Friday 24 June 2016
Darts Weekly
Let’s crack
the China market! Exclusive interview with the PDC chairman P2-3
Anderson topples Lewis in Auckland final P5 Yozza ahead of England’s Six Nations charge P6-7 EDO admits ‘things did go wrong’ at Selsey P8 Part two of our Shaun Greatbatch interview P10 Sean McCormick on Deta’s 100th title P12
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Friday 24 June 2016 Darts Weekly
PDC and Hearn are taking the World Series into the unknown this weekend Alex Moss CHIEF DARTS WRITER Barry Hearn admits even he does not know how China is going to react to the inaugural Shanghai Darts Masters this weekend. The two-day tournament starts tomorrow at the Pullman Hotel Shanghai South, with the first day seeing eight of the PDC’s top players take on four Chinese qualifiers and four invited players. And ahead of the PDC holding an event in China for the first time in 12 years, the organisation’s chairman told Darts Weekly: “God knows what could happen. “It could be anything or nothing you know. “Within my business China is a big market. The snooker is huge in China so I get some leverage. “I’ve been knocking on the door
World Series history January 23, 2013 - The PDC announce the Dubai Darts Masters will take place in May as the first leg of the World Series of Darts. June 6, 2013 - The PDC confirm the Sydney Darts Masters will be the second event in the World Series in August that year. April 7, 2014 - Australia gains a second World Series event with the launch of the Perth Darts Masters. June 20, 2014 - The number of World Series events is increased to four with the introduction of the Singapore Darts Masters, which is only held for one year. February 2, 2015 - The PDC announces it will be taking the World Series to Japan in June. March 2, 2015 - The Auckland Darts Masters is added to the World Series calendar for 2015. June 29, 2015 - Glasgow is announced as the hosts for the inaugural World Series finals. March 2, 2016 - China is added to the World Series tour.
for three years and this is year one, so I’m not expecting it to be like New Zealand or Sydney. “I’m expecting something quite quiet and I’m hoping we will encourage the darts associations in China to get better and put more resources behind it.” With the introduction of China this year, 2016 will see six events held in the World Series, along with the finals weekend in Glasgow in November. Tournaments in Dubai, New Zealand, Australia and Japan have all returned from last year, while China’s World Series debut is the first part of a much bigger plan for Hearn and the PDC. “This is a long term plan,” Hearn said. “Out of all the venues on the World Series this is the longest term plan. “Darts in China is a 10-year plan.
“We’ve seen with the snooker in China that if it takes off, it takes off quickly” This is a tough market to break into, but we’ve got a foot in the door and that’s the best we can hope for at the moment. “We’ve got a three-year deal with Shanghai but that doesn’t stop other events happening as well. “I’d like to see a stronger involvement in the grassroots of the game in China from the Chinese sportspeople so that we build that structure. “When you’ve got two billion people it’s a pretty big net to throw out and see if there’s anyone with outstanding ability. “In the snooker I’ve said in the next three years I think half of the top 16 will be Chinese, so that’s a quantum shift in power. “If darts takes off in China I’ll be really surprised if they didn’t produce some world class players, but they need an infrastructure. I
think this is going to be quite a low key initial operation. But one thing I’ve said with the snooker in China is that if it takes off, it takes off quickly, so we shall see.” Since the PDC launched the World Series in 2013 with events in Dubai and Australia, the tour has continued to grow in both popularity and demand. And it is no surprise that Hearn has received many offers from across the world to bring the World Series to them. “It’s exciting,” the PDC chairman said. “I’m inundated with countries saying ‘can we be a part of the World Series?’ “Even closer to home, Germany, Scandinavia are keen on a World Series event. “The next big push we’re going to do is we’re going to go back to America. “We’re going back in 2017 and will release all the details shortly. “With the World Series events there isn’t a specific format. In Dubai it’s just the eight players,
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while others have qualifiers versus the eight. “I think America will be like that. There’s slightly different promotional techniques you have to use in America. You have to give them some American winners. “In America we’ll do a massive qualifier on site, so every player in North America gets a chance, and that will find the guys to compete in the event.” The PDC calendar is already a very busy one and Hearn is mindful of how many more events he can introduce onto the World Series tour in future years. “The top eight are earning great money obviously, but they have a responsibility to spread the game, which they are embracing and I’m thankful to them for that,” he said. “But at the same time they can’t take their eye off the rankings. “They’re only in the top eight because they are ranked in the top eight. “There’s so many other tournaments so we’ve got to be a
New venue: The PDC heads to the Pullman Hotel Shanghai South for the World Series little bit careful of burning these players out. “These boys get appearance money plus prize money, which is the sort of standard for this type of event, because you’re a long way from home. “But my word they want to win. The competitive nature of Auckland last weekend was fantastic, the averages were unbelievable. “I’m very happy with the way the World Series is going. I’m just conscious I don’t want to produce too many. “So if I’ve gone from five to six this year, next year from six to seven, I’m getting towards capacity and then you start looking at moving it around a little bit. “So Australia you look at, instead of Perth and Sydney, why not Melbourne and Brisbane? You try and keep it fresh.”
China’s 12-year wait for the PDC to return ends this weekend The first staging of the Shanghai Darts Masters this weekend will see the PDC’s top players return to China for the first time in 12 years. Back in 2004, eight PDC players travelled to Shantou for the China Telecom Global Cup, an event which pitted them against the quarter-finalists from that year’s China Open. The tournament was held at the Zhengda Gymnasium and was won by Phil Taylor, who dropped just two sets on his way to lifting the trophy in China. The 16-time world champion beat Shi Yongsheng and John Part in straight sets, before his toughest test came in the semi-finals where he saw off Roland Scholten 4-2. A 5-0 win over Kevin Painter, in a repeat of their world final at the Circus Tavern earlier that year, handed Taylor the $20,000 prize. Painter had beaten Colin Lloyd 3-1 in the quarter-finals and John Lowe 4-2 in the semi-finals to reach the final, which was held just two weeks before the start of the 2005 PDC World Championship. The other two quarter-finals saw Lowe beat Wayne Mardle 3-0 and Scholten edge past Peter Manley 3-2 in a deciding set. Scholten also played a special leg of darts with one local player that week. Qiang ba DangZong had endured a three-day rail journey from Tibet for the China Open, only to be delayed en route and arrive after the tournament had started.
Darts Weekly Friday 24 June 2016
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Anderson wins back-to-back titles on the World Series tour PHOTOSPORT.CO.NZ/PDC
Gary Anderson claimed back-toback titles on the World Series tour after beating defending champion Adrian Lewis 11-7 in the final of the Auckland Darts Masters at the weekend. The reigning world champion had broken his World Series duck with victory in the Dubai Darts Masters last month, and added to his trophy collection with a first win in New Zealand on Sunday. The world number two followed up his earlier wins over Bernie Smith and Peter Wright with a brilliant 11-7 defeat of Raymond van Barneveld, with his 111.37 average being the second best in World Series history. “I’m absolutely delighted and I enjoyed this week,” Anderson said after winning the final. “Everybody played well and there’s been some great darts. “Barney hit me with everything in the first four legs of the semifinal but I got a leg and when it was 4-3 it was a different game. “A few years ago I’d have probably got beaten but now I’ve got a bit of fight in me. “Adrian has played brilliantly too. He was great against Phil Taylor and he’s a very good friend of mine, and up on stage we try to have some battles. “The 180s and 140s and doubles came together tonight. Adrian missed a few of the big checkouts but that’s darts. “It’s been absolutely brilliant and the fans have been fantastic. I loved it in New Zealand last year and again this time.” Lewis held the early advantage in the final as the pair shared the opening six legs, but Anderson stepped in following two misses from his rival in the seventh to finish 68 on double 10 to break for the first time. The Scot also took out tops to open up a two-leg cushion, with Lewis checking out 121 on the bull to hit back. However, Anderson
won the next two, despite two 180s from Lewis, to go 7-4 in front. Jackpot followed a double nine with a 150 checkout to close the gap to one leg, but Anderson crucially took the 14th leg with an excellent 11 darter, which included six perfect darts, to move 9-6 up. Lewis again responded to take the 16th leg, but a miss at double 12 for a 144 checkout in the next leg proved costly, as Anderson took out 86 on the bull to open up a 10-7 lead. His eighth 180 of the final then helped to set up double 10 as he secured the title and successive victories on the World Series tour. Defending champion Lewis had won through to the final after beating James Wade 11-9 in a
World Series wins 6 - Phil Taylor (Sydney 2013, 2014, 2015, Perth 2014, 2015 and Japan 2015) 5 - Michael van Gerwen - (Dubai 2013, 2014, 2015, Singapore 2014 and Finals 2015) 2 - Gary Anderson (Dubai 2016 and Auckland 2016) 1 - Adrian Lewis (Auckland 2015)
Great final: Anderson and Lewis pose together with their trophies after the final heavy-scoring semi-final. The twotime world champion fired in a dozen maximums before coming from 7-6 down to win five of the last seven legs to go through. “I thought it was a great final and I’m proud of myself,” Lewis said. “Gary took out a few great finishes on the bull and so on, and deserved to win it. He showed why he’s a back-to-back world champion. “I tried my best but it wasn’t quite enough tonight. I missed a few finishes myself and it could have been a different game if they’d gone in. “Everybody played well and it was a great tournament, and I think everybody’s happy with their performance. “Last year I lost in the final in Sydney and then won this one, so I’ve lost in the final here and hopefully I can take my form to Shanghai.” Anderson will be hoping to continue his dominance across the globe when the PDC World Series of Darts continues this weekend with the inaugural Shanghai Darts Masters.
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Friday 24 June 2016 Darts Weekly
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
“It will be tough but hopefully we’ve got enough to be winning it at the end”
Jamie Hughes chats to Alex Moss ahead of making his Six Nations debut in Ireland this weekend
ill lightning strike twice in 2016? England’s men relinquished the British International Championships to Wales in April, and now they head to Ireland this weekend vying to keep hold of their Six Nations Cup crown they successfully defended last year. Handed the task of retaining the Six Nations Cup for England this weekend is Scott Mitchell, Jamie Hughes, Mark McGeeney, Dennis Harbour and James Hurrell. For Hughes, who has reached the semi-finals on his last two visits to Lakeside, in both the World Championship and the World Trophy, he will be in a much different position in this year’s Six Nations than he was last year. “I was watching it at home last time,” he recalls. “I remember it went to the deciding leg. “Mark McGeeney was playing in the final leg and when I saw it was him I thought ‘England have won this now’ because he’s a very good man to have on at the end. He’s got balls of steel.” Hughes makes his debut in the Six Nations this weekend, but will be hoping his recent experiences playing for England in the British Internationals and the WDF World Cup will stand him in good stead. “The format is quite similar to the World Cup where you’re scheduled to play one leg against every one of the opposition’s players,” he said. “It’s the same as the World Cup team event, so I’m hoping the experience of the World Cup will
“I’m ticking along nicely but I know there’s a lot more left in the tank”
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help me in this one. I found out I was in the team just after the British Internationals so I’ve had a little while to prepare for it.” England have been drawn in Group B, along with Wales and the hosts Republic of Ireland. While in Group A, last year’s beaten finalists Netherlands are joined by Scotland and Northern Ireland. “Obviously Wales are on a high after winning the British Internationals,” Hughes said. “Republic of Ireland are in their own back yard and will have an extra couple of percent support. “They’ll be up for it. They’re on home turf so they won’t want to lose on their own patch. “It will be tough for us but hopefully we’ve got enough to be winning it at the end.” Wales ended England’s sevenyear reign as British Internationals champions in April. England were slow out of the blocks and Hughes admits that played a big part in their unsuccessful title defence. “I can remember I made my debut there three years ago I had to play first on really early,” he said. “It was quite similar this year to the time before. “The time before we went 4-0 down but we brought it back that day. We didn’t manage to bring it back this time. “But I think with the early start we got caught cold really against Wales and they used it to their advantage. They obviously turned us over.” Hughes is hoping for a change in
Darts Weekly Friday 24 June 2016
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“x x x x” First time: Hughes makes his debut in the Six Nations this weekend. Picture: David Gill fortunes for England in Ireland this weekend. England are aiming for a third Six Nations title in a row, to follow on from triumphs in Wales and Northern Ireland in 2014 and 2015. “It takes the pressure off the people behind you if you can have a good start,” he said. “I’ve done well in the World Trophy and I’m ticking along nicely, but I still know there’s a lot more left in the tank. “Hopefully I can get a lot better preparation in for Lakeside this year. “I’d like to have a good run in the Masters and it would nice if I could pick up a ranking title along the way too.”
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Friday 24 June 2016 Darts Weekly
EDO tournament director admits ‘things did go wrong’ during weekend in Selsey The tournament director of the England Darts Organisation has admitted that ‘things did go wrong’ after they received criticism for how they ran last weekend’s double header in Selsey. It was not until around 2.30am in the early hours of Saturday morning that play in the men’s England National Championship finished, with several players deciding to pull out midway through the tournament because of how far behind schedule it was. Jean Haywood, the tournament director of the EDO, said in a lengthy online post on Monday: “Deliberately stayed off here all weekend, read all the complaints, listened to several of them whilst I was in Selsey. “Got abused, shouted and screamed at, had bottles thrown in venue by disgruntled players, another player picked up the sheets on control, screwed them up after verbally abusing officials. “Had a player collapse, really happy he’s ok but is the drink spiked a rumour? “Darts used to be fun and good natured played by people in a sporting and really friendly good humoured manner, what the hell happened. “Yes there is money at stake and it has moved on, our officials are all hard working. “The EDO did apologise from the stage, hold our hands up, things did go wrong. Some which we can and will be held to account for, but for goodness sake, step back, take a rational view and move on. “Great pity is it’s only three months since the IOM and we were the best thing since sliced bread, what a difference a day makes. “I did receive apologies from some people who in the cold light of day admitted that they had lost it. I totally understand but suffice to say if you are sorry you make sure it doesn’t happen again. “If it does then you need to be
prepared to take the consequences. “As long as I am tournament director no one is getting away with abusing officials who work their socks off for darts.” Second seed Jamie Hughes pulled out of the tournament on Friday before his first game, as players faced lengthy waits to play. After winning his first two games, Ross Montgomery was another player to pull out. He posted online: “Had to walk away at last 64 totally drained. Nothing to do with alcohol had three bottles of water and a couple but was shattered.” With an early start scheduled for the next day’s category A event, the England Open, there were cases where players retired during their match in order to be better prepared for the Saturday. During Saturday’s play, the
“The EDO did apologise from the stage and we held our hands up” EDO’s live stream on YouTube was taken down several times, with it alleged to have been a group of people contacting the videosharing website and complaining about copyright issues. Tommy Thompson, the chairman of the EDO, has said the incident will mean an end to their events being streamed on YouTube. “We had someone or a number of people who contacted YouTube, to say there were copyright issues with our streaming on Saturday,” he said in a post online this week. “The streaming was closed down by YouTube, three separate times until they could investigate whether there was any truth in it. “We will now pay for our own TV channel to stop any repeat of this in the future. This money however has to be taken out of our funds to protect your organisation.” x
Duzza bounces back with a victory in the England Open Glen Durrant bounced back from his World Trophy disappointment to win the England Open in Selsey at the weekend. The BDO number one beat Conan Whitehead 6-3 in the final on Sunday night to claim his second ranking title of 2016. Gillingham’s Whitehead, who was competing in his first BDO final, had earlier beaten former world champion Scott Mitchell 6-3 in the semi-finals, was broken in the first leg of the final by Duzza. After missing three darts at double 16, Whitehead was broken in the opening leg when Durrant checked out 72 for a 14 darter. The Middlesbrough thrower hit double four to take a 2-0 lead, but
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Whitehead then hit back with a 12 darter to get on the board and trail by just one leg. Durrant held throw to go 3-1 up, before missing darts to break again and Whitehead stepped in to hit double one to close to 3-2 behind. A 70 checkout put Duzza two legs away from victory, before double one in the next leg put the reigning World Masters champion on the brink of victory at 5-2 in front. Whitehead kept his hopes alive by hitting double 16 with his last dart in the eighth leg, after Durrant had missed one match dart at double 18. Duzza then missed two more match darts, this time at double 16, but after Whitehead wired his attempt at the same double for a 111 checkout, the top seed sealed the title with his next throw. Whitehead’s run to the final has seen him climb up to 35th in the BDO rankings, while beaten semifinalists Mitchell and Wayne Warren are second and 53rd respectively.
Robson ends two-year title drought with National win Gary Robson ended his near twoyear title drought by winning the England National Championships on Sunday. The three-time Lakeside quarterfinalist whitewashed defending champion Dennis Harbour 6-0 in the final, held at Bunn Leisure, in Selsey at the weekend. Robson’s title-winning campaign started on Friday night with wins over players including the likes of Andy Fordham and Martin Atkins putting him through to Sunday’s semi-finals. The 21st seed beat Paul Harvey 6-2 to advance to the final, where he breezed past Harbour 6-0 to lift silverware for the first time since the England Masters in 2014.
Hedman wins her 100th title during double victory in Selsey Deta Hedman captured the England National Championship for the 100th ranking title of her career on Sunday night. Heading into the double-header at Selsey last weekend, the 56year-old had 99 ranking titles to her name, with the history-making 100th win achieved after beating Lisa Ashton 5-4 in the England National Championship final. The top seed had beaten Sarah Chick (4-1), Ana Johnson (4-0) and Sharon Prins (5-2) on Friday evening to get through to the semifinals on Sunday, where she took on defending champion Fallon Sherrock for a place in the final. Hedman battled back from 4-2 down to beat Sherrock 5-4, while Ashton also needed a deciding leg to get the better of Lorraine Winstanley in the other semi-final. In the best of nine legs final, it was Hedman who got off to the better start, winning the first two legs to establish a 2-0 lead. Ashton responded with a 92 checkout to break back and then held throw to level at 2-2, before Hedman took out 121 on the bull to go back in front. Hedman landed double five with her last dart to break and go 4-2 ahead and one leg away from the final, but Ashton would not relent, hitting tops for a 13 darter to break back and then checking out 36 to force a deciding leg. In the decider Hedman hit double 16 with her second dart to finally see off Ashton and seal her historic 100th ranking title. Hedman went on to complete a double in Selsey later that evening, as she beat Aileen de Graaf 5-2 to win the England Open title. On Saturday she claimed wins over Tammy Mackenzie, Rhonda West, Josie Paterson, Casey Gallagher and Sharon Prins to get through to the semi-finals, where she beat Anastasia Dobromyslova 5-4 to advance to the final.
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Friday 24 June 2016 Darts Weekly
“It’s good I didn’t think about it because I’d have missed it!” Alex Moss CHIEF DARTS WRITER On February 3, 2002, a moment of darting history was made. Shaun Greatbatch hit the first-ever live televised nine darter in the final of the Dutch Open. The historic feat saw him become affectionately known as ‘9 Dart’ by Dutch fans, and soon after by darts fans around the world. In part two of our chat with the former England international and World Championship semi-finalist, Greatbatch recalls that famous leg of darts and the other highs in his career in the sport. “That nine darter probably changed my whole darting career,” the 46-year-old said. “It got me exhibitions, presentations, I was doing endorsements for darts. I was a popular person in Holland. “The Dutch gave me the nickname, 9 Dart. I’d be going through the airport at Amsterdam and people would shout ‘9 Dart.’ “All the taxi drivers knew who I was. It was a good feeling at the time. “It was a good thing I didn’t think about it because I’d have probably missed it! It went in sweet as a nut. “Everything was in the middle. A few weeks later in Germany I was having a practice before a tournament and I done it again. “It was good times. Obviously with Sky in the limelight now it never gets mentioned on Sky that I done it. “But most true darts fans know who done the first live nine darter. I bumped into Jelle (Klaasen) and he talks about it. “All the top dart players know who done it. Obviously Phil gets the recognition but I think he has been known to say in an interview that actually he didn’t do it and that it was me.” Greatbatch was born into a family with darting pedigree. His
mother Sandra reached the semifinals of the ladies World Championship in 2002 and also got to two World Masters finals. At the age of 15, Greatbatch was playing for the Norfolk county team, before being persuaded by Scottish international Trevor Nurse to switch to Cambridgeshire three years later. In 1997, Greatbatch received his first call-up to the England squad for the British Internationals. He would have to wait though to make
“I used to get a real buzz playing for England and I miss doing that now” his debut, with a friendly soon after in Ireland marking his first appearance for his country. “I hit 180 with my first three darts for England,” Greatbatch recalls. “The England set up meant everything to me. “I used to really get a buzz from playing for my country and it’s one of the only things I miss now. “I don’t miss the travelling but I do miss them big games. I think I played 13 or 15 games and won 11 so I had quite a good record. “It’s a proud thing to represent
Nine dart: Greatbatch in action during the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC your country. Not many people get the chance in their chosen sport and I just thought it was the pinnacle of everything. “That gave me an inkling of what was available to me. It made me believe in myself and push myself to go on. “My dad always said I’d be a better dart player if I didn’t mess around fishing and doing things I shouldn’t be doing. “When I was 30 I made a good go of it. I picked up sponsors and started travelling and was lucky enough to win a few.”
FACT FILE Date of birth 13/7/1969 Laterality Right-handed Place of birth Newmarket Walk-on music Town Called Malice by The Jam Playing honours Dutch Open 2002; Swedish Open 2004, 2007; Denmark Open 2005; England National Championship 2006; 2007 Best World Championship performance 2006 (semi-finals)
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Reyes wins stage two of Soft Darts World Championship Alex Reyes underlined his status as one of the main contenders to win this year’s Soft Darts World Championship after winning stage two in France at the weekend. The American beat reigning champion and ranking leader Boris Krcmar 3-2 in the semifinals, before edging past fellow countryman Leonard Gates 3-1 in the final in Paris on Sunday. Gates, who had earlier beaten home favourite Cyril Blot 3-1 to advance to the final, finished off 63 to take the opening leg of 701 against Reyes. The momentum swung in the two legs of cricket though, as Reyes quickly won the first leg 280-196, before coming out on top 1,042-1,029 in the second leg to go 2-1 in front in the final. Reyes then sealed the victory with a 14 darter in the next leg of 701 to scoop the $12,000 (about £8,100) winner’s prize. “Wow! Where to even begin? I truly don’t know,” Reyes said after winning his first stage in the Soft Darts World Championship. “I’ve always asked myself ‘how would you react if you ever won a world stage tournament?’ Well my
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hard work, time and dedication made that question become a reality and honestly I still don’t know how to react to it. “I’m still in total shock and can’t believe it! This is a dream come true with that being said I would like to thank my sponsors because without them this dream would never have come true.” After two stages Krcmar still leads the rankings on 71 points, while Gates (64) and Reyes (59) have moved into the top three.
2016 Annual Ranking
Williams, R Cross 3-4 B Dawson, D Harbour 4-3 A Turner. Quarter finals P Harvey 5-3 R Veenstra, G Robson 5-3 M C Atkins, S Mitchell 5-4 D Parletti, B Dawson 1-5 D Harbour. Semi finals - P Harvey 2-6 G Robson, S Mitchell 4-6 D Harbour. Final - G Robson 6-0 D Harbour.
2-5 C Whitehead. Quarter finals - G Durrant 5-1 G Thompson, W Warren 5-1 W Harms, S Mitchell 5-2 W Vaes, S Fuller 3-5 C Whitehead. Semi finals - G Durrant 6-4 W Warren, S Mitchell 3-6 C Whitehead. Final - G Durrant 6-3 C Whitehead.
1 Boris Krcmar 2 Leonard Gates 3 Alex Reyes 4 Park Hyunchul 5 Harith Lim = Cyril Blot 7 Royden Lam = Martin Marti = Sato Yutaro 10 Scott Marsh = Chris White 12 Paul Lim
71 points 64 points 59 points 50 points 44 points 44 points 40 points 40 points 40 points 39 points 39 points 37 points
Database PDC AUCKLAND DARTS MASTERS (Trusts Arena, New Zealand) First round - G Anderson 6-1 B Smith, P Wright 6-1 W Parry, D Chisnall 6-4 C Bridge, R van Barneveld 6-2 C Harris, M van Gerwen 6-3 D Heta, J Wade 6-2 K Moir, P Taylor 6-0 R Szabo, A Lewis 6-0 S Leech. Quarter finals - G Anderson 10-6 P Wright, D Chisnall 5-10 R van Barneveld, M van Gerwen 6-10 J Wade, P Taylor 9-10 A Lewis. Semi finals - G Anderson 11-7 R van Barneveld, J Wade 9-11 A Lewis. Final - G Anderson 11-7 A Lewis.
Ladies quarter finals -D Hedman 5-2 S Prins, A Dobromyslova 4-5 F Sherrock, A de Graaf 1-5 L Winstanley, C Brookin 2-5 L Ashton. Semi finals - D Hedman 5-4 F Sherrock, L Winstanley 4-5 L Ashton. Final - D Hedman 5-4 L Ashton.
BDO ENGLAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (Selsey)
BDO ENGLAND OPEN (Selsey)
Men’s last 16 - P Harvey 4-0 H Jackson, R Veenstra 4-3 A Edwards, A Fordham 3-4 G Robson, M C Atkins 4-2 P Hogan, S Mitchell 4-3 J Hurrell, D Parletti 4-1 J
Men’s last 16 - G Durrant 5-3 A Brown, G Thompson 5-2 S Carroll, W Warren 5-2 R Griffin, P Dawkins 2-5 W Harms, S Mitchell 5-3 G Cressey, G Robson 1-5 W Vaes, D Reynolds 2-5 S Fuller, D Bradford
Ladies quarter finals - D Hedman 4-2 S Prins, A Dobromyslova 4-1 F Sherrock, A de Graaf 4-1 L Winstanley, T Gulliver 4-1 S Edwards. Semi finals - D Hedman 5-4 A Dobromyslova, A de Graaf 5-2 T Gulliver. Final - D Hedman 5-2 A De Graaf. SOFT DARTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (Paris, France) Stage Two final - A Reyes 3-1 L Gates.
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SEAN McCORMICK TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE DART ENGLAND DARTS ORGANISATION
Hedman the history maker is far from finished Deta Hedman created history at the weekend as she secured her 100th ranking title by winning the England National Championship, and quickly followed it up with her 101st victory in the England Open on the same day. The Dark Destroyer has become one of the most popular players on the BDO circuit over her distinguished career and the achievement reaffirms her position as one of the greatest women players to ever play the sport. Yet when you consider the difficulties she has faced over the years, it becomes even more impressive. In 1997, Hedman actually gave up the game after she ran into financial difficulties as a result of a redundancy. She returned to play on the PDC circuit in 2002, but again walked away from the sport in 2007 due to a lack of sponsorship. Yet 2010 saw her return to the BDO full time after numerous Open wins in 2009. A lack of sponsorship is a problem a lot of amateur and semi-professional darts players face and it often extremely stunts their development. It is phenomenal to think one of the best women players in the world has spent an accumulative eight years away from competitive darts, and it is even more frightening to think how many more titles she could have won during that time. The 56-year-old has already won 10 ranking titles within the first six months of this year, and while it is mere speculation, if you applied
that ratio to her time spent away from the circuit she could have been comfortably sat with over 200 ranking titles. Hedman combines competing in tournaments every weekend with her job at the Royal Mail, where she often works into the early hours of the morning. But even that hasn’t stopped her ascent to the top of the rankings. In the last six years, Hedman has
‘There arguably wouldn’t be a more popular winner at Lakeside next year’ proved to be the most consistent performer on the ladies circuit and added a second World Masters title to her collection in 2013. Yet the one trophy that still alludes her is the big one. The World Championship. Three times Hedman has reached the final and twice she has led 2-1 in sets before falling to a 3-2 defeat, most recently in this year’s final against Trina Gulliver. There
100 not out: Deta Hedman is presented with a bottle of champagne in recognition of winning 100 ranking titles arguably wouldn’t be a more popular winner. The image of Hedman strutting to the stage as the crowd jive to The Merrymen’s ‘Hot Hot Hot’ has become synonymous with Lakeside. But unfortunately the image of Hedman alongside the famous trophy has yet to be seen. Many feel that January’s final against Gulliver was her biggest chance and with Lisa Ashton breaking records with her performances, it would take something special to beat her on the TV stage. Yet as her 2016 form has suggested, Hedman is far from finished, and on her day she is more than capable of beating any player in the world. Let’s just hope the remarkable story of Deta Hedman concludes with that elusive World Championship win.