Re: 2019 PDC World Championship- Alexandra Palace, London-13th December 2018- 1st January 2019

[Ginge]

everyones favourite ozzy a lot better commentator / analysis than player

"The ladies' competition for me is the highlight of this year"

Paul Nicholson, January 2018

[ChrisW]

For the Power.

47574732_2319802344915314_3725375184245358592_n.jpg (125.11 KiB) Viewed 2185 times

[ssjsa]

Think both these players are going to play well at Ally Pally and looking forward to watching them.

[mik252]

Think both these players are going to play well at Ally Pally and looking forward to watching them.

Would love to say Krzysztof dump Wade out second round. I suspect Wade will probably end up squeezing past him though and I actually have a feeling he’ll go on to have a good run this year.

[ssjsa]

Think both these players are going to play well at Ally Pally and looking forward to watching them.

Would love to say Krzysztof dump Wade out second round. I suspect Wade will probably end up squeezing past him though and I actually have a feeling he’ll go on to have a good run this year.

I agree with you. My partner has bet Wade e/w at 40/1, and despite me constantly advising that the bets she makes are dodgy, her success rate is vastly superior than mine.

[ssjsa]

Forum member Chris Mason's take on the upcoming WC.

[ssjsa]

Saw this interview with Nitin Kumar on Twitter.

https://www.dartsactueel.nl/en/intervie ... her-level/

[ssjsa]

[ChrisW]

DARTS fans will be able to look back on the last 25 years of the William Hill World Darts Championship with the launch of a new book ahead of the forthcoming tournament.

"25 Years of the PDC World Darts Championship" is a comprehensive collection of statistics, memories and images looking back across the history of the sport's biggest tournament.

Since the first match between Dennis Priestley and Jocky Wilson in December 1993, over 1,300 matches involving more than 350 players have been played - with every game detailed in this book.

Colourful quotes and photos add to the celebration in a book compiled using statistics from Sportradar, who have collected live dart-by-dart data from events around the globe as official data partner to the PDC.

The book, compiled by Steve Morgan, also features memories from players, officials and administrators involved in the sport and a foreword from PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.

Darts fans can pre-order now through Amazon and Scratching Shed Publishing, or buy in person from the PDC Merchandise stand in the Fans' Village at Alexandra Palace during the William Hill World Darts Championship.

[ssjsa]

WITH the countdown for the 2018/2019 William Hill World Championship underway, we take a look back five of the biggest shocks ever seen at the special event.

Darts' biggest-ever event will be held from December 13-January 1 at London's Alexandra Palace, with 96 players competing for £2.5 million in prize money and the Sid Waddell Trophy live on Sky Sports - with tickets still ON SALE.

The tournament has seen many memorable moments throughout the past 25 years, and here are five unforgettable stories...

5. Smith Stuns Reigning Champ Taylor

A 23-year-old Michael Smith claimed the biggest win of his career in incredible fashion, knocking reigning champion Phil Taylor out of the 2014 World Championship in the second round.

Smith capitalised on errors from 16-time champion Taylor, producing 11 and 13-dart legs in the deciding set before taking out the bullseye on a 128 finish to secure a memorable 4-3 victory.

Round Three saw Smith go down in a deciding set to eventual runner-up Peter Wright, but the St Helens star's performances saw him named the PDC's Young Player of the Year the following month and he has since gone on to claim a further eight PDC titles.

However it was this win over Taylor which showed that Smith could live amongst the sport's elite.

4. South African Rookie's Incredible Comeback KO's Manley

Little-known South African Wynand Havenga made a name for himself at the 2007 World Championship by fighting back from 3-0 down to knock out three-time runner-up Peter Manley in round two at the Circus Tavern.

On the back of his dream debut win over Steve Maish, one-hit wonder Havenga produced a sensational comeback to win 4-3 in only his second TV appearance.

Havenga proved a popular figure with the Purfleet crowd with his extravagant celebrations, but bowed out in the last 16 to Darren Webster and never appeared at another World Championship.

3. Lewis Blows Away Wright With Career-Best Performance

Jamie Lewis produced the performance of his career to blow away number two seed Peter Wright 4-1 in the second round of the 2018 World Championship.

With 11 titles to his name in 2017, many fans and pundits were tipping Wright to land a first World Championship title ahead of the event, but Lewis tore up the form book thanks to his spectacular 107.27 average.

The Welshman had only qualified for the tournament following a third-place play-off at the PDPA qualifier, but made up for a nightmare year on the circuit by dropping just two sets en route to the semi-finals, where he became Phil Taylor's last victim in professional darts.

2. Ruthless Richardson Dumps Out Barney

Bricklayer James Richardson shocked five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld with a 3-0 demolition in the first round of the 2012 World Championship.

Then ranked 85th in the world, an inspired Richardson romped to a convincing victory to inflict a first ever opening round defeat on Van Barneveld in his own Alexandra Palace debut.

The Rushden thrower went down to Kim Huybrechts in the second round but has since gone on to forge a career on the PDC circuit, reaching the last 16 of the 2018 World Championship.

1. Shepherd Shocks The World

The story of Kirk Shepherd's fairytale run to the final of the 2008 World Championship remains one of the most heralded in darts history.

A 21-year-old sheet metal worker from Ramsgate, qualifier Shepherd took to the oche in his first round game against Terry Jenkins with few people giving him a chance of progressing to the second round, let alone the final.

But after surviving seven match darts, Shepherd battled his way to a surprise 3-2 victory despite averaging just 79.09.

Shepherd survived more match darts to edge past Mick McGowan and Peter Manley, also defeating Barrie Bates in between to reach the semi-finals.

There, he stunned Phil Taylor's conqueror Wayne Mardle to become the highest priced outsider in World Championship history and reach the final as a 1,000/1 outsider.

John Part ended his World Championship dreams in the final with a 7-2 success, bringing the curtain down on an incredible tournament.

Shepherd featured in the next three World Championships and remains a PDC Tour Card Holder.

[ssjsa]

BBC America has announced the expansion of its highly successful broadcast and streaming of Professional Darts, adding the 2018/2019 William Hill World Darts Championship from December 13 to January 1.

The best matches of the week will air Sunday mornings from 0900-1200 ET, and BBCA will stream a record 111 hours live on BBCAmerica.com.

Meanwhile, the World Championship final will air in prime time on BBC America on Tuesday January 1 at 2130 ET following the Doctor Who New Year's Day special.

This year's World Championship includes Amercia's Chuck Puleo, North American Champion and Canadian Jeff Smith and Canadian Jim Long in the largest field the event has ever seen, with 96 competitors battling for over $3.1 million in prize money and the prestigious Sid Waddell Trophy.

That trio will line up alongside the likes of reigning World Champion Rob Cross, world number one Michael van Gerwen and female qualifiers Anastasia Dobromyslova and Lisa Ashton.

Puleo, who topped the domestic CDC rankings this year to earn his World Championship debut, plays World Youth Champion Dimitri Van den Bergh in the competition's first round on Tuesday, December 18.

"Darts brings together everything we love about sports – drama, suspense, excitement and wildly passionate fans,” said Courtney Thomasma executive director of BBC America.

"BBCA's comprehensive coverage will super-serve sports fans and also engage more casual viewers who want to experience this fan-fueled phenomenon first-hand.

"We were thrilled at the level of enthusiasm for the debut of Premier League Darts last spring, and are looking forward to being the US home of the World Darts Championship this month. Game on!"

BBC America launched its darts initiative with the 2017/2018 World Darts Championship, the most watched darts tournament on US TV in a decade*, beating professional darts coverage on sports networks including NBC Sports Network, FS1, FS2, ESPN Classic, and ESPNU.

That elite competition reached nearly four million unique viewers on BBC America, with the final trending globally on Twitter and setting the stage for the expansion into Premier League Darts which drew over ten million unique viewers on the channel.

Premier League Darts also generated nearly three million livestream views, growing +9x from the first half to the second half of the tournament. Livestream views consist of views on BBCAmerica.com and Facebook.

For further information, please visit www.bbcamerica.com/shows/darts, follow @DartsBBCA on Twitter or visit www.facebook.com/DartsBBCA

2018/2019 William Hill World Darts Championship
BBC America Schedule
Thursday, December 13 – Day 1
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Friday, December 14 – Day 2
7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Saturday, December 15 – Day 3
7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Sunday, December 16 – Day 4
9:00am-12:00pm ET
Best Matches Days 1-3 - BBC America Broadcast

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Monday, December 17 – Day 5
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Tuesday, December 18 – Day 6
7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Wednesday December 19 – Day 7
7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Thursday December 20 – Day 8
7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Friday December 21 – Day 9
7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Saturday, December 22 – Day 10
7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Sunday, December 23 – Day 11
9:00am-12:00pm ET
Best Matches Days 4-10 - BBC America Broadcast

7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Thursday, December 27 – Day 12
7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Friday, December 28 – Day 13
7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Saturday, December 29 – Day 14
7:30am ET (Streaming Live)
2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Sunday, December 30 – Day 15
9:00am-12:00pm ET
Best Matches Days 11-14 - BBC America Broadcast

2:00pm ET (Streaming Live)

Tuesday, January 1 – Day 16
3:00pm ET (Streaming Live)
9:30pm ET – Final - BBC America Broadcast
Following the Doctor Who New Year’s Day special

* Source: Nielsen, Live+SD, P2+. Most Watched Darts Tournament=2007-TD, AA(000). Reach=12/16/17-1/1/18 (WDC), 2/1/18-5/17/18 (PLD), 1 minute qualifier.

[ssjsa]

Mardle interview.

[ssjsa]

[ssjsa]

WE continue the countdown to the 2018/2019 William Hill World Championship as three-time World Champion John Part shares his World Championship memories.

Here, the Canadian legend recalls his two PDC world title triumphs at the Circus Tavern and Alexandra Palace...

My greatest memory is defeating Phil Taylor in 2003, without question.

I remember taking out 77 to win it - I was very excited as my celebrations conveyed!

On the funny side, and as an exclamation mark to the meaning of the moment of ending Phil's never to be equalled eight consecutive titles streak, confetti bombs were supposed to go off after the championship winning double was hit.

But such was the habit of Phil winning, whoever was supposed to trigger the confetti was clearly confused, stunned or unaware there could be a different result!

In 2008, Wayne Mardle famously ousted Taylor in the quarter finals.

Although it wasn't as well-played a game on both sides as their epic 2006 semi-final which Phil won 6-5, it was a wonderful moment of completion for Wayne.

But of course he lost to ‘Cinderella’ story Kirk Shepherd, who then lost in turn to yours truly in the final.

The highs and lows of darts are extreme and ecstatic, or devastating as the case may be.

Hear more of Part's fondest memories of darts' biggest event in the 'Twenty-five Years of the PDC World Championship' book which is available to PRE-ORDER NOW.

[PreciesJJ]

[ssjsa]

Christopher Kempf, the statistical analyst of the PDC, takes a look at which players have the most ranking money to lose and gain at the 2018/2019 William Hill World Darts Championship.

Two years ago, Michael van Gerwen was enjoying what would become a historic streak of virtuosity and dominance as he steamrolled the opposition to claim five consecutive TV titles, becoming World Champion and opening a lead of £1.1m over Gary Anderson on the Order of Merit.

Today, the crowning achievement of Van Gerwen's 2016 campaign is about to disappear from the rankings and a host of new players are making substantial inroads into the upper echelons of professional darts.

Which players' ranking positions are most at risk in the 2019 World Championship, and who stands to benefit the most from a breakthrough performance at the Alexandra Palace?

Mark Webster will not play in a World Championship for the first time since 2006, and because he reached the third round in the 2017 World Championship, his inability to defend those £25,000 of earnings will cost him 25.7% of his current Order of Merit total, causing him to start 2019 at best as the 52nd ranked player on the Order of Merit.

Several other 2017 competitors' failure to qualify for the 2019 event may cost them their tour cards, as they will drop out of the top 64 and must attend Q-School in order to extend their professional careers.

Terry Jenkins, already in a state of semi-retirement, is the most well-known of these; but the pending loss of 2017 World Championship earnings will represent 31% of Andrew Gilding's current total, 25% of Jamie Caven's and 23% of Robbie Green's - and all of these players will need to bounce back in 2019 from the adversity of starting from scratch on the Order of Merit.

The expansion of the field from 72 to 96 means that most players from 2017 are returning to the Alexandra Palace, and because of the massive 34% increase in the World Championship's prize fund over the past two years, relatively few players who performed well in 2017 are defending large amounts of their income in absolute terms.

Relative to the players above or below them, however, a third round or quarter-final place in 2017 could still be a liability as other players surge further ahead with similar results.

While Benito van de Pas will theoretically remain in the top 32 after the tournament on the basis of minimum earnings, his high position in the rankings could easily be trumped by strong performances by Steve Lennon, Max Hopp or Robert Thornton, and the Dutchman will likely need to win at least one match to remain in qualifying position for the next World Championship.

Raymond van Barneveld is a most intriguing case. Next week he will begin his defence of the £80,000 (minus £15,000 guaranteed earnings this year) which he earned in losing to an unplayable Michael van Gerwen on New Year's Day 2017.

The Dutch legend recently announced that the 2020 World Championship will be his last, but in order to reach that tournament, a victory in his second-round match against the winner of Matthew Edgar and Darius Labanauskas may be mandatory.

If Barney loses that match and collects only the minimum of £15,000 from the tournament, he will fall at least as far down the rankings as 26th in the world.

Without substantial Pro Tour earnings in 2019, Van Barneveld would find it difficult to qualify for the World Matchplay, the World Grand Prix or many of the other televised tournaments and would struggle to remain ranked in the top 32, casting doubt on his ability to qualify for the 2020 World Championship.

Even though this will not be Barney's last World Championship, he will need to play as if it is.

The 2019 World Championship will be the last tournament in which Rob Cross, having played his first ranking event as a professional in February 2017, will have no money to defend from the corresponding event two years prior.

He is already the world number two, and for the first time in years the possibility exists of Van Gerwen being dethroned as world number one.

For Cross or Peter Wright to overtake him, however, they will need to become the next World Champion and hope that MvG is eliminated in the early rounds.

The gap between world number one and number two remains enormous (£702,750), but it is likely to shrink dramatically, and put Van Gerwen's tenure atop the Order of Merit at risk, if he cannot reclaim the Sid Waddell trophy in the coming weeks.

Few of the top-ranked players have the good fortune to be defending £0 in ranking income as are Cross or Kyle Anderson, who was prevented from participating in 2017 when he was unable to attain a visa.

But three players who performed poorly as seeds in 2017 (John Henderson, Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting) will start the 2019 event seeded again, but with an automatic net gain of £5,000 due to an increase in the minimum earnings for seeded players.

Henderson and Bunting in particular have the potential to vault ahead of several players on the Order of Merit by advancing to the third or fourth rounds.

But for the World Championship debutants from the Pro Tour, the potential gains are greatest; players such as Danny Noppert, Krzysztof Ratajski and Ryan Joyce collect an automatic £7,500, much to the envy of the players near them in the Order of Merit.

But that's only for starters - the prizes of £100,000, £200,000, even £500,000 are not out of reach for anyone in the tournament.

It was only last year that a preliminary round player advanced to the semi-finals, after all, so the possibilities for enormous advances in the rankings - and in a player's career - are more apparent than ever.

[ssjsa]

RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD has no doubt that he can claim a sixth world title heading into the 2019/2020 William Hill World Darts Championship.

The Dutch legend, who is one of only three players in the history of the sport to be crowned a five-time World Champion, announced his retirement plan in November.

A four-time Lakeside Champion, Van Barneveld won the PDC World Championship in his first attempt in 2007, defeating Taylor in a classic final, and the doyen of Dutch darts is determined to go out on a high.

"I absolutely believe I can still be World Champion again in one of my last two attempts," said Van Barneveld, who became the first player to achieve a nine-dart finish in the PDC World Championship in 2009.

"If you told me after my 2007 World Championship win over Phil [Taylor] that it would be my last World Championship then I would’ve said you were a fool, but in the last few years we have seen phenomenal players playing at an outstanding level.

“My grandmother always said ‘if you believe then you can achieve anything you want’ and I still believe I can do this, but not for many more years.”

"I don’t want my career to fizzle out because I still think I've got another one or two titles left in me.”

Since his sudden-death win over Taylor, Van Barneveld has gone on to rack up 29 PDC titles, including two UK Open crowns, four PDC World Cup of Darts wins, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Premier League to continue his success at the highest level.

The Dutch fans’ favourite, who has helped to inspire the growth of darts in the Netherlands during a superb career, explained the reasons behind his decision and his plan for 2019 following his penultimate World Championship.

"I noticed in myself that I can’t keep up anymore, I know what I can do but it’s just not been happening for the past three or four years apart from winning the World Cup with Michael [van Gerwen],” Van Barneveld added.

"I'm not winning tournaments anymore, I don’t know why but a lot of things have happened in my private life and I’ve also noticed that my body isn’t feeling 100 percent anymore - I don’t have the drive, motivation or fitness to carry on.

"When I retire I will be 52 and I’m really looking to spending time with my family.

"I'm a winner, that’s what I do – I lift trophies but I can’t do it anymore. Maybe there are still a couple of titles left in me and that would be amazing but I can’t do this every week anymore.”

[ssjsa]

WE continue the countdown to the 2018/2019 William Hill World Championship as PDC founder member Rod Harrington shares his World Championship memories.

Here, former World Championship finalist Rod Harrington looks back at the start of the PDC World Championship and how the tournament has grown over the last 25 years…

In the first PDC World Championship (then WDC) in 1994 my role was not only as a player but also as one of the people who was heavily involved in the court case between the BDO and WDC as it was then. 

Off the stage I felt pressure to make it work but on stage as a player that was a very different kind of pressure, but I never made any excuses.

The Circus Tavern was a great venue with a terrific atmosphere and the Stones family looked after us really well. Back in those days I used to go around pubs giving tickets away to landlords for the chance to meet Eric Bristow. 

The sport grew and in the last few years there we outgrew the venue. When we moved to Ally Pally we didn’t know how that was going to go but everything came right at the same time – Barry Hearn came in and used his expertise to get darts on TV more and more.

I feel proud to now look around a full Alexandra Palace but more than that I feel proud when I see the youngsters playing on that stage. 

It's been a great story, I’ve had an incredible life both in and out of darts and I’ve loved being part of the PDC World Championship journey.

Hear more of Harrington's fondest memories of darts' biggest event in the book 'Twenty-five Years of the PDC World Championship' which is available to PRE-ORDER NOW.

[DavidB]

WE continue the countdown to the 2018/2019 William Hill World Championship as PDC founder member Rod Harrington shares his World Championship memories.

Here, former World Championship finalist Rod Harrington looks back at the start of the PDC World Championship and how the tournament has grown over the last 25 years…

In the first PDC World Championship (then WDC) in 1994 my role was not only as a player but also as one of the people who was heavily involved in the court case between the BDO and WDC as it was then. 

Off the stage I felt pressure to make it work but on stage as a player that was a very different kind of pressure, but I never made any excuses.

The Circus Tavern was a great venue with a terrific atmosphere and the Stones family looked after us really well. Back in those days I used to go around pubs giving tickets away to landlords for the chance to meet Eric Bristow. 

The sport grew and in the last few years there we outgrew the venue. When we moved to Ally Pally we didn’t know how that was going to go but everything came right at the same time – Barry Hearn came in and used his expertise to get darts on TV more and more.

I feel proud to now look around a full Alexandra Palace but more than that I feel proud when I see the youngsters playing on that stage. 

It's been a great story, I’ve had an incredible life both in and out of darts and I’ve loved being part of the PDC World Championship journey.

Hear more of Harrington's fondest memories of darts' biggest event in the book 'Twenty-five Years of the PDC World Championship' which is available to PRE-ORDER NOW.

What’s this got to do with the Finder Masters??

[ssjsa]

WE continue the countdown to the 2018/2019 William Hill World Championship as PDC founder member Rod Harrington shares his World Championship memories.

Here, former World Championship finalist Rod Harrington looks back at the start of the PDC World Championship and how the tournament has grown over the last 25 years…

In the first PDC World Championship (then WDC) in 1994 my role was not only as a player but also as one of the people who was heavily involved in the court case between the BDO and WDC as it was then. 

Off the stage I felt pressure to make it work but on stage as a player that was a very different kind of pressure, but I never made any excuses.

The Circus Tavern was a great venue with a terrific atmosphere and the Stones family looked after us really well. Back in those days I used to go around pubs giving tickets away to landlords for the chance to meet Eric Bristow. 

The sport grew and in the last few years there we outgrew the venue. When we moved to Ally Pally we didn’t know how that was going to go but everything came right at the same time – Barry Hearn came in and used his expertise to get darts on TV more and more.

I feel proud to now look around a full Alexandra Palace but more than that I feel proud when I see the youngsters playing on that stage. 

It's been a great story, I’ve had an incredible life both in and out of darts and I’ve loved being part of the PDC World Championship journey.

Hear more of Harrington's fondest memories of darts' biggest event in the book 'Twenty-five Years of the PDC World Championship' which is available to PRE-ORDER NOW.

What’s this got to do with the Finder Masters??

Absolutely nothing.

Posted in wrong thread, now moved.