3, 3-1, 3-0, 3-2, 3-1)
- Alan Tabern 1-4 Co Stompé (2-3, 3-1, 2-3, 0-3, 1-3)
- Carlos Rodriguez 1-4 Kevin Painter (0-3, 1-3, 3-1, 0-3, 0-3)
- Mensur Suljovic 0-4 Mark Dudbridge (2-3, 2-3, 2-3, 2-3)
- Phil Taylor 4-0 Michael van Gerwen (3-1, 3-0, 3-1, 3-1)
- Wayne Mardle 4-3 Robert Thornton (1-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-2, 1-3, 2-3, 3-1)
The tournament resumed and the second round began on day six, which opened with a remarkable match between old PDC stalwart Dennis Smith
Dennis Smith (darts player)
Dennis Smith is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is a stalwart on the PDC circuit, having been playing on the circuit since 1994 but has yet to capture a major title to add to his collection of Open wins...
and young Kevin McDine
Kevin McDine
Kevin McDine is an English darts player, currently residing in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire. He competes in Professional Darts Corporation events and SupaMc is currently ranked 37th on the PDC Order of Merit....
. In the deciding leg of the first set, Smith missed darts to take the opener so McDine stepped in to take it. The second set also went to a decider, and McDine performed an 11 dart finish to open up a 2-0 lead. Checkouts of 110 and 128 on the bull put McDine 3-0 up and on course for a comfortable victory, but Smith rallied in the fourth and began to hit top form as he broke McDine's throw for the first time in the match to win the set. Two fourteen darters and a fifteen dart finish ensured that Smith continued his resurgence in the fifth set, and he levelled the match in the deciding leg of the sixth set. Smith then led for the first time in the match as he took the opening leg of the deciding set, and he repeated McDine's feat of a 128 checkout on the bull to go 2-0 up. From here there was only going to be one winner as Smith landed double eight to complete a famous comeback. Remarkably, Smith hit thirty-one 140s (the most from one player in a single match) but no 180s, compared to McDine's statistic of fifteen 140s and eight 180s. Both players averaged above 90 in a match that would go down as a classic.
Day Seven, Sunday 28 December
- Six more second round matches.
- Bill Davis 2-4 Barrie Bates (3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 2-3, 0-3, 2-3)
- Ronnie Baxter 4-1 Denis Ovens (1-3, 3-0, 3-1, 3-2, 3-0)
- Andy Hamilton 4-2 Tony Ayres (2-3, 3-0, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-1)
- Jelle Klaasen 4-0 Jan van der Rassel (3-2, 3-2, 3-0, 3-0)
- Raymond van Barneveld 4-1 Wes Newton (3-1, 3-0, 1-3, 3-0, 3-1)
- Mervyn King 4-2 Mark Walsh (1-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-1)
Second Round
- Adrian Lewis 3-4 Paul Nicholson (2-3, 3-1, 0-3, 3-2, 3-1, 0-3, 4-6)
- Dennis Priestley 4-1 John MaGowan (3-0, 3-1, 3-2, 0-3, 3-1)
- Colin Osborne 1-4 Vincent van der Voort (3-0, 1-3, 2-3, 1-3, 1-3)
- James Wade 4-2 Tony Eccles (3-0, 1-3, 3-1, 3-1, 0-3, 3-2)
Third Round
- Phil Taylor 4-1 Kevin Painter (1-3, 3-0, 3-0, 3-0, 3-1)
- Barrie Bates 4-0 Mark Dudbridge (3-0, 3-1, 3-0, 3-2)
Day Nine, Tuesday 30 December
- The six remaining third round matches.
- Paul Nicholson 4-2 Dennis Priestley (2-3, 1-3, 3-0, 3-2, 3-1, 3-1)
- Dennis Smith 1-4 Mervyn King (2-3, 2-3, 1-3, 3-1, 1-3)
- Wayne Mardle 0-4 Co Stompé (2-3, 1-3, 2-3, 2-3)
- Andy Hamilton 1-4 Jelle Klaasen (2-3, 3-2, 1-3, 1-3, 2-3)
- Raymond van Barneveld 4-3 Ronnie Baxter (3-2, 1-3, 3-1, 2-3, 1-3, 3-1, 6-5)
- James Wade 4-0 Vincent van der Voort (3-1, 3-1, 3-2, 3-2)
Day Ten, Thursday 1 January
- The start of the quarter-finals.
- Mervyn King 5-2 Barrie Bates (3-1, 3-0, 2-3, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-0)
- Phil Taylor 5-0 Co Stompé (3-0, 3-2, 3-0, 3-0, 3-1)
Day Eleven, Friday 2 January
- Paul Nicholson 3-5 James Wade (2-3, 2-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-0, 3-0, 0-3, 1-3)
- Raymond van Barneveld 5-1 Jelle Klaasen (1-3, 3-0, 3-0, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2)
Nine dart finish
During the second leg of the sixth set of the match between van Barneveld and Klaasen, van Barneveld threw the first-ever nine dart finishNine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
at a PDC World Darts Championship
PDC World Darts Championship
The PDC World Darts Championship is a world championship competition for the sport of darts, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . It was introduced following a dispute in 1994 with the British Darts Organisation, which has run its own world championship since 1978...
since the split from the British Darts Organisation
British Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
in mid-1993, and only the second World Championship nine-darter (first live) after Paul Lim
Paul Lim
Paul Lim Leong Hwa known simply as Paul Lim is a professional darts player who will be best remembered for being the first player to hit a perfect nine-dart finish during the Embassy World Professional Darts Championship in 1990...
's similar outshot against Jack McKenna
Jack McKenna
John "Jack" McKenna is a professional Irish darts player.McKenna reached the quarter finals of the inaugural Winmau World Masters in 1974...
in 1990
1990 BDO World Darts Championship
The 1990 Embassy World Darts Championship was held at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey from 5–13 January 1990. It saw Phil Taylor win the first of fifteen world titles, beating his mentor Eric Bristow 6-1 in sets. Taylor beat Russell Stewart, Dennis Hickling, Ronnie Sharp...
. It was van Barneveld's second nine-darter on live British television after his nine-darter against Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
during the 2006 Premier League
2006 Premier League Darts
The 2006 Holsten Premier League the second year of the Professional Darts Corporation's popular darts league. The 2006 league was launched with the top six players in the PDC world rankings and the addition of a wildcard player, Raymond van Barneveld who decided to switch from the British Darts...
, and he used T20, T19, D12 (just like Lim) to complete the perfect leg.
Day Twelve, Saturday 3 January
- The semi-finals.
- Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 James Wade (3-2, 0-3, 1-3, 3-2, 2-3, 3-1, 3-0, 0-3, 3-0, 3-0)
- Phil Taylor 6-2 Mervyn King (3-1, 3-1, 3-0, 1-3, 2-3, 3-0, 3-0, 3-1)
Day Thirteen, Sunday 4 January
- The final.
- Phil Taylor 7-1 Raymond van Barneveld (3-0, 3-0, 2-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2)
Television coverage
As they have done for every PDC World Darts Championship, Sky SportsSky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
broadcast all 69 matches live in the UK, and for the first time in high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
. Dave Clark
Dave Clark (television presenter)
Dave Clark is a television presenter from Leeds, England who works for British television station Sky Sports, where he is the anchorman for boxing and darts coverage....
presented the coverage with analysis from Rod Harrington
Rod Harrington
Rod Harrington is a former English darts player. He used the nickname The Prince of Style for his matches, often wearing a suit and waistcoast for his games...
and Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
. They also commentated on matches along with Sid Waddell, John Gwynne
John Gwynne
Richard John Gwynne is a British former teacher and now a sports commentator and reporter.-Broadcasting career:...
, Dave Lanning
Dave Lanning
Dave Lanning is a retired English sports commentator and journalist.-Broadcasting career:...
, Nigel Pearson and Stuart Pyke
Stuart Pyke
Stuart Pyke is a British-born sports journalist and broadcaster. Stuart was born in St Helens, Merseyside, and is married to Christine. He has two children; Daniel and Rachael and two stepdaughters Emma and Victoria....
. Interviews were handled by Clark, Bristow and Helen Chamberlain
Helen Chamberlain
Helen Marie Chamberlain is an English television presenter.She previously worked as a holiday camp entertainer and Disc Jockey before working on a variety of radio and television programmes...
.