World Series of Darts
Encyclopedia
The World Series of Darts was a Professional Darts Corporation
event which was introduced in 2006. The event was not a ratings success in the United States and the PDC decided to replace it with another new tournament, the US Open
for 2007.
It was held in the USA
and saw the top 16 ranked Professional Darts Corporation players take on 16 American players , 12 of which will be winners from several tournaments and 4 from a 'Friday Night Madness' at the Mohegan Sun
casino in Connecticut
. The PDC offered an aspirational prize of US$1,000,000 if an American player won the tournament. The prize for a non-US winner was US$100,000.
2006 showed a huge gulf in class between the PDC pros and the American challengers, with only one home-player out of the 16 that started the tournament, John Kuczynski, getting through to the last 16 after a 6-5 (legs) defeat of John Part. He then lost to Wayne Mardle in the last 16.
The American hero was John "Jonny K" Kuczynski the American number one went through to the second round with a tight 6-5 first round victory over two time World Champion John Part. - in the only match to reach the eleventh and final leg - Part led 2-1 early in the match before Kuczynski reeled off three straight legs to move 4-2 in front and the Americans began to cheer their hero on. A brilliant 161 check-out from Part took the 7th leg and then he levelled despite a 180 from his opponent. The match now was best of three legs to win a place in the second round. Part had a chance in the ninth as well, missing double top to go 5-4 as the American did so.
Roles reversed in leg 10 as Kuczynski missed double ten to hit a 140 out shot to go through. - John Part taking the match to a deciding sudden death leg with a 93 shot. A third 180 from Kuczynski in the decider put him in the driving seat before he missed double top to go through. Part stepped up and after 84 from two darts needed double 16 to win, he missed and Johnny K hit the 40 he needed to make it through to round 2.
For the main PDC players, number one seed Colin Lloyd went through to the second round a 6-2 winner over Isen Veljic, Phil Taylor - world champion won 6-2 against Tim O'Gorman and Ronnie Baxter went through an easy 6-1 winner over Brad Wethington.
For other Americans who had graced the PDC stage, disappointment loomed as Jim Widmayer was whitewashed by Adrian Lewis 6-0, - Roger Carter out 6-1 to Roland Scholten before Ray Carver and Jim Watkins headed out in 6-3 losses to Peter Manley and Kevin Painter respectively
Joining him was Denis Ovens who eliminated Andy Jenkins 6-4 winning 5 of the final 6 legs to win from 1-3 behind. Then 2006 World Finalist Peter Manley moved into the quarter-finals with an easy 6-2 win over Mark Walsh - who was beginning to develop dartitis problems. Manley would lead 5-1 before Walshie took the 7th leg. Manley hitting double 10 to go through.
Saturday finished with Dennis Priestley defeating Dutchman Roland Scholten 6-4 in a very high quality encounter. 51 100+ scores including seven maximums between the pair in just ten legs saw both average around 96 - 97
A 76 checkout put Taylor 5-3 ahead and he went through with an 11 dart leg in the ninth. - Taylor averaged 104.88 and Jenkins 99.59 in arguably the match of the tournament so far.
Mark Dudbridge would join Taylor in the quarter-finals but in a very different match compared to his 6-0 whitewash in the first round. - Kevin Painter would lead 2-0 after nicking the first leg. Dudbridge would hit a 94 to checkout to reduce his arrears before Painter hit double 18 to go 3-1 up. - Dudbridge would win leg five on double 12 before Painter would go 4-2 on double top - Dudbridged had missed the bull when on a 164 that would have made the score 3-3. Painter missed a bull of his own in the 7th leg on a 118 checkout that would have made the score 5-2 and really the game out of Dudbridge's reach. Dudbridge hit the double top to reduce his deficit to 4-3.
That was a crucial leg as Dudbridge moved 5-4 in front before an error in hitting 9 rather than 12 in setting a finish up let Painter in to level the scores a 5-5 on double 16. - Scores in the decider of 180 and 140 to lead up to the checkout of 64. Dudbridge in the quarter-finals of a major for the first time since the World Final of 2005.
The American dream ended in defeat for John Kuczynski. The American, the only home player to reach round two went out 6-3 to Wayne Mardle. Mardle who had been in the semi-finals of the World Championships and in the Premier League averaging 93.44 against Johnny K. - Kuczynski struggled initially as Mardle moved 2-0 in front before the American hit his first leg. - Mardle took the next two as he increased his lead, and the pressure on Kuczynski by moving 4-1 up.
Kuczynski cut the gap and moved himself back into contention with a fine 119 checkout on the bull before Mardle hit double 5 to go 5-2 in front. One last cheer for the last home man was a double top in the eighth, had Mardle missed on 5's then it is likely that Kuczynski would have levelled with a 31 checkout. - An unintentional double 2, double 17 checkout of 38 (thought to be single two for double eighteen put Hawaii 501 into the quarter-finals.
Mardle will now meet Ronnie Baxter after The Rocket showed some brilliant finishing in a 6-4 win over Alan Warriner-Little. Baxter beginning to show some of his best form after a shock first round exit to Ray Carver - who lost to Peter Manley in the first round in averaging 92.02 to Warriner's 88.67
Lewis will meet Dennis Priestley after the Yorkshireman came from 5-2 behind against Peter Manley to win 9-7 in a thrilling contest. Manley proved why he is One Dart as he moved into the lead twice breaking the throw and it was only in leg 8 that Priestley began to show the darts that took him to the semi-finals of the 2005 World Grand Prix. Four straight legs put him 6-5 up and left Manley a fight on his hands. Double 10 from Peter levelled the game before the 55 year old moved 7-6 with a tremendous 124 checkout of Treble 20, 14 and Bull to take the 13th leg.
Manley levelled at seven apeice with double top after Priestley missed doubles, before a bad 15th leg let Dennis edge 8-7 up and within one of the win, the 16th was Similar and Dennis was through a 9-7 winner.
Phil Taylor would also reach the last four though he needed to regain his focus against a determined Mark Dudbridge. Dudbridge beaten 7 sets to four in the final of the 2005 World Championships, the last time he reached a quarter-final trailed Taylor 7-3 in legs as The Power moved into the driving seat after trailing 3-2 before embarking on a five leg run. Three successive legs from Dudbridge closed the gap to 7-6 before Taylor stopped the rot in the fourteenth. A 12-dart leg in the 15ths allowed Taylor home a 9-6 victor.
Ronnie Baxter like Taylor had to regain focus in his match against Wayne Mardle. Baxter led 2-0 and then went onto be 7-1 up at the mid match interval. Mardle who usually takes to be struggling to produce his best darts closed the gap to 7-5 but missed a chance to make it 7-6 as Baxter moved clear to 8-5. Baxter missed a match dart in the next leg and Mardle took double six. But it was different in the 15th as Mardle missed his chance to make it 8-7 as Baxter moved through.
In the first Dennis Priestley was given no chance by an imperial performance from Adrian Lewis. Lewis moved 3-0 up due to a 93 finish to open the game, followed by 11 and 12 dart legs to go three up. He began the fourth with a 180 but Priestley made it 3-1 with a double 8. Two clinical finishes from Lewis made the score 5-1 followed by a 14-darter to go 6-1 up and realistically have a foot in the final.
The next three legs went all the way to Lewis, meaning at the mid-match stage of 10 legs, Lewis held a 9-1 lead and required just two more from the final 11 to win. At this stage Lewis had a 58% checkout rate with 9 hits from 16 attempts as he turned the screw into the Yorkshireman - who had no answer as Lewis reached a peak average of 104. - Dennis The Menace had chances in the next two legs to cut the gap but Lewis took them to record an amazing 11-1 victory averaging 98.72 to Priestley's 82.97
broadcast the first of eight one-hour segments on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 in prime-time at 7pm. ESPN’s cameras had followed the complete US qualifying process from beginning to end, concluding with the main event itself in Connecticut on May 20–21.
The show was scheduled in-between Sportscenter
and World Series of Poker
which usually score a Nielsen rating of around 1.0 (approx 1,102,139 households). WSoD premiered at approximately a 0.43 (approx 474,000 households / 559,000 adult viewers), then started sliding for episodes 2 and 3. ESPN then pulled the World Series of Darts programming from its original prime time slot on ESPN1, and relegated it to mid-afternoon broadcast positions on their lesser-viewed sister channel ESPN2
.
tournament.
The title US Open would have allowed the organisers to invite players from the rival organisation, the British Darts Organisation
(BDO). The top BDO players instead agreed to appear in a new Dutch Darts Premier League (DDPL) which clashed with the US Open tournament - however the DDPL was subsequently cancelled due to lack of interest in ticket sales.
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...
event which was introduced in 2006. The event was not a ratings success in the United States and the PDC decided to replace it with another new tournament, the US Open
US Open Darts
The US Open was a United States darts tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation , which launched in May 2007. It replaced the World Series of Darts which ran for one year and was cancelled as a result of poor television ratings on ESPN....
for 2007.
It was held in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and saw the top 16 ranked Professional Darts Corporation players take on 16 American players , 12 of which will be winners from several tournaments and 4 from a 'Friday Night Madness' at the Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun, located in Uncasville, Connecticut, is the second largest casino in the United States with of gaming space. It is located on along the banks of the Thames River. It is at the heart of the scenic foothills of southeastern Connecticut, where 60 percent of the state's tourism is...
casino in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. The PDC offered an aspirational prize of US$1,000,000 if an American player won the tournament. The prize for a non-US winner was US$100,000.
2006 showed a huge gulf in class between the PDC pros and the American challengers, with only one home-player out of the 16 that started the tournament, John Kuczynski, getting through to the last 16 after a 6-5 (legs) defeat of John Part. He then lost to Wayne Mardle in the last 16.
2006 Qualifiers
- Isen Veljic of ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, who qualified from the Virginia Beach Qualifier beating Cabell Staples in the final. - Roger Carter of Auburn, AlabamaAuburn, AlabamaAuburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2010 population of 53,380. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area...
, who qualified from the Atlanta qualifier, beating Scott Wollaston in the final. Carter has played in the BDO World Darts ChampionshipBDO World Darts ChampionshipThe 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...
and the PDC'sProfessional Darts CorporationThe 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...
2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic-Group Stages:Group A *Terry Jenkins - Alex Roy 8 - 4*Alex Roy - Phil Taylor 3 - 8*Terry Jenkins - Phil Taylor 3 - 8 Group B *Bob Anderson - Dave Smith 8 - 3*Dave Smith - John Part 7 - 8*Bob Anderson - John Part 4 - 8Group C...
. - Jim Widmayer of Staten IslandStaten IslandStaten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
who made it through the New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
qualifier, beating Jerry Van Loan in the final. Widmayer has also played in the 1994 World Matchplay1994 World Matchplay DartsThe 1994 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was the first World Matchplay tournament to be held at Winter Gardens, and was sponsored by Malaysian automaker Proton. The tournament was won by Larry Butler.-Results:Players must...
. - Jim Watkins of Schuylkill Haven, PennsylvaniaSchuylkill Haven, PennsylvaniaSchuylkill Haven is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, four miles south of Pottsville and north-west of Philadelphia, in the United States. The borough's population was 5,548 as of the 2000 census. Schuylkill Haven is situated along the Schuylkill River for which it is named...
qualified from the March 4, 2006 Philadelphia qualifier, defeating Tom Stewart in the final. Watkin's most notable darts career highlight is winning back-to-back National 501 Singles titles in 1993 and 1994. - David DePriestDavid DePriestDavid M. DePriest is an American darts player. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii but now resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He plays with 23-gram Barry Twomlow Golden darts....
of Grand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
qualified from the March 5, 2006 ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
qualifier, defeating Joe Slivan in the final - Slivan qualified two weeks later. - Joseph Carter Chaney of Soddy-Daisy, TennesseeSoddy-Daisy, TennesseeSoddy-Daisy is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 11,530 at the 2000 census. The City was formed in 1969 when the communities of Soddy and Daisy, along with nearby developed areas along U.S. Highway 27, merged to form Soddy-Daisy. It is rapidly becoming a...
qualified from the March 11, 2006 Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
qualifier, defeating Darin Young . - John Kuczynski of Zion Grove, Pennsylvania qualified from the March 12, 2006 Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
qualifier, defeating Sean Downs of Colton, CaliforniaColton, CaliforniaColton is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The city is located in the Inland Empire region of the state and is approximately 57 miles east of Los Angeles. The population of Colton is 52,154 according to the 2010 census, up from 47,662 at the 2000 census.Colton is the...
. Kuczynski had played in the 2006 PDC Ladbrokes.com World Championship2006 PDC World Darts ChampionshipThe 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.... - Tim Grossman of Hudson, New YorkHudson, New YorkHudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...
, the 2000 CricketCricket (darts)Cricket is a darts game that uses the standard 20 number dartboard with the treble and double rings. It is known by various names in Britain, including "Mickey Mouse", "Horse and Carriage", "Coach and Horses", "The Game", "Faldo" and "Beds and Bulls"....
national champion, qualified from the March 18, 2006 Windsor Locks, ConnecticutWindsor Locks, ConnecticutWindsor Locks is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was 12,043. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region. It is also the site of the New England Air Museum...
qualifier, defeating Dave Marienthal of Bloomingdale, New JerseyBloomingdale, Passaic County, New JerseyBloomingdale is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,656.-Geography:Bloomingdale is located at ....
in a seventh leg tie-breaker. - Joe Slivan of Winter Park, FloridaWinter Park, FloridaWinter Park is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,090 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 28,083. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area...
(who lost to David DePriest in the finals of the March 5 Chicago qualifier) qualified from the March 19, 2006 Houston qualifier, defeating Chris YatesChris YatesChris Yates was an Australian rugby league player for the Western Suburbs Magpies in the National Rugby League.-References:...
of Midland, TexasMidland, TexasMidland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
. - Ray Carver of Nashua, New HampshireNashua, New Hampshire-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
qualified from the April 1, 2006 Marlborough, MassachusettsMarlborough, MassachusettsMarlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,499 at the 2010 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the...
qualifier, defeating Jeff RussellJeff RussellJeffrey Lee Russell is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played 14 years from 1983 to 1996. Russell played for the Cincinnati Reds of the National League and the Texas Rangers, Oakland A's, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, all of the American League...
of Dover, New HampshireDover, New HampshireDover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
. - Joe Efter of Danielson, ConnecticutDanielson, ConnecticutDanielson is a borough in the town of Killingly in Windham County, Connecticut. The population was 4,265 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and is water....
qualified from the April 2, 2006 Ronkonkoma, New YorkRonkonkoma, New YorkRonkonkoma is a census-designated place on Long Island in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 20,029 at the 2000 census...
qualifier, defeating Brad Wethinton of St. LouisSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. - Tom Curtin of Townsend, MassachusettsTownsend, MassachusettsTownsend is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,926 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Townsend, please see the article Townsend , Massachusetts....
qualified from the April 22, 2006 Somerville, MassachusettsSomerville, MassachusettsSomerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...
qualifier, defeating Dave Lambert of Lowville, New YorkLowville (town), New YorkLowville is a town in Lewis County, New York, United States. The population was 4,548 at the 2000 census. The town is near the center of the county and is southeast of the city of Watertown. Lowville contains a village also named Lowville, which is the county seat. The town of is named after...
.
Tournament Review - Day One - First round (Best of 11 legs)
15 of the 16 seeds would progress to the second round as the World Series of Darts got underway. The American home players struggling against the higher ranked pros from the PDC. - The $1m prize for an American winner seemed remote as over half of the 16 first round matches - (nine of the 16 games) were won in under nine legs. Three were 6-0 whitewashes, with four 6-1's and two 6-2's.The American hero was John "Jonny K" Kuczynski the American number one went through to the second round with a tight 6-5 first round victory over two time World Champion John Part. - in the only match to reach the eleventh and final leg - Part led 2-1 early in the match before Kuczynski reeled off three straight legs to move 4-2 in front and the Americans began to cheer their hero on. A brilliant 161 check-out from Part took the 7th leg and then he levelled despite a 180 from his opponent. The match now was best of three legs to win a place in the second round. Part had a chance in the ninth as well, missing double top to go 5-4 as the American did so.
Roles reversed in leg 10 as Kuczynski missed double ten to hit a 140 out shot to go through. - John Part taking the match to a deciding sudden death leg with a 93 shot. A third 180 from Kuczynski in the decider put him in the driving seat before he missed double top to go through. Part stepped up and after 84 from two darts needed double 16 to win, he missed and Johnny K hit the 40 he needed to make it through to round 2.
For the main PDC players, number one seed Colin Lloyd went through to the second round a 6-2 winner over Isen Veljic, Phil Taylor - world champion won 6-2 against Tim O'Gorman and Ronnie Baxter went through an easy 6-1 winner over Brad Wethington.
For other Americans who had graced the PDC stage, disappointment loomed as Jim Widmayer was whitewashed by Adrian Lewis 6-0, - Roger Carter out 6-1 to Roland Scholten before Ray Carver and Jim Watkins headed out in 6-3 losses to Peter Manley and Kevin Painter respectively
Day One - Second round (Best of 11 legs)
Four of the Eight second round matches were held on the opening day with Top seed Colin Lloyd going out 6-5 to Adrian Lewis. The 21 year old had been a quarter-finalist five months earlier at the World Championships whilst Lloyd had crashed at the first hurdle. Lewis headed 1-0 up and then trailed 2-1 as Lloyd looked to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2005 World Grand Prix where he was a finalist - Lewis then took three legs straight to move 4-2 up before Lloyd took a 100 finish out to close the gap to 4-3. Lewis then went on to 5-3 with a double top. Narrowly missing bull for a win - Lloyd punished Lewis by levelling at 5-5. - Three 100+ scores would set up victory and a place in the last eight for the 21 year old.Joining him was Denis Ovens who eliminated Andy Jenkins 6-4 winning 5 of the final 6 legs to win from 1-3 behind. Then 2006 World Finalist Peter Manley moved into the quarter-finals with an easy 6-2 win over Mark Walsh - who was beginning to develop dartitis problems. Manley would lead 5-1 before Walshie took the 7th leg. Manley hitting double 10 to go through.
Saturday finished with Dennis Priestley defeating Dutchman Roland Scholten 6-4 in a very high quality encounter. 51 100+ scores including seven maximums between the pair in just ten legs saw both average around 96 - 97
Day Two - Second round (Best of 11 legs)
Day two got underway with Phil Taylor opening a 3-0 lead against Terry Jenkins - Jenkins a relative newcomer to the PDC stage pulled his arrears back to 3-2 in legs before missing a dart to level the score at 3-3 as Taylor moved 4-2 up. A sea change leg took place in the 7th as Taylor missed double 12 to go 5-2 on a 144 as Jenkins made it 4-3.A 76 checkout put Taylor 5-3 ahead and he went through with an 11 dart leg in the ninth. - Taylor averaged 104.88 and Jenkins 99.59 in arguably the match of the tournament so far.
Mark Dudbridge would join Taylor in the quarter-finals but in a very different match compared to his 6-0 whitewash in the first round. - Kevin Painter would lead 2-0 after nicking the first leg. Dudbridge would hit a 94 to checkout to reduce his arrears before Painter hit double 18 to go 3-1 up. - Dudbridge would win leg five on double 12 before Painter would go 4-2 on double top - Dudbridged had missed the bull when on a 164 that would have made the score 3-3. Painter missed a bull of his own in the 7th leg on a 118 checkout that would have made the score 5-2 and really the game out of Dudbridge's reach. Dudbridge hit the double top to reduce his deficit to 4-3.
That was a crucial leg as Dudbridge moved 5-4 in front before an error in hitting 9 rather than 12 in setting a finish up let Painter in to level the scores a 5-5 on double 16. - Scores in the decider of 180 and 140 to lead up to the checkout of 64. Dudbridge in the quarter-finals of a major for the first time since the World Final of 2005.
The American dream ended in defeat for John Kuczynski. The American, the only home player to reach round two went out 6-3 to Wayne Mardle. Mardle who had been in the semi-finals of the World Championships and in the Premier League averaging 93.44 against Johnny K. - Kuczynski struggled initially as Mardle moved 2-0 in front before the American hit his first leg. - Mardle took the next two as he increased his lead, and the pressure on Kuczynski by moving 4-1 up.
Kuczynski cut the gap and moved himself back into contention with a fine 119 checkout on the bull before Mardle hit double 5 to go 5-2 in front. One last cheer for the last home man was a double top in the eighth, had Mardle missed on 5's then it is likely that Kuczynski would have levelled with a 31 checkout. - An unintentional double 2, double 17 checkout of 38 (thought to be single two for double eighteen put Hawaii 501 into the quarter-finals.
Mardle will now meet Ronnie Baxter after The Rocket showed some brilliant finishing in a 6-4 win over Alan Warriner-Little. Baxter beginning to show some of his best form after a shock first round exit to Ray Carver - who lost to Peter Manley in the first round in averaging 92.02 to Warriner's 88.67
Day Two - Quarter-finals (Best of 17 legs)
The quarter-finals saw matches extended to the best of 17 legs and a race to 9, a format more suited to the longer players. In the first quarter-final, Adrian Lewis pulled away from Denis Ovens when the match had been in deadlock at 6-6. Ovens 5-4 and 6-5 up then seemed to lose composure as the 21 year old went onto win 9-6 with a 108 shanghai 18 checkout.Lewis will meet Dennis Priestley after the Yorkshireman came from 5-2 behind against Peter Manley to win 9-7 in a thrilling contest. Manley proved why he is One Dart as he moved into the lead twice breaking the throw and it was only in leg 8 that Priestley began to show the darts that took him to the semi-finals of the 2005 World Grand Prix. Four straight legs put him 6-5 up and left Manley a fight on his hands. Double 10 from Peter levelled the game before the 55 year old moved 7-6 with a tremendous 124 checkout of Treble 20, 14 and Bull to take the 13th leg.
Manley levelled at seven apeice with double top after Priestley missed doubles, before a bad 15th leg let Dennis edge 8-7 up and within one of the win, the 16th was Similar and Dennis was through a 9-7 winner.
Phil Taylor would also reach the last four though he needed to regain his focus against a determined Mark Dudbridge. Dudbridge beaten 7 sets to four in the final of the 2005 World Championships, the last time he reached a quarter-final trailed Taylor 7-3 in legs as The Power moved into the driving seat after trailing 3-2 before embarking on a five leg run. Three successive legs from Dudbridge closed the gap to 7-6 before Taylor stopped the rot in the fourteenth. A 12-dart leg in the 15ths allowed Taylor home a 9-6 victor.
Ronnie Baxter like Taylor had to regain focus in his match against Wayne Mardle. Baxter led 2-0 and then went onto be 7-1 up at the mid match interval. Mardle who usually takes to be struggling to produce his best darts closed the gap to 7-5 but missed a chance to make it 7-6 as Baxter moved clear to 8-5. Baxter missed a match dart in the next leg and Mardle took double six. But it was different in the 15th as Mardle missed his chance to make it 8-7 as Baxter moved through.
Day Two - Semi-finals (Best of 21 legs)
Both semi-finals would be won by comfortable margins.In the first Dennis Priestley was given no chance by an imperial performance from Adrian Lewis. Lewis moved 3-0 up due to a 93 finish to open the game, followed by 11 and 12 dart legs to go three up. He began the fourth with a 180 but Priestley made it 3-1 with a double 8. Two clinical finishes from Lewis made the score 5-1 followed by a 14-darter to go 6-1 up and realistically have a foot in the final.
The next three legs went all the way to Lewis, meaning at the mid-match stage of 10 legs, Lewis held a 9-1 lead and required just two more from the final 11 to win. At this stage Lewis had a 58% checkout rate with 9 hits from 16 attempts as he turned the screw into the Yorkshireman - who had no answer as Lewis reached a peak average of 104. - Dennis The Menace had chances in the next two legs to cut the gap but Lewis took them to record an amazing 11-1 victory averaging 98.72 to Priestley's 82.97
2006 WSoD Results
- FNM = Friday Night Madness qualifier
- Total Prize Fund = $300,000
- $1,000,000 Prize for a United States champion not won.
TV Ratings
ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
broadcast the first of eight one-hour segments on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 in prime-time at 7pm. ESPN’s cameras had followed the complete US qualifying process from beginning to end, concluding with the main event itself in Connecticut on May 20–21.
The show was scheduled in-between Sportscenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
and World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
which usually score a Nielsen rating of around 1.0 (approx 1,102,139 households). WSoD premiered at approximately a 0.43 (approx 474,000 households / 559,000 adult viewers), then started sliding for episodes 2 and 3. ESPN then pulled the World Series of Darts programming from its original prime time slot on ESPN1, and relegated it to mid-afternoon broadcast positions on their lesser-viewed sister channel ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
.
Event Cancelled
The relative lack of success with viewing figures led to ESPN's decision not to recommission the event for 2007. Having originally scheduled the WSoD to be played May 18–20, the PDC decided to replace that date in the calendar with a new US OpenUS Open Darts
The US Open was a United States darts tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation , which launched in May 2007. It replaced the World Series of Darts which ran for one year and was cancelled as a result of poor television ratings on ESPN....
tournament.
The title US Open would have allowed the organisers to invite players from the rival organisation, 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....
(BDO). The top BDO players instead agreed to appear in a new Dutch Darts Premier League (DDPL) which clashed with the US Open tournament - however the DDPL was subsequently cancelled due to lack of interest in ticket sales.