The Price is right in Blackpool

Former Welsh rugby player turned darts professional Gerwyn Price was the newcomer of the tournament following a rollercoaster ride to the quarter-finals.

The former Neath, Cross Keys, Newport Gwent Dragons and Glasgow Warriors front-rower produced one of the greatest upsets in recent years to topple two-time world champion Adrian Lewis 13-10.

Price, who only joined the paid ranks 18 months ago, had already beaten Michael Smith before upsetting a stony-faced Lewis. However, his Winter Gardens dream was soon ended by Scotland's Peter 'Snakebite' Wright in the last eight.

Price vowed to learn from his time in Blackpool, saying: "I was confident going into this game but I think my mind was drifting elsewhere and I wasn't 100 per cent like I was on Tuesday, but I’ll learn from this and hopefully push on now."

It has been a breath of fresh air seeing Price flexing his muscles while jumping across the Oche with great excitement. Tungsten darts fans will not want to wait too long to see another glimpse of the former rugby ace in tungsten action.

A tournament of shocks

Adrian Lewis was by far the biggest casualty in Blackpool, but there were a number of other high profile throwers who failed to live up to the hype at the Winter Gardens. Highly-talented Keegan Brown delivered a knock-out blow to Robert Thornton.

Scotsman Thornton equaled Eric Bristow's unwanted record of six consecutive first-round exits at the tour's second most prestigious event.

Five-time world champion and 21-time major title winner Raymond van Barneveld suffered a shock opening round exit at the hands of Andy Hamilton. Premier League semi-finalist Barney was out of sorts with his usual flowing darts failing to make any kind if impression.

No triple crown for Anderson

Then of course there was Gary Anderson. The Scot was chasing an historic Triple Crown but his dreams came crashing down to earth against opponent Mensur Suljovic all because he was simply "bored".

The reigning World and Premier League champion saw his hopes dashed following a grueling battle which culminated after midnight. Methodical Austrian Suljovic used his unorthodox style to wear down the usually fluent Anderson who admitted afterwards that he lacked any rhythm.

"I think I spent more time actually standing behind him than what I did playing darts, it's not my kind of game," said 'The Flying Scotsman'. "Games like that bore the life out of me. You throw your darts and get out of the road, it's a quick game."

Anderson, who turns his focus towards next month's World Series tour of Australia and New Zealand, added: "I'll probably get to New Zealand quicker than what that game lasted, that's the way it felt."

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

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In the quarter-finals Michael van Gerwen was handed his sternest test yet when Ian 'Diamond' White gave him the fright of his life. He was forced to battle back from a 6-1 deficit and end White's stubborn resistance with a tense 16-13 win.

"I was struggling at times and I know I can play better, but I'm glad to win this game and proud to be in the semi-finals again," said Van Gerwen.

He was too good for rival Peter Wright in the last four and the 26-year-old capped off a fantastic week of darts by beating 2007 champion James Wade in the final to stretch his unbeaten run over his opponent to 14 meetings.

He will go home with great pride and add the newest piece of silverware to his illustrious trophy cabinet.

"It means a lot to me because after the World Championship this is the biggest ranking event. It's totally different to last year," he said. "Everybody could see how emotional I was after that game and it means a lot to me to win this trophy."

Van Gerwen will now be looking to add the World Grand Prix in Dublin and then the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton before the big one at the end of the year.

Phil Taylor arrived beside the seaside in buoyant mood and extremely confident of landing an eighth successive World Matchplay title – a 16th overall.

The Stoke thrower is usually invincible when it comes to playing at the Winter Gardens, handling the heat and humidity better than anyone else.

Things looked rosy early on in the tournament for Taylor as he cruised past John Henderson and Andy Hamilton before producing a vintage display against Dave Chisnall to reach the semi-finals, where he faced James Wade.

But his seven-year reign and 38-match unbeaten run finally came to a shuddering halt as 'The Machine' took advantage of a number of loose tungsten darts to eventually clinch victory and dethrone the long-reigning title holder. "He let me in and did not play his normal darts," admitted Wade, who reached his sixth Matchplay final.

The match encapsulated Taylor's topsy-turvy season as the former world No 1 still searches for a first major title of the year.

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

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'Mighty Mike' simply rocked in Blackpool as he added to his UK Open and Dubai Masters titles and banished painful memories of his crushing final defeat to Phil Taylor a year earlier.

Van Gerwen romped to an 18-12 victory over James Wade with a stand-out performance at the famous Winter Gardens, but it wasn't the only display which caught the eye over nine days of competition in lovely Lancashire.

Here, we look back at what we learned from the tournament, which alongside the World Championship and Premier League forms the Triple Crown of darts.

Tears no fears for Michael van Gerwen

A year after crying in despair following an 18-9 defeat against 'The Power', Michael van Gerwen wanted to prove a point in Blackpool from day one.

The Dutchman began his campaign by dismissing compatriot Benito van de Pas before crushing Jamie Lewis with a blizzard of blistering darts for the loss of just two legs in the next round. He also recorded the fourth highest average in the history of the World Matchplay with 110.93.

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

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Invitations & Qualifying criteria in full
One-Year Invitations to be issued to a maximum of 16 players from the events below in the order of automatic qualifiers listed (players who have already qualified listed in brackets):
2015 PDC World Champion - Gary Anderson
2014 Grand Slam of Darts Champion - Phil Taylor
2015 Premier League Champion - (Gary Anderson)
2015 World Matchplay Champion
2015 World Grand Prix Champion
2014 Players Champion - (Gary Anderson)
2015 UK Open Champion - Michael van Gerwen
2015 European Champion
2015 Masters Champion - (Michael van Gerwen)
2014 World Youth Champion - Keegan Brown
2015 World Series of Darts Ranking List Leader
2015 World Cup Champions - Adrian Lewis (& Phil Taylor)
2015 PDC World Championship Runner-Up - (Phil Taylor)
2014 Grand Slam of Darts Runner-Up - Dave Chisnall
2015 Premier League Runner-Up - (Michael van Gerwen)
2015 World Matchplay Runner-Up
2015 World Grand Prix Runner-Up
2014 Players Championship Finals Runner-Up (Adrian Lewis)
2015 UK Open Runner-Up - Peter Wright
2015 European Championship Runner-Up
2015 Masters Runner-Up - Raymond van Barneveld
2014 World Youth Championship Runner-Up - Rowby-John Rodriguez
2015 World Series of Darts Ranking List Runner-Up
2015 World Cup Runners-Up (Gary Anderson & Peter Wright)
Should the list above produce 16 players in the order of events listed, no further players shall qualify automatically.
 
Should the list above produce fewer than 16 players, then additional places up to a total of 16 players shall be filled from the reserve list in the following order:
2015 PDC European Tour event winners (in ProTour Order of Merit position order at cut-off date)
2015 Players Championship event winners (in ProTour Order of Merit position at cut-off date)
 
If the automatic qualifiers list and reserve list as stated above produces less than 16 players, then additional places shall be awarded to the PDC Qualifier.
 
The remaining 16 places shall be filled with eight players from a PDC Qualifier and eight players from the BDO system.
 
The four BDO invitees are:
2015 Lakeside World Champion - Scott Mitchell
2015 Lakeside World Championship Runner-Up - Martin Adams
2014 World Masters Champion – Martin Phillips
2015 World Trophy Champion - Geert De Vos
 
In addition, the BDO will stage two qualifying tournaments, one in the UK (Tuesday October 6 in Hull) and one in Europe (Sunday October 18, venue TBC), which will each produce two players.
 
Should any of the four BDO invitees decline their invitation, additional places will shall be awarded to the BDO UK qualifying tournament.
 
The four BDO Invitees shall be drawn, along with the four BDO qualifiers, randomly for the main event, with one player drawn per group.
 
Seeds for main event
Eight seeds will be allocated as one per group based on the PDC Order of Merit on the date of the last player qualifying for the event.
 
As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

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Following eight hugely successful years of the tournament, which is held across nine days at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, the Singha Beer Grand Slam of Darts will become a PDC ranked event in 2015, with prize money won to count on the main PDC order of merit.

Players from within the PDC system will be able to qualify automatically by winning, or reaching the final of, major PDC tournaments throughout 2015 - plus the 2014 Grand Slam, Players Championship Finals and World Youth Championship - up to a maximum of 16 spots.

The automatic qualifiers would currently include PDC World Champion and premier league champion Gary Anderson, 2015 Masters winner and UK Open champion Michael van Gerwen as well as reigning Grand Slam champion Phil Taylor and his World Cup of Darts-winning partner Adrian Lewis.

World Youth Champion Keegan Brown will also compete in the event, with Dave Chisnall, Peter Wright, Raymond van Barneveld and Rowby-John Rodriguez standing by to compete from the list of major finalists.

Alongside the 16 automatic PDC qualifiers, eight players will come from a PDC Qualifier which will be held on October 23 in Coventry.

In addition, eight players will represent the BDO system in the tournament, with invitations being issued to BDO Lakeside World Champion Scott Mitchell, runner-up Martin Adams, 2015 World Trophy champion Geert De Vos and the 2014 World Masters winner Martin Phillips.

A further four BDO Qualifiers will also compete in Wolverhampton, with two to come from a UK qualifying event on Tuesday October 6 and two from a European qualifying event, which will be held on Sunday October 18. Full details will be available in due course.

The Singha Beer Grand Slam of Darts was first staged in 2007 and has been won six times by Phil Taylor, with Scott Waites taking the 2010 title and Raymond van Barneveld claiming glory in 2012.

The Singha Beer Grand Slam of tungsten darts will be played from November 7-15 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

  Tungsten Dart Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinadart.com/
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The British Tungsten Darts Organization (also known as BDO) cannot accept responsibility for errors which may occur in any of the tournament information provided. All enquiries should be addressed directly to the tournament organizers.

Aug 2            BDO AGM Meeting       The Village Hotel, Dolomite Avenue, Coventry Business Park, Coventry, CV4 9GZ 

Aug 5            NZ Open Mens and Ladies Singles       Motueka New Zealand  

Aug 8            Ludos Youth Festival of Darts Belgium Sport Complex Pussemierstraat, Burg. Lionel Pussmierstraat 157 te 9900 EEKLO  

Aug 8            USA Classic    USA      

Aug 8            Cambridgeshire Open    GER Sports Club, Robingoodfellows Lane, March, Cambridgeshire PE15 8HS

Aug 9            Champions Cup      Event City Manchester M41 7TB 

Aug 14 - 16           Antwerp Open 2015      Belgica Hangar, Royal Yacht Club of Belgium, Thonetlaan 133 in Antwerp.    

Aug 16           Van Diemanc Classic      Australia

Aug 21           LDO Swedish Classic     Hotel Scandic, Triageln, Malmoe, Sweden  

Aug 21 - 23           Sweden Open 2015 Hotel Scandic, Triageln, Malmoe, Sweden  

Aug 22           The Winmau BDO Wolverhampton Open 2015    Wolverhampton Sports Arena, Racecourse Rd, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV6 0QU   

Aug 28 - 30           French Open 2015  Bray-Dunes, Northern France      

Aug 29           LDO Ladies Classic       The Blues Club, North Street, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN25 2HU   

Aug 30           Cleveland Open      Thornaby Sports & Leisure Club Tedder Avenue Thornaby-on-Tees Cleveland TS17. 9JP. Tel: 0164-275-030

Aug 31           Cut Off date for Winmau 2015     Entries to be sent to winmau@bdodarts.com together with a JPEG photograph

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Van Gerwen booked his place in the final for a second successive year with a 17-12 win over Wright in their last four contest, as he seeks to go one step further and claim the title to erase the memories of his loss to Taylor 12 months ago.

Van Gerwen has since claimed major ranking titles at the World Grand Prix, European Championship, and UK Open, and continued his challenge for a first World Matchplay win with a dominant display against Wright.

The Scot shared the opening six legs in a high-quality start, but was blown away by a five-leg burst as the Dutchman pulled into a lead which he would never lose.

After double 18 gave Wright the opener, van Gerwen hit two 180s in an 11-darter to level, the Scot finished 86 on the bull for a 12-darter and the world number one finished 90 on double ten to level.

Wright then traded 180s with van Gerwen as a 14-darter moved him 3-2 up, but the Dutchman levelled with a 104 checkout - after his opponent missed the bull - before breaking with a 13-darter to move 4-3 up.

Van Gerwen then finished 72, 90 and 56 as the opened up a 7-3 cushion before Wright took two of the next three to pull back to 8-5.

Tops from van Gerwen punished Wright in the next, before the number five seed produced an outstanding 161 checkout to hit back to 9-6 - only for his rival to finish double eight and double ten to move five legs clear.

Wright won two of the next three to hit back to 12-8, and after van Gerwen finished double ten and double one for a 14-8 lead, his revival continued with double 19, double 12 and an 11-darter to reduce the gap to just three legs.

The next, though, went to van Gerwen as he edged out to 15-11, with the pair trading 180 as Wright finished a second 11-darter in three legs to win his 12th leg of the contest.

However, van Gerwen fired in his tenth 180 in a 13-darter to move to the brink of victory, and sealed his spot in the final with a stunning ten-dart finish which featured scores of 174 and 171.

"This is fantastic for me," said van Gerwen. "It was a great performance and though I can do better than this, but I really enjoyed this win.

"Peter is a good player but today he wasn't as good in his doubles and his finishes at the right moments, and I'm glad I did. Going 7-2 up made the game and after that deep inside my heart I knew I was not going to lose the game.

"It's a fantastic feeling and I hope I can carry this on for the final. I'm feeling really good."

Van Gerwen had been left in tears following last year's defeat to Taylor, but will now focus on a different opponent - Wade - in this decider.

"In one way it's a bonus but I also wanted to play Phil because revenge would be nice!" he said. "I'm a big favourite against James but he played phenomenal darts to beat Phil and I have to prepare myself as well as possible because he's a fantastic player.

"I want to use my confidence in the next game and do my own thing and try to beat him. I've never won this tournament and he has, so it's my turn!

"It would be really special to win and I hope I can see myself holding the trophy tomorrow night."

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

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Wade, though, won the next two with a 13-darter and double six, after a 177 score left 24, as he moved to the brink of victory at 16-12.

The tension rose as he missed eight match tungsten darts at doubles in leg 29, with Taylor staying in the hunt with double 16 before finishing double six to pull back to 16-14.

Wade, though, regained his composure with scores of 140, 174 and 140 to pull clear in the next leg and finished tops for a 12-darter to complete a famous triumph.

"Phil's beaten me so many times so I'm a bit numb, but I'm really happy," said Wade. "I didn't expect Phil to play like that but I've beaten him and can look forward to the final.

"I've not played my best but I caught a man when he is struggling, and Phil doesn't normally struggle here so I'm very grateful; it's a big weight off my shoulders.

"He didn't score or finish like he normally would; in patches he did but I stuck with him until ten-all and it seemed to break him a little bit.

"I've got the self-belief at the moment. I've had hidings from Phil, been up there before and he's punched me all around the stage and normally he beats me and beats me, and this time he didn't have any big punches in him.

"I came here tonight and had a good idea of what was going to happen, and I thought I was going to play much better. I hit probably six finishes with my last darts.

"I missed a few match tungsten darts and hoped I hadn't messed it up, but it's hard to beat a great player like Phil Taylor - what he's done in darts will go down in history."

Wade will be appearing in his sixth World Matchplay final, and added: "I wanted to play Phil Taylor this week and Michael too, because I'm feeling good and I want to play against the best."

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

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Taylor had been undefeated since 2007 in the prestigious World Matchplay and was bidding to win the title for an eighth successive year and a 16th time in total after battling through to the last four.

However, Wade - who went on to win the title in 2007 after Terry Jenkins had knocked out Taylor - held his nerve to claim a memorable triumph as he put himself into the final in Blackpool for a sixth time.

Wade had levelled twice after trailing 3-1 and 7-5 before moving into a lead he would never relinquish at 13-10 and 16-12 before holding off Taylor's late rally to end his 38-game winning record on the Winter Gardens stage.

Finishes of tops, double 18 and double seven gave Taylor three of the first four legs, and after Wade hit back with a 120 finish an outstanding ten-darter put the reigning champion 4-2 up.

Taylor then opened leg seven with 180 and 140, but a 168 score from Wade applied the pressure before he punished a miss at double 13 by hitting tops for a 13-darter to hit back.

Taylor produced a fine 12-darter to take a 5-3 lead, but Wade responded with a 180 in a 14-darter before breaking throw on tops - after his opponent missed the same bed - to level.

Taylor took the next two with the aid of 180s for a 7-5 cushion, but the left-hander again hit back as he took the next four legs - punishing missed doubles from the Stoke great in three - to move 9-7 up, with 76 and 64 combinations proving key in that run.

Wade then missed two darts to extend his advantage as Taylor finished 97 with a single 19, double 19 and double top checkout, and a 14-darter which included a second 177 opening of the game saw him level at nine-all.

The next two were also traded before Taylor's miss at tops in the 21st leg allowed Wade in on the same bed to edge 11-10 up, and he then finished 84 and 65 to pull three legs clear.

Taylor kicked off the next with a 174 score as he replied with an 11-darter before the duo traded 180s as double ten moved Wade 14-11 up, only for the left-hander to miss the bull for a 161 checkout as his opponent took leg 26.

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

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Wade took two of the next three, despite a 13-darter from van Gerwen, before a missed bulls-eye from the left-hander for a 167 finish allowed the Dutchman to land double 18 for a 12-8 advantage.

Although Wade took the next to punish missed doubles from van Gerwen, the top seed finished 72 to restore his lead and double 16 in successive legs to move 15-9 up.

Wade claimed two of the next three to stay in the hunt, but an eighth 180 of the game helped van Gerwen move 17-11 up, and despite double ten keeping the left-hander's hopes alive, another maximum helped him set up tops for a 14-darter to seal glory.

Wade's defeat saw him lose out for a fifth time in the final in Blackpool, and he conceded: "It's an honored to be in the final but I let myself down a little bit. From start to finish I struggled, and I wasn't good enough.

"I'm devastated, because I know I was good enough to win that final but I laid down and got steamrollered.

"I'm happy to be in the final and to mix it with the best players in the world again, but I'm not happy with how I played. It's almost as if someone cut my arm off, and the most simple shots became hard work.

"I expected Michael to come out all guns blazing and he didn't do it, but he did it when it mattered. He's a true champion and he did a job against me and won quite comfortably.

"I'm really happy with how it's gone this week and I can take positives from the other games this week, but hats off to Michael."

Van Gerwen's victory also means that he has moved, for the second time, beyond £1 million on the PDC Order of Merit after taking his prize money in ranking events for the past two years to £1,059,750.

As for professional game of darts, we recommend tungsten darts, tungsten is an extremely dense metal. It is also very durable, so a high-density tungsten dart resists wear and the knurling will last much longer.

  Tungsten Dart Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinadart.com/
  Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
  Email:  sales@chinatungsten.com
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