Darts - the whole freaking lot about fat blokes flinging pointy things at sisal

[Simon G]

Another new TV winner in PDC darts last night as Chris Dobey beat Rob Cross to win the Masters - a non-ranking tournament that the PDC put on to give ITV a weekend of darts.

Judging by his interview after the final, Cross sounded as pissed as a fart. Was actually the most engaging I've ever heard him. Sounds like he's had a weekend in MK away from the wife and kids and just had a great time. That the darts has been decent for him as well is almost a side-show. Some people do play better pissed.

It's about time Dobey made the breakthrough though - he's class on his day and, by all accounts, a fantastic bloke to boot.

Over in WDF Land, Berry van Peer (he who cried on stage with dartitis in the Grand Slam of Darts a few years back, resulting in a consolation pat on the back from Gary Anderson) has definitely got over the worst and won the Dutch Open last night, beating Andy Baetens 3-1 in sets in the final. His stats weren't amazing - averaging only 88.62 in the final - but he was the most consistent on the day, not averaging less than 85 all day. It makes him an automatic qualifier for the 2024 WDF World Championship - an invite he'll turn down if he wins a PDC tour card in January next year.

One other shock was Beau Greaves losing 5-2 (legs) to Aileen De Graaf in the Women's Final. Both averaged around 82, and Aileen hit big scores at the right times.

For clarity, the Dutch Open is the biggest open in the World. There were 2,693 men in the singles and 278 women. There were also 92 boys and 17 girls.

[Simon G]

The World Seniors Darts Championship begins today at 1pm (live on BT Sport and the BBC Iplayer). I gave a full rundown on last year's, I'm not sure I'll be able to this year, but we'll see how it goes. Robert Thornton begins the defence of his title against Roland Scholten. The favourites are probably Scott Mitchell and the Thorn. Current WDF Champion, Neil Duff is also taking part, but he's been very hit and miss since winning that title last April. I'd love to see Duzza have a decent go, but his game really has fallen off a cliff in the past 2 years and I struggle to see him getting past former PDC World Championship finalist, Mark 'Flash' Dudbridge.

Anyway - the schedule of play (my predicted winners in bold):

Thursday February 9
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV Coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 1
First Round (Best of 5 sets)

• (13) Terry Jenkins v Chris Mason
• (11) Les Wallace v Darryl Fitton
• (7) David Cameron v Richie Howson
• (15) Larry Butler v Darren Johnson

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV Coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 1

• (12) Kevin Painter v Ronnie Baxter
• (5) Trina Gulliver v Dennis Harbour
• (3) Martin Adams v Dave Prins
• (16) Peter Manley v Scott Mitchell

Friday February 10
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV Coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 1
First Round (Best of 5 sets)

• (10) Bob Anderson v Andy Jenkins
• (8) Neil Duff v Lisa Ashton
• (14) Tony O'Shea v Leonard Gates
• (9) Keith Deller v Michael Huntley

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV Coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
First Round (Best of 5 sets)

• (6) John Part v Co Stompe
• (4) Glen Durrant v Mark Dudbridge
• (2) Phil Taylor v Colin McGarry
• (1) Robert Thornton v Roland Scholten

[Simon G]

Day 1 results:
(13) Terry Jenkins 3-2 Chris Mason
(11) Les Wallace 2-3 Darryl Fitton
(7) David Cameron 2-3 Richie Howson
(15) Larry Butler 2-3 Darren Johnson


(12) Kevin Painter 3-0 Ronnie Baxter
(5) Trina Gulliver 0-3 Dennis Harbour
(3) Martin Adams 3-1 Dave Prins
(16) Peter Manley 0-3 Scott Mitchell

No real shocks then, I got 6 out of 8 right and the two I got wrong were pick um games to be fair.

A much better standard than last year already though, which will only improve as the tournament goes on. I'm looking forward to the Neil Duff v Lisa Ashton game this afternoon and Duzza v Dudbridge could be a good one this evening.

[Simon G]

Day 2:
Bob Anderson (10) (74.41) 0-3 (83.93) Andy Jenkins
Neil Duff (8) (88.99) 3-2 (87.07) Lisa Ashton
Tony O’Shea (14) (80.40) 0-3 (85.19) Leonard Gates
Keith Deller (9) (75.07) 3-2 (74.41) Mike Huntley
John Part (6) (73.65) 3-2 (69.31) Co Stompe
Glen Durrant (4) (76.65) 0-3 (89.08) Mark Dudbridge
Phil Taylor (2) (82.36) 3-2 (82.80) Colin McGarry
Robert Thornton (1) (93.66) 3-0 (73.55) Roland Scholten


Day 3:
Richie Howson (86.55) 3-1 (78.67) Andy Jenkins
Dennis Harbour (85.16) 0-3 (86.15) Kevin Painter
Mark Dudbridge (88.65) 3-1 (88.74) Terry Jenkins
Neil Duff (88.79) 3-0 (75.27) Keith Deller
Robert Thornton (90.43) 3-0 (84.73) Scott Mitchell
Martin Adams (96.90) 3-0 (87.17) Leonard Gates
Phil Taylor (83.93) 3-1 (80.13) Darren Johnson
John Part (78.53) 2-3 (80.88) Darryl Fitton

Day 4 Schedule:
Afternoon (1pm GMT)

Robert Thornton v Neil Duff

Mark Dudbridge v Kevin Painter

Phil Taylor v Richie Howson

Leonard Gates v Darryl FItton

Evening (7pm GMT)

2x Semi Final Matches

Final

[Simon G]

QUARTER-FINALS

• (1) Robert Thornton (98.72) 3-1 (89.67) Neil Duff (8)
• Mark Dudbridge (88.63) 1-3 (89.10) Kevin Painter (12)
• (2) Phil Taylor (82.27) 1-3 (87.28) Richie Howson
• Leonard Gates (94.51) 3-1 (87.84) Darryl Fitton

SEMI-FINALS

• (1) Robert Thornton (88.71) 3-0 (80.15) Kevin Painter (12)
• Richie Howson (87.71) 3-1 (86.56) Leonard Gates

FINAL

• (1) Robert Thornton (90.57) 5-2 (90.97) Richie Howson

A great final day saw Robert Thornton retain his Seniors World Title. The bloke was a level above throughout, though the final was closer than the scoreline suggests. Howson has really taken a grip on the Seniors tour and has, rightly, been awarded an invite to the Champion of Champions tournament in a month's time.

The quality this year was so much better than last year, and I think we could see a few of the PDC old-uns who are starting to drop down the order of merit decide not to do Q-School next year to do this instead - I'm looking at you Barney, Steve Beaton and Richie Burnett.

Over in PDC Land, Ryan Searle and Danny Noppert were the first two winners in the Player's Championship events.

[Cousin Boneless]

Saw Howson vs Gates in the pub last night. I've never seen or heard of Richie Howson before.

[Simon G]

He had a few years in the lower reaches of the PDC tour back in the early 2010s, but I don't think he ever got into any of the TV events. He qualified for last year's World Seniors and beat Darryl Fitton in the first round. He then lost a really tight game to Martin Adams - his lack of stage experience costing him. He then qualified for the Senior Matchplay and made the semi-finals there. He's also won at least two of the Seniors floor events - including both qualifiers for this years Worlds.

As I said, he's really grasped the opportunity that the Seniors tour has offered, and it's proof that if you didn't have a stellar career, or got into darts a bit too late, you can still have your day in the sun.

[Simon G]

The FA Cup of Darts - the UK Open - starts this afternoon.

A completely open draw with the higher ranking players coming in at the later rounds (I think the top 16 enter in round 4, but I'd need to check that). What I also love is that there are 8 boards all on the go at one time and this year all 8 can be watched, whereas before it was just the main stage with the odd board 2 game. You do need a PDC TV account to watch them though.

Another good thing about this tournament is that due to the open nature of the draw it has churned out a couple of shock winners in the last few years, notably Danny Noppert last year and Nathan Aspinall a few years back.

[Simon G]

And once again the FA Cup of Darts brings us a surprise winner.

With a final four of Andrew Gilding, Adam Gawlas, Dimitri van den Bergh and Michael van Gerwen, it looked like it would be a walkover or the Dutchman, especially when he drew the only other top 16 player in the semis (DvdB) and walloped him 11-6.

Andrew Gilding though was having the tournament of his life. He'd only previously made one other ranking final, let alone a TV one, but he did get to the semi's of the UK Open in 2015 and took MVG all the way that day, losing 11-10 with a 108 average. He steamrollered past Gawlas in the semi, a Czech 21 year old who only picked up a set of darts 4 years ago and had played phenomenally well in knocking former World Champion, Rob Cross, out in the quarter final. Gawlas' time will come again, especially if he can find the form of that quarter final on a consistent basis, however Gilding is 52 years old though and had actually lost his tour card a couple of years back and he knows he'll only have so many chances.

And boy was he prepared to take it. After going 2-0 down he rallied to lead 3-2 at the first interval. MVG is not one to take things lying down though - whilst he doesn't carry an air of invincibility anymore, he is still the man to beat in any tournament - and he came roaring back to go ahead 6-4 at the second break. Gilding didn't buckle though and he won the next session 3=2 to make it 8-7 to MVG at the final break. The final session was a masterclass of darts from Gilding. MVG took the first leg to go within two of the match, but Gilding came back with the next two to make it 9-9. MVG then won leg 19 to make it 10-9 and surely he was there. Gilding didn't buckle though and took it to a final leg. A close final leg it was and MVG missed two darts at D16 to win the tournament only for Gilding to get his moment in the sun when he pegged D20 to become the newest winner of a PDC major - before he'd even won a single ranking event.

It'll probably be the only thing he does win, but full credit to the lad, he more than deserved it.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

There is something really wonderful about this. I hope he gets the support some others didn't (not just in darts but in other sports) of dealing with sudden fame and unexpected wealth.

[Simon G]

This probably means nothing to a lot of people, but it upset me to see this yesterday...

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/a...gue-id-ed10764

For those not in the know, those are the BDO trophies up for auction, including the old WInmau World Masters and BDO World Championship trophies. My hope is that the WDF look into purchasing them, but they seem to be trying to distance themselves as a continuation of that side of the game - which is a shame.

[Simon G]

Why all sports trophies should be cups!

https://twitter.com/Watkins180/status/1633261044406661120

[Simon G]

It was the World Senior Darts Champion of Champions event last weekend - a two day TV special for Channel 5, and a good show it was. Leonard Gates beat Richie Howson 13-10 in the final.

The best moment of the weekend though was when Trina Gulliver was gifted the BDO Women's World Trophy that had been up for auction (see post 236) by one of the sponsors:

https://twitter.com/SeniorsDarts/status/1639676997294063617

[Satchmo Distel]

Bobby George and the British darts team brought out a single in 1981 that scraped into the top 200, ironically at position 180:

[Simon G]

The WDF World Championships start today - not that you'll find it on telly.

It's on Youtube until Friday. The final 3 days (Quarter Finals onwards) are then being shown on Ayozat (nope - me neither).

Andy Baetens is WDF number 1 and favourite, but the men's field really is wide open with last year's champion, Neil Duff, back to defend his title and former winner, Jelle Klaesen, also in the field. The best English hope in the men's is my home county favourite - James Hurrell.

On the Women's side, current champion Beau Greaves is 1/5 favourite and it's hard to see anyone stopping her really. She is, in my opinion, the best female darts player of all time already and she's only 19!

[Simon G]

And so it comes to pass that the 2023 WDF World Championships were a bit of a success. The first couple of rounds weren't great, but from the quarter finals onwards (in both men's and women's tournaments) the standard rose to acceptable and watchable level.

Andy Baetens won the men's at a bit of a canter in the end, beating Chris Landman 6-1 in tonight's final. Landman beat last year's champion, Neil Duff, in the quarters and the 2006 champion, Jelle Klaasen, in the semis, but he was no match for the clear WDF World number 1 tonight. Andy, to his credit, has not averaged less than 90 all week - Landman hadn't broken the 90 average. Baetens will go to PDC Q-School in January and should grab a tourcard quite easily. If he can continue on the trajectory he's on, he could become a top 32/top 16 player in the next couple of years.

On the women's side, as expected, Beau Greaves won easily. She did drop a set in this evening's final against Aileen De Graaf, but before tonight she'd only lost two other legs all week. She is just so good, and it's not an exaggeration to say that she'd have probably given Baetens more of a match tonight.

The World really is her oyster. I don't expect her to go to Q-School, she's got another year at least to earn a decent amount of coin on the WDF side (she'd have had to win a 3rd round match in the PDC Worlds to match the £25k she earned tonight) so who can blame her. Her only real challenge as a woman is Fallon Sherrock, but Fallon won't play on this side as her exhibition work comes from being the "Queen of the Palace".

The PDC Worlds start on Friday. 3 weeks is far too long for a World Championship, but I'll probably watch most of it. Luke Humphries, winner of three of the last four TV tournaments, is probably favourite but, again, it's wide open.

[ursus arctos]

How is it possible that this man is 16 years of age?

https://twitter.com/mirrorsport/status/1740102676019314968?s=12&t=xvOireV8JOIS_CpbTtDBow

[Simon G]

Oldest looking 16 year old I've ever seen. I keep imagining a big story being uncovered where he's actually 34 and it's all some PR scam.

Cracking player though, it really must be said.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Playing darts since he was 18 months old. For the pub team, looking at him.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

My favourite player of all time is Raymond van Barneveld. This Littler kid is absolutely destroying him so far. There's not been a leg over 15 darts so far. It feels like the first time everyone saw Tiger Woods on a golf course. Of course, as I type that, Barney drags a set back so it's 3-1 and now it will be heartbreaking if the kid loses.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

4-1. Wow wow wow. The number of times he kept hitting treble 19. Yes, he fucked up by doing an exclusive piece for the Sun, but he's already apologised for that so I'm behind this now. What a story this could be.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Brilliant stuff

[Walter Knight]

Astonishing game between Humphries and Cullen afterwards as well. Not as good in terms of clinical finishing, but incredibly tense. I suspect it's MvG's to lose now but after today's games it feels pointless trying to predict anything.

[Simon G]

The Humphries-Cullen game is one of the best I've ever seen for drama. You've got to feel for Joe - he did so well and then loses to a 12 darter in the sudden death leg.

I've run out of superlatives for Luke Littler - he just doesn't seem to realise the enormity of what he's achieving at the moment. Dolan will be a tough match for him though, having already knocked out Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson.

As WK says, it's difficult to see past an MVG win now. He seems like a man possessed.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Bloody hell, Dobey v Cross, this is why I love darts.