Players Championship 9-10, Wigan 29-30 April

[armchairfan]

THE entries have been confirmed for the Players Championship double-header at the Robin Park Tennis Centre on April 29-30.

The fifth Players Championship weekend of the year sees two £75,000 tournaments take place, as 128 players compete for a pair of £10,000 first prizes.

The tournaments will be streamed live online for PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide through http://www.livepdc.tv, as well as through a series of bookmakers' websites.

Play in each event will commence at 12pm.

Players Championship Nine & Ten
Saturday April 29 & Sunday April 30, Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan
Gary Anderson
Kyle Anderson
Jamie Bain
Mark Barilli
Ronnie Baxter
Steve Beaton
Andy Boulton
John Bowles
Jim Brown
Keegan Brown
Lee Bryant
Stephen Bunting
Richie Burnett
Stephen Burton
Ray Campbell
Jamie Caven
Dave Chisnall
Matt Clark
Jonny Clayton
Richie Corner
Rob Cross
Joe Cullen
Scott Darbyshire
Mike De Decker
Jeffrey de Graaf
Bryan de Hoog
Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jan Dekker
Matthew Dennant
Chris Dobey
Brendan Dolan
Ritchie Edhouse
Ricky Evans
Ted Evetts
Craig Gilchrist
Andrew Gilding
Robbie Green
Shaun Griffiths
Sven Groen
Daryl Gurney
Andy Hamilton
Paul Harvey
John Henderson
Jimmy Hendriks
Steve Hine
Max Hopp
Peter Hudson
Adam Hunt
Kim Huybrechts
Ronny Huybrechts
Peter Jacques
Andy Jenkins
Prakash Jiwa
Darren Johnson
Wayne Jones
Vincent Kamphuis
Stuart Kellett Saturday only
Mervyn King
Aden Kirk
Christian Kist
Jelle Klaasen
Steve Lennon
Zoran Lerchbacher
Adrian Lewis
Jamie Lewis
Mickey Mansell
Mick McGowan
Yordi Meeuwisse
Ryan Meikle
Ron Meulenkamp
John Michael
Joe Murnan
Tony Newell
Wes Newton
Paul Nicholson
Alan Norris
Richard North
William O'Connor
Robert Owen
Kevin Painter
David Pallett
Ryan Palmer
Josh Payne
Devon Petersen
Justin Pipe
Simon Preston
Gerwyn Price
Chris Quantock
Madars Razma
Cristo Reyes
James Richardson
Terry Roach Sunday only
Harry Robinson
Rowby-John Rodriguez
Paul Rowley
Warrick Scheffer
Martin Schindler
Ryan Searle
Kirk Shepherd
Dennis Smith
Michael Smith
Ross Smith Saturday only
Simon Stevenson
Mensur Suljovic
Alan Tabern
Scott Taylor
Terry Temple
Robert Thornton
Mick Todd
Ross Twell
Benito van de Pas
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Vincent van der Voort
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen
Berry van Peer
James Wade
Jim Walker
Mark Walsh
Jermaine Wattimena
Darren Webster
Mark Webster
Steve West
Ian White
Simon Whitlock
Ricky Williams
James Wilson
Brian Woods Saturday only
Jonathan Worsley
Peter Wright

[armchairfan]

Absent tour card holders (12)
Phil Taylor
Raymond van Barneveld
Terry Jenkins
Kim Viljanen
Darron Brown
Maik Langendorf
Antonio Alcinas
Dick van Dijk
Andy Parsons
Ting Chi Royden Lam
John Norman Jnr
John Part

Ross Smith and Brian Woods playing Saturday only


Associate entries (reserve list ranking in brackets)
Bryan de Hoog (1)
Warrick Scheffer (3)
Paul Harvey (6)
Stuart Kellett (8) Sunday only
Terry Roach (9) Sunday only
Peter Hudson (9)
Mick Todd (12)
Zoran Lerchbacher (14)
Adam Hunt (17)
Peter Jacques (18)
Wayne Jones (22)
Jim Walker (23)
Craig Gilchrist (35)
Alan Tabern (39)

[nikkiboy]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

[Rout]

Having to go down to 39th and the reserve list. Why do the rest even bother going to Qschool??

[Booji Boy]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Thats the MDA effect for you. Every player he has backed has gone to shit.

[spaceman70]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Thats the MDA effect for you. Every player he has backed has gone to shit.

Gurney is doing well.

[MDA]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Thats the MDA effect for you. Every player he has backed has gone to shit.

True

[devosteve]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Decided to remain in the pdc though. Speaks volumes about what he has decided not to return to.

[nikkiboy]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Decided to remain in the pdc though. Speaks volumes about what he has decided not to return to.

He was vaunted as the great hope at one point, just seems weird how he's not made the grade in the pdc.

[Rout]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Decided to remain in the pdc though. Speaks volumes about what he has decided not to return to.

No. It speaks volumes about your interpretation of what someone not playing well should do.

If you're playing shit you have little chance of getting to the lakeside. So doing the challenge tour probably makes more sense than a fruitless chase of points.

[oche balboa]

Devo famously said that people who are outside the top 64 in the challenge tour would be a seed in the bdo

[Mgt]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Decided to remain in the pdc though. Speaks volumes about what he has decided not to return to.

No. It speaks volumes about your interpretation of what someone not playing well should do.

If you're playing shit you have little chance of getting to the lakeside. So doing the challenge tour probably makes more sense than a fruitless chase of points.

Oh come off it, even you can't believe that. Any player of a certain level, even struggling with form, can get to the BDO World Championships if they're willing to travel Europe for the points. Pip Blackwell, James Hurrel, Tony O'Shea and Darius Labanauskas have done just that in recent years, getting to the Lakeside mainly because of their willingness to gather airmiles, not because of their amazing displays on the board. This is one of the main problems of the BDO presently, their ranking system is heavily biased towards those willing and able to trek to the backwaters of whatthefuckistan to collect ranking points playing locals who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a bazooka.

If Kellett were to put the effort in, I have no doubt whatsoever that he would crawl back to a spot as a regularly seeded player in the BDO. I can imagine he wouldn't care for the hassle though, seeing as he can attempt to get somewhere in the world of darts on a tour which doesn't require him to keep a Romanian, Czech and Polish dictionary within reach at all times, just to avoid being served bull's gonads instead of a tasty burger.

[Addicks Fan]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Decided to remain in the pdc though. Speaks volumes about what he has decided not to return to.

No. It speaks volumes about your interpretation of what someone not playing well should do.

If you're playing shit you have little chance of getting to the lakeside. So doing the challenge tour probably makes more sense than a fruitless chase of points.

Oh come off it, even you can't believe that. Any player of a certain level, even struggling with form, can get to the BDO World Championships if they're willing to travel Europe for the points. Pip Blackwell, James Hurrel, Tony O'Shea and Darius Labanauskas have done just that in recent years, getting to the Lakeside mainly because of their willingness to gather airmiles, not because of their amazing displays on the board. This is one of the main problems of the BDO presently, their ranking system is heavily biased towards those willing and able to trek to the backwaters of whatthefuckistan to collect ranking points playing locals who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a bazooka.

If Kellett were to put the effort in, I have no doubt whatsoever that he would crawl back to a spot as a regularly seeded player in the BDO. I can imagine he wouldn't care for the hassle though, seeing as he can attempt to get somewhere in the world of darts on a tour which doesn't require him to keep a Romanian, Czech and Polish dictionary within reach at all times, just to avoid being served bull's gonads instead of a tasty burger.

Out of date argument. No-one who isn't a regional qualifier will qualify for Lakeside just by travelling to Northern and Eastern Europe. There are too many Cat A+, Cat A and Cat B tournaments in UK and Western Europe for that to happen, and finishing as a runner up in one of the Cat A+ opens gives you 3 times as many points as winning a Cat D.

The bias has gone, you need to be good enough to pick up good points at the biggies. How good is good enough? Different question!

[nikkiboy]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Decided to remain in the pdc though. Speaks volumes about what he has decided not to return to.

No. It speaks volumes about your interpretation of what someone not playing well should do.

If you're playing shit you have little chance of getting to the lakeside. So doing the challenge tour probably makes more sense than a fruitless chase of points.

Oh come off it, even you can't believe that. Any player of a certain level, even struggling with form, can get to the BDO World Championships if they're willing to travel Europe for the points. Pip Blackwell, James Hurrel, Tony O'Shea and Darius Labanauskas have done just that in recent years, getting to the Lakeside mainly because of their willingness to gather airmiles, not because of their amazing displays on the board. This is one of the main problems of the BDO presently, their ranking system is heavily biased towards those willing and able to trek to the backwaters of whatthefuckistan to collect ranking points playing locals who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a bazooka.

If Kellett were to put the effort in, I have no doubt whatsoever that he would crawl back to a spot as a regularly seeded player in the BDO. I can imagine he wouldn't care for the hassle though, seeing as he can attempt to get somewhere in the world of darts on a tour which doesn't require him to keep a Romanian, Czech and Polish dictionary within reach at all times, just to avoid being served bull's gonads instead of a tasty burger.

Hard to disagree with most of that but I do think Kellett is a poor example now as his form that initially got him to the bdo majors seems to have now deserted him.

[Lee Taylor]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Decided to remain in the pdc though. Speaks volumes about what he has decided not to return to.

No. It speaks volumes about your interpretation of what someone not playing well should do.

If you're playing shit you have little chance of getting to the lakeside. So doing the challenge tour probably makes more sense than a fruitless chase of points.

Very good post Routy lad.

The assumption I hear all the time is - if a player is struggling in the PDC then they 'should go back to the BDO'

In reality this has never worked out for anyone that has tried this route.

[Zeyes]

Out of date argument. No-one who isn't a regional qualifier will qualify for Lakeside just by travelling to Northern and Eastern Europe.

He didn't say it's possible just by doing that.

There are too many Cat A+, Cat A and Cat B tournaments in UK and Western Europe for that to happen, and finishing as a runner up in one of the Cat A+ opens gives you 3 times as many points as winning a Cat D.

Doesn't invalidate the fact that trekking to loads of Cat C and D events still allows players to make up for points they weren't good enough to collect in the higher-category events, in order to pad out their best 12 scores. Getting to the top 16 that way may no longer be feasible because there are too many A+ / A / B points slushing around the system now, but it's certainly still an option if you're just trying to qualify altogether.

Not to mention the fact that there are now high-category tournaments in rather out-of-the-way locations (or unfavourable dates) which are likely to have worse fields, which results in exactly the same thing - players can get ahead by being willing to travel to tournaments that few others are.

[Mgt]

Out of date argument. No-one who isn't a regional qualifier will qualify for Lakeside just by travelling to Northern and Eastern Europe.

He didn't say it's possible just by doing that.

There are too many Cat A+, Cat A and Cat B tournaments in UK and Western Europe for that to happen, and finishing as a runner up in one of the Cat A+ opens gives you 3 times as many points as winning a Cat D.

Doesn't invalidate the fact that trekking to loads of Cat C and D events still allows players to make up for points they weren't good enough to collect in the higher-category events, in order to pad out their best 12 scores. Getting to the top 16 that way may no longer be feasible because there are too many A+ / A / B points slushing around the system now, but it's certainly still an option if you're just trying to qualify altogether.

Not to mention the fact that there are now high-category tournaments in rather out-of-the-way locations (or unfavourable dates) which are likely to have worse fields, which results in exactly the same thing - players can get ahead by being willing to travel to tournaments that few others are.

This. Maybe I should have specified that you won't become top 16 material just because of travelling around Europe. For those wanting to scrape in by finishing 24-28 on the invitational table, foreign events with fields not containing the better BDO players are still very much an early Christmas gift though.

And I think Kellett has the potential to be big in the BDO again if he tried. He played quite well again on one of the recent PC's, and in the BDO he won't run into players who are way above his standard as often as he does in the PDC (PDC top 8-12).

[Addicks Fan]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Decided to remain in the pdc though. Speaks volumes about what he has decided not to return to.

No. It speaks volumes about your interpretation of what someone not playing well should do.

If you're playing shit you have little chance of getting to the lakeside. So doing the challenge tour probably makes more sense than a fruitless chase of points.

Very good post Routy lad.

The assumption I hear all the time is - if a player is struggling in the PDC then they 'should go back to the BDO'

In reality this has never worked out for anyone that has tried this route.

Andy Fordham.

Ted also managed to make Lakeside after two years of nothing in the PDC.

Andy Fordham?

[Addicks Fan]

Out of date argument. No-one who isn't a regional qualifier will qualify for Lakeside just by travelling to Northern and Eastern Europe.

He didn't say it's possible just by doing that.

There are too many Cat A+, Cat A and Cat B tournaments in UK and Western Europe for that to happen, and finishing as a runner up in one of the Cat A+ opens gives you 3 times as many points as winning a Cat D.

Doesn't invalidate the fact that trekking to loads of Cat C and D events still allows players to make up for points they weren't good enough to collect in the higher-category events, in order to pad out their best 12 scores. Getting to the top 16 that way may no longer be feasible because there are too many A+ / A / B points slushing around the system now, but it's certainly still an option if you're just trying to qualify altogether.

Not to mention the fact that there are now high-category tournaments in rather out-of-the-way locations (or unfavourable dates) which are likely to have worse fields, which results in exactly the same thing - players can get ahead by being willing to travel to tournaments that few others are.

This. Maybe I should have specified that you won't become top 16 material just because of travelling around Europe. For those wanting to scrape in by finishing 24-28 on the invitational table, foreign events with fields not containing the better BDO players are still very much an early Christmas gift though.

And I think Kellett has the potential to be big in the BDO again if he tried. He played quite well again on one of the recent PC's, and in the BDO he won't run into players who are way above his standard as often as he does in the PDC (PDC top 8-12).

We should see how many players qualify for Lakeside this year who do so because of their performances in the back of beyond with weakened fields. I think this is a thing of the past now.

[Lee Taylor]

It still seems funny seeing Kellett as an associate member

Decided to remain in the pdc though. Speaks volumes about what he has decided not to return to.

No. It speaks volumes about your interpretation of what someone not playing well should do.

If you're playing shit you have little chance of getting to the lakeside. So doing the challenge tour probably makes more sense than a fruitless chase of points.

Very good post Routy lad.

The assumption I hear all the time is - if a player is struggling in the PDC then they 'should go back to the BDO'

In reality this has never worked out for anyone that has tried this route.

Andy Fordham.

Ted also managed to make Lakeside after two years of nothing in the PDC.

I hear what you are saying, but those two eaxamples you have provided have hardly gone on to relive former glories.