 THE opening night of the Unibet World Grand Prix on Sunday October 1 will see reigning champion Michael van Gerwen and former World Champions Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Lewis, Steve Beaton and Jelle Klaasen in action in Dublin.
The 32-player tournament - unique for the double-start format where all legs have to begin and end with a double - will be held from October 1-7 at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin, and broadcast live on Sky Sports. With the first round split across the opening two nights, reigning champion and top seed Van Gerwen begins his bid to win a fourth World Grand Prix title in Sunday's first eight games as he takes on John Henderson. 2015 World Grand Prix winner Robert Thornton is also in action as he faces Kim Huybrechts, while a host of other big names also take to the stage. Five-time World Champion Van Barneveld meets Australia's Kyle Anderson, while Lewis plays Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney, Klaasen faces Dave Chisnall and Beaton meets shooting star Rob Cross. Alan Norris plays former World Grand Prix semi-finalist Justin Pipe, while Joe Cullen meets Darren Webster. Monday's remaining first round games include two-time World Grand Prix winner James Wade meeting Steve West and 2016 finalist Gary Anderson, the number two seed, playing debutant Richard North. Benito van de Pas opens up against Cristo Reyes before Mervyn King takes on Ronny Huybrechts, Simon Whitlock plays Christian Kist and Unibet Champions League of Darts winner Mensur Suljovic faces Ian White. Monday night also sees Michael Smith up against Gerwyn Price, before UK Open champion Peter Wright concludes the first round as he takes on former Dublin semi-finalist Stephen Bunting. The second round is then split across Tuesday and Wednesday, with the quarter-finals on Thursday and semi-finals on Friday. Saturday's final will be preceded by the Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay final between William O'Connor and Jason Cullen. Tickets for the Unibet World Grand Prix are still available through www.ticketmaster.ie, by calling 00353 (0)1 401 0505 or via email at darts17@citywesthotel.com. 2017 Unibet World Grand Prix Schedule of Play Sunday October 1 (7pm) First Round x8 Alan Norris v Justin Pipe Joe Cullen v Darren Webster Steve Beaton v Rob Cross Robert Thornton v Kim Huybrechts Raymond van Barneveld v Kyle Anderson Adrian Lewis v Daryl Gurney Michael van Gerwen v John Henderson Dave Chisnall v Jelle Klaasen Monday October 2 (7pm) First Round x8 Benito van de Pas v Cristo Reyes Mervyn King v Ronny Huybrechts Steve West v James Wade Simon Whitlock v Christian Kist Mensur Suljovic v Ian White Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price Gary Anderson v Richard North Peter Wright v Stephen Bunting Tuesday October 3 (7pm) Second Round x4 Chisnall/Klaasen v Thornton/K Huybrechts Lewis/Gurney v Cullen/Webster Van Gerwen/Henderson v Norris/Pipe Van Barneveld/K Anderson v Beaton/Cross Wednesday October 4 (7pm) Second Round x4 Smith/Price v Van de Pas/Reyes Suljovic/White v West/Wade G Anderson/North v Whitlock/Kist Wright/Bunting v King/R Huybrechts Thursday October 5 (7pm) Quarter-Finals Friday October 6 (7pm) Semi-Finals Saturday October 7 (8pm) Unibet World Grand Prix Final Preceded by Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay Final (approx 7.05pm) Jason Cullen v William O'Connor Draw Bracket Michael van Gerwen (1) v John Henderson Alan Norris v Justin Pipe Raymond van Barneveld (8) v Kyle Anderson Steve Beaton v Rob Cross Dave Chisnall (5) v Jelle Klaasen Robert Thornton v Kim Huybrechts Adrian Lewis (4) v Daryl Gurney Joe Cullen v Darren Webster Gary Anderson (2) v Richard North Simon Whitlock v Christian Kist Michael Smith (7) v Gerwyn Price Benito van de Pas v Cristo Reyes Mensur Suljovic (6) v Ian White Steve West v James Wade Peter Wright (3) v Stephen Bunting Mervyn King v Ronny Huybrechts Format First Round Best of three Sets Second Round Best of five Sets Quarter-Finals Best of five Sets Semi-Finals Best of seven Sets Final Best of nine Sets * All Sets are the best of five legs. There will be no tie-break in any Set. * All legs must begin and end with a double, meaning that a player must hit a double before he can begin scoring in each leg. * The order of play for the quarter-finals and semi-finals will be confirmed on www.pdc.tv.
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MENSUR SULJOVIC claimed the first televised title of his career with a brilliant 11-9 success over Gary Anderson in the Unibet Champions League of Darts final in Cardiff on Sunday night.
The world number seven had won through to only his second TV final with a series of outstanding performances throughout the weekend in the BBC-televised event - despite being the 40/1 pre-tournament outsider with Unibet. The 45-year-old opened the tournament with a 10-3 group stage win over Anderson and also saw off Peter Wright and Dave Chisnall to book a spot in the semi-finals. There, Suljovic took out a stunning 160 checkout to seal an 11-9 win over Raymond van Barneveld as he secured his place in the decider. The final proved an equally close affair, before the Austrian emotionally closed out an 11-9 victory to claim the £100,000 title. Anderson - who ended Phil Taylor's title defence in the semi-finals - led 2-0 and 3-1 before Suljovic took out 116 and 118 in a run of five successive legs to move 6-3 up. Anderson then took three in a row to level at six-all, finished an 11-darter to square the game in the 16th leg and took out 80 with two double tops in leg 18 as the final went to a three-leg shoot-out. His favourite double 14 moved Suljovic 9-8 up, before three missed doubles from Anderson allowed his rival back in to seal victory by hitting the same bed. Suljovic's fairytale story comes only weeks after the birth of his second child, a daughter Ema, and saw the Serbian-born ace emotionally drop to his knees on stage as he celebrated the success. "I feel perfect," said Suljovic. "I never thought I could win this tournament. "Gary is a brilliant player, a gentleman and I've got so much respect for him but I played well and I never gave up. I played well and was focused on my game but I never thought I could beat Gary twice. "I couldn't dream of being in the semi-finals but I gave it my best and fought so hard. I was so happy to get to the final against the best players in the world." Anderson had bounced back from his opening loss to Suljovic by overcoming Dave Chisnall on Saturday night before surviving eight missed match darts from Peter Wright in their Sunday afternoon shoot-out to claim a semi-final place with a 10-9 triumph. He then ended Taylor's title defence at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff with an 11-6 triumph in the last four, with the reigning champion taking out 102 and 121 in the opening two legs only to see Anderson win eight in a row on his way to victory. However, Suljovic again enjoyed victory as he denied Anderson the £100,000 title, with the Scot admitting: "Mensur has been brilliant and you can see how much it means to him. "He's been phenomenal for the last two years and he's been the best player this weekend. He deserves it - he's been the player of the tournament and smashed the lot of us. "It's been a great event. It's a couple of weeks since I won in Perth and I got better as the event went on. I struggled against Mensur, then played better on Saturday evening and played well today. "I did alright in the final and I'd have loved to have made it ten-all and then see what happened in the last leg, but I had three clear darts at double ten and made a complete mess of it, so we'll never know." Taylor had topped Group A after defeating World Champion Michael van Gerwen 10-9 in their decisive final round-robin fixture, coming from 2-0 down to book his spot in the last four. However, Anderson proved too strong as he won their repeat of the 2015 World Championship final. "I've enjoyed the whole weekend but I didn't have the energy levels to beat Gary," admitted Taylor. "It's great to play one game per day, but this is gruelling for me. "Gary seemed to follow me in but I missed a few doubles and the one I've learned over the years with Gary is that you've got to put him under pressure and I couldn't - I didn't have the energy. "I was trying so hard but it didn't seem to go in. I've loved it in Cardiff and it's been a great event." The third staging of the Unibet Champions League of Darts will take place on September 22-23 2018, live on BBC Sport. Unibet Champions League of Darts Sunday September 17 Afternoon Session Final Group Matches Dave Chisnall 5-10 Mensur Suljovic - Mensur Suljovic qualifies as Group B winner Gary Anderson 10-9 Peter Wright - Gary Anderson qualifies as Group B runner-up Adrian Lewis 2-10 Raymond van Barneveld - Raymond van Barneveld qualifies as Group A runner-up Michael van Gerwen 9-10 Phil Taylor - Phil Taylor qualifies as Group A winner Evening Session Semi-Finals Mensur Suljovic 11-9 Raymond van Barneveld Gary Anderson 11-6 Phil Taylor Final Mensur Suljovic 11-9 Gary Anderson Final League Tables Group A PWL+/-Pts Phil Taylor (Q)330+86 Raymond van Barneveld (Q)321+94 Michael van Gerwen31202 Adrian Lewis303-170 Group B PWL+/-Pts Mensur Suljovic (Q)330+146 Gary Anderson (Q)321-34 Peter Wright312+22 Dave Chisnall303-130 MENSUR SULJOVIC became the first player to qualify for the Unibet Champions League of Darts semi-finals as Phil Taylor began his title defence in Cardiff with two victories on Saturday.
Suljovic enjoyed one of the most memorable days of his career as he defeated both Gary Anderson and Peter Wright to become the first player to book a last four spot in Cardiff on his Champions League debut. The Austrian stormed into a 6-0 lead in his opener against two-time World Champion Anderson, with the Scot claiming three legs out of four in mid-match before Suljovic landed a brilliant 157 checkout as he closed out a 10-3 success. He then returned to the stage in the evening session to defeat UK Open champion Wright 10-8, averaging 102.77 as he claimed his second win of the day to seal his semi-final berth. Suljovic took out an early 105 finish to lead 3-2, and then won three in a row to move 6-3 up before defying Wright's fightback - as a 144 checkout levelled at eight-all - to hold his nerve in taking victory. "I'm so happy," said Suljovic. "I played well today and to beat Gary Anderson and Peter Wright is a big moment in my career. "I played a very focused game against Peter Wright but first to ten legs is a good format and I was concentrated. It's a long tournament but anything could happen on Sunday - I'm just a normal player but I'm playing well." Wright and Anderson now face a shoot-out on Sunday afternoon to determine who joins Suljovic in the semi-finals from Group B, after both claimed wins over Dave Chisnall to eliminate the world number six. Wright was a 10-5 winner in the tournament's opening fixture as the world number three averaged over 101 and hit six 180s in a strong performance. Anderson later also averaged over 101 as he defeated the St Helens man 10-7 to get his challenge back on track, with Chisnall never able to level after falling 3-1 down early on before the Scot sealed victory with a 124 bull finish. Group A is heading for a dramatic conclusion on Sunday afternoon, with reigning champion Phil Taylor claiming victories over Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld on Saturday to put one foot into the semi-finals. Taylor defied finishes of 140 and 104 from Lewis as he came from 7-5 down to claim a 10-7 win over his Stoke rival in their Motorpoint Arena opener. The 16-time World Champion also had to hit back from behind against Van Barneveld, with a 120 checkout levelling in leg eight before he won four of the game's final legs to complete a 10-6 triumph. Taylor, though, could still be knocked out on Sunday afternoon should he be defeated by Van Gerwen in their final group game - with all four players in Group A still able to qualify for the semi-finals. "I've done well today," said Taylor. "To win two games today in a group with Adrian, Barney and Michael is unbelievable and I want to carry it on tomorrow when I play Michael. "I'm really looking forward to my next game. It's a big day on Sunday but I'm only focusing on the game against Michael at the moment." Van Gerwen was defeated 10-5 by Van Barneveld in their opening fixture, as the five-time World Champion took out finishes of 120, 136 and 130 on his way to victory. However, the reigning World Champion and world number one bounced back with a 10-4 win in his evening session match with Lewis, who landed an early 170 finish but saw Van Gerwen pull clear from 4-3 to seal a key win. "I had to bounce back because otherwise I was out of the tournament, and I'm glad I did that," said Van Gerwen. "I can't really explain the first loss - things like that happen - but I played well tonight. "I missed too many chances against Raymond but I was a lot more comfortable against Adrian, who wasn't close to his best form. "It will be really difficult against Phil and I need to make sure I win and show everyone what I can do. Tomorrow is a totally different day but I will prepare myself because it will be tough. "I'm looking forward to it. It's a long tournament and I want to win it, but I think I'm in a lovely position at the moment." The results mean that there are two scenarios where there could be a three-player nine-dart shoot-out on stage to determine which players progress from Group A. Wins by a 10-7 scoreline for Van Barneveld against Lewis and Van Gerwen against Taylor would leave the two Dutchmen and Taylor tied on four points and +4 leg difference, meaning that two players would progress from the nine-dart shoot-out. A 10-5 win for Lewis over Van Barneveld, coupled with a 10-5 win for Taylor against Van Gerwen would see Taylor qualify automatically with his three rivals then facing a nine-dart shoot-out for the second semi-final spot. Taylor, though, would qualify for the semi-finals if he wins eight legs against Van Gerwen as the 57-year-old seeks to successfully defend his title in the £250,000 BBC-televised tournament. Sunday sees the final group games take place in the afternoon session, with the event culminating with the semi-finals and final in the evening session. Tickets are available at the Motorpoint Arena Box Office on the day. Unibet Champions League of Darts Saturday September 16 Afternoon Session First Group Matches Peter Wright 10-5 Dave Chisnall (B) Mensur Suljovic 10-3 Gary Anderson (B) Phil Taylor 10-7 Adrian Lewis (A) Raymond van Barneveld 10-5 Michael van Gerwen (A) Evening Session Second Group Matches Gary Anderson 10-7 Dave Chisnall Peter Wright 8-10 Mensur Suljovic Phil Taylor 10-6 Raymond van Barneveld Michael van Gerwen 10-4 Adrian Lewis Sunday September 17 Afternoon Session (1pm) Final Group Matches Dave Chisnall v Mensur Suljovic Gary Anderson v Peter Wright Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld Michael van Gerwen v Phil Taylor Evening Session (6.30pm) Semi-Finals Final GROUP TABLES Group A PWL+/-Pts Phil Taylor220+74 Raymond van Barneveld211+12 Michael van Gerwen211+12 Adrian Lewis202-90 Group B PWL+/-Pts Mensur Suljovic (Q)220+94 Peter Wright211+32 Gary Anderson211-42 Dave Chisnall202-80 Two points awarded per win. No points for a defeat. Top two players from each group progress to semi‐finals. Any ties for Points decided by Leg Difference then: ‐ If two players are tied for Points and Leg Difference, then the winner of the group match between the players will be deemed to be the higher‐placed player. ‐ If three players are tied for Points and Leg Difference, then a nine‐dart shoot‐out will be played between the players on stage to determine placings. |
