Glen Durrant Defends BDO World Championships Title

Glen Durrant Defends BDO World Championships Title

BDO Championship

Last Sunday, Glen Durrant successfully defended his BDO world title after he capitalised on Mark McGeeney’s double miss as he was throwing for his own victory. The match couldn’t have been tighter, but McGeeney’s missed two darts for the title allowing Durrant to step up and land his tourney winning shot at double three, giving him a 7-6 victory at Lakeside.

The first eight sets went down to the throw with Durrant, 47, not taking the lead in the match until the ninth. The defending champion went on to lead 6-4 before McGeeney fought back to level at 6-6. Even then, Durrant misfired a host of shots at double before eventually landing the brilliant 149 checkout he required to move to within a leg of the title. Missing his first three darts, Durrant finally took out the double three following McGeeney’s collapse.

Durrant now becomes only the ninth player to have won more than one BDO world title joining Eric Bristow (five), Raymond van Barneveld (four), John Lowe and Martin Adams (three), and Ted Hankey, Phil Taylor, Scott Waites and Jocky Wilson (two).

Duzza can also be expected to add to his tally in the BDO after reluctantly calling time on his long-expected switch to the PDC. Admitting the “dream” move is over, Durrant said: “I’m unfortunately BDO for life. That’s probably hugely disrespectful to everybody but I did have a dream to do a Rob Cross. At my age, I’m not waiting another year so I’m going to try and win this title again and stick down that route.”

This will not be a career path shared by 31-year-old Jamie Hughes, who has confirmed that he will be moving over to the PDC, attempting to qualify by winning a PDC Tour Card at the Q-School.

Speaking of the PDC, the 2018 Masters is the next major darting event, opening up the 2018 schedule. Getting underway in Milton Keynes on January 27, events will be broadcast on ITV Sport. Qualifiers and match schedule is listed below.

2018 Masters Qualifiers

1. Michael van Gerwen
2. Peter Wright
3. Rob Cross
4. Gary Anderson
5. Daryl Gurney
6. Mensur Suljovic
7. Dave Chisnall
8. Simon Whitlock
9. James Wade
10. Raymond van Barneveld
11. Michael Smith
12. Gerwyn Price
13. Benito van de Pas
14. Ian White
15. Alan Norris
16. Kim Huybrechts

Draw Bracket

(1) Michael van Gerwen v (16) Kim Huybrechts
(8) Simon Whitlock v (9) James Wade
(5) Daryl Gurney v (12) Gerwyn Price
(4) Gary Anderson v (13) Benito van de Pas
(2) Peter Wright v (15) Alan Norris
(7) Dave Chisnall v (10) Raymond van Barneveld
(6) Mensur Suljovic v (11) Michael Smith
(3) Rob Cross v (14) Ian Whit

Schedule of Play

Friday January 26

  • Dave Chisnall v Raymond van Barneveld
  • Mensur Suljovic v Michael Smith
  • Rob Cross v Ian White
  • Peter Wright v Alan Norris

Saturday January 27

  • Simon Whitlock v James Wade
  • Daryl Gurney v Gerwyn Price
  • Gary Anderson v Benito van de Pas
  • Michael van Gerwen v Kim Huybrechts

Sunday January 28

  • Peter Wright/Alan Norris v Dave Chisnall/Raymond van Barneveld
  • Mensur Suljovic/Michael Smith v Rob Cross/Ian White
  • Daryl Gurney/Gerwyn Price v Gary Anderson/Benito van de Pas
  • Michael van Gerwen/Kim Huybrechts v Simon Whitlock/James Wade

Semi-Finals

Finals begin at 7 PM on January 28

Final

Follows the Semi-Finals

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The PDC Calendar And The Best Upcoming Darts Events For 2018

The PDC Calendar And The Best Upcoming Darts Events For 2018

2018 PDC Calendar and the best dart events

Another Darts season is just around the corner, and always we will continue to give you the best darts betting tips available online across the new year. In 2018, the PDC are stepping up attempts to grow interest in the game for those outside the UK by introducing a new German Premier League night and adding a European Tour event in Copenhagen in what is now the biggest ever schedule for the tour.

So, what are the major events to look forward to in the coming year?

Early 2018 schedule

First up on the 26th of January is the 2018 Masters in Milton Keynes. featuring the world’s top 16 players. This year that will include the new champion of the world Rob Cross.

On February the 1st, The Betway Premier League of Darts gets underway at Dublin’s 3Arena, taking place in different venues on Thursday nights for three months until we reach the playoffs at London’s O2 Arena.

Newly crowned champion Cross will be featured here as one of four debutants to make the final ten and is 100/30 with event sponsors Betway to win the league outright. Gerwyn Price, Daryl Gurney and Mensur Suljovic are the other Premier League newbies who will join the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Gary Anderson, Raymond van Barneveld, Michael Smith and Simon Whitlock.

This year’s event even promises to break new ground with a visit to Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena on Thursday February 22nd, the first time Germany hosts the event. The Premier League will also return to Rotterdam for a third successive year.

UK-based events will be taking place until May at venues in Cardiff, Newcastle, Exeter, Leeds, Nottingham and Glasgow before Judgement Night takes place in Belfast on March 29. The remaining eight players to have made the cut will then visit Liverpool, Sheffield, Rotterdam, Manchester, Birmingham and Aberdeen before the Play-offs at The O2 in London on May 17.

In March, The European Tour will begin its expanded 13-event run in Leverkusen, Germany. This year’s tour will also include a second European Tour event being held in the Netherlands, as Zwolle joins Maastricht as a Dutch tourney host town. A whole new competition will be staged in Copenhagen, the first time Denmark has hosted a PDC ranked event. In all, eight European Tour events are due to be held in Germany, with tournaments also taking place in Austria and Gibraltar.

March also sees the UK Open Finals take place at the Butlins Minehead Resort, while April promises to feature two Players Championship double-headers, European Tour events in Saarbrucken and Graz. Come May, additional European Tour events will be taking place in Sindelfingen and Zwolle.

Events for the second half of 2018

The weeklong 2018 Betway World Cup of Darts will be held from May 31 through June 3 in Frankfurt, with the summer’s popular World Matchplay being held from July 21-29 at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens.

The summer will see plenty of still-to-be-announced trips to different corners of the world, including the US Darts Masters in Las Vegas, as well as other runs for the World Series of Darts events. Those will likely be hosted in Australia, New Zealand, China and Dubai among others. What we know now is that the 2018 World Series of Darts will begin on Friday May 25 with the second running of the German Darts Masters.

In September, The Champions League of Darts gets its third running starting from the 21st, before Dublin stages the World Grand Prix from September 30-October 6. October will also see the conclusion of The European Championship in Dortmund.

November brings The World Series of Darts Finals, Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton and Players Championship Finals at Butlins Minehead Resort.

Finally, in December the 2019 World Darts Championship gets underway once more concluding the year’s action at the Ally Pally in early January.

Enjoy!

PDC Calendar 2018

JANUARY

  • January 26-28: Darts Masters (Milton Keynes)

FEBRUARY

  • February 1: Premier League Darts (Match day 1, Dublin)
  • February 8: Premier League Darts (Match day 2, Cardiff)
  • February 15: Premier League Darts (Match day 3, Newcastle)
  • February 22: Premier League Darts (Match day 4, Berlin, Germany)

MARCH

  • March 1: Premier League Darts (Match day 5, Exeter)
  • March 2-4: UK Open (Minehead)
  • March 8: Premier League Darts (Match day 6, Leeds)
  • March 15: Premier League Darts (Match day 7, Nottingham)
  • March 22: Premier League Darts (Match day 8, Glasgow)
  • March 23-25: European Tour 1 (Leverkusen, Germany)
  • March 29: Premier League Darts (Match day 9, Belfast)
  • March 31-1.04: European Tour 2 (Munich, Germany)

APRIL

  • April 5: Premier League Darts (Match day 10, Liverpool)
  • April 12: Premier League Darts (Match day 11, Sheffield)
  • April 13-15: European Tour 3 (Saarbrucken, Germany)
  • April 19: Premier League Darts (Match day 12, Rotterdam, Netherlands)
  • April 20-22: European Tour 4 (Graz, Austria)
  • April 26: Premier League Darts (Match day 13, Manchester)

MAY

  • May 3: Premier League Darts (Match day 14, Birmingham)
  • May 4-6: European Tour 5 (Sindelfingen, Germany)
  • May 10: Premier League Darts (Match day 15, Aberdeen)
  • May 11-13: European Tour 6 (Zwolle, Netherlands)
  • May 17: Premier League Darts Play-Offs (London)
  • May 25: German Darts Masters (Dusseldorf, Germany)
  • May 31-03.06: Darts World Cup (Frankfurt, Germany)

JUNE

  • June 8-10: European Tour 7 (Gibraltar)
  • June 22-24: European Tour 8 (Copenhagen, Denmark)
  • June 29-01.07: European Tour 9 (Hamburg, Germany)

JULY

  • July 21-29: World Matchplay (Blackpool)

AUGUST

  • August 31-02.09: European Tour 10 (Hildesheim, Germany)

SEPTEMBER

  • September 7-9: European Tour 11 (Maastricht, Netherlands)
  • September 14-16: European Tour 12 (Riesa, Germany)
  • September 22-23: Champions League of Darts (Cardiff)
  • September 30-06.10: World Grand Prix (Dublin, Ireland)

OCTOBER

  • October 12-14: European Tour 13 (Gottingen, Germany)
  • October 25-28: European Championship (Dortmund, Germany)

NOVEMBER

  • November 2-4: World Series Finals (TBC)
  • November 10-18: Grand Slam (Wolverhampton)
  • November 23-25: Players Championship Finals (Minehead)

DECEMBER

  • December TBC: World Darts Championship (London)
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Rookie Rob Cross Beats Retiring Legend Phil Taylor To Win PDC World Championship

Rookie Rob Cross Beats Retiring Legend Phil Taylor To Win PDC World Championship

Phil Taylor PDC World Championship

In the end, the fairy-tale finish was not to be as Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, 16-times World Champion, was denied a 17th win in his last ever match. It was remarkable that he made the final at all, but at one point it appeared written in the stars as top seeds were eliminated, opening up the tournament for the retiring legend.

But as so often happens in sport, as one star makes way another emerges, and so it was that Rob Cross, 27, who 18 months ago was an amateur player and a working electrician, finished his first ever professional season as the new Darts Champion of the world.

Ranked 28/1 before the start of the tournament, a brilliant Cross — who averaged 107 and landed 20 out of 34 checkout attempts in the final — was too much for Taylor who managed just 10 from 22 in a match that ended in a 7-2 defeat at Alexandra Palace.

Taylor, heavily backed by the crowd, averaged a decent 102 and won 10 legs, scoring 12 180s — one more than Cross — but still had no answer to the rookie.

Landing a 167, Cross immediately went up 2-0 and was soon three sets ahead and never looked like squandering the lead from there. Taylor took down the fourth set but the gap between the two Englishmen was restored when Cross capitalised on his rival’s failure to land his doubles in the following leg.

One set away from defeat, Taylor landed the eighth before Hastings-based Cross, finished in fantastic style with a 140 finish, made up with two treble 18s and a double 16, to win the what will surely be the first of many more major tournaments to come. In total, Cross hit 66 180s in the tournament, 16 more than anyone else.

Cross’s path to victory

Just 18 months ago, Cross was working as an electrician playing darts only occasionally and whose winnings last year included £7 in a pub game. Cross even gave the game up for three years to look after his family. Then, he took his shot.

After failing to qualify for the 2016 BDO World Championships, he tried his luck at the UK Open, a tourney open to qualifying amateurs. Following defeat at Riley’s Bar in South Benfleet, Essex, Cross was on the verge of quitting before being persuaded by his uncle to take part in the very last qualifier in Norwich, a move which was to prove “sort of life changing,” as Cross described it on Sunday.

He duly won in Norwich and went on to make the final 32, eventually being eliminated by world number one Michael van Gerwen in a close fought 9-5 defeat. From there, his new-found confidence inspired him to go on the PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour where he finished top of the order of merit, giving him an automatic two-year tour card.

Then on the 3rd of February this year, Cross played his first ever match as a professional, earning £250 at a UK Open qualifier in Wigan. In the year that followed, he was to continually make the latter stages of tournaments and beat MVG multiple times including 6-2 in the quarter-final of the European Darts Open and 6-5 in an epic match at this year’s World Championships as he eventually replaced the near-invincible Dutchman as World Champion.

Next up the number three raked Cross will be playing in the Darts Premier League, the next big event from the PDC and due to start next month. Dublin’s 3Arena will open the 2018 season on Thursday, February 1 on Sky Sports Action with the season wrapping up at the Play-Offs at London’s O2 on May 17.

Phil Taylor’s place in Darts’ history

There can be few sportsmen who have dominated and influenced their game quite like Phil “The Power” Taylor. Hailing from Stoke-on-Trent, Taylor was one of the original 16 players that broke away from the BDO to form the World Darts Council in 1992. This committee would soon evolve into the PDC which held its own world championships two years later in 1994, changing darts forever.

The Power won the first of his world titles in 1990 — the same year its latest champion Rob Cross was born — and went on to win a further 15 and almost claimed his 17th last Sunday as he fell just one match short of the ultimate send off. In July, however, he summoned up his brilliant best as he took down a record 16th World Matchplay title, which was to prove his final ever major televised title win in an incredible career.

Taylor’s major titles

World Championship (16): 1990 (BDO), 1992 (BDO), 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013
World Matchplay (16): 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017
World Grand Prix (11): 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013
Grand Slam of Darts (6): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014
UK Open (5): 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013
European Championship (4): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Players’ Championship Finals (3): 2009, 2011, 2012

BDO Championships betting

With the PDC players now taking a well-earned rest, it is timely that the BDO Championships begin this Saturday. The 2018 BDO World Darts Championships will take place from January 6-14 at the Lakeside Country Club where Glen ‘Duzza’ Durrant will begin his title defence against either Gary Robson and Pengiran Mohamed in the first round.

Durrant is the 5/4 favourite with Betway to become the first back-to-back winner at Lakeside since Martin Adams in 2011. His 7-3 win in last year’s final came at the expense of Danny Noppert who the same online bookmakers are rating as a 15/2 shot.

Mark McGeeney and Scott Mitchell hold the BDO world number one and two spots respectively, so they will be the ones looking to stop Durrant’s dominance in the event. That said, a victory for ‘Duzza’ in the final would ensure he ends the season in the BDO’s number one position.

Durrant would meet Mitchell in the semi-final, should they both progress as expected, while he could well face off with McGeeney in the final.

Mitchell is 12/1 to win what would be his second world title, with McGeeney currently priced at 20/1.

Elsewhere, Jamie Hughes is also considered to be a 12/1 shot, with Cameron Menzies rated at 16/1. Further down the money line, Scott Waites is valued by Betway at 22/1 with the old master Martin Adams worth 40/1.

Events will be broadcast in Channel 4 and BT Sport.

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