Darts, Beers, & Cheers!

Posts Tagged ‘adrian lewis’

Crawley Player Championships – Results

I’ve not kept up with posting the results here over the weekend, as I was in Crawley myself enjoying the darts close up and personal (Thanks to Justin Pipe).  There’s nothing quite like being at a pro tour event – and it still feels like being a kid in a sweetshop.  I’ll write a personal recap of the weekend in a separate article – so for now, here’s the results of the two days.

Day 1 – Saturday

A ‘surprise’ name got to the final on Saturday - Steve Farmer.  Although fellow forum members have told me that they’d seen him play and were surprised he’d not had a long run in a floor tournament.  I did get to congratulate Farmer on his great performances back at the hotel – and he was beaming, totally made up.  The money he earned for reaching the final puts him up the PC rankings, and gives him a chance for some TV tournaments.  But it was won by Adrian Lewis – who has received some critism from fans in recent months for his poor TV performances.  Adrian was VERY happy with the win, and let out a lot of emotion after he threw the winning darts.

The Stoke star edged his first two matches with deciding leg victories over Wayne Atwood and Steve Maish.. to be honest, Lewis was lucky, as Steve Maish left himself 96 with Lewis on 161.. and Lewis took that 161 out with bull finish to win 6-5. But Lewis got better as the day went on, and his flashes of brilliance turned longer and longer.  He averaged 108 to win the final (Farmer was on 110!).

Quarter Finals
Steve Farmer 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Gary Anderson 6-4 Wayne Jones
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Mervyn King
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Mark Webster
Losers £1,000

Semi Finals
Steve Farmer 6-5 Gary Anderson
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Losers £1,500

Final
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Steve Farmer
Winner: £6,000
Runner-Up: £3,000

Day 2 – Sunday

Jamie Caven had another long run in Sunday’s tournament – reaching the semi final (after the win and final in Canada), and a 9 dart leg!  (adding another £2,800 to his winnings).

Colin Lloyd continues his great 2010 form, with another win on the pro tour – the floor appears to be Colin’s at the moment!

Quarter-Finals
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Jamie Caven 6-3 Co Stompe
Alan Tabern 6-4 Paul Nicholson
Colin Lloyd 6-5 Tony Eccles
Losers £1,000

Semi-Finals
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Jamie Caven – Jamie Caven hits nine-darter in second leg
Colin Lloyd 6-3 Alan Tabern
Losers £1,500

Final
Colin Lloyd 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000

WORLD’S TOP DARTS ACES IN THE ZONE AT RILEYS!

I’ve just received some great news from my contacts at Rileys – they are going to officially open some more of their darts zones by sending along some great players to put on a bit of an exhibition and take on the public.  Even better for me, one of the events is at my local Rileys (Q Club Peterborough), and I think I’ll def be along to watch/take on both Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams (local darts legend), and Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis.  Get in there!  So check out the announcement below and get along to the nearest Rileys for a great night.

Nationwide tour of clubs by eight greats

Eight of the world’s best players are darting into Rileys clubs around the country to open 17 new Darts Zones.

BDO World Champion Martin Adams has been booked for the tour along with Adrian Lewis, Terry Jenkins, Tony O’Shea, Colin Lloyd, Kevin Painter and former ladies’ World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova.

Each of the 17 events, which are scheduled to run from mid-August, will see two giants of the darts world do battle in a best-of-seven challenge match in a Rileys Darts Zone. The Darts Zones provide players with top quality facilities including six or eight wide throwing lanes, championship-quality boards and electronic scoring.

The tour professionals will also take on local players and then join in a Q&A session with the audience in the club. With the 17 new Darts Zones, Rileys now have a total of 42 in their 119 clubs throughout the UK.

Rileys Chief Executive Maurice Kelly said: “Rileys are committed to darts. Our Darts Zones offer top quality venues for players of all levels.  As pubs all over the country continue to close down, we are opening more and more Darts Zones to give players and teams somewhere to play and the facilities they deserve.”

Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis said: “I am looking forward to really getting in the zone again at Rileys and taking on some local talent.  I’ve seen the facilities on offer at Rileys Darts Zones – and they are world class! The Darts Zones are an ideal place for players to practice and compete, especially if they are looking to push on to the next level.  And with up to eight throws, there’s no endless hanging around waiting to get on the oche!”

The full list of Darts Zone launch dates is below:

Rileys UK Open in Bolton – final day preview

Last night had some really cracking games of darts – with match of the night going to the Gary Anderson vs. Mervyn King game.  What a belter, I couldn’t call it at all.  Gary scores so heavy and continuously, but misses quite a few doubles – while Merv is more all round, and ended up with two chances for a 9 darter, one of them he took!  A lot of people ‘in the know’ can see that Anderson is an amazing talent, and SHOULD be winning more bit TV tournaments – his TV nerves have held him back.  He seems to be controlling it this time, so don’t rule him out to take the title.

In other games; James Wade had an easy one – as Kevin McDine seemed to give in fairly early, a bit of a shame and you could see on Wade’s face that he was surprised.  Wes Newton (who has won on the floor this year) also continued to look strong, and shouldn’t be ruled out for a final appearance.  Phil Taylor looked extremely happy to have beaten Simon Whitlock – he celebrated as if he thought that was his last major challenge out of the way.

The multi-board format is now gone – all games will be shown on the main stage, so all players will know that extra pressure.  You k now that Sky will be hyping the last game of the afternoon – when Taylor meets Lewis (with talk of the apprentice and the master).    Wade will fancy his chances against Tony Ayres (dark horse of the championship so far) – I think if you ask him he will say he’s had a fairly ‘easy’ (this is relative, no dis-repect to his opponents) draw to the quarters.  I think Wes Newton should beat Denis Ovens on the stage…  and Anderson may just pip Hamilton.

Tony Ayres, surprise package of the semi's (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

Todays Schedule

1pm-5pm
Quarter-Finals
Best of 19 legs

Quarter-Finals
Tony Ayres 10-9 James Wade
Gary Anderson 10-6 Andy Hamilton
Wes Newton 3-10 Denis Ovens
Phil Taylor 10-2 Adrian Lewis

Oddly the PDC are showing a draw for the Semi’s (which will be on Sky Sports from 7pm this evening) – but the ‘rule’ is that each round is an open draw, which shouldn’t be drawn till after the previous round is played… so who knows what is going on.  We can be sure that all games will be played tonight to a finish.

Semi-Finals
Best of 19 legs

Semi-Finals
Ayres 3-10 Anderson
Ovens 5-10 Taylor

Followed by
Final
Best of 21 legs

PRIZE FUND
Winner £40,000
Runner-Up £20,000
Semi-Finalists: £10,000
Quarter-Finalists: £6,000
Last 16: £4,000
Last 32: £2,000
Last 64: £1,000
Total: £200,000

Whitlock Waltzes home in Salzburg – Player Championship results

A Good day for both Beaton and Whitlock

The amazing 2010 for Simon Whitlock continues, with another win in the PDC tour, this time as it moves to Austria for the weekends play.

I’d heard quite a few complaints about the venue today – most of the problems seem attributed to the fact the tournament was not held in one room (in the UK, it is normal to have all 16 game boards in the same room) – and there was so many entrants (some 200, bulked up by 1 day european entrants), that the games took ages to be played, and some players (including Alan Tabbern) were disqualified due to not turning upto their board on time (I’m told Alan T. checked with the officials on the board over 15 times in a 5 hour wait to play, only to be DQ’d).

Another good day for one of my favourites Jamie Caven, and a return to form for the mercurial Steve Beaton.  Good to see Mervyn King have a run into the quarters after Thursday nights loss.  Result of the day probably has to be Steve Beaton beating Phil Taylor, both with 100+ averages.

See the gallery of images here – thanks to Peter Holczer for allowing me to use his great images!

Final Results

Fourth Round
Mervyn King 6-5 Mark Walsh
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Jamie Caven

Adrian Lewis 6-2 James Wade
Wayne Jones 6-4 Tony Eccles
Mark Dudbridge 6-4 Nandor Bezzag
Steve Beaton 6-5 Andy Hamilton
Steve Brown 6-5 Tony Randell
Phil Taylor 6-1 Barrie Bates
Losers £500

Quarter-Finals
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Mervyn King
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Wayne Jones
Steve Beaton 6-1 Mark Dudbridge
Phil Taylor 6-3 Steve Brown
Losers £1,000

Semi-Finals
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Adrian Lewis
Steve Beaton 6-5 Phil Taylor
Losers £1,500

Final
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Steve Beaton
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up: £3,000

Simon Whitlock 0-1 Steve Beaton – 18 darter
Simon Whitlock 0-2 Steve Beaton – 16 darter (Whitlock 6 missed darts at double)
Simon Whitlock 0-3 Steve Beaton – 16 darter
Simon Whitlock 2-3 Steve Beaton – 17 darter (Beaton 4 missed darts at double)
Simon Whitlock 3-3 Steve Beaton – 18 darter (120 finish)
Simon Whitlock 3-4 Steve Beaton – 10 darter (140, 180 165 & D8)
Simon Whitlock 4-4 Steve Beaton – 14 darter
Simon Whitlock 5-4 Steve Beaton – 12 darter (161 finish)
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Steve Beaton – 18 darter

Whyte & Mackay Premier League week 13 – Nottingham results

Mervyn King and the boos…

Oh dear – tonight Mervyn King really lost it with the crowd – his reaction to them (winding them up even more giving them the big “can’t hear you” stuff) kicked them off more and more… and I know it must be really hard to concentrate with the booing going on during your throw, but you can’t be concentrating at all turning around between every throw.   I can see why he’s upset, but it’s disrespectful to Barney – who is waiting to throw.

For those of you who don’t know – Mervyn King ‘threw a dart over Phil Taylors shoulder’ – during last years Premier League.  Now I think Sky blew it out of proportion, and ever sense Merv has been booed by the Prem League fans.  Merv also had a few rough patches during the BDO – when he did have the odd un-sporting moment.  But since being in the PDC, Mervyn has been a model professional – maybe it’s walk on music; “Bow down to the King”, or his snarl and darts face which puts some fans off.  He also famously said (while in the BDO); “he’d rather pack in darts than play for the PDC’ – obviously that was before he realised how much money there was in the PDC!

Oh and I know who one of the darts walk-on girls is this week – it’s Kathy Mugglestone (sometime Zoo girl), you can find her page on facebook here.

Anyway – results (as they happen if you’re reading this now!)…

Game 1 – Adrian Lewis 7-7 Ronnie Baxter

Match Stats

Adrian Lewis	7-7	Ronnie Baxter
19	100+	26
7	140+	8
2	180	1
28.90	Ave1	29.61
86.71	Ave3	88.84
86	High Finish	100
2	Legs Against Throw	2

Game 2 – Mervyn King 5-8 Raymond van Barneveld

Mervyn’s hopes to stay in the top 4 must have taken a dent in that fiery game!

Match Stats

Mervyn King	5-8	R v Barneveld
14	100+	14
5	140+	10
2	180	5
29.09	Ave1	32.48
81.27	Ave3	97.43
130	High Finish	82
2	Legs Against Throw	4

Game 3 – James Wade 4-8 Simon Whitlock

Great result for Whitlock – easy in the end! He’s now 2nd in the table.. great stuff!

Match Stats

James Wade	4-8	Simon Whitlock
16	100+	10
9	140+	12
3	180	3
32.69	Ave1	32.61
98.07	Ave3	97.84
127	High Finish	124,104,100
2	Legs Against Throw	4

Game 4 – Phil Taylor 8-5 Terry Jenkins

Match Stats

Terry Jenkins	5-8	Phil Taylor
19	100+	18
9	140+	13
3	180	3
29.64	Ave1	33.41
88.91	Ave3	100.23
58	High Finish	123,104
1	Legs Against Throw	2

Whyte & Mackay Premier League week 12 – Results from Aberdeen

Not going to write up the games in full  tonight – wanted to relax a bit with a bottle of wine – and my dodgy ankle isn’t quite right.. so I didn’t want the extra hassle of the laptop…  sorry about that

And what’s this – no walk-on girls again??  What a let-down. 

So just the results with maybe a thought or two this week… as they come in….

GAME 1 – Baxter 7-7 Wade

Slow start to this game, doubles being missed by both in the 4th game, Baxter takes out madhouse to win it.  5th game wade misses more darts at a double.. Baxter takes his double top, 3-2 Baxter.  Baxter goes up 4-2 at the break.  Both players start game 7 with some big scoring.. Baxter fails to get his 121.. Wade goes for his.. and takes it!!  4-3 to Baxter, Wade to throw.  Wade takes his 40 our for 4-4.  Baxter misses three darts at double 17.. but Wade misses his change at 104.  Oh no!  Baxter misses his 17.. Wade on 12… 6.. misses 2 at double 3.  Wade doesn’t look happy, looks to someone in the crowd.  Baxter misses double 8 three more times!  Wade finally wins.  5-4 to Wade.  Wade holds his darts, and it’s now 6-4.  Both on 161.. Baxter messes it up.. Wade’s turn.. 60, 51, 25.. just misses the bull.  Baxter doesn’t mess, takes out 96, 6-5 to Wade.  Wade on 101.. 60.. 1… double top!  7-5 to Wade, a point in the bag.  Wade leads after a bounce-out for Baxter.. should be Wade’s game.

Wade misses darts at double 10.. double 5… Needs 5 now, with Baxter on 96.  Crowd are giving him it large – boo’s ring out.  Baxter hits 60.. and double 18 in one dart.  7-7 – a draw.

James wont speak, but Ronnie did, Interview online @ www.rockradio.co.uk from tomorrow. - Phil McKrackin, Darts Journo via twitter to me.

Why does Wade get booed? Hard to put your finger on it.  He often doesn’t interview that well – and he knows it.  People jealous of his girlfriend?  Maybe.  He’s a genius talent – that’s for sure.

GAME 2 – Mervyn King 1-8 Phil Taylor

This is the ‘new’ Taylor vs. Barney to be honest..  will the Scottish crowd cheer the Power?  Yes I think they will.

OK then, game on – both players had a rough welcome.. two Englishmen in Scotland.  First 180 to Taylor.  Taylor breaks King.. 1-0 Taylor.  King isn’t throwing well yet, back on 156 with Taylor needing 32.. he takes it out in 3 darts. 2-0 to Taylor.  King needs 161 to hold throw.. only 100.  Can Taylor take 154?  60.. ahh no, a single 18.  Merv must take 61.  Goes 25.. double 18, nice finishing.  2-1 to Taylor.  Taylor on 125 looks for his finish from last week.. but misses the first bull/25.  King still on 78 as Taylor goes for 36.. but misses with all 3 darts.  King needs 78.. NO.. left on 20.  Taylor takes out 18 in 3 darts.. 3-1 to Taylor.  4-1 to Taylor now as he takes out 64, breaking King yet again.  King can’t seem to find the triples, and is on a 84 average.  5-1 to Taylor at the break – he’s got no mercy!

The kicking continues after the break.. 6-1 to Taylor, another break of throw.  King needs to take 102, with Taylor on tops.. else it’s 7-1.  Nope.. Taylor steps up, 1 dart, double top. 7-1, one point.  Can King hold his dart?  Needs 80.. hits single 7.. triple 3.. erm??  Leaves 16. Power needs 70.. 18, 12.. tops.  8-1.  OUCH!

GAME 3 – van Barneveld 8-6 Jenkins

An improving Jenkins against an out of sorts Barney.  A big game for Barney, 8th vs 7th.. playing for pride here.  Barney seems to have experimented with his darts gain

Barney takes wins the first game with throw.. Barney seens to be finding the 60.. 1-0.   Barney starts the next game with 180.. 180…141!!!!!!!!!!!   9 darter!! 2-0.  The new dart set-up seems to be working.

3-0 to Barney… oh no, it’s 4-0   Terry looks stunned now.  112.5 average for Barney at this point..  Phew Jenkins gets a break of darts.. 4-1.  Barney breaks back again, with another relaxed leg.. 5-1, and the break.

Barney’s back…at last, those new arrows are like three excaliburs – Whyte & Mackay on twitter.

Barney holds his throw for 6-1… Jenkins is in trouble now.    An ironic smile on Jenkin’s face as he takes leg 8 for 6-2 down.   I’ve just realised that Barney has ditched his tri-coloured flights for this game (he had 3 different coloured flights, which he always threw in the same order.. for concentration I am told).  It couldn’t last long, Barney holds his throw, 7-2, and at least a point now.

Barney left on 121 for the game.. Jenkins back on 170.   It’s not going to be a finish for Barney… and then Jenkins hits 60, 60.. 25 (close!)..  Barney misses his 56.. and Jenkins hits his double, and it’s 7-3.  Barney to throw.

Both players trade 180′s. .. then Jenkins hits another 180… but hits triple 3!! hehe.  Ends up with 67.  Takes it out in his next three. 7-4.  Jenkins throw.. he’s doing well.. takes out his 32 in two darts.. 7-5.  Barney just needs 20.. BUT JENKINS TAKES OUT 146!!  60,60,26.  7-6.

Still looks like Barney’s game.. needs 42.. Jenkins needs 147.  Jenkins ALMOST did it!!  Just missed the double.. Barney doesn’t mess.. Barney wins 8-6.. WHAT A GAME!

Barney then talked about why his form has been off, and why he’s not been at the floor tournaments.. he seemed to be saying that someone was trying to blackmail him to extort money from him??  But he said the police had caught them.  Hopefully he can get his head together now and show us his true form.

GAME 4 – Lewis 7-7 Whitlock

Follow that guys!   Lewis is wearing his new shirt… I saw him in it in Wigan at the weekend, his first outing with it I think.. someone asked him “is that a new shirt Adrian?”… he answered “Yes duck, do you like it?”.. about 4-5 seconds of dead silence… “it might grow on me“.

Lewis breaks against Whitlock.. 1-0.  Lewis needs 40.. and takes it first dart.  2-0.  Whitlock hits a 180.. needs 81 with Lewis on 204, so should take this game… a 12 darter to get in the game.  2-1.  Whitlock has a change now.. Lewis on 25.. Whitlock on 100.. goes 20.. 40.. misses the 2nd double top.  Lewis misses his 25!  Whitlock hits 20.. then double 10, 2-2.  Hmm.. I think Whitlock might win now.

Ouch Lewis needs bull.. and bounces out on the wire.  But Whitlock misses 3 darts on double 4.  Lewis misses 10 and hits 15.. the ‘fans’ boo him as he tries to hit double 16.. and misses.  Whitlock cleans up now.. 3-2.  Lewis throws some great darts to leave himself double 8 with Whitlock back on 100.  Two darts miss… more boos… and 3rd HITS.  3-3, and the break. 4-3 to Simon, holding his own throw after the break.  Lewis on 170.. just takes the ton.  Whitlock can’t get his 140.. Lewis goes 54.. but misses the double 8.. left on 8.  Whitlock on 80.. has one dart at tops.. misses!  Lewis misses his 3 darts at 8… oh dear.  Whitlock hits his tops this time.. 5-3.  Whitlock looking good for 6-3.. but then hits a 60.  Whitlock isn’t playing as well as he has, but neither is Lewis.  Whitlock now on 44, Lewis on 89.  Whitlock goes 12.. 16.. and hits double 8, 6-3.

Lewis holds his throw .. 6-4 down.. Whitlock starts his next leg with 140, but Lewis takes a 180 out.  Then ANOTHER.. six perfect darts now.. but hits a triple 3.   Whitlock on 121.. hits 60, triple 11, then double 14!!  great finish for 7-4.

Lewis then gets the next leg with a 121 finish himself.. starting on bull.  7-5.  Whitlock needs 144 to win the game.. 60.. 60.. missed the double 12.  Lewis only gets to 36 away.. so Whitlock needs double 6.. and misses with all 3 darts.. Lewis needs double 18.. and gets it!  7-6.  Lewis to throw.. can he get a draw??  YES HE CAN.  Lewis hits his double.. and gets it to 7-7, winning the last 3 games.

Premier League week 9 – Glasgow Results

Well darts fans can relax, after last week in Cardiff and the ‘no walk on girls’ disaster – this week in Glasgow we had 4 girls! Talk about value for money

The booing of Lewis was a bit poor – especially when he was throwing.  Come on Scotland – enjoy your night out, and cheer on Barney, but please respect the players, even if you don’t like em / they are English.

Remember if you are on twitter, you can follow me and join in the banter during the matches (a mix of fans, darts journalists, the sponsors, and players are often found offering their views).

On to the action…

Game 1 – Lewis vs Barney

Lewis managed to shush the boo boys early on, by outplaying Barney – taking a 4-1 lead early on (completely stuffing my predictions on the crowd beating him).  Lewis just missed a bull to go 5-1, but Barney kept his cool and got to 4-2 at the break. 4-3… Barney breaks for 4-4, and the crowd start up again.   Fantastic 11 darter for Lewis to break straight back.. 5-4.  Great game now.

I think I’ll need a lay down after this game… Lewis misses chances at a double to hold.. and Barney needs 3 for 32, and gets it.  5-5.  Barney then shows utter class – takes triple 18 three times, to leave himself 140 – what a counter, what an eye!  BUT then he goes on to miss 40 in 3 darts.. oh dear, Lewis then takes on 48 and misses in 3 darts, with the crowd screaming out their pleasure at him missing.  6-5 to Barney.  Lewis shows the crowd what he’s made of, and holds to get to 6-6, could be a draw.  Phew Lewis JUST misses a 160 checkout to break.. Barney misses his chance.. and Lewis gets his double 10 to break and get a point (at least) 7-6.. and the darts…

Lewis then piles on the pressure.. a 180… then gets to 40 while Barney needs 199!   Lewis takes his double top in two darts.. and wins 8-6.  FANTASTIC MATCH – WELL DONE ADRIAN.

Game 2 – Whitlock vs Jenkins

Ouch, Jenkins misses a double top finish to break.. and Whitlock doesn’t make a mistake.. 1-0 Whitlock.  Whitlock attempts a 170 checkout.. hits 25 instead of bull.. but still gets to finish to go 2-0 up, breaking Jenkins.

3-1 to Whitlock, and he’s got the throw… yep 4-1.   Whitlock attempts a 170 with Jenkins on 104.. and misses.. but Jenkins only gets to 48.. Whitlock misses double 16… and Jenkins gets his second leg for 4-2 at the break.  (on twitter there are fears for Jenkins.. )

Whitlock attempts a 164 check-out.. and misses.  But is far ahead.. and takes double 8 for 5-2.  Jenkins pain continues.. misses a low score.. and Whitlock takes his 52 in two darts, 6-2.  Then Whitlock starts with a 180… bad news for Terry.  7-2 with Jenkins back a way…  and in the next game only 48 with Jenkins back on 136..  Whitlock goes 16… 16.. and misses double 8.  Jenkins takes his double top!  7-3.  But now it’s Whitlock with the darts.  Wow Whitlock wins taking out a ton plus finish.  8-3 to Whitlock.

Game 3 – Taylor vs Baxter

Taylor up next – another win, or can Ronnie upset him?   Hmm…  Whyte & Mackay twitter going for the Rocket… they’ve obviously been drinking to much of their good stuff!     GAME ON!

Hmm slow start (averages of 1st leg both about 83) .. but Taylor breaks Baxter.. 1-0.. and then misses 3 darts at a double.. make that 6 darts!!  Baxter must take his double 8.. and does.  1-1.  Taylor again misses double 8 (twice).. and Baxter takes his double top (fav finish) for 2-1 to Baxter.  Hmm 2-2.. Ronnie isn’t scoring.. Taylor isn’t hitting doubles..    but hits one and gets his 48 to break Baxter’s throw, 3-2.. one more game before the break.

Taylor misses double 3… and Ronnie takes out 104 to take it back to 3-3!  I wonder how the Power will come out after the break.  He often seems to be able to re-energise.

Taylor (and Baxter) miss more doubles!  Taylor misses.. 5? At doubles.. and Baxter hits his to finally take the leg with throw.  4-3.  Phil takes his 74 out for 4-4.. and then Baxter only gets 49.. Taylor hits 180.  Oh dear.  Ronnie is really missing a lot of darts – low scoring, and doubles…  if Phil wins this then Ronnie will kick himself.. it was there for the taking tonight.

Taylor picking up steam now.. 5-4.. and another 180 hits home.  6-4 now.. Baxter with the throw.  Taylor breaks again – with his double 16 routine.. 7-4, and a point.. he has the throw for 2 points and total domination of the league.  Yep Taylor takes it to plan, and extends his lead.  8-4 to Taylor.

Game 4 – King vs Wade

I think this will be the game of the night.. although the first wasn’t bad!

Another slow start. King missing doubles..Wade finally hit one – 1-0 and a break.   2-0 after Wade takes a double 10, and the crowd are fairly quiet.  Then a big checkout for Wade, 131 (biggest of the night).

Fark – 4-0 to Wade – must have been the warm-up our competition winners gave him last night!  Or is it King’s dodgy facial growth?  Finally a finish on 25 gets a leg for King, 4-1.  Wade misses several darts at a double.. and king then misses double 16 with 3 darts.. but Wade misses again (hitting a 5 on double 5).  And then King finally takes the leg.. 4-2 at the break.  King on a comeback?

Leg 7 starts with 140 from both players.. and then Wade follows up with a 180.. great darts.  James takes out an 80 for 5-2.  The left-hander is in the driving seat now.  Shame it’s not closer.. King isn’t himself tonight.    Now at 6-3 (after a few slerps of wine and sorting the cat out).. oh no it’s 7-2!  At least a point to Wade..   A big 161 finish from KING!  7-4.  Wade on 81 … and GETS IT!  8-4 to Wade.
Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
Week Nine – S.E.C.C., Glasgow
Raymond van Barneveld 6-8 Adrian Lewis
Simon Whitlock 8-3 Terry Jenkins
Ronnie Baxter 4-8 Phil Taylor
Mervyn King 4-8 James Wade

Premier League in Cardiff – Results from week 8.

A quick results round up from me tonight – I had a cracking time watching, drinking, and chatting on twitter with other darts fans (and the sponsors, Whyte & Mackay!).

BIGGEST NEWS OF THE NIGHT: No PDC walk on girls?!   I’ve not been able to get info on why that was – I will keep asking the question you want answered!

First up, Mervyn King was well up for a fight, and unfortunately Terry wasn’t.  A bit one sided, but I’m sure Merv won’t mind, bagging two more points.  I really hope that Terry finds his confidence again – he doesn’t seem to be quite throwing right at the moment.

Game 2 – Ronnie Baxter was on fire – again!  Although I thought that Simon Whitlock looked ill during his walk on – anyone else think that?  Ill or not, he wasn’t a match for the Rocket on the night.

Then started the ‘young guns’ match – and I must admit I didn’t think Lewis would beat Wade, as James has been improving over the last few weeks.  But hats of to Lewis, he kept level for the early stages, and then powered ahead, and Wade didn’t have a reply.  Lewis is earning a bit of a soft spot from me – if he can keep winning when games get tough, he’s going to start winning big competitions.

So – Barney vs’ the Power… a big match?  Maybe not.  They’ve been a little one sided in the last couple of years, and this match was no different.  Barney started looking like he meant business, but soon folded – and I saw at least one big head shake.  Bit too easy for Taylor in the end – I’m sure he’s not bothered, but the fans want a BATTLE!   Hats off to Taylor – as he wished Peter Manley his best wishes.

Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
Week Eight – CIA, Cardiff
Terry Jenkins 2-8 Mervyn King
Simon Whitlock 5-8 Ronnie Baxter
Adrian Lewis 8-5 James Wade
Phil Taylor 8-2 Raymond van Barneveld

Premier League Darts – Night Six Results

Phew I was close with my predictions.. I just missed the fact Mervyn King was going to throw away a big lead (sorry Merv if you read this!), and end up with only one point, drawing 7-7 with Barney, after being 6-3 up!  I didn’t buy the new light darts making everything OK – a player with Barney’s talent should be able to win with a set of brass darts!  At times Barney again looked like he was giving up, body language wasn’t good at all as he went down early on.

Otherwise I called Taylor with a big win, Lewis and Wade to win.  Nice.

Wade played a great game tonight, really showing some form – Whitlock… well I’m not sure if he’s still struggling with his dodgy standing foot? (he hurt the heel some time ago).

Taylor recorded the second highest average so far season at 106.79, and Jenkins had to hit 100+ finishes in the three games him managed to win, showing how hard it was for him to only lose 8-3!

Lewis was 6-4 down against Baxter, and it did look game over for him, but he found something inside to come back (which he wouldn’t have done a year or two ago).  Baxter did have 3 darts at double 18 to draw the game, but blew it – big shame for the rocket.

(edit) Oh and for those who wondered what all the singing (something about t*ts) was about when the crowd were facing the other way in Brighton, I have heard a couple of rumours that; 1)  a bloke spilt his pint all over his girlfriend, and she lost it and beat him up.. and 2) in another event, a nice lady did indeed ‘get em out for the lads’ – and was then shown the door by the security.   nice

Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
Week Six – The Brighton Centre
Phil Taylor 8-3 Terry Jenkins
Raymond van Barneveld 7-7 Mervyn King
Ronnie Baxter 6-8 Adrian Lewis
Simon Whitlock 4-8 James Wade

Whyte & Mackay Premier League – Week 6, A Krispy Preview

Wow it’s week six of the premier league already, where is time going?  Thursday nights feel like the start of the weekend now – as it’s beers and snacks ahoy as I watch the action.

So what delights do we have ahead? (apart from the georgeous walk on girls!)  Remember to tune into Sky sports 1 at 7pm as the games kick off pretty quickly this year.

Game 1: Phil Taylor v Terry Jenkins

Hmm, I do like Jenkins, he’s such an unassuming bloke (one day I’ll get an interview.. let me know if you have his contact details!), and Taylor’s form so far in the Prem League hasn’t been 100%.
BUT:  If you don’t keep up with darts results outside the Televised tournaments, you may not know that Taylor was on fire at the weekend, winning both floor tournaments, and hitting a 121.8 average in the final on Sunday.  That’s some darts…
So I’m going to say a Taylor win on this one.. and it might be a big win too.

Game 2: Raymond van Barneveld v Mervyn King

Got to be game of the week this one.  I wouldn’t have said that a week ago, as Barney has been poor to say the least.  BUT: Last week was an eye opener, as Barney suddenly looked confident, and his darts were fantastic.
King took a weekend off the darts to get some rest, which may mean he’s coming back meaner than ever – and ready fight.   Tough one to call… but I think King will win, as Barney’s form and confidence has been patchy, this week might be up or down…  Although if Barney does play a blinder, this game will be WAR!

Game 3: Ronnie Baxter v Adrian Lewis

If Ronnie and Adrian were consistent players, this might be easier to predict…  The one thing I can say for certain, there will be fireworks – both players throw fast and exciting, and the 180′s may flow for Jackpot, vs. The Rocket’s amazing double top finishing ability.
I think Lewis may have a good one – not sure why, just a feeling (so never listen to me if you bet!).  It will be close in early games.. bottle will decide it.

Game 4: Simon Whitlock v James Wade

Biggest question with this game is, has Wade turned the corner?  He’s now showing some signs that his form and confidence is returning.  A couple of years ago he was such a consistently good player, but in the last year he’s been up and down, and more often than not, down.

Whitlock is such a nice guy I feel bad predicting against him, but that’s what I’m doing – the new re-invigorated Wade to win, with a LOT of 180′s thrown in.  The wild-card is going to be how the Brighton fans treat Wade – he’s closer to home this time, so the ‘boo boys’ might calm down, but then again Wade’s post match interview last week won’t help him!

However it goes on the night, we know it will be ‘magic darts’ – hope you have a great Thurs night watching, especially if you’re there in person!

Cheers, Kristian ‘Krispy’ Brown.

Week Six
March 18 The Brighton Centre

Phil Taylor v Terry Jenkins
Raymond van Barneveld v Mervyn King
Ronnie Baxter v Adrian Lewis
Simon Whitlock v James Wade

Tickets: 0844 847 1515 or www.brightoncentre.co.uk