Issue 64 (March 24, 2017) by Darts Weekly

Friday 24 March 2017

Darts Weekly

Judgement night comes early LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

Kim Huybrechts and Jelle Klaasen’s elimination from the Premier League is confirmed a week early Pages 2-3 HASHIMOTO OBITUARY KYLE ON TOP IN HAL

TIME UP FOR TAYLOR?

Northern Irishman wins HAL Masters in Venray P6-7

Dave McNally on Taylor’s antics in Rotterdam last week P8

We pay tribute to the late popular Japanese darter P4-5

Friday 24 March 2017 Darts Weekly

Huybrechts and Klaasen are eliminated as van Gerwen loses unbeaten record Kim Huybrechts and Jelle Klaasen were eliminated from the Betway Premier League last night with defeats in Manchester, as Michael van Gerwen moved to the top of the league table before seeing his unbeaten run ended. With the bottom two players in the Premier League table eliminated following next week’s night in Cardiff - when the ten players have each met once defeats for Huybrechts and Klaasen left them three points adrift of Dave Chisnall. The pair will now exit the tournament as the remaining eight players begin their battle for the play-offs next month. Belgian ace Huybrechts was defeated 7-2 by Gary Anderson, as the Scot hit checkouts of 130, 104 and 132 to boost his own Premier League challenge with a third win of the season. “I needed the win and it’s a good two points,” said Anderson. “There was some good scoring and I hit a few good finishes there.

Out: Kim Huybrechts was eliminated from the Premier League last night “Kim has played very well and just not had that little bit of luck, he could have won against Michael and Phil Taylor, so it could have been different for him.” Klaasen, meanwhile, went down 7-5 to Adrian Lewis as the Stoke

“Kim has played very well and just not had that little bit of luck” star won his third successive game, twice pulling clear after the Dutchman levelled before inflicting his opponent’s sixth loss of the season. “I’ve had three wins on the trot and you can’t argue with that,” said Lewis. “It was a tough game and a vital two points. “I’m trying my best at the minute and I’m playing well in patches.”

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Reigning Premier League champion van Gerwen doubled up in Manchester after missing the league night in Exeter three weeks ago with a back injury, and enjoyed a mixed evening. The Dutchman firstly moved to the top of the league table with a 74 win over James Wade in the night’s opening match to extend his unbeaten run in televised matches to a new record of 44 games. A high-quality game saw the opening eight legs shared, but the 2009 champion crucially missed the bull to break in leg nine as van Gerwen landed a third-dart double one, before breaking with the aid of six perfect darts and then taking out 120 for the win. Van Gerwen later returned to the stage but suffered defeat in a televised game for the first time since September as an inspired Raymond van Barneveld took a 7-5 triumph to move himself into the top three. Van Gerwen battled back from 3-

Darts Weekly Friday 24 March 2017

3 LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

x x x x x x xx x x x x x x x x

0 down to lead 4-3 - taking out a key 108 in the process - but a slip in the eighth allowed van Barneveld to wrestle back the advantage with three straight legs. Double 14 saw van Gerwen pull back to 6-5 and force a decider, but the 2014 champion took out 70 to claim his third successive win and a precious victory over his Dutch rival. Six-time Premier League champion Phil Taylor bounced back from two successive defeats by edging out Peter Wright 7-5, with the UK Open champion hitting a 156 checkout but paying the price for 12 other missed doubles. “It’s a massive win for me,” said Taylor. “He seems to do things under pressure like Michael van Gerwen does, he’s a brilliant player and I think he’s going to get stronger.” The Premier League continues at a sold-out Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff next Thursday, where Klaasen and Huybrechts bow out.

How they stand M van Gerwen P Wright R van Barneveld G Anderson A Lewis P Taylor J Wade D Chisnall J Klaasen K Huybrechts

P W D L 8 5 2 1 8 5 1 2 8 4 2 2 8 3 3 2 8 4 1 3 8 3 3 2 8 3 2 3 8 3 0 5 8 1 1 6 8 0 3 5

LD Pts +13 12 +9 11 +3 10 +6 9 +4 9 +3 9 +2 8 -10 6 -14 3 -16 3

Remaining fixtures Thursday, March 304 (Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Cardiff); April 6 (3Arena, Dublin); April 13 (Echo Arena Liverpool, Liverpool); April 20 (SSE Arena Belfast, Belfast); April 27 (Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham); May 4 (Sheffield Arena, Sheffield); May 11 (final league night) (GE Oil and Gas Arena, Aberdeen); May 18 Play-Offs (semi-finals and final) (The O2, London). Tournament statistics Highest tournament averages - M van Gerwen (104.52); G Anderson (102.19); P Wright (99.15); R van Barneveld (98.85). Most 180s - R van Barneveld (34); M van Gerwen (30); D Chisnall (29); P Wright (28); G Anderson (27); A Lewis (25). Legs won against the throw - G Anderson (18); M van Gerwen and Phil Taylor (17); P Wright and A Lewis (16).

Norris set for Euro Tour title defence this weekend Michael van Gerwen will open his challenge on the 2017 PDC European Tour against either Bernd Roith or Jermaine Wattimena this weekend, as Alan Norris defends his HappyBet German Darts Championship at Halle 39 in Hildesheim. World champion van Gerwen is amongst 48 players who will take to the stage in the £135,000 tournament from today to Sunday, as the year’s 12-event European Tour begins. Van Gerwen, along with the other 15 seeded players, will enter at the second round stage tomorrow, and plays the winner of today’s first round tie between German qualifier Roith and Dutchman Wattimena. Reigning German Darts Championship winner Norris, meanwhile, will face either Richie Corner or Kirk Shepherd in his opener tomorrow. Number two seed Peter Wright, the recent UK Open champion, comes up against one of two Dutchmen, former BDO world champion Christian Kist or European Tour debutant Michael Plooy. James Wade, a European Tour winner in Hamburg last year, will play either Darren Johnson or German qualifier Robert Allenstein in his opening tie on Saturday. Mensur Suljovic, who won his maiden PDC title on the 2016 European Tour, will play either fellow Austrian Michael Rasztovits or another former European Tour winner, Mervyn King. Two of last weekend’s PDC Unicorn Development Tour winners, Dimitri van den Bergh and Adam Hunt, will clash in Friday’s first round, which sees the 32 qualifiers from across Europe face off. Corner and Shepherd kick-off the tournament this afternoon.

Friday 24 March 2017 Darts Weekly

There’s only one Hashimoto a tribute to a crowd favourite Christopher Kempf DARTS WRITER It seems unfair to Morihiro Hashimoto to remember the Japanese darter by his World Championship appearances, memorable as they were. Was there any particular reason why the Alexandra Palace crowd sided so enthusiastically with the Japanese qualifier in 2011? And would we remember him so fondly had the fans sang for someone other than this unknown darter from a faraway land? Born February 10, 1977 in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, Morihiro Hashimoto was also one of the most successful Japanese darters in a country still just beginning to discover its love affair with darts. In spite of his short professional career, which barely lasted eight years before his untimely death of a brain haemorrhage at age 40, the international fame and reverence he achieved will surely go unrivalled amongst Japanese darts players for some time. In his attempt to qualify for the 2010 PDC World Championship, Hashimoto lost to Haruki Muramatsu 6-2, beginning a rivalry with his top-ranked comrade for darts supremacy in Japan. Beating Muramatsu the following year, 5-3, paved his path to qualification and infamy. In the third leg of his 2011 World Championship preliminary round match against Derbyshire’s Matt Padgett, Hashimoto unexpectedly found himself playing before thousands of impromptu supporters, who sang his name to Adrian Lewis’ walk-on music and cheered his darts as they found their mark. And they did at a crucial moment, allowing “Annie” to check out 241 in five darts in the fifth leg,

break throw and advance to the first round. Looking stern throughout his match with Padgett, Hashimoto could no longer restrain his bewilderment and elation during his next walk-on, as the English crowd laid it on thick for the opponent of Scotsman, Gary Anderson. Hashimoto threw a brilliant 180 in the first leg but was blown away by Anderson, who averaged 103, won every leg and eventually reached the World Championship

‘Hashimoto thanked the Alexandra Palace crowd for the brilliant reception’ final that year. Summoning up a few words of English, Hashimoto thanked the Alexandra Palace crowd for the brilliant reception, further endearing him to the commentators and fans. His few appearances in televised darts after that night were characteristic of a seasoned professional. While Hashimoto never managed to average above 90 on television, and indeed never demonstrated much power scoring in any of his

appearances, he had a knack for hitting doubles under pressure both for himself and for his country. It was Hashimoto who found tops to win a World Cup decider against Canada in 2014. It was Hashimoto who sealed a World Cup whitewash of China on double 19. It was Hashimoto who hit double 16 for a 152 checkout in the 2014 PDC World Championship, pushing Michael Smith to the brink of first round elimination. In Japan he will be remembered as a veteran of the soft tip circuit, as proficient in 701 and cricket as he was in 501, and as one of that country’s great representatives on the world stage in the game of darts. Japanese fans may struggle to explain why Hashimoto became so popular on the other side of the globe, but certainly would not quarrel with the deserved popularity of a gracious man. The rest of us will remember the Hashimoto phenomenon as an example of what makes darts unique and special. Qualifiers will come and go, but no one will be remembered with such fondness. There is only one Hashimoto, and we have bade him farewell.

Darts Weekly Friday 24 March 2017

5 LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

Friday 24 March 2017 Darts Weekly

McKinstry clinches maiden BDO ranking title in Venray Northern Ireland’s Kyle McKinstry claimed his first BDO ranking title after beating Wesley Harms in the final of the HAL Masters on Sunday. The 30-year-old, from Dungannon, scooped the €2,000 top prize in Venray with a straight sets 3-0 victory over Harms in the decider at the Envenementenhal Venray, in the Netherlands. McKinstry, whose previous best runs in a BDO ranking event had been to the finals of the Northern Ireland Open and Belgium Open last year, picked up several scalps during his run to the final of the HAL Masters. After edging past former World Trophy champion Geert de Vos 5-4 in the quarter-finals, McKinstry knocked out recent BDO World Championship finalist Danny Noppert 2-0, in sets, in the semifinals, before seeing off Harms in the final. McKinstry’s victory has propelled the Northern Irishman up to 24th in the latest BDO rankings and

in a strong position to qualify for the BDO World Championship next year. There was also success for Mark McGeeney in Venray, as the recent Dutch Open champion won the HAL Open title at the weekend. The 44-year-old, who is third in the BDO rankings, beat Noppert 3-1 in the final to pocket the €1,250 top prize. McGeeney saw off two-time world champion Scott Waites 5-2 in the quarter-finals, before knocking out Martin Atkins 2-0, in sets, in the last four. The England international then took on Noppert in the final, with this being the first decider the Dutch ace had reached since losing to Glen Durrant in the final of the BDO World Championship in January. McGeeney claimed the bragging rights with a 3-1 win in the final to strengthen his high position in the BDO rankings, which as it stands could secure him a debut appearance in the Grand Slam of

First title: Kyle McKinstry won the HAL Masters in Venray at the weekend

Lawson 4-3; A Forsmark bt S Roberts 4-0. Final - A Forsmark bt P Jacklin 5-4.

Harms bt A Fordham 5-0; S Waites bt D Lumley 5-3; M McGeeney bt T O’Shea 5-0. Quarter-finals - K McKinstry bt G de Vos 5-4; D Noppert bt D van Baelen 5-2; W Harms bt M Verberk 5-4; S Waites bt M McGeeney 5-3. Semi-finals - K McKinstry bt D Noppert 2-0; W Harms bt S Waites 2-0. Final - K McKinstry bt W Harms 3-0. Ladies singles quarter-finals - D Hedman bt K Streef 4-0; S Prins bt K McGiven 4-0; L Winstanley bt F Sherrock 42; L Ashton bt V Zuidema 4-1. Semi-finals D Hedman bt S Prins 5-2; L Winstanley bt L Ashton 5-3. Final - L Winstanley bt D Hedman 2-0.

Darts in Wolverhampton later this year. Elsewhere, Lorraine Winstanley picked up her first BDO ladies ranking title in 13 months with a victory in the HAL Masters. The 41-year-old defeated ladies world number one Deta Hedman 2-0 in the final to clinch the title and the €1,000 prize. The world number six saw off the challenges of Fallon Sherrock and ladies world champion Lisa Ashton on her way to the final, where she was able to get the better of Hedman to end her long wait for her latest ranking title. The previous day had seen Ashton win her first ranking title since winning at Lakeside in January, as she bagged the HAL Open ladies title. Ashton defeated Winstanley 2-0 in the final to scoop the €500 top prize that day.

Database WDF TORREMOLINOS FESTIVAL OF DARTS (Sol Principe Hotel, Spain). Men’s singles last 32 - W Vaes bt J Moreton 4-0; R Kasin bt J Bautista 4-2; A Collins bt B Margerison 4-2; H Todman bt M Vilerio 4-2; A Rodriguez bt J Stevens 4-1; T Osborne bt J Muller 4-2; J Engstrom bt B Bird 4-3; D Parody bt C Dennel 4-0; C van Cleef bt M Angel 4-2; J Arimany bt A Frim 4-2; P Stockton bt W Dunn 4-1; B Lokken bt H Halsvik 4-3; J Carles Arola bt K Edwards 4-2; D Duo bt J Nieto 4-3; D Dodds bt J van Egdom 4-2; S Wens bt S Craig 4-0. Last 16 W Vaes bt R Kasin 4-0; A Collins bt H Todman 4-1; A Rodrguez bt T Osborne 4-2; D Parody bt J Engstrom 4-2; C van Cleef bt J Arimany 4-3; B Lokken bt P Stockton 4-2; J Carles Arola bt D Duo 4-3; S Wens bt D Dodds 4-0. Quarter-finals - W Vaes bt A Collins 4-0; D Parody bt A Rodriguez 4-0; C van Cleef bt B Lokken 4-2; S Wens bt J Carles Arola 4-3. Semi-finals - D Parody bt W Vaes 5-2; S Wens bt C van Cleef 5-2. Final S Wens bt D Parody 6-5. Ladies singles quarter-finals - P Jacklin bt S McGimpsey 4-0; F Lawson bt C Armstrong 4-1; S Roberts bt M Ferguson 4-1; A Forsmark bt S De La Prada 4-2. Semi-finals - P Jacklin bt F

HAL OPEN (Venray, Netherlands) Men’s singles last 16 - C Whitehead bt K McKinstry 4-2; M Adams bt J Sparidaans 40; Y Duijster bt D Klompburg 4-1; D Noppert bt B Kirk 4-3; K de Boer bt R Veenstra 4-3; M Atkins bt M Schlaghecke 4-1; S Waites bt D Labanauskas 4-2; M McGeeney bt J van Egdom 4-3. Quarter-finals - C Whitehead bt M Adams 5-1; D Noppert bt Y Duijster 5-2; M Atkins bt K de Boer 5-3; M McGeeney bt S Waites 5-2. Semi-finals - D Noppert bt C Whitehead 2-0; M McGeeney bt M Atkins 20. Final - M McGeeney bt D Noppert 3-1. Ladies quarter-finals - L Winstanley bt D Hedman 4-0; H Honore bt T Gulliver 4-0; M Noijens bt S Prins 4-0; L Ashton bt P Steenbergen 4-1. Semi-finals - L Winstanley bt H Honore 5-2; L Ashton bt M Noiens 5-0. Final - L Ashton bt L Winstanley 2-0. HAL MASTERS (Venray, Netherlands) Men’s singles last 16 - K McKinstry bt C Landman 5-4; G de Vos bt M Adams 5-3; D van Baelen bt T Martinez 5-3; D Noppert bt K Ratajski 5-3; M Verberk bt R Kleijer 5-4; W

PDC UNICORN DEVELOPMENT TOUR (Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan) Event 5 quarter-finals - L Humphries bt M De Decker 5-2; K Neyens bt Davis 5-4; A Hunt bt A Smith-Neale 5-4; J Nunez Cortes bt J Cole 5-3. Semi-finals - K Neyens bt L Humphries 5-2; A Hunt bt J Nunez Cortes 53. Final - K Neyens bt A Hunt 5-4. Event 6 quarter-finals - M De Decker bt R Hewson 5-1; A Hunt bt B Raman 5-1; G Ritchie bt J Jones 5-1; D van den Bergh bt J Payne 5-3. Semi-finals - A Hunt bt M De Decker 5-3; D

Darts Weekly Friday 24 March 2017

Away defeat: Jamie Hughes and his Warwickshire side were beaten by Glamorgan

the women’s A fixtures 5-1 and the men’s A fixtures 8-4. Captain Brian Dawson (30.18) was the man-of-the-match for Yorkshire, while there were also wins for Lorraine Winstanley and Beau Greaves too. Cambridgeshire moved above Cheshire into third place after edging past basement side Essex in a tight contest, 19-17. Essex got off to a strong start as they opened up an 11-7 lead overnight, before Cambridgeshire battled back to level the match up at 12-12 heading into the men’s A fixtures. And it was Martin Adams (30.23) who inspired Cambridgeshire to win the men’s A fixtures 7-5 to seal a comeback 19-17 victory. In the other Premier Division tie, Nottinghamshire climbed two places to sixth after a 19-17 win away at Lincolnshire.

van den Bergh bt G Ritchie 5-1. Final - D van den Bergh bt A Hunt 5-2. Event 7 quarterfinals - D van den Bergh bt Ro-Jo Rodriguez 5-3; A Hunt bt J Brown 5-1; S Lennon bt K Neyens 5-3; S Rosney bt A Alker 5-3. Semifinals - A Hunt bt D van den Bergh 5-3; S Rosney bt S Lennon 5-4. Final - A Hunt bt S Rosney 5-3. Event 8 quarter-finals - T Evetts bt R Hoggarth 5-1; L Humphries bt J Nunez Cortes 5-4; S Lennon bt R Meikle 5-3; J Davis bt J Brown 5-2. Semi-finals - T Evetts bt L Humphries 5-3; S Lennon bt J Davis 5-1. Final - S Lennon bt T Evetts 5-3.

BETWAY PREMIER LEAGUE (Manchester Arena, Manchester) Week 8 M van Gerwen (104.20) bt J Wade (100.84) 7-4; G Anderson (101.86) bt K Huybrechts (91.55) 7-2; P Taylor (98.75) bt P Wright (102.45) 7-5; A Lewis (84.39) bt J Klaasen (81.25) 7-5; R van Barneveld (101.20) bt M van Gerwen (101.93) 7-5. Highest checkout - P Wright (156). Most 180s - M van Gerwen (8 first match).

DEVELOPMENT TOUR ORDER OF MERIT (after eight of 20 events) 1. A Hunt 2. L Humphries 3. K Neyens 4. D van den Bergh 5. S Lennon 6. R Meikle 7. T Evetts 8. M De Decker = S Rosney 10. Ro-Jo Rodriguez 11. R Roberts 12. D Murschell

£5,700 £5,300 £5,150 £5,050 £3,350 £3,100 £2,250 £1,550 £1,550 £1,450 £1,300 £1,250

FIXTURES TODAY - SUNDAY GERMAN DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP (Hildesheim, Germany) BRITISH INTERNATIONALS (Bradford) TODAY - TOMORROW VIRGINIA BEACH CLASSIC (USA) TOMORROW - SUNDAY CHALLENGE TOUR 1-4 (Milton Keynes) SUNDAY DUTCH YOUTH FESTIVAL OF DARTS (Community Centre de Koe, Breda) THURSDAY BETWAY PREMIER LEAGUE WEEK 9 (Cardiff) R van Barneveld v J Wade; P Taylor v J Klaasen; G Anderson v A Lewis; M van Gerwen v D Chisnall; P Wright v K Huybrechts (all best of 12 legs).

DARTFREAKZ.NL BAS VAN DEN BERK

Away defeat: Jamie Hughes and his Warwickshire side were beaten by Glamorgan

DARTS WEEKLY DOZEN (16/03/2017) Data compiled by Christopher Kempf Player M van Gerwen R van Barneveld P Taylor D Gurney M Suljovic B van de Pas A Norris S Whitlock S Beaton J Klaasen M King J Cullen

LLE 15.250 16.827 17.022 17.128 17.302 17.857 17.937 18.004 18.216 18.361 18.728 18.739

Change -0.123 0.143 -0.207 N/C N/C N/C N/C N/C N/C -0.143 N/C N/C

◊ The Darts Weekly Dozen estimates and compares the length of the average leg over players’ last 180 stage legs. ◊ Subpar finale to the Phil Taylor-Michael van Gerwen match sees both players’ standards decline. ◊ Raymond van Barneveld on spectacular scoring form - 10 darts per leg average to first finish. ◊ Tendinitis adds to Jelle Klaasen’s woes in a fourth consecutive week of decline in the DW12.

Friday 24 March 2017 Darts Weekly

DAVE McNALLY DARTS WRITER

Taylor should retire now or risk tarnishing his legendary status LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

Remember the Liverpool FC team from the seventies and eighties, beating everyone in sight and racking up the titles and trophies? Look at Liverpool now, still up with the top boys but miles away from being as good as them; winning games on reputation alone in the nineties, but nobody is really bothered about them now. For Liverpool FC: read Phil Taylor. Taylor, arguably the greatest darts player to have ever lived, needs putting out of his misery. For me the end of his career can’t come quick enough. Taylor has nothing to prove, but he is meandering his way through tournaments, showing utter distain and disregard for his fellow professionals and the paying fans. He used to complain about others playing up to the crowd when he was at the peak of his game, but now it seems to become the main part of his game that he is relying on. Taylor loved all the jeering when it was in his favour, not now that it’s sometimes against him he’s not turning the other cheek, but marching off stage and treating the matches with contempt. Last week’s effort at the Ahoy Arena, for example, made all the headlines for the wrong reasons. Sardonically clapping the Dutch crowd in what he should’ve known would be a partisan crowd was churlish, but to throw all three darts at the bull instead of trying to apply pressure on Michael van Gerwen was nothing short of disrespectful to all concerned. I have been a massive fan of Taylors over the years and witnessed some of the greatest

darting moments in my lifetime because of him, but now it’s painful to watch; like someone who hangs on to a pet too long when you know it would be better to put it out of its misery. I feel that it is time for Taylor to pack it in straight away, don’t wait until the year is out, quit now before his achievements are tarnished and he is roundly booed at whatever venue he is playing at. It has taken Taylors fall from grace for me to realise that the crowd loyalty and respect has also gone from darts arenas. Taylor has taken the brunt of the ‘stick’ over the last few tournaments, but it has all been through his own doing. His body language suggests that

he is looking to work the crowd up from the minute he walks on, and if it starts going against him he will look for some sort of retaliation. It’s pure frustration from Taylor, he knows he’s better and knows he can beat players, but the consistency has gone and he’s now just another player, like so many were to him when he was at the top of his game. He’s no longer the best and it must be hard to accept from someone who has taken darts to a new level and basically created the game that we know now. For the sake of his own legendary status and to protect everything that we know and love about him, I think he should consider quitting now.