Top 5 Funniest Darts Moments

Top 5 Funniest Darts Moments

Top Five Funniest moments in darts

With drunken crowds, crazy characters and bizarre nights, darts has provided us with some very funny moments over the years. From the greats getting it all wrong to steady hands proving to be anything but and even accusations of nasty odours at the oche, here is our rundown of the top 5 funny darts moments.

Miscounting Power

In the twelfth week of the 2014 Premier League of Darts, 16 times world champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor gave hope for the rest of us, proving his own mortality and demonstrating that even the greatest of all time can make simple amateur pub-night mistakes, when he fluffed his lines and got his sums wrong in a match against Gary Anderson in Manchester.

In a match that would ultimately end in a 6-6 tie, The Power weirdly and uncharacteristically miscounted 129, shooting for double 16 instead of double 11 leaving Anderson to take the leg. Taylor nearly conceded the match after getting his checkout wrong but despite his bad counting, he managed to salvage a point against Anderson who would go on to win that year’s competition.

China

In the 2016 World Cup match between England and China, Adrian Lewis faced Wenge Xie and was dominating proceedings when, out of nowhere, Xie rattled off a 171 before celebrating like he had won the entire tournament on a moment the crowd and Lewis both enjoyed. Despite the wild celebrations, Jackpot checked out for 40 in one shot immediately after.

By the end, Jackpot and his partner Phil Taylor strolled into the last eight of the World Cup after the Chinese duo of Xie and Yuanjun Liu both lost 4-0 so they were forgiven for enjoying themselves as much as possible while still in the competition.

Almighty Spill

For a man who has made a very healthy living off the back of having incredibly steady hands, Michael van Gerwen proved to be decidedly clumsy in Sydney during a Darts Masters match against Raymond van Barneveld. Not only did he get shot down 8-2 Down Under but, feeling the heat, MVG felt the need for some refreshments in between throws.

Unfortunately for Mighty Mike, he was having an off night all round and as he reached for his water he fumbled the tumbler over sending it crashing to the floor and putting poor Barney off his shot. Oops.

Sun Goes Down

At the 2017 PDC World Darts Championships Chinese qualifier Qiang Sun didn’t get off to the best start when making his entrance. While Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright bounces out to Pitbull’s Don’t Stop The Party and Gary Anderson makes his entrance to Jump Around by House of Pain, Sun enters the arena to Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum. On this occasion, however, instead of goin’ on up, he was goin’ on down and it wasn’t his walk on music that caught the eye as he stepped up to the oche to play Australian Corey Cadby at the Ally Pally.

Having been introduced to the packed crowd, Sun made his way over to the officials to shake the hands, a common pre-match courtesy, before tripping over the raised oche and falling flat on his face and sending the rowdy crowd into hysterics as he hit the deck. Sun’s night went from bad to worse when play finally got started as he went on to be eliminated from the competition losing 2-0 to his Aussie opponent.

Fartgate

Fartgate dominated the headlines during the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts when a match between Gary Anderson and Wesley Harms led to one player accusing his rival of an atrocious, potentially game-altering offense that left a stink on what was otherwise a good match that finished 10-2 to the Scotsman.

It all started with Harms, who in his post-match interview, claimed to have suffered on stage fragrant issues, before directing the blame for the rancid stinkers squarely at the feet his opponent. Said Harms, ”I think it will take me two nights to lose this smell from my nose”.

The Flying Scotsman’s response, in turn, led to one of the most bizarre sporting interviews of all time when he replied, “I thought that Wesley had farted on stage, it smelled awful. But I swear on my kid’s life that it was not me. I thought it was him, and I went, “that’s dirty.” It was bad. It was a stink. I thought it was him, and he started playing better. I went, he must have needed to get some wind out. It definitely came from table side. It smelled like eggs, rotten eggs.”

With neither player fessing up to foul play, fans were left to make up their own minds about the foul-smelling saga until, a few days later, the real culprit was unveiled when a security guard confessed to be the source of the pongy problem.

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Scotland Win The World Cup Of Darts

Scotland Win The World Cup Of Darts

Scotland Wins World Cup and Darts

The World Cup of Darts has a new champion after Scotland won the competition for the first time in their history on Sunday night in Hamburg. In a surprise final line up, Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright and Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson saw off Republic of Ireland’s Steve Lennon and William O’Connor with a 3-1 victory in the final.

The Scottish pair had made the final twice previously, losing on both occasions to England in 2015 and Holland a year ago. In its history, only England and The Netherlands have ever won the World Cup, although it was Ireland that put an end to English-Dutch dominance this year.

On Saturday, Lennon and O’Connor, who were 66/1 at the start of the tournament, shot down the pre-tournament favourites, England’s Rob Cross and Michael Smith in the second round, before taking out Holland’s Michael van Gerwen and Jermaine Wattimena in the semis. Ireland also dumped Mensur Suljovic’s Austria out in Sunday’s quarter-finals.

The Irish pair almost caused an upset in the final too as Lennon won his singles game 4-2 over Gary Anderson. But, in the second matchup between the two pairs, Wright’s average of 96.73 was enough to level the tie as he saw off O’Connor by the same score line.
Scotland then moved 2-1 ahead after thrashing the Irish 4-0 in the doubles before the reverse doubles saw Snakebite defeat Lennon 4-1 meaning Gary Anderson wasn’t required to return to the oche. Scotland had established an unassailable 3-1 lead which put an end to Ireland’s hopes and meant that Scotland would be crowned World Cup winners for the first time.

Looking Ahead

With the players on a mini-break for a few weeks until they meet in Las Vegas, now is a good time to look ahead to what is coming up over the second half of the year for the PDC. The World Matchplay, second in importance only to the World Championships, is the next big event on the horizon and takes place, as always, at Winter Gardens in Blackpool on July 20.

As you would expect, Mighty Mike van Gerwen has already been installed as favourite by online bookmakers Betway, who rate him as evens. Rob Cross has been priced at 7/1, while Gary Anderson — returning to events and newly crowned World Cup winner — has a value of 9/1.

From here, interestingly, the prices begin to widen. 16/1 on James Wade must tempt some, as will the 22/1 offered on Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith. Time will tell how this weekend’s success will affect Peter Wright, but if he reacts positively, he could well have a very strong second half of the season. Given his appalling 2019 so far, World Cup notwithstanding, prices are longer than previously and true to form, he has a 22/1 price on his mohawked head which might be worth a punt before it drifts in as it so surely will.

Further down the line, Daryl Gurney is 25/1, Mensur Suljovic is 28/1 and Adrian Lewis is 33/1, while you can also get 33/1 on Glen Durrant winning his maiden PDC event.

PDC Calendar 2019

July 3-5, Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas

  • US Masters (World Series of Darts)

July 12-13, Lanxess Arena, Cologne

  • German Darts Masters (World Series of Darts)

July 20-28 Winter Gardens, Blackpool

  • World Matchplay

August 9-10, BCEC, Brisbane

  • Brisbane Darts Masters (World Series of Darts)

August 16-17, Hisense Arena

  • Melbourne Darts Masters (World Series of Darts)

August 23-24, Hamilton

  • New Zealand Darts Masters (World Series of Darts)

August 30-September 1, Schwechat

  • Austrian Darts Championship (European Tour)

September 6-8, Maimarkthalle, Mannheim

  • European Darts Matchplay (European Tour)

September 13-15, Sachsenarena, Riesa

  • International Darts Open (European Tour)

September 27-29, Victoria Stadium

  • Gibraltar Darts Trophy (European Tour)

October 19-20. Venue TBC

  • Champions League of Darts

October 6-12, Dublin

  • World Grand Prix

October 24-27, Gottingen, Germany

  • European Championship

November 1-3, AFAS Live, Amsterdam

  • World Series of Darts Finals

November 9-17, Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton

  • Grand Slam of Darts

November 22-24, Minehead

  • Players Championship Finals

Dates TBC, Alexandra Palace, London

  • PDC World Championship 2020
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World Cup Of Darts 2019 Betting Tips

World Cup Of Darts 2019 Betting Tips

2019 World Cup of Darts Betting Tips

This Thursday at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany the Darts World Cup will begin, running for four days until its climax on Sunday. One of the most unique tournaments on the darting calendar, the World Cup puts our heroes together in pairs in a format unlike any other on the circuit.

32 nations are represented at the event, with the best two players from each granted the honour of throwing darts for their country and maybe, just maybe, make a bit of history in doing so.

The Darts World Cup’s unique format includes an all-doubles first round where the sixteen ties are played as best of nine legs. By the second round, singles matches come into play with the running order determined by each of the remaining teams’ captains. Two best-of-seven leg matches are then played, and if the teams still can’t be split, a best of seven legs doubles match will decide the winner. The quarter-finals and semi-finals work the same way but by the final, it become the best of five, with four singles games and a doubles match deciding this year’s World Cup winners.

The World Cup of Darts matchups

Only two nations have ever won the trophy, England and Holland, with the latter going into this year’s competition as defending champions. Once again, these are the two favourites but this year both sides will be sending out new line-ups. For the Netherlands, Jermaine Wattimena replaces the soon-to-be-retired Raymond van Barneveld, while for England Michael Smith makes his debut and lines up alongside Rob Cross as Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis makes way. Of course, Michael van Gerwen will lead the line for the Dutch.

Only Australia, who should have won in 2012, has ever seriously threatened to break the dominance of England and the Netherlands. Australia, while still a potential banana skin, are not considered to be among this year’s big four — the Netherlands, England, Scotland and WalesThe semi-finals have never featured all of the top four seeds so they won’t all go the distance.

Despite the lack of Barney, England and Holland have both been quickly installed as pre-tournament favourites, listed as 11/4 each to be crowned World Cup winners according to Betway. The same online sportsbook reckon on Holland being the second most likely to secure the trophy, but with so much riding on Wattimena’s young shoulders, the 11/4 on Holland doesn’t particularly appeal.

The draw could have been kinder to the Dutch, who face Spain in the first round. That said, neither Cristo Reyes or Toni Alcinas have been tearing up any trees this year. However, the first round’s short format played between the pairs usually throws up a shock or two so keep an eye on that one. Should the Dutch navigate Spain, one either Poland or the Czech Republic awaiting, with both representing timid threats to Holland, especially given the tournament’s expanded format. Expect them then to meet Australia in the quarter-final where Simon Whitlock and Kyle Anderson could put an end to the Dutch campaign.

For Germany, Max Hopp and Martin Schindler are representing their country for the third consecutive year. They have risen up the rankings following some previous stellar World Cup performances. Hopp, by the way, has already tempted fate by declaring Hungary a ‘good draw’ for the Germans. In two previous appearances, this pairing has reached the quarter-finals, losing to eventual winners The Netherlands on both occasions. Should they overcome Hungary, and they surely will, Belgium (Kim Huybrechts and Dimitri van den Bergh) are likely to be their second-round opponents. Despite that they should be tricky, the German pair do have home advantage with the crowd roaring them on to the next round where Scotland should await.

Time will only tell what missing out on the Darts Premier League has done for Gary Anderson’s health. The Flying Scotsman makes his long awaited PDC return having sat out most major events of the year so far, including the 17-week tournament that MVG scooped two weeks ago. Given that his partner will be Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright, Scotland, are unlikely to find many fanciers, especially at their 7/2 Betway price. However, the 15/8 on Scotland reaching the final will definitely appeal to some. Scotland have twice lost in the final, first in 2015 and again last year, losing to England and Holland respectively.

Welsh pair Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton are placed fourth in the betting at 13/2, Northern Ireland (Daryl Gurney and Brendan Dolan) 12/1, Belgium 22/1, Australia 25/1 and Austria, for whom Zoran Lerchbacher partners Mensur Suljovic, are 28/1.

This year will be the last World Cup for Sweden’s Magnus Caris, who will bow out of top-level darts, while Lithuania will take part in their first ever World Cup. For China, who get started against the USA, there has been a last minute line-up change as Yuanjun Liu replaces Qingyu Zhan who was set to make his World Cup debut but is now unable to compete due to passport complications.

Singapore’s Paul Lim and Harith Lim, who beat Scotland two years ago, have the opportunity to do the same to the Welsh this time around, while the Philippines (Lourence Ilagan and Noel Malicdem) and New Zealand (Cody Harris and Haupai Puha) are another two sides that have the talent to cause a real surprise, although the former meet England first. And, for all of the above, it is England I will be sticking with to win the 2019 PDC World Cup of Darts.

WORLD CUP OF DARTS: TEAM LINE-UPS

Seeded Teams:

  • England – Rob Cross & Michael Smith
  • Scotland – Gary Anderson & Peter Wright
  • Wales – Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton
  • Netherlands – Michael van Gerwen & Jermaine Wattimena
  • Australia – Simon Whitlock & Kyle Anderson
  • Northern Ireland – Daryl Gurney & Brendan Dolan
  • Belgium – Kim Huybrechts & Dimitri Van den Bergh
  • Austria – Mensur Suljovic & Zoran Lerchbacher

Unseeded:

  • Brazil – Diogo Portela & Artur Valle
  • Canada – Dawson Murschell & Jim Long
  • China – Xiaochen Zong & Yuanjun Liu
  • Czech Republic – Pavel Jirkal & Karel Sedlacek
  • Denmark – Per Laursen & Niels Heinsøe
  • Finland – Marko Kantele & Kim Viljanen
  • Germany – Max Hopp & Martin Schindler
  • Gibraltar – Dyson Parody & Antony Lopez
  • Greece – John Michael & Veniamin Symeonidis
  • Hong Kong – Royden Lam & Kai Fan Leung
  • Hungary – Pal Szekely & Janos Vegso
  • Italy – Andrea Micheletti & Stefano Tomassetti
  • Japan – Seigo Asada & Haruki Muramatsu
  • Lithuania – Darius Labanauskas & Mindauskas Barauskas
  • New Zealand – Cody Harris & Haupai Puha
  • Philippines – Lourence Ilagan & Noel Malicdem
  • Poland – Krzysztof Ratajski & Tytus Kanik
  • Republic of Ireland – Steve Lennon & William O’Connor
  • Russia – Boris Koltsov & Aleksei Kadochnikov
  • Singapore – Paul Lim & Harith Lim
  • South Africa – Devon Petersen & Vernon Bouwers
  • Spain – Cristo Reyes & Toni Alcinas
  • Sweden – Dennis Nilsson & Magnus Caris
  • United States of America – Darin Young & Chuck Puleo

WORLD CUP OF DARTS FIXTURES

Thursday June 6

  • Gibraltar v Japan
  • Northern Ireland v South Africa
  • New Zealand v Lithuania
  • Belgium v Hong Kong
  • Brazil v Sweden
  • Wales v Singapore
  • Hungary v Germany
  • Scotland v Denmark
  • Friday June 7

    • China v USA
    • Italy v Canada
    • Poland v Czech Republic
    • Republic of Ireland v Greece
    • England v Philippines
    • Austria v Russia
    • Australia v Finland
    • Netherlands v Spain

    Saturday June 8

    • Eight Second Round Matches

    Sunday June 9

    • Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals & Final

    QUICK GLANCE AT THE DARTS WORLD CUP 2019

    Venue: Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany
    Dates: Thursday 06.06.2019 – 09.06.2019
    Format: First Round (Best of nine legs), Second Round + (Best of 3 points), Final (Best of 5 points)
    Current Champions: The Netherlands
    Where To Watch: Sky Sports
    When To Watch: (1800 GMT)

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