Irelands Jason Barry into PDC World Championships

[carrickharp]

Well done to Jason Barry who is throught to the PDC World Darts Championships.

Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship PDPA Qualifiers
JAMIE CAVEN, Kirk Shepherd, Jason Barry and Steve Evans will make their debuts in the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship next month after coming through the PDPA Qualifiers in Wolverhampton on Friday night.

The quartet were among 160 players competing for the eight PDPA Qualifier places in the tournament at the Aldersley Leisure Village.

Caven will make his first appearance in a televised tournament at Alexandra Palace next month following a 5-2 victory against 2006 qualifier Dave Honey in his decisive match.

The 31-year-old former World Youth Champion from Leicester also overcame John Scott, Jason Crawley and Danny Pinhorne.

Welshman Evans has been a regular on the PDC circuit since qualifying for the 2003 UK Open, but a win over Darren Webster - a quarter-finalist in last year's World Championship - earned him his first appearance in front of the TV cameras away from Bolton.

Shepherd, a 21-year-old former World Youth Masters winner, defeated veteran John MaGowan 5-4 in a close contest to book his first World Championship place.

Irishman Barry followed up his qualification for the SkyBet World Grand Prix in October by defeating experienced Jamie Harvey 5-3 in his final match.

Maish has slipped out of the world's top 32 since losing in round one of last year's World Championship to South African Wynand Havenga, but justified his number one seeding with some quality wins.

He was pushed all the way in his deciding game, taking out 104 for victory in a deciding leg against Mark Frost, after earlier defeating Geoff Wylie, Dale Pinch and Robbie Green.

Dutchman Jan van der Rassel defeated York's John Quantock 5-2 to earn himself a return to the World Championship, while Colin Monk is another player to book his place in yet another major championship with his 5-4 win over Paul Knighton.

Former World Champions John Lowe, Eric Bristow, Richie Burnett and Keith Deller failed in their bids to reach Alexandra Palace.

Gary Welding, the number three seed on the night, is facing a drop down the Order of Merit, having reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship two years ago but suffering a first game loss to Jon Archer in Wolverhampton.

The draw for the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship will be made on Monday 26 November at 3.30pm, live on Sky Sports News.

Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship
PDPA Qualifiers - Results

Qualifiers

Steve Maish
Jan van der Rassel
Colin Monk
Steve Evans
Jamie Caven
Steve Hine
Kirk Shepherd
Jason Barry


Round Five
Steve Maish 5-4 Mark Frost
Jan van der Rassel 5-2 John Quantock
Colin Monk 5-4 Paul Knighton
Steve Evans 5-4 Darren Webster
Jamie Caven 5-2 Dave Honey
Steve Hine 5-0 Alan Caves
Kirk Shepherd 5-4 John MaGowan
Jason Barry 5-3 Jamie Harvey
Winners Qualify For Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship
Losers £1,000


Round Four
Steve Maish 5-3 Robbie Green
Mark Frost 5-0 John Ferrell
John Quantock 5-4 Chris Allen
Jan van der Rassel 5-3 Steve Smith
Colin Monk 5-3 Nick Fulwell
Paul Knighton 5-3 Andrew Howarth
Darren Webster 5-2 Eddie Lovely
Steve Evans 5-1 Shayne Burgess
Jamie Caven 5-1 Danny Pinhorne
Dave Honey 5-1 Jimmy Mann
Steve Hine 5-4 Colin McGarry
Alan Caves 5-0 Dave Ladley
John MaGowan 5-4 Darren Williams
Kirk Shepherd 5-2 Mark Stephenson
Jamie Harvey 5-1 Dave Jowett
Jason Barry 5-1 Simon Craven
Losers £500

Round Three
Steve Maish 5-1 Dale Pinch
Robbie Green 5-0 John Lowe
John Ferrell 5-2 Michael Barnard
Mark Frost 5-3 Paul Williams
Chris Allen 5-3 Lee Palfreyman
John Quantock 5-3 Sean Dowling
Steve Smith 5-3 Ricky Williams
Jan van der Rassel 5-4 Steve Cusick
Colin Monk 5-3 Kelvin Painter
Nick Fulwell 5-0 Garry Clamp
Paul Knighton 5-0 Norman Fletcher
Andrew Howarth 5-3 Kevin Dowling
Darren Webster 5-2 Darrell Thorpe
Eddie Lovely 5-1 Isen Veljic
Shayne Burgess 5-3 Wayne Atwood
Steve Evans 5-1 Darren Moulsley
Danny Pinhorne 5-4 Dennis Smith
Jamie Caven 5-2 Jason Crawley
Jimmy Mann 5-2 Shane Passey
Dave Honey 5-2 Sean Palfrey
Steve Hine 5-2 James Keogh
Colin McGarry 5-2 Eric Bristow
Alan Caves 5-3 Peter Evison
Dave Ladley 5-4 Ian Critchett
John MaGowan 5-4 Kevin McDine
Darren Williams 5-4 Dave Smith
Kirk Shepherd 5-2 Andy Callaby
Mark Stephenson 5-1 Stuart Holden
Jamie Harvey 5-3 Jon Archer
Dave Jowett 5-4 Yves Cottenge
Simon Craven 5-4 Lee Holden
Jason Barry 5-3 Ray Farrell

Round Two
Steve Maish 5-0 Geoff Wylie
Dale Pinch 5-2 Nigel Peden
John Lowe 5-0 Jimmy O'Regan
Robbie Green 5-2 Graeme Stoddart
Michael Barnard 5-3 Rico Vonck
John Ferrell 5-3 Kieran Lennon
Paul Williams 5-3 Darren Latham
Mark Frost 5-4 Garry Spedding
Chris Allen 5-1 John Kuczynski
Lee Palfreyman 5-4 Ian Lever
John Quantock Bye (Erwin Extercatte)
Sean Dowling 5-3 Gary Noonan
Steve Smith 5-0 Brian Cathcart
Ricky Williams 5-0 Kevin Hill
Steve Cusick 5-1 Mark Robinson
Jan van der Rassel 5-1 Robbie Parker
Colin Monk 5-2 Ian Jopling
Kelvin Painter 5-2 Kees Slokkers
Garry Clamp 5-3 Andrew Coulter
Nick Fulwell 5-3 Mick Savvery
Norman Fletcher 5-4 Richie Burnett
Paul Knighton 5-2 Matt Chapman
Andrew Howarth 5-3 Keith Deller
Kevin Dowling 5-0 Paul Harrison
Darren Webster 5-4 Garrett Gray
Darrell Thorpe 5-3 Tommy Wilson
Isen Veljic 5-1 Jamie Robinson
Eddie Lovely 5-3 Jonathan Overton
Wayne Atwood 5-1 Martin Burchell
Shayne Burgess 5-1 Scott Marsh
Darren Moulsley 5-4 Bob Crawley
Steve Evans 5-1 Owen Caffrey
Dennis Smith 5-2 Gary Blades
Danny Pinhorne 5-0 Kevin Reade
Jamie Caven 5-2 John Scott
Jason Crawley 5-4 Matt Sheehan
Jimmy Mann 5-4 Rick Andrews
Shane Passey 5-2 Brian Jones
Sean Palfrey 5-3 Colin Ritchie
Dave Honey 5-2 Lee White
Steve Hine 5-1 Darren Johnson
James Keogh 5-2 Henry O'Neill
Eric Bristow 5-1 Chris Sargeant
Colin McGarry 5-0 Darren Sutton
Alan Caves 5-2 Mark Cox
Peter Evison 5-1 Robbie Newland
Ian Critchett 5-2 Andy Pearson
Dave Ladley 5-3 Robert Watson-Lang
John MaGowan 5-1 Steve Grubb
Kevin McDine 5-1 James Barton
Dave Smith 5-1 Peter Aleman
Darren Williams 5-3 Mark Lawrence
Andy Callaby 5-1 Frazer Hill
Kirk Shepherd 5-3 Ian Branks
Stuart Holden 5-1 Dale Newton
Mark Stephenson 5-1 Kevin Harris
Jon Archer 5-1 Gary Welding
Jamie Harvey 5-2 Aaron Turner
Yves Cottenge 5-3 Mark Carter
Dave Jowett 5-1 Brian Whybrow
Lee Holden 5-1 Alan Green
Simon Craven 5-4 Taro Yachi
Jason Barry 5-0 Simon Whatley
Ray Farrell 5-1 Alan Reilly


Round One
Nigel Peden 5-1 Martin Whatmough
Graeme Stoddart 5-4 Shaun McDonald
John Ferrell 5-2 David Platt
Garry Spedding 5-3 Chris Daglish
Ian Lever 5-2 Andy Relf
Gary Noonan 5-2 Daniel Sare
Ricky Williams 5-4 Paul Whitworth
Robbie Parker 5-4 Tony Randell
Kelvin Painter 5-2 Matt Jackson
Mick Savvery 5-3 Chris Thompson
Paul Knighton 5-2 Jimmy Dunlop
Kevin Dowling 5-0 Ben Burton
Darrell Thorpe 5-2 Mark Jodrill
Jonathan Overton 5-3 Greg White
Scott Marsh 5-3 Richard McLaughlin
Steve Evans 5-2 Paul Dillon
Danny Pinhorne 5-2 Neil Wild
Matt Sheehan 5-2 Chris Beeston
Shane Passey 5-3 Harry Anderson
Dave Honey 5-4 Chris Hook
Henry O'Neill 5-2 Steve Cupitt
Colin McGarry 5-3 Gary Barnett
Robbie Newland 5-1 Tony Ayres
Dave Ladley 5-1 Ian Eames
Kevin McDine 5-2 Alan Reynolds
Darren Williams 5-1 Kieran Leal
Kirk Shepherd 5-4 Martyn Turner
Kevin Harris 5-1 Cliff Lazarenko
Jamie Harvey 5-2 Jim Leighton
Dave Jowett 5-2 Mark Holden
Taro Yachi 5-4 Mark Tiller
Ray Farrell 5-1 PJ Moylan

[carrickharp]

The two Irish lads play each other in the first round.


Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship
Preliminary Round Draw
Akihiro Nakagawa (Japan) v Anthony Forde (Barbados)
Rizal Barellano (Philippines) v Miloslav Navtratil (Czech Republic)
Alan Bolton (New Zealand) v Erwin Extercatte (Holland)
Ashfaque Sayed (India) v Shi Yongsheng (China)

First Round Draw
Mick McGowan (29) v Jason Barry
Phil Taylor (1) v Michael van Gerwen
Adrian Gray (32) v Mark Walsh
Andy Jenkins (16) v Barellano/Navratil
Alan Tabern (17) v Per Laursen
Roland Scholten (8) v Matt Clark
Mervyn King (25) v German Qualifier 2
Wayne Mardle (9) v Ray Carver
Wes Newton (24) v Jamie Caven
Peter Manley (5) v Toon Greebe
Alan Warriner-Little (28) v Sayed/Yongsheng
Colin Lloyd (12) v Jan van der Rassel
Denis Ovens (21) v Colin Monk
Terry Jenkins (4) v Kirk Shepherd
Barrie Bates (13) v Gerry Convery
Colin Osborne (20) v Bolton/Extercatte
Raymond van Barneveld (2) v Nakagawa/Forde
Bob Anderson (31) v Jason Clark
Kevin Painter (15) v Gary Mawson
Chris Mason (18) v Steve Brown
Adrian Lewis (7) v Dave Askew
Vincent van der Voort (26) v Jelle Klaasen
Dennis Priestley (10) v Steve Maish
Wayne Jones (23) v Tony Eccles
Andy Hamilton (6) v Leroy Kwaidjk
Alex Roy (27) v Warren Parry
John Part (11) v Charles Losper
Andy Smith (22) v German Qualifier 1
James Wade (3) v Steve MacArthur
Steve Beaton (30) v Steve Evans
Ronnie Baxter (14) v Dan Olson
Mark Dudbridge (19) v Steve Hine

[TheBoss]

That would just happen wouldn't it :D

Taylor v Van Gerwen, what a first round game there.

[Roadend]

Taylor is coming back into form, he should easily dispose of Vane Gerwen if he plays like he did in the Grand Slam of darts.

[carrickharp]

Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship
Schedule of Play
Monday 17th December 2007 (4 x First Round)
7pm: Alan Tabern v Per Laursen
8pm: Adrian Gray v Mark Walsh
9pm: Wayne Mardle v Ray Carver
10pm: Colin Lloyd v Jan van der Rassel

Tuesday 18th December 2007 (4 x First Round)
7pm: Roland Scholten v Matt Clark
8pm: Peter Manley v Toon Greebe
9pm: Phil Taylor v Michael van Gerwen
10pm: Mervyn King v German Qualifier 2

Wednesday 19th December 2007 (2 x Preliminary Round + 8 x First Round)
12.30pm: Akihiro Nakagawa v Anthony Forde (P)
1.00pm: Rizal Barellano v Miloslav Navratil (P)
1.30pm: Wes Newton v Jamie Caven
2.30pm: Denis Ovens v Colin Monk
3.30pm: Mick McGowan v Jason Barry
4.30pm: Barrie Bates v Gerry Convery
7pm: Bob Anderson v Jason Clark
8pm: Terry Jenkins v Kirk Shepherd
9pm: Chris Mason v Steve Brown
10pm: Kevin Painter v Gary Mawson

Thursday 20th December 2007 (2 x Preliminary Round + 8 x First Round)
12.30pm: Ashfaque Sayed v Shi Yongsheng (P)
1.00pm: Alan Bolton v Erwin Extercatte (P)
1.30pm: Andy Jenkins v Barellano/Navratil
2.30pm: Wayne Jones v Tony Eccles
3.30pm: Andy Hamilton v Leroy Kwadijk
4.30pm: Alex Roy v Warren Parry
7pm: Dennis Priestley v Steve Maish
8pm: Adrian Lewis v Dave Askew
9pm: Raymond van Barneveld v Nakagawa/Forde
10pm: Vincent van der Voort v Jelle Klaasen

Friday 21st December 2007 (8 x First Round)

1pm: Alan Warriner-Little v Sayed/Yongsheng
2pm: Colin Osborne v Bolton/Extercatte
3pm: Andy Smith v German Qualifier 1
4pm: Steve Beaton v Steve Evans
7pm: Ronnie Baxter v Dan Olson
8pm: James Wade v Steve MacArthur
9pm: John Part v Charles Losper
10pm: Mark Dudbridge v Steve Hine

Saturday 22nd December 2007 (6 x Second Round)
1pm: A Jenkins/Barellano/Navratil v Tabern/Laursen
2.20pm: Lloyd/van der Rassel v Ovens/Monk
3.40pm: Manley/Greebe v Warriner-Little/Sayed/Yongsheng
7pm: Scholten/M Clark v King/German Qualifier 2
8.20pm: Taylor/van Gerwen v Gray/Walsh
9.40pm: Mardle/Carver v Newton/Caven


Wednesday 26th December 2007 (6 x Second Round)
4pm: Bates/Convery v Osborne/Bolton/Extercatte
5.20pm: Painter/Mawson v Mason/Brown
6.40pm: T Jenkins/Shepherd v McGowan/Barry
8pm: Lewis/Askew v van der Voort/Klaasen
9.20pm: Part/Losper v Smith/German Qualifier 1
10.40pm: Wade/MacArthur v Beaton/Evans

Thursday 27th December 2007 (4 x Second Round + 2 x Third Round)
1pm: Priestley/Maish v Jones/Eccles
2.20pm: Hamilton/Kwadijk v Roy/Parry
3.40pm: Baxter/Olson v Dudbridge/Hine
7pm: van Barneveld/Nakagawa/Forde v Anderson/J Clark
8.20pm: Taylor/van Gerwen/Gray/Walsh v A Jenkins/Barellano/Navratil/Tabern/Laursen
9.40pm: Scholten/M Clark/King/German Q2 v Mardle/Carver/Newton/Caven

Friday 28th December 2007 (6 x Third Round)
1pm: T Jenkins/Shepherd/McGowan/Barry v Bates/Convery/Osborne/Bolton/Extercatte
2.20pm: Lewis/Askew/van der Voort/Klaasen v Priestley/Maish/Jones/Eccles
3.40pm: Wade/MacArthur/Beaton/Evans v Baxter/Olson/Dudbridge/Hine
7pm: Manley/Greebe/Warriner-Little/Sayed/Yongsheng v Lloyd/van der Rassel/Ovens/Monk
8.20pm: van Barneveld/Nakagawa/Forde/Anderson/J Clark v Painter/Mawson/Mason/Brown
9.40pm: Hamilton/Kwadijk/Roy/Parry v Part/Losper/Smith/German Q1

Saturday 29th December 2007 (Quarter-Finals)
1pm: Manley/Greebe/Warriner-Little/Sayed/Yongsheng/Lloyd/van der Rassel/Ovens/Monk v T Jenkins/Shepherd/McGowan/Barry/Bates/Convery/Osborne/Bolton/Extercatte
3pm: Hamilton/Kwadijk/Roy/Parry/Part/Losper/Smith/German Q1 v Wade/MacArthur/Beaton/Evans/Baxter/Olson/Dudbridge/Hine
7pm: Taylor/van Gerwen/Gray/Walsh/A Jenkins/Barellano/Navratil/Tabern/Laursen v Scholten/M Clark/King/German Q2/Mardle/Carver/Newton/Caven
9pm: van Barneveld/Nakagawa/Forde/Anderson/J Clark/Painter/Mawson/Mason/Brown v Lewis/Askew/van der Voort/Klaasen/Priestley/Maish/Jones/Eccles

Sunday 30th December 2007 (Semi-Finals)
7pm
9pm

Tuesday 1st January 2008 (Final)
7.30pm

[Rovers fan]

taylor van gerwen is the pick of the ties. van der voort klaasen will be good too!

[carrickharp]

First Round - Monday 17th
Alan Tabern 3-1 Per Laursen
Adrian Gray 2-3 Mark Walsh
Wayne Mardle 3-2 Ray Carver
Colin Lloyd 2-3 Jan van der Rassel
Reports Here (http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/WorldChampsDetail/0,,10180~1193447,00.html)

[TheBoss]

No great special games, the first game was decent enough some bits of quality.

Gray and Walsh was slightly better but still not that exiting despite Gray coming from 2-0 down.

Mardle and Carver was the best of the night, both players played very well at times and Mardle deserved it in the end.

The last game was really poor from Lloyd, he is really struggling for the past year, much better player than he is showing. His scoring most of the time was awful, his finishing the first 4 Sets was great, around 80%, but he had to hit them or else he would of lost those legs. V D Rassel deserved it at the end.

[Rovers fan]

Taylor just scraped into the next round. Van gerwen missed game shot and lost 3-2

[carrickharp]

Tuesday 18 December
First Round
Roland Scholten 3-2 Matt Clark
Peter Manley 3-2 Toon Greebe
Phil Taylor 3-2 Michael van Gerwen
Mervyn King 3-2 Michael Rosenauer
Reports Here (http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/WorldChampsDetail/0,,10180~1194184,00.html)

Van Gerwen blew it alright last night, Taylor can only get better from now on.

[Roadend]

Van Gerwen should have disposed of Taylor, the eejit. Now that he's survived that scare you can see him getting much much better.

[Rovers fan]

just wondering but was mervyn king not asked before if he was going to hoin the PDC and he got really p1ssed oiff and he said he would rather retire than join the PDC? Or is that just my imagination making up stories yet again?

[Ceirtlis]

just wondering but was mervyn king not asked before if he was going to hoin the PDC and he got really p1ssed oiff and he said he would rather retire than join the PDC? Or is that just my imagination making up stories yet again?

Dont worry you are not going senile yet. He threathned to walk out of the BDO worlds last year because he was asked if he was joining the pdc. He promptly joined the pdc within days of the bdo finishing.

[TheBoss]

Tuesday 18 December
First Round
Roland Scholten 3-2 Matt Clark
Peter Manley 3-2 Toon Greebe
Phil Taylor 3-2 Michael van Gerwen
Mervyn King 3-2 Michael Rosenauer
Reports Here (http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/WorldChampsDetail/0,,10180%7E1194184,00.html)

Van Gerwen blew it alright last night, Taylor can only get better from now on.

Scholten/Clark was a good game, enjoyed it. Greebe was impressive v Manley but he was just ousted by Manley. Taylor and V G, a poor game compared to what them 2 could really do. Anyones game and Taylor took it. King was impressive at times but his opponent battled to stay in the game.

[TheBoss]

MaGowen/Barry was a very even game despite the 3-0 scoreline to Mick, Barry actually had the better average at 87 v 85, not top quality stuff yet again.

[Rovers fan]

anybody know where you can watch the darts online for free?

[TheBoss]

http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=3897&part=sports

I enjoyed the V D Voort/Klassen game last night, really good, 18 180's between them aswell, great stuff.

[Rovers fan]

http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=3897&part=sports

I enjoyed the V D Voort/Klassen game last night, really good, 18 180's between them aswell, great stuff.

Thanks a million

[rambler14]

i'd back terry jenkins

[TheBoss]

Thats good, you know he got knocked out.

[carrickharp]

Wednesday 26th December 2007 (6 x Second Round)
4pm: Barrie Bates v Erwin Extercatte
5.20pm: Kevin Painter v Chris Mason
6.40pm: Kirk Shepherd v Mick McGowan
8pm: Adrian Lewis v Vincent van der Voort
9.20pm: John Part v Mensur Suljovic
10.40pm: James Wade v Steve Beaton

[TheBoss]

Mick has a good chance, he has to be at his best unlike his form this year.

Painter/Mason and Lewis/van der Voort should be good.

[Rovers fan]

mcgowan lost 4-3

[carrickharp]

FFS Mick great chance tonght:(

[Rovers fan]

barney is out, great game it was too. Wade isn't on top form either so it looks like taylor can win it as he will probably raise his game. I wouldn't be suprised if lewis did very well.

[carrickharp]

1000-1 shot Kirk Shepherd v 33-1 shot John Part in the final!!!

[TheBoss]

Just a shame that the final is a bit of let down, Part in the final, I no problems with but to see a virtual unknown that should have been beaten in 3 games get to the final is just unfair to likes that had a great year. I expect a 7-0, 7-1.

[rambler14]

Part is 7/2. Sheppard 2/1. It's close enough

[ramsfan]

sheppard has the momentum think he will win it but it will be a cracker

[RonnieB]

It is going to be a good night of Darts, I dont think Part will have it all his own way, Kirk is brimming with confidence and is throwing decent darts.

Cant wait, have a large quantity of ale in and plenty of nibbles.

[Rovers fan]

I put money on part before his semi final although everybody i have been rooting for/expecting to win has ended up losing!. Very poor quality darts in general though, the averages are extremely low and yet again no nine darter at the world championships.

[TheBoss]

Just to tell you, Kirk has not once averaged over 90 in his games, Part has averaged 90+ in his games including, 94, 96 and 99.

[Rovers fan]

Just to tell you, Kirk has not once averaged over 90 in his games,


That is amazing and highlights the poor quality of darts in this tournament. The averages at the lakeside will be higher!

[rambler14]

Part won 7-2

[bellavistaman]

rubbish for entertainment delighted with the result though.

[DaveyCakes]

Just a shame that the final is a bit of let down, Part in the final, I no problems with but to see a virtual unknown that should have been beaten in 3 games get to the final is just unfair to likes that had a great year. I expect a 7-0, 7-1.

How is it unfair? He won the matches. It's a darts competition, not a popularity contest.

[TheBoss]

You will never see him in a quarter/Semi again unless the players against him miss about 6 darts for the match each, which is virtually what happened. Unfair in the terms that he deserved to lose those matches and better players that he beat should have beaten him.

[Dodge]

Unfair in the terms that he deserved to lose those matches

Would've thought hitting doubles was an integral part of the game and therefore his oppenents didn't deserve to win...

[TheBoss]

Yes, it is the object of the game, but he realistically was lucky to the chance to win all the games he managed to win.

[DaveyCakes]

You will never see him in a quarter/Semi again unless the players against him miss about 6 darts for the match each, which is virtually what happened. Unfair in the terms that he deserved to lose those matches and better players that he beat should have beaten him.

So once someone has had a few doubles to win a match, they should just be awarded the match, regardless of whether they hit the double or not, because they've been the better player?

[Unreal Madrid]

Unfair in the terms that he deserved to lose those matches and better players that he beat should have beaten him.

Do you have John Delaney's number, with your rational he might have a perfect job for you. ::o

[Rovers fan]

You will never see him in a quarter/Semi again unless the players against him miss about 6 darts for the match each, which is virtually what happened. Unfair in the terms that he deserved to lose those matches and better players that he beat should have beaten him.

He is quitting the day job and turning professional. I didn't realise he won the world youth championships, or so im told. A leading darts pundit said sheppard is the next phil taylor, personally i don't see how because he doesn't have a great technique, somebody like van gerwen is a much better prospect imo.

I wan't suprised that the final was a let down, sheppard never had a chance. The only day of real entertainment this year was quater finals day when three of the games went to the final set. Part fully deserved to win as he was simply the best player throughout the tournament. The question is, is phil taylor past it?

[shedite]

The question is, is phil taylor past it?

I reckon Taylor has reached his peak, which was enough for however many years he dominated the sport. i don't think he's demised at all, but rather that everyone else has had to raise their games to compete with him.

The Premier League will tell a lot. It's all very well beating Taylor on a one-off event like the world championships, but to see whether any of the contenders have enough to maintain a challenge over a 10 week event will be another story.

[TheBoss]

I reckon Taylor has reached his peak, which was enough for however many years he dominated the sport. i don't think he's demised at all, but rather that everyone else has had to raise their games to compete with him.

The Premier League will tell a lot. It's all very well beating Taylor on a one-off event like the world championships, but to see whether any of the contenders have enough to maintain a challenge over a 10 week event will be another story.

UK Open
World Matchplay
Las Vegas Desert Classic
Grand Prix
World Championships

I think that is more than an once off. He is not as consistent as he used to be, he occasionally averages in 100s but most of the time, he is in the early to mid 90s last year, so he is slowly drifting away but he will always be there in semi's and finals cause those averages are still capable of winning games.

[DmanDmythDledge]

You will never see him in a quarter/Semi again unless the players against him miss about 6 darts for the match each, which is virtually what happened. Unfair in the terms that he deserved to lose those matches and better players that he beat should have beaten him.
Lucky perhaps, but certainly not unfair. Not his fault that his opponents didn't get the job done.

[TheBoss]

I know it is not his fault and he took advantage like said, but its like an average team in Champions League getting decisions their way through the knockout phase's, like offiside goals when they did not deserve to win like Porto a few years back, should have beaten by Man Utd and yet the ref saved them, similar to that, But Porto are more of a threat in football than Shepherd is in darts.

[Unreal Madrid]

I know it is not his fault and he took advantage like said, but its like an average team in Champions League getting decisions their way through the knockout phase's, like offiside goals when they did not deserve to win like Porto a few years back, should have beaten by Man Utd and yet the ref saved them, similar to that, But Porto are more of a threat in football than Shepherd is in darts.

Offside goals? Dodgy decisions? All Shepherd did was take his chances after others MISSED, he deserved to be there, end of story.

[TheBoss]

His highest average was 89, they were many players with better averages who got knocked out, that is the general point I am making.

[Aberdonian Stu]

It's still hardly a matter of fairness though. Averages are only part of the game of Darts, you also have to be able to hit the doubles. As Bobby George puts it "180s for show, doubles for dough". Shepherd hit the doubles more often when it counted and that's why he got to the final.