2-to-1 you'll LOVE it!
Harry or Gary?
On the day of a royal wedding Gsry Anderson played some majestic darts to claim #PC11.
Payne & Pleasure!
Josh Payne wins his 2nd PDC title by beating Peter 'Snakebite' Wright in a thrilling final at #PC12.
Players Championships 11 & 12 AND the European Qualifiers
By: Irish Darts Fan
The PDC Pro Tour returned again this weekend, with 2 European Tour qualifiers and Players Championships 11 & 12. After Steve Lennon's amazing run to the final in last week's Dutch Darts Masters in Zwolle, the Irish took plenty confidence into the action in Milton Keynes. They certainly did not let us down.
Here is my report of the weekend's action.
Brendon Dolan
This week, I'll start with Fermanagh's Brendan Dolan. Brendan had his most consistent weekend of the year in Milton Keynes, starting on Friday. He qualified for both Euro Tour events, which set the tone for Saturday and Sunday. He then had a fabulous run to the quarter finals on Saturday, and an even better run to the semis on Sunday, including an almighty tussle with Mickey Mansell! It was his self confessed 'first time in a long time had a very consistent weekend.'
Here are his stats for the 3 days. Brendan started the week off in fine style on Friday, defeating Aden Kirk 6-4 and Dawson Murschell 6-3, throwing a 98 average in the process, to qualify for European Tour 7 in Gibraltar. He followed this up straight away by defeating Adam Hunt and Stephen Burton 6-2 and 6-3 to qualify for European Tour 8 in Copenhagen.
A perfect Friday for Brendan, could he replicate this on Saturday? You bet! He opened up with a 6-4 win and 97 average against Eddie Dootson. Then, a massive 6-1 win over rising star Joe Cullen. Brendan was signalling his intent with a 96 average this time. Into the Last 32 and it was a 6-4 win over Nathan Aspinall which did the job, another 96 average! Brendan was playing really well and was facing Michael Barnard for his second quarter final appearance of the year. He duly obliged with a 6-3 win including 3 180s. Brendan played German star Gabriel Clemens in the Last 8, missing an 84 out for the match before Clemens took out 102 to win the decider. Another great day for Brendan, with £2250 pocketed!
It was about to get even better for Brendan on Sunday! A 6-3 win over James Wilson in Round 1 set the tone before another 6-3 win over Dimitri van den Bergh brought him to another Last 32. He came up against Dawson Murschell again and once again triumphed 6-3 to progress to the Last 16. It was Jeffrey de Zwaan this time and this was arguably Brendan's performance of the weekend. A 98 average with 43% on doubles was plenty to see off de Zwaan. In the quarter finals, it was Brendan's good friend Mickey Mansell who stood in his way of his first quarter final of the year. Brendan did just enough to see off the Tyrone man, beating him 6-4 to set up a semi final clash with Peter Wright.
Peter Wright Finished this 25 for 1-0 Brendan Dolan pinning double eight for a 2-1 lead Handshakes! Snakebite wins 6-3
It was Brendan who made the early running, and could have gone 4-2 up, but Wright with a ton average, eventually took the victory 6-3. It was a brilliant weekend for Brendan. He won £5250 in the 2 Players Championship events, as well as guaranteeing at least £1000 for each Euro Tour event. He averaged 95.3 for the weekend and hit 39% of his doubles. A fabulous week in Milton Keynes, hopefully this will go a long way to earning him enough to make some big events at the end of the year.
The Consistency of Brendan Dolan this weekend.
Mickey Mansell
Mickey Mansell was also in action this weekend, and also impressed with a Euro Tour qualification and a quarter final run on Sunday. His week started with a defeat to Adam Hunt, meaning he failed to qualify for Euro Tour 7 in Gibraltar, but he made up for that very quickly. A 6-0 win with a 101 average over Robert Owen, followed by a 6-3 win against Paul Rowley earned him a spot in Copenhagen next month.
Saturday was Players Championship 11, and Mickey started well on the stream by beating Ted Evetts 6-4. He followed this up by beating Jelle Klaasen 6-4 in the Last 64, hitting 6 180s across the 2 days. Unfortunately, he bowed out to Ryan Joyce in the next round, but it was £1000 earned.
Mickey Mansell lining up an outshot against Ted Evetts Mickey Mansell landing a double 20
It was Sunday when Mickey really kicked on! He started off with a 6-3 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode, throwing an excellent 99 average in the game. He followed this up by once again defeating Jelle Klaasen, who couldn't come to terms with Mickey this weekend. The Last 32 was the display of the week! A 6-0 trashing of Austrian star Mensur Suljovic! A 105 average, 67% on doubles and a 180, it doesn't get much better than that! It was Luke Woodhouse in the Last 16, he couldn't replicate the 105 average but he didn't need to! A 6-2 win, and he was into the quarter finals, sniffing a potential second win of the year.
It was fellow countryman Brendan Dolan in the Last 8, and this is where Mickey's day ended. A 6-4 defeat to Brendan, but a very satisfactory day for Mickey! Mickey had an average of 91, hit 41% of his doubles and threw 21 180s. The Tyrone man is playing brilliantly at the moment, and is a force to be reckoned with by ANYONE on the PDC circuit!
Steve Lennon
Steve Lennon impressed once again this weekend, in his first time out as a seed in the Players Championships. He qualified for European Tour 7 with a 6-2 win (98.6 average) over Ted Evetts, although he failed to qualify for Denmark, the first Euro Tour in 6 events he has failed to make. A wonderful display against Mark Wilson in Round 1 on Saturday would hopefully be a sign of things to come. He threw a 105.4 average in that match, one of the games of Round 1. He eased past Vincent Kamphuis 6-3 on the official PDC stream in Round 2 before he came up against Dave Chisnall. Steve was leading the high quality contest 4-3, before Dave reeled off 3 legs to take the win.
Locked & loaded against Vincent Kamphuis A beautiful 108 checkout Handshakes after 6-3 victory
Sunday started impressively for Steve as well. A 96 average in a 6-5 win over Ronny Huybrechts was another excellent performance. He followed this up with a brilliant 6-4 win over Matthew Edgar, throwing a 104 average in the process. Steve was unstoppable, wasn't he? Unfortunately not for Ian White, the Top 16 star winning out 6-1. Still, there was a lot of expectation on Steve after his first final last week and he stepped up to the plate with some excellent performances. He is well established in the Top 50 on the Order of Merit now and is in the provisional qualifying spots for the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and of course, the World Championships. The future looks bright for Carlow's Steve Lennon!
William O'Connor
Willie O'Connor was also making some decent preparations for the World Cup in Milton Keynes this weekend. The Limerick man is an ever present at the World Cup, and alongside Steve Lennon, Ireland will prove formidable opposition. But Willie put that to the back of his mind, as he focuses on the Pro Tour action. He started off in the Euro Tour 7 qualifier where he lost out 6-2 to Ritchie Edhouse in the final round despite a 97.5 average. He was back again for the European Tour 8 qualifier, where he did the business by defeating Simon Stevenson and Mark Dudbridge 6-4 to qualify for Denmark.
Frustration during the Michael Smith match
Onto Players Championship 11 on Saturday, and Willie never got started. He averaged 96.6 in Round 1, but Wayne Jones was excellent, beating Willie 6-2. Sunday started off in much brighter fashion. Willie put in his performance of the week to hammer George Killington 6-0 with a 95 average! Brilliant stuff! Unfortunately, Willie came up against Premier League finalist Michael Smith in Round 2, and was defeated 6-2 by the St Helens man. Willie had a very decent average of 94 for the whole weekend, and hit 34.5% of doubles. The results did not quite go his way, but promising signs for Willie ahead of the World Cup in 2 weeks.
Daryl Gurney
World Number 5 Daryl Gurney was as usual, playing this weekend. As a seed, he had the privilege of skipping the 2 European Tour qualifiers on Friday, meaning his first action was on Saturday in Players Championship 11. It was worth the wait, a solid 6-3 win over Devon Petersen kicking things off. It was Wayne Jones in Round 2, and once again, Daryl comfortably dispatched of him 6-3. It was the Last 32 where Daryl was at his best. A MASTERFUL 6-0 hammering of Players Championship 10 winner Jeffrey de Zwaan with a 110 average sent a major message out. He could win this... Unfortunately not, Daryl was 20 points per visit off in the Last 16. He couldn't afford this against Adrian Lewis, and he went out 6-3.
Sunday was not a good day for Daryl as he went out straight away 6-4 to Christian Kist. The World number 5 is also building up for the World Cup, and with the 2 playing as they are, Brendan and himself could well lead Northern Ireland to the title, you just never know!
Jason Cullen
Jason Cullen was back from the Dutch Darts Masters last weekend in Zwolle, to the slightly less glamorous venue of Milton Keynes! Jason came straight down to reality by failing to qualify for European Tour 7 in Gibraltar. Jason gave a good go in Euro Tour 8 qualifier, including a 100 average in a 6-2 win over Mark Wilson, but eventually went out to Steve Beaton in the final round.
On Saturday, Jason appeared to us on the stream where he came up against Ryan Joyce, playing solidly but losing out 6-4. He played Ronnie Baxter on Sunday, where despite a 75 average, managed to come through 6-5. He lost 6-0 to Steve Beaton in the next round, but it's yet another £500 for Jason. The Wexford man is learning his way on the Pro Tour, and if he can win a Tour Card, will be a force to be reckoned with in years to come.
Kevin Burness
Kevin Burness was also in action this weekend. The Q School triumphant failed to qualify for his first Euro Tour event on Friday, falling just short in a 6-4 defeat to Robert Thornton in the final round. Kevin appeared on the dress on Saturday, where he misses 5 match darts to beat Davy van Baelen 6-3, coming back to haunt him in a 6-5 loss. Unfortunately, Kevin was eliminated in Round 1 again on Sunday, 6-2 to Kirk Shepherd. However, like Jason, this is Kevin's first year on the Pro Tour. He is playing nicely, and it is only soon before the results start to match the performances.
'Player of the Week'
And now, it's Player of the Week time. There were numerous players who could have won it in their own right but the deserved winner is...
Brendan Dolan!
Apologies to James Wilson after winning 6-3
The Fermanagh man was brilliant in qualifying for both European Tour events on Friday, before making brilliant runs to both the quarter finals and semi finals on Saturday and Sunday. Brendan is looking like he is back to his best! Well played! Another feature this week is Match of the Week. There were some fabulous games, Daryl's 6-0 hammering of de Zwaan, Willie's 6-0 hammering of Killington, and of course, Mickey vs Brendan. However, the standout Match of the Week is... Mickey Mansell's 6-0 demolition job of Mensur Suljovic. The Tyrone man was too good for the World number 6 in all aspects, with a 105 average, 67% on doubles and a 180. Well played Mickey!
That's all for this week. As always, thanks to High Roller Radio for giving me the column, I really appreciate it. Next week is the German Darts Masters but for now...
Matt.
@livedarts
"Even Prince Harry loves the darts! Disappointing behaviour to arrange your wedding at the same time Players Championship 11 begins, though...
@irishdartsfan
Loving the Darts on the Emerald Isle!
Matt, the 'Irish Darts Fan,' is an avid follower of the tungsten pays particular attention to his fellow countrymen. News, statistics and player quotes. From O'Connor to Lennon to Dolan, darts in Ireland has nothing to do with luck, it's about the Skill of the Irish baby!
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