High Roller Radio
@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!
Jonny Clayton Wins in Austria!
The Ferret has shocked the world by winning the Austrian Open Darts Championship!
Players Championships' from Wigan
(Above) #PC9 recap and we had a Taylor Vn Gerwen final.
(Below) #PC10 recap & it was a maiden title for Dutchman Jeffrey de Zwaan.
Mickey Mansell winning Players Championship 8
2-to-1 you'll LOVE it!
Kevin Burness
A relatively disappointing weekend for the others, here's my round up of all the Irish darts. To change things up this week, I'll start with Kevin Burness. Kevin enjoyed probably his best performances on the Pro Tour this weekend, earning £500, although he deserved much more. For those who don't know, Kevin won his Tour Card at Q School earlier this year. He has been settling in on the tour since and began to show his true form at Players Championships 7 and 8, where he won through to Round 2 both times. However, his averages and stats this time around are much improved.
On Saturday, he came up against an inspired Ian White in a cracking contest, going down 6-5. The next day, however, he drew Bradley Brooks, who he dispatched of easily 6-2. Another tough draw in Round 2, where he went out 6-4 to eventual runner up Jonny Clayton. Some brilliant displays, here are his stats. Kevin started the weekend in very impressive fashion, giving Pro Tour winner this year Ian White a brilliant run for his money. Kevin was super, 4 180s and a 177 proving this. A 93.6 average does not do the performance justice, but 50% on the doubles was brilliant. White eventually prevailed in the final leg. Kevin showed us what he could do, and he proved it was no fluke on Sunday. A super 6-2 victory over Bradley Brooks with a 94 average, 46% on doubles and 3 180s in Players Championship 10. £500 in the bank, Kevin into Round 2. Unfortunately, he came up against Austrian Darts Open champion Jonny Clayton. Clayton won 6-4, but Kevin played solid again. A 90.7 average, 40% on doubles and a 180 very decent. For the whole weekend, Kevin had a 3 dart average of 92.8, 45.5% on doubles and 8 180s. This is by far his best, a hugely promising sign. After an unspectacular start to the season, Kevin is showing his real form now. If he can produce these performances consistently, there should be no reason he can't fly up the Order of Merit very soon.
Mickey Mansell
Attitude is everything and mine has certainly changed!
- Mckey Mansell, on new confidence following victory at #PC8
Mickey Mansell was another man to impress this weekend. Having won Players Championship 8, Mickey failed to retain his title, going out to Darren Johnson 6-5 on Saturday. However, he came alive on Sunday, reaching his second quarter finals in 2 Pro Tour events. Mickey started on Saturday against Darren Johnson, with the prize of Michael van Gerwen in Round 2 for the winner. Mickey's doubles cost him in that match, only 23%, Johnson prevailed 6-5. Onto Sunday and Mickey started with a super win over 'Brazilliant' Diogo Portela. A 101.8 average, 43% on doubles, a 6-4 win. Great start. He defeated Kyle Anderson 6-3 in Round 2 before demolishing World no 7 Dave Chisnall 6-0, with an average of 94. Onto the Last 16 now, and Danny Noppert was the opponent. A 6-4 win for Mickey was overshadowed by some degrading posts in the aftermath. Noppert on Instagram, Mansell on Twitter, both firing a shot at each other. It seemed as if Noppert was unhappy with how Mansell was retrieving his darts. It didn't matter however, Mansell into the quarter finals. Maybe the incident affected Mickey, as he went out 6-1 to Gabriel Clemens in the Last 8.
Still, another impressive performance this weekend from Mickey, his consistency now improving. His average for the weekend was 92.2, he hit 38% of his doubles and 8 180s. Very impressive from Mickey once again. Mickey earned £2250 on Sunday, and it's helped him to remain in 66th on the Order of Merit. On the Pro Tour Order of Merit, Mickey climbed to 42nd. Currently, he is in the provisional Pro Tour spots for the World Championships. Although Ally Pally is a long way, we would be delighted to see Mickey return to the World Championship stage.
Steve Lennon
Steve Lennon had a relatively quiet weekend by his standards. Having shown some quality on the Euro Tour stage, it was back to the floor,where he started against Simon Stevenson. Despite a 93 average, 29% on doubles cost him and he went out 6-2. Onto Sunday and it was a super Round 1 victory over Robert Marijanovic. A 103 average, 50% on doubles and 4 180s, one of the best of the weekend.
Unfortunately, he was nowhere near that standard in Round 2. A huge drop of 21 points on the average proves this. He lost 6-1 to Jamie Lewis, with a disappointing 82 average. £500 earned, maybe a slightly disappointed Steve. His overall average was 92, he hit 31% of his doubles and 4 180s. Steve moved up a spot to 51st on the Order of Merit, jumping ahead of Josh Payne. He is 44th on the Pro Tour Order of Merit, dropping a few places. With a couple more European Tours in the next few weeks, there will be plenty more opportunities for Steve to earn lots of money to be earned.
William O'Connor
Willie O'Connor also earned £500 this weekend. He started well on Saturday, beating Kim Huybrechts 6-3 with a super 101 average. On the stream in the next round however, he was a long way off that form. Ron Meulenkamp beat him 6-2, with Willie looking very downbeat throughout the game. On Sunday, Willie lost in a deciding leg to Ross Smith in Round 1, the only Irishman to go out at that stage. His overall average for the weekend was 90.6, he hit 33.3% of his doubles and 6 180s. Willie is still 56th on the Order of Merit, and 54th on the Pro Tour. A quiet weekend for Willie, but still, a solid £500 in the bank.
William O'Connor v Ron Meulencamp, 2nd round #PC9
Brendan Dolan
Brendan Dolan threw some fabulous darts this weekend, but the results didn't show it. He started off on Saturday against Jamie Cavan in the final game of Round 1. Cavan won 6-4, but Dolan had a 97.3 average, 31% on doubles, as well as 3 180s. Very impressive, Cavan also played well. Onto Sunday and Brendan received a tough draw against Mensur Suljovic. Mensur, the world number 6, was no match for Brendan however, a 6-3 win, a great performance. A 96.9 average, 50% on doubles (6/12) and a 180. In the Last 64, John Davey defeated Brendan 6-4. Still, Brendan's average remained at a decent rate. A 93 average and 33% on doubles proves how good Davey played.
For the weekend, Brendan averaged an excellent 95.6, hit 37.8% of his doubles and threw 4 180s. He has jumped to 49th on the Pro Tour Order of Merit and remains 37th on the PDC Order of Merit, after picking up £500. Brendan's performances have been consistently impressive the last few weeks, on the Euro Tour as well. Soon enough, the results will start to come, and he'll be rising the rankings again!
Jason Cullen
Jason Cullen had a quiet weekend. He failed to win any matches, but still picked up £500! Jason is eligible to play in the Players Championships due to his position on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, where he lies 6th. He is making full use of his opportunity, picking up cash most weekends. In Players Championship 9, he played James Wade in Round 1. Jason threw an 11 darter, but that was the only leg he won, going out 6-1.
Onto Sunday now and a bizarre incident gave Jason a bye into Round 2. Having registered for the event, Jason's opponent John Part left the arena at 9am. However, John got held up in some serious traffic and ended up missing the game! A very unpunctual, uncharacteristic tweet came out from John in the aftermath, which proves how frustrated he was.
@DarthMaple180 not happy!
I'm sure Jason didn't mind though, a bye into Round 2 and £500 in the back pocket! He came up against Top 32 star Steve West, going out 6-3 despite a 96.5 average. He only hit 25% of his doubles, which certainly cost him. Jason's overall average for the weekend was an impressive 93.8, as well as 4 180s. However, only 20% on doubles. It's down on what is standard on the Pro Tour and I'm sure Jason will target that area in weeks to come. Jason is picking up money every week. If he can keep doing so, it will give him great confidence, in the hope of earning a Tour Card for 2018.
Daryl Gurney
Finally, Daryl Gurney was in action. He started his week on Thursday. A fabulous 6-6 draw with World number 1 Michael van Gerwen including a 100 average, 66.7% on doubles and 2 180s. He needs Gary Anderson to mess up in the coming weeks to make the Top 4, but after his slow start, his Premier League form will have impressed everyone. Onto Saturday, Daryl made his way to the quarter finals. A 6-0 win with a 105 average against Terry Temple was a great start, followed by a super 6-5 battling win over Cristo Reyes. Wins over Mark Webster and Michael Barnard booked his spot in the Last 8, where he was defeated 6-3 by Wade. Sunday was another impressive day for Daryl. He beat Scott Darbyshire, Matthew Edgar and Prakash Jiwa to reach the Last 16, where Stephen Bunting defeated him 6-4. Another super week for the World number 5, I'm certain he'll pick up a win very soon on the Pro Tour.
'Player of the Week'
Now onto the all important Player of the Week. This was a difficult one, Mickey Mansell and Daryl Gurney battling it out. To pick it, I've tried to juggle expectations and rankings, with Daryl being so high in the rankings, a lot more is expected of him. Because of this, I'll give the award to Mickey Mansell for the second time in a few weeks. A quarter final on Sunday, the best of the Irish, including a 6-0 win over Chisnall makes him a worthy winner. Congratulations Mickey! That's it for this week's report. Next week Steve Lennon will be in action on the European Tour, while Jason Cullen and Nathan Rafferty amongst others will be playing Challenge Tours 9-12.
Thanks to High Roller Radio, I'll be back next week. But for now...
Matt
Players' Championship 9 & 10 in Wigan
The PDC Road Show rolled back into Wigan this weekend, where Players Championships 9 and 10 took place. While Michael van Gerwen was the victor on Saturday, a surprising match up of Jonny Clayton and Jeffrey de Zwaan in the final on Sunday, with de Zwaan coming out on top for his first PDC title, proves the unpredictability of the PDC Pro Tour.
Mickey Mansell proved this a few weeks ago, winning Players Championship 8, and he was back on form with a quarter final on Sunday. Other than that, it was a quiet weekend. Daryl Gurney was the only other man to progress past Round 2, probably expected from the World number 5 but still, a quarter final and Last 16 is very impressive.
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