Darts, Beers, & Cheers!

Posts Tagged ‘Bravo’

My Taylor Signed Shirt n Photo – cheers Bravo

If you follow this website closely, then you’ll know I ‘worked’ for Bravo TV during their European Darts Championship coverage a couple of months ago.  I was their ‘online darts guru’ – which meant I did their twitter coverage for them, keeping people up with the scores, giving stats and head to head info for every game.

As way of thanks, they sent me a few goodies – and I thought I’d get a picture and post them up here, as they are taking pride of place in my small darts collection (along with the Steve Maish original darts of course!).

I’ve now got a Phil Taylor autographed PDC white shirt – very smart it is too – maybe I’ll wear it on a special occasion, and a Bravo branded Phil Taylor signed photo (A4 and very nice quality).

I’m chuffed to bits with the shirt – as Phil has added “3 in Germany” on it, as he was celebrating his 3rd success as the only ever winner of the European Darts Championships!

Darts and TV audiences – the UK’s biggest indoor sport!

It’s a great time be be a darts fan – after a real lull in the televised game in the 90′s, it’s really come into its own again.  Love them or hate them, Sky Sports really lit the blue touch paper when it came to darts, bringing a new high glitz, professionally packaged product to the sports mad public.  Their 15 week premier league has been a real exhibition of darts – a showcase event which brings in a wedge of cash to the PDC coffers, allowing them to fund the richest darts tour of all time.

ITV have got back into darts in recent years, showing the Grand Slam of Darts (which gets some great viewing figures off on ITV4), and has won many plaudits for its great coverage (not quite as full on as Sky’s effort, but possibly a touch more informative with better and more frequent interviews).  I’d put the Sky spotter & camermen 1st though – they hardly ever miss a single dart or where it’s thrown.

Recently Bravo have got in on the act, and I know they are very happy with the viewing figures they received – I believe the final day nearly trippled their normal Sunday viewing figures, and probably brought in new viewers for the first time.  Bravo would make a good home for darts, as it’s targetted more towards the beer drinking lads who like motors, beer, girls.. and that’s most darts fans!

Some people may not realise that darts is the biggest indoor sport in the UK, and when you’re getting 10,000+ people in the audience for the Premier League (nearly filling the O2 Arena!) you’ve got to realise the sport is getting BIG!  Every PDC tournament seems to break previous records for ticket sales, and TV audiences continue to grow.

Just looking at the PDC World match play viewing figures on Sky, you can see what a draw it is, and that it’s pulling in more viewers than the golf or the cricket.

Sky Sports 1  w/e 25 Jul 2010

1 LIVE WORLD MATCHPLAY DARTS FINAL (SUN 1900) 466,000
2 LIVE WORLD MATCHPLAY DARTS (SAT 1900) 254,000
3 LIVE WORLD MATCHPLAY DARTS (WED 1900) 217,000
4 LIVE WORLD MATCHPLAY DARTS (FRI 1900) 208,000
5 LIVE PAK V AUS CRICKET (FRI 1319) 200,000
6 LIVE PAK V AUS CRICKET (FRI 1535) 199,000
7 LIVE PAK V AUS CRICKET (SAT 1000) 179,000
8 LIVE WORLD MATCHPLAY DARTS (THU 1900) 178,000
9 LIVE PAK V AUS CRICKET (THU 1316) 177,000
10 LIVE WORLD MATCHPLAY DARTS (TUE 1900) 168,000

(OK lets throw some premier league footy in the mix.. now this is end of season super sunday.. after the closest premier league in many a year;1 LIVE FORD SUPER SUNDAY – MATCH (SUN 1530) 1,568,000 – so OK a million more viewers.. but I’d say for the darts to have a 3rd of that is pretty impressive stuff, especially when you think how much the prem league is pushed and advertised on every channel every day of every week!).

Now lets look at Bravo’s figures – for their first ever televised darts;

BRAVO TV – week ending 1st August.

1 SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND S01 (TUE 2200) 572,000
2 LEVERAGE (WED 2101) 250,000
3 EUROPEAN PROFESSIONAL DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP (SUN 1900) 232,000
4 EUROPEAN PROFESSIONAL DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP (SAT 1900) 179,000
5 EUROPEAN PROFESSIONAL DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP (SUN 1300) 140,000
6 EUROPEAN PROFESSIONAL DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP (FRI 1900) 133,000
7 EUROPEAN PROFESSIONAL DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP (THU 1900) 109,000
8 SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND S01 (FRI 2401) 106,000
9 SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND S01 (MON 2301) 93,000
10 EUROPEAN PROFESSIONAL DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP (SAT 1300 87,000

Now you’ve got to remember that Bravo is a smaller channel, with a much smaller advertising budget, and the European Championships aren’t quite the established draw of the World Match Play in Blackpool.  But the viewing figures for the final of 232,000 is massive for them – and I know they are very pleased, possibly looking to cover more darts in the future.

The BIG viewing figures still go to the BBC and their coverage of the BDO’s world championships of course – some three million people watched the final at the Lakeside.  That figure is lower than it used to be, as I feel the BBC hardly package the darts in a view friendly way (lots of it recorded and edited down to highlights.. or hidden on the red button).  But that’s still a large number of people seeing the darts on their TVs – and it can only be healthy to have the arrows on terrestrial TV too!

Darts Review and upcoming preview of the PDC scene

Phew it’s been a busy time for a darts fan, July was packed full of televised darts goodness!  Phil Taylor was his usual regal king of darts, winning both the World Matchplay in Blackpool, and the European Darts Championships in Germany.

Results have meant some movement in the rankings – especially for Wayne Jones, who comes out of the last two weeks very nicely… some £35,000 on his rankings, plus a guranteed place at the Grand Slam of Darts for the next two years.  Once the OOM is updated I’m sure he will be in the top 16, which is a great place to be.

The Euro Champs were extra special for me, as I was invited by Bravo TV to be their ‘online darts guru’… and I took over the official @BRAVO_darts twitter duties.  It was good fun (24 hours worth of twittering mind you), and I was able to entertain and inform the darts fans across Europe.  It was quite an honour, and hopefully a reflection of how people see me now as a semi authority on all things PDC      I’m probably biased, but I think Bravo did a fantastic job of the coverage (after initial teething problems), the pundity was top notch, and it was good to see a knowledgable crowd.  I’ve seen a lot of chat in the forums hoping they will cover more darts in the future! (GALLERY of images from the Euros here).

Looking forwards August is actually a quiet time – probably to allow the darts pros to have a bit of a rest/holiday – unless they are heading to Australia or Canada! (I know Dennis Priestly will be in Canada, as he says in his recent interview he did for us).  September brings the player championships closer to home, with weekends in Crawley and the Netherlands.

AUGUST
22	Revesby Workers Club	Australian Open Players Championship 22
28	Ontario, Canada	Players Championship 23
29	Ontario, Canada	Canadian Masters (PC24)
SEPTEMBER
4	Crawley	Players Championship 25
5	Crawley	Players Championship 26
7, 8, 9	Crondon Park	Championship League Darts 1, 2, 3
18	Nuland, Holland	Players Championship 27
19	Nuland, Holland	Players Championship 28
21, 22, 23	Crondon Park	Championship League Darts 4, 5, 6

I will be attending the Crawley player championship weekend at the start of Sept, as Justin Pipe’s guest (thanks mate!), and it will be great to get back to the floor, and see if Justin can continue his recent great results.  There is a rumour that Raymond van Barneveld may attend the Crawley floor tournament, which I hope he does, as I’ve not seen him in the flesh yet.

I will also be at the Bad Boys III exhibition on the 25th September – I think tickets might still be available.  Looking for to it, and meeting our competition winners (DarrenH and Nikkiboy) there too.

I’ve also had some crackings news personally from my friends at Red Dragon Darts (Winmau) – they have offered me a day at their factory, to have a custom darts fitting!  They usually reserve this for the pro’s.. so it’s another honour!  Red Dragon have sponsored many of the competitions on this site – including the current one to win a set of Alex Roy darts.  I’ve a set or two of their darts already myself, they really are cracking quality darts!

So all in all 2010 has been a great darting year so far, with a new broadcaster (Bravo TV) coming onto the scene.. and there’s PLENY more darts to come!  Good darting!

Cheers, Krispy.

European Darts Championships – Last days Results and preview

A great day of darts yesterday, and a really busy one today.  The finalists will have to get through 3 games to claim the title and the cash today – so stamina will pay a part.

In the first game my loyalties come first – my man Jamie ‘Jabba’ Caven will be who I’m cheering on (while trying to stay neutral on the Bravo_darts twitter I am covering the games on!).  Jamie is an amazing player, and has overcome what lesser men would have given in to, becoming a star of the darts scene.  Jenkins has thrown off some of his recent poor form to get to the semi, but if Caven can play like he did yesterday, I think he’s got it in the bag.  Good luck today mate!

I’m split over the next semi – I’ve got Ronnie Baxter in my fantasy darts team over at The Stars of Darts forum… but Colin is another Gent of the game.  Colin has been playing really well too – while Baxter has been a little hot n cold.  I think Lloyd may just pinch it.

Taylor vs. Walsh.. what a game.  Walsh has played Taylor enough to know his game well, and hopefully not be scared of him.  It’s the king of the floor vs. the king of the TV tournaments…  could be a belter.  I think the Power will win though.

Barney vs. a TV confident Jones – another possible belter.  Wayne Jones like Mark Walsh is a master of the tungsten on the floor, but who has previously found the TV scene tough.  But this tournament that doesn’t seem to be an issue for him.   Close… but Barneveld to win I think – who knows, maybe a 9 darter too

Remember to follow the official @BRAVO_darts twitter for all the scores and more – especially as it’s me doing it, and I’ve been keeping off the ale to keep my spelling straight (ish) !!  There’s also a gallery here of images taken by Bravo – including some behind the scenes.

Quarter Finals

1.00pm Terry Jenkins 10-6 Jamie Caven
2.00pm Colin Lloyd 10-6 Ronnie Baxter
3.00pm Phil Taylor 10-4 Mark Walsh
4.00pm Raymond van Barneveld 8-10 Wayne Jones

Semi Finals

Evening session begins 7pm UK time, Order of play to be confirmed by toss of a coin

7.00pm Wayne Jones 11-10 Colin Lloyd
8.15 pm Phil Taylor 11-10 Terry Jenkins

The Final

Phil Taylor 11 – 1 Wayne Jones

Dave Gorman has been doing a sterling job – bringing darts to a new audience, and some cracking funny mini interviews.  He’s been blogging about it too; http://gormano.blogspot.com/2010/08/bravo-darts.html

The PartyPoker.net European Championship is being shown live on Sport1 in Germany and on Bravo in the UK – Bravo can be found at channel 123 on Sky and 136 on Virgin Media.

Prize Money

Winner – £50,000
Runner-Up – £20,000
Semi-Finals – £10,000
Quarter-Finals – £7,500
Last 16 – £5,000
Last 32 – £2,500

European Darts Championships – Day 3 Preview

Two sessions of darts on Bravo TV today, starting at 1pm and 7pm (UK Time, add 1 hour if you’re out in Germany).  There were a couple of shocks last night – with local German Roith going through.  I wonder if there will be any big name losses today.

There are 8 games in total, as we are now on the last 16… and the format is best of 19 legs (first to 10 if you’re still hungover!).

As per the last two nights, yours truly (Krispy) will be on the official @Bravo_darts twitter – so if you can’t get to a TV or don’t have the Bravo channel, follow along on twitter and you’ll know all the scores pretty much as they happen, plus some stats and random thoughts of mine   Also check out presenter Dave Gorman’s blog where he discusses teething problems and the scoreboard! http://gormano.blogspot.com/2010/07/bread-cheese-beer-and-darts.html

I love the Bravo themed board surround, something fun about it!

Afternoon Session

1.00pm Mark Walsh v Jelle Klaasen
2.00pm Terry Jenkins v Simon Whitlock
3.00pm Ronnie Baxter v Wes Newton
4.00pm Wayne Jones v Robert Thornton

Evening Session

7.00pm Barrie Bates v Jamie Caven
8.00pm Raymond van Barneveld v Bernd Roith
9.00pm Phil Taylor v Andy Smith
10.00pm Colin Lloyd v Michael van Gerwen

I myself can’t see Terry Jenkins beating Simon Whitlock – the Wizard will have too much for the Bull – esp as Germany seems to be the place for beard power!  I’m rooting for my mate Jamie Caven this evening – although I could never wish Barry Bates ill, he’s a real fun character of the game.  It  will be intresting to see how the crowd react to watching their own man Bernd Roith throw against Barney this evening – although I can’t see anything other than a win for  van Barneveld there.   Another re-match between Taylor and the Pieman – as it’s now first to 10 and slightly longer format I think it will be the power all the way there.  Game of the day could be Lloyd vs. van Gerwen – as Mighty Mike seemed to gain some confidence last night.

European Championship – Night Two Results

Some surprises tonight, with Bernd Roith beating the previously in form Denis Ovens.  Denis looked .. well out of it all game, and Roith was a worthy winner.

Also a great result from Mighty Mike van Gerwen.  After breaking his collarbone it’s some result to be winning a game of darts so soon.  He grew in confidence as the game went on.

I was disappointed with the performance from Adrian Lewis – it really wasn’t what we expect from a ‘potential world champion’.  He looked out of sorts and not on his game at all.  I think a 6-3 loss to Wayne Jones flattered him!

I know a lot of people will be pleased to see Colin Lloyd win – he’s a very popular player.   Beating James Wade must have given him some confidence for the rest of the tournament.  In the Osborne vs. Newton game Wes started well, and Osborne badly.. it was 3-0 pretty quickly to Newton.  But then Osborne found some inner strength and really put the pressure on Newton, taking it to 4-3 to Colin at one point.  Wes somehow got over his shock, and fought back to win 6-4, a close game!

Barney – well after a dodgy opening, he showed he’s still back – throwing some power darts at times, his silken smooth throw back to close to its best.  If Hamilton hadn’t been throwing big 180′s it wouldn’t have been such a close game.  Hamilton really does bang in those 60′s.

Ronnie Baxter had a real ding dong with Alan Tabern, and for a while it looked like the Saint would win… but Baxter took out an amazing 126 to win the final deciding leg.  Great exciting stuff.

PartyPoker.net European Championship
First Round
Play commences 8pm German time (7pm UK time)

Bernd Roith 6-4 Denis Ovens
Mark Dudbridge 4-6 Robert Thornton
Adrian Lewis 3-6 Wayne Jones
Tomas Seyler 4-6 Michael van Gerwen
James Wade 4-6 Colin Lloyd
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Andy Hamilton
Colin Osborne 4-6 Wes Newton
Ronnie Baxter 6-5 Alan Tabern

Euro Champs – Tonight’s order of play on Bravo TV

Well the feedback I’ve seen and had from last night’s Bravo TV coverage of the PDC European Darts Championships has been very positive.  Yeah there were some technical glitches – but Dave Gorman was the first to admit the scoreboard needs SORTING for tonight.

Otherwise the fans were on the whole well behaved (apart from one or two), commentators on the ball, and the lack of adverts during games, combined with interviews after the matches made it a great night of darts.

If you’re not out on the beers, don’t forget the action continues again tonight!  And/or follow on twitter for updates during the games; http://twitter.com/BRAVO_darts

Euro Champs Friday July 30

First Round
Play commences 7pm UK time – on BRAVO!

Game times are APPROXIMATE!

7.00pm Bernd Roith v Denis Ovens
7.30pm Mark Dudbridge v Robert Thornton
8.00pm Adrian Lewis v Wayne Jones
8.30pm Tomas Seyler v Michael van Gerwen
9.00pm James Wade v Colin Lloyd
9.30pm Raymond van Barneveld v Andy Hamilton
10.00pm Colin Osborne v Wes Newton
10.30pm Ronnie Baxter v Alan Tabern

European Championships – Night 1 results and review

Phew what a night – as Bravo TV televised their very first ever darts tournament.  While there was some technical hitches (new hamsters needed on the computer scoreboard me thinks!!), the coverage overall was very good I thought.  Some experienced pundits and commentators, with a style that I thought was very good (a little less excitable than Sky’s coverage perhaps?).

Loved seeing Chris Mason back on the screens, and Alan WL always does a good job too.

The biggest surprise for me was when I received a text message from Bravo TV asking if I’d run their twitter account for the night, as they weren’t able to do it this evening (normal service should be back tomorrow).  So apologies if my constant score updates and player comments were not to your cup of tea    It was good fun anyway.

Also I was jumping up and down as the first question put to a player was mine, and my name was read out by Dave Gorman – haha, fame at last!

Anyway – onto the evenings results, and remember it all carries on tomorrow night from 7pm on Bravo TV.  Follow their twitter if you can’t watch some/all of the games to keep track of the evenings games.

Thursday July 29
First Round
Paul Nicholson 3-6 Andy Smith
Mark Walsh 6-3 Antonio Alcinas
Terry Jenkins 6-4 Andree Welge
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Dennis Priestley
Gary Anderson 2-6 Jamie Caven
Phil Taylor 6-2 Co Stompe
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Vincent van der Voort
Mervyn King 3-6 Barrie Bates

Personal highlights for me is my mate Jamie Caven winning through to round 2 – although it was a shame to see Gary Anderson still suffering with a dodgy shoulder.

Euro Stars Head To Germany – Watch on Bravo Tonight

PHIL TAYLOR opens his challenge for a third successive PartyPoker.net European Championship title on Thursday, when he takes on Co Stompe as the £200,000 tournament begins in Dinslaken, Germany.

UPDATE: I’m actually sitting in for Bravo on their twitter tonight – as a z list celebrity darts ‘guru’ – follow me and Bravo here; https://twitter.com/BRAVO_Darts for game by game comments and analysis.

Taylor has lifted the European Championship trophy in each of the past two years since the tournament was launched in 2008.

The world number one travels to the Stadthalle in Dinslaken on a high after winning his 11th World Matchplay last Sunday, as he seeks to win a fourth major title inside three months.

“Winning the World Matchplay was great and I’d love to go on and win the European Championship this weekend,” said Taylor. “I’m feeling great and playing well, and winning this would round off a perfect summer.”

Taylor takes on Co Stompe in the first round, with the Dutchman having defeated him in the 2008 German Darts Championship final.

“Co has done brilliantly in the last couple of years and he played superbly when he won the German Darts Championship, but that was a different day,” added Taylor.

“I put it behind me and so has Co, and we’ve played a few times since. He did well in the World Matchplay last week and I know he’ll want that to continue in Germany.”

Stompe followed that German Darts Championship victory with two World Championship quarter-final appearances, as well as winning a Players Championship a month ago and reaching the last eight in Blackpool.

“The win over Phil is in the past and you can’t dwell on that because it’s history,” said Stompe. “It’s a new game on Thursday and I’ve got a hard game against Phil.

“I’ve turned my game around, because I’ve been practising on my doubles and they went alright in Blackpool but my scoring let me down.

“I know I can play better than I did in Blackpool, and I’ll go up there on Thursday and hopefully give Phil a big fight.”

The tournament’s opening night will also feature a clash between two of the sport’s fastest throwers, Jelle Klaasen and Vincent van der Voort.

The Dutch pair have both enjoyed strong form in 2010, while Klaasen – a European Championship semi-finalist last year – reached the quarter-finals of last week’s World Matchplay with a slightly slower throwing style.

“I tried to slow down and it felt good,” he said. “I’m always trying to improve my game and I’ve tried something new on stage now, and I played well.

“I think I’ll try to play slower now in every tournament. It will be a hard match to play against Vincent because we travel all the time and are good friends, but when we get on stage we’re enemies and want to beat each other 6-0.”

The players ranked fourth and fifth in the world, Mervyn King and Terry Jenkins, have an opportunity to bounce back from first round exits in the World Matchplay when they face Barrie Bates and Germany’s Andree Welge respectively.

Simon Whitlock, the Australian who has jumped to eighth in the PDC Order of Merit following his run to the semi-finals of the World Matchplay, takes on two-time World Champion Dennis Priestley on his European Championship debut.

The tournament will open when Paul Nicholson, January’s totesport.com Players Championship Finals winner, faces Andy Smith – who had minor surgery on a leg injury a week ago but has previously won a Players Championship on the Dinslaken stage.

Gary Anderson, the UK Open finalist who has been troubled by a shoulder injury in recent weeks and lost to Klaasen in Blackpool, meets Jamie Caven, and number eight seed Mark Walsh faces Spanish debutant Antonio Alcinas.

World number two Raymond van Barneveld – who hit a nine-darter in the World Matchplay before losing to Taylor in the final – takes on Andy Hamilton on the second night of play, while number three seed James Wade faces Colin Lloyd.

German pair Tomas Seyler and Bernd Roith are in action on home soil, with Roith taking on Denis Ovens on his televised debut while Seyler meets Michael van Gerwen – the Dutch youngster who has been sidelined for the past month with a broken collarbone.

The PartyPoker.net European Championship is being shown live on Sport1 in Germany and on Bravo in the UK – Bravo can be found at channel 123 on Sky and 136 on Virgin Media.

Dave Gorman and James Richardson are presenting, and @bravo_darts and the Official European Championship Facebook page, will be hubs for interviews, scores, photos and behind-the-scenes information.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/European-Professional-Darts-Championships-2010-BRAVO/136193336412159?ref=ts

Bravo Euro Darts Trailer – Coverage starts TONIGHT!

Bravo TV’s very first televised darts starts TONIGHT (Thursday) – and they’ve released a promo trailer to get you in the mood.   It features Dave Gorman, who will be appearing throughout the coverage – as a ‘minister without portfolio’ – which I think means he’s going to sum up the action in ways that non hard-core darts fans can understand.  Possibly while being funny

Thursday July 29
First Round
Play commences 8pm German time (7pm UK time)
8.00pm Paul Nicholson v Andy Smith
8.30pm Mark Walsh v Antonio Alcinas
9.00pm Terry Jenkins v Andree Welge
9.30pm Simon Whitlock v Dennis Priestley
10.00pm Gary Anderson v Jamie Caven
10.30pm Phil Taylor v Co Stompe
11.00pm Jelle Klaasen v Vincent van der Voort
11.30pm Mervyn King v Barrie Bates

The rest of the schedule of play is below the video, and remember to follow the official facebook page here, and on twitter here.  I’ll be twittering throughout the tournament I’m sure – and some of the time it might make some sense!  Follow me here.

NOTE: If the trailer doesn’t play below – try clicking on the ‘HD is on’  link on the screen – it seemed to kick it into action.

Schedule of Play

Friday July 30
First Round
Play commences 8pm German time (7pm UK time)
8.00pm Bernd Roith v Denis Ovens
8.30pm Mark Dudbridge v Robert Thornton
9.00pm Adrian Lewis v Wayne Jones
9.30pm Tomas Seyler v Michael van Gerwen
10.00pm James Wade v Colin Lloyd
10.30pm Raymond van Barneveld v Andy Hamilton
11.00pm Colin Osborne v Wes Newton
11.30pm Ronnie Baxter v Alan Tabern

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