Vorsprung Darts Technik

Looking at the results from the first round there are no huge shocks really and I am still struggling to see how I lost money on it.  This is compounded when I glance over the statistics from the offending match which inform me that Mighty Mike van Gerwen lived up to his name averaging over 101 and checking out 80% but still managed to lose to the bang out of form Rocket.  

All’s fair in love and arrows though I suppose and Ronnie has always been one of my favourite players to watch so it is good to see him back in a good rhythm out on the oche.

With both men averaging over 101 that was arguably the highest quality match, but there were some top performances elsewhere in round one from some of the big guns.  Taylor, Barney and Whitlock all looked imperious, the Dutchman showing some great fight to get past the in-form Hammer.

Maybe the most impressive game, largely due to the surprise factor, was the wholly uninspiring sounding clash between Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts and Spain’s Antonio Alcinas.  I must admit, if I was in Dusseldorf I would have been getting the drinks in as these two arrived at the oche but I would have severely regretted it as they produced an exciting, high-quality match that Huybrechts took 6-2. 

Round Two shapes up like this this afternoon:

2.10pm Whitlock v Lloyd
3.10pm Jenkins v Nicholson
4.10pm Taylor v King
5.10pm Anderson v Wright

8.10pm Newton v Huybrechts
9.10pm Lewis v Chisnall
10.10pm Wade v Baxter
11.10pm van Barneveld v Walsh

As with any PDC event the last 16 is full of great matches and we are in for a whole day of top tungsten from Germany.  Some of the best performers from the opening round are unlucky to come up against an incredibly tough opponent, and as well as Chisnall, Baxter and Walsh played it is hard to back them against Lewis, 

Wade and Barney, although if there is one shock out of three there it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

My round two winners are: Whitlock, Jenkins, Taylor, Anderson, Newton, Lewis, Wade and Barney.

Nothing out of the blue there I’m afraid.  Obviously The Asset has a chance against Jenks but the rest seem nailed on.  If I was picking one potential shock I’d go for Chizzy knocking out the world champ.

Betting Tip

You can get Jenkins to beat Nicholson at 11/10.  The Bull looked very good in round one and is more than capable of beating The Asset if he can bring his A game. 

Who will achieve ruthless efficiency in Dusselfdorf?

It might be in the shadow of last week’s cracking World Matchplay in Blackpool, but the Darts European Championship kicking off tomorrow is a key tournament in the PDC calendar.

There may be a number of Players Championships over the next couple of months but this is the last chance of picking up some serious prize money before October’s World Grand Prix as the winner will leave Dusseldorf with £50,000.

The grand Prix is the next major in the darting year and there are just 12 places available for non-top 16 and non-Irish players so building up winnings is key and even a run to the quarter-finals will earn you £7,500 and could make all the difference.

There are some pretty tasty encounters on offer in the opening round of the European Championships, but given the nature of the qualification through the European Order of Merit for some players there are a few dud contests as well.

As much as Greek qualifier John Michael, whose £1,600 prize money has got him into the tournament, will be looking forward to facing Phil Taylor, anything other than a whitewash will be a surprise.

James Wade and Simon Whitlock will be heavy odds-on favourites for their contests with Magnus Caris and Mensur Suljovic respectively, even though Suljovic picked up that huge win over Wade at the last world championships.

My picks of the first round though are the following:

Justin Pipe v Paul Nicholson

Pipe is one of the rising stars in the PDC, his decent performance at the Matchplay has seen him break into the top 40 and it is most likely only a matter of time until he makes the top 32.  Nicholson isn’t the most fluent player but even his measured style could be disrupted by Pipe’s slow motion action.  Nicholson will be favourite for the contest but Pipe could really put a cog in the works of his world domination machine.

Mark Webster v Terry Jenkins

A Premier League contest repeated but the two men’s fortunes have been reversed since that competition came to an end and the PLD’s whipping boy is handing out some punishment of his own.  Webster has put the disappointment of his Premier League debut behind him and has looked excellent at the UK Open and the Matchplay and is up to 8^th in the World.  The Bull kicked off the Open by knocking out the world champ but has flopped since then and is below Webster for the first time ever, another loss for Jenks will continue a torrid year.

Raymond van Barneveld v Andy Hamilton

Two men who thoroughly impressed in Blackpool will be equally disappointed with this tough draw in the first round in Germany.  The Hammer was without doubt the surprise package of the Matchplay and has shot up to 11^th in the world picking up some huge scalps on the way.  This should provide him with some serious momentum but Barney will not be turned over easily and I expect the Dutchman to restore the natural order, but not too easily.

Betting Tip

There isn’t a whole lot of value on offer in the opening round but I would definitely back Michael van Gerwen to get the better of Ronnie Baxter at 5/4.  The Rocket has had a woeful year or so but continues to be odds on for most matches, I think the Dutchman will continue Ronnie’s bad streak.

Schedule of Play (times are local - BST+1)
Thursday July 28
First Round
8.05pm Mervyn King v Co Stompe
8.35pm Alan Tabern v Colin Lloyd
9.05pm John Part v Peter Wright
9.35pm Justin Pipe v Paul Nicholson
10.05pm Simon Whitlock v Mensur Suljovic
10.35pm Phil Taylor v John Michael
11.05pm Mark Webster v Terry Jenkins
11.35pm Gary Anderson v Jamie Caven

Friday July 29
First Round
8.05pm Wayne Jones v Mark Walsh
8.35pm Jelle Klaasen v Dave Chisnall
9.05pm Ronnie Baxter v Michael van Gerwen
9.35pm Kim Huybrechts v Antonio Alcinas
10.05pm James Wade v Magnus Caris
10.35pm Adrian Lewis v Vincent van der Voort
11.05pm Wes Newton v Andy Smith
11.35pm Raymond van Barneveld v Andy Hamilton

Use a machine or raw power, the cream will rise to the top in Blackpool

The Power v The Hammer

Two completely contrasting quarter-finals for these two, but there are plenty of ways to skin various felines in the Professional Darts Corporation and both these men now have equally well peeled moggies as they find themselves in the final four.

But it won’t be a foul-mouthed former Spurs chairmen whittling down this final four, but the deadly arrows of the gladiators on the oche, and I’m afraid there’s only one man that’s going to come out on top in this fight; the pugilist from the Potteries.

Phil Taylor has looked somewhere near his very, very best so far this week in his second home by the Seaside and I shouldn’t think that he is about to take mercy on his latest foe tonight.

Hamilton has impressed in ways that I for one didn’t think he was capable of and by my maths even a defeat here will put him up to eleventh in the order of merit, which he will be delighted with. 

However, as far as this tournament goes I would say he has met his match and if P”TP”P can average three figures again, which I expect he will, then it’ll be curtains for the hammer.

Priestley's Pick: Taylor 17 - 10 Hamilton

Jackpot v The Machine 

My tip for glory in Blackpool has lived up to his mechanical moniker this week by ruthlessly dispatching every challenger that has dared to stand in his way, be it the fairly tame challenge of Jabba on night one or the stern inquisition of Barney just last night.

What he must face tonight though is the mercurial brilliance of the champion of the world who has ranged from purple patches to barren spells and everywhere in between so far this week, often within the same match.

What Jackpot won’t be able to do against the UK Open champ is languish in one of these troughs for any length of time at all or else he will find himself furlongs behind before the first fence and with no way back into the race.

I think  Adie will have upped his game tonight but it seems that James always saves something special for when he faces the world number two, and I’m not about to back down on my tip for the trophy yet, Wade to win.


Priestlley's Pick: Lewis 19-21 Wade
Message from The Menace: Bet on Lewis v Wade to go past the distance either way

The Legend Killer Nicholson has Barney in his sights

A look ahead to tonight’s first set of second round contests at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool as The Asset takes on Barney in the headline act.

7.10pm - Beaton v Webster

The Adonis was one of the most impressive performers of the opening round and if he can churn out another 100 average then he will have every chance of picking up another Premier League scalp to add to his collection.

Webster looked pretty good as well though and survived a 9-dart led comeback from Darth Maple to pick up a great win on the first night at the Winter Gardens.  It was a pretty good workout for Spider for a first game and might stand him in good stead.

I don’t want to right off a man who ripped Terry Jenkins to shreds in the opening round, but I think the housewife’s choice might have peaked with that performance and Webster’s quality will shine through.

It’ll be a really tight one though, but Spider should just pinch it.

8.20pm - Lewis v van der Voort

It was a shoddy start from the World Champ against the Artist at the weekend but he got his act together and the last few legs were as good as you’re likely to see, and banging in 12 maximums over the contest is Lewis at his best.

Big Vince got through a fairly poor quality contest against Alan Tabern and he is a heavy second favourite going into his clash with Jackpot.  What he is capable of is the odd stellar performance though, when his machine gun style finds its range it’s lethal and he could provide some stiff competition.

I can’t see too much of a problem though for Adie and he should win by a few.

9.30pm - van Barneveld v Nicholson

This is the headline act of Tuesday night without a doubt.  The man who talks himself up like a World Champ against a man who has been there and done it, five times no less.  Nicholson ticked Taylor and Anderson off his hit-list at the UK Open and now has Barney in his cross-hairs and he has every chance of picking up another result.

What will calm down Barney fans was his impressively comfortable victory over Bomber Brown at the weekend.  I for one expected it to be a close one but the Dutchman looked good and blew away the Bristolian.

The bookies have Barney as the favourite but I am just not sure, and odds-on prices that some are offering will not be tempting anyone in at all. 

It is going to go right down to the wire this one and if I’m picking a winner I’m going with The Asset because I think he wants it more and if it goes to extra-time he will have the determination to see it through.  I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Barney does it though and I won’t be throwing any money at it.

10.40pm - Wade v Walsh

These two turned in some pretty tasty performances in their first appearances and will be going in to this one with confidence flowing.

I think most were backing a Chizzy win over Walsh in the opener but Special Brew turned him over with ease and when he’s on form he will give anyone on the circuit a very difficult game indeed.

As good as Walsh was though no one managed to produce a result like Wadey’s as he routed Caven 10-0 without even being at his best.

I really do rate Mark Walsh highly and I’d back him over a lot of the players still in this competition but Wade is still my tip to lift the trophy and I think he’ll prosper, there is no chance that there will be anything like another whitewash though.

Donkeys become stallions as top seeds are rocked in Blackpool

Night One

There was no warming up at the Matchplay this year as we plunged straight into a session of incredible darts on night one in Blackpool.  

Picking a performance of the night from the opener is as tough as it gets, but the moment of the night was unquestionable as John Part rolled back the years to produce a nine-dart finish in the final contest of the evening to bring the house down.

Let's start at the beginning though and we were treated to the first of many shocks of the first round immediately when the Bronzed Adonis neutered the Raging Bull with a 100.9 average and a 48% checkout average which will win you a match against pretty much anyone.  If former World Champ Super Steve can keep up that form then he will be a stern test in the next round and he'll be delighted with his surprise 10-3 win.

Big Vince van der Voort didn't quite do it in such style but he got the better of a low quality contest against The Saint Al Tabern.  There was nothing in it but VdvV just had the better of the doubles and that made all the difference to take it 10-7.

The World Champ possibly just pipped the Adonis to the win of the night award with an absolute epic win of The Terminator "Eyes of a machine" Kev Painter.

The Artist was 9-6 up at one stage and looking nailed on for a win but Lewis showed why he is champion of the world with an incredible come back and a total of 12 180s to take the match 14-12 after an eternity on the oche.

Following that one was no easy task but Darth Maple new exactly what he needed to do to do it and that was hammer home 501 points in just nine chucks.

What wasn't part of the plan though was losing seven of the opening 10 legs before he managed the perfect performance.

Johnny P rallied after the impressive feat but couldn't quite overturn the deficit ending the match just two legs behind at 10-8.

Night Two

Maybe not such a scintillating night on Sunday but a marker was laid down by my pick for the tournament as The Machine looked very well oiled indeed.

Paul Nicho managed to take a break from baiting Phil Taylor to come through a tough encounter with Colin “Ozzy” Osbourne who looked to be back to somewhere near his best, but the motor-mouthed Geordie’s finishing of over 50% was tasty enough to pick up the win.

The only real shock of the night say Dave Chisnall crash out 10-3 at the hands of Special Brew Mark Walsh, Chizzy’s finishing was woeful, just three out of 18 and that allowed Walshy to prosper with a solid performance.

Then came Wade’s rout of Jamie Caven as he whitewashed him 10 to nil.  What must be pointed out though is how poor Jabba Caven was in Blackpool, Wadey romped to a whitewash win averaging under 90 and hitting just one maximum.  A 10-0 win is a 10-0 win though and his confidence will be flowing.

Barney put some doubters (including me) in their place last up as he swatted away the challenge of Bomber Brown with a very solid performance. Averaging 95 and checking out at 40% is about par for the course and will get you through most first round matches and it worked for RvB.

Night Three

The King’s abdication of power continued on Monday night, but the overlord of arrows showed he is still very much a contender.

The evening kicked off with the ever-dependable Wayne Jones seeing off the challenge of debutant Scott Rand.  Randy was decent, but didn’t quite perform at his best and the experienced Jones did enough, a 161 finish being the highlight.

Then came the continuation of Merv King’s pretty dire form on TV, it goes down as a shock but for many it won’t have been.  Mr Pipe has been impressing over the last 18 months and is becoming a real contender and while his star is rising, Merv’s is very much on the wane.  The King’s finishing was pretty good but he couldn’t keep up with JP’s scoring and The Force ran away with it 10-6.

Match of the night was undoubtedly Mr Taylor against Mile High Mark Hylton who continues to impress on the PDC circuit.  It was the perfect test for Taylor really as he had to be really on his game to see off Hylton’s challenge which was an extremely stern one.  Mile High banged in seven 180s, averaged 99 and finished 50% of his doubles, that would have won him any other game in the first round but The Power threw a 101.6 average and a 59% finishing rate, to sneak it 10-8.   

Taylor looks good , everyone beware.

Although The Warrior Newton was my outside tip for the tournament I was a little worried for him here as he faced the in-form Andy Smith.  It wasn’t the Pie Man’s night though as he couldn’t find any rhythm at all and Wes strolled to a very comfortable 10-2 win.

Night Four

We were treated to the biggest shock of the first round on Tuesday evening, as the fourth seed (but the bookies’ second favourite) crashed out.

The first match of the night was reported as a shock but I have to disagree, and I for one was not surprised at all to see The Heat melt down The Rocket.  Ronnie Baxter’s form has been pretty shoddy this year whereas Ovens has been playing as well as he has done for years, yes if they were both on top of their game you’d back Baxter, but not when he’s like this.  He averaged less than 85, and although Dennis wasn’t playing too well either he edged him out to progress.

A bigger shock was seeing the giant Scot John Henderson dispatching former champ Colin Lloyd with a pretty tasty performance.  Six maximums and a near 50% rate on the doubles was impressive and with Jaws not really firing it was enough to win by three legs.  As much as it was a surprise, Lloyd hasn’t competed at the business end of tournaments for a long while now and I don’t think anyone will be especially relieved to see him exit.

The real stunning result came in the penultimate match of the round as many people’s tip for Blackpool glory was sent packing after a hammer blow to the head from Andy Hamilton.

It’s a bit of a cliché to say Anderson is an incredible scorer but can’t hit doubles, and I usually don’t go along with it but it was exactly what happened here.  An incredible 10 maximums giving him an average of 98 should win you the match, but 6/21 doubles is poor and that’s what cost him.

Hamilton showed him that the game is about how you close out a leg and huge finishes of 135, 130 and 122 swung the match in his favour.  The biggest win of the Hammer’s recent career, can he capitalise now?  Certainly a quarter-final place is on the cards which very few would have picked before a dart was thrown.

The last match of the first round went by the book but Snakebite Pete Wright gave The Wizard a real game, showing he’s close to being a real threat as he banged in six maximums and hit two ton-plus finishes. Whitlock put in a consistently good performance though and his class shone through winning 10-7.

Darts has returned to out TV screens with a bang and the opening four nights have been a real treat, my two picks remain the same of Wade and an outside chance of Newton, but Taylor has also picked up his hat and placed it very firmly in the ring, as if it was ever anywhere else.