Michael Van Gerwen Makes It Three In A Row

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Michael Van Gerwen chalked up a hat-trick of European Championship victories with a thumping 11-1 win against Austria’s Mensur Suljovic at the Ethias Arena in Hasselt, Belgium on Sunday.

Taking just over 30 minutes to do the job, Van Gerwen’s 111.62 average was the highest in a televised final and a record in a European Championship decider.

Suljovic put on an impressive performance in his first televised final. Despite having seen off Peter Wright in the semi-finals as well as Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor in the quarter-finals, he was no match for a dominant MVG who took the £100,000 first prize as well as the ranking points he does not need.

Suljovic, on the other hand, moves up to seventh in the PDC Order of Merit after winning £40,000 in prize money, his best-ever scoop.

Van Gerwen vs Suljovic: as it happened

Mighty Mike opened with 174, taking the opening two legs before Suljovic claimed a solitary leg back, leaving the Dutchman to pull clear. He began to run away with the match after breaking Suljovic twice with 12-dart finishes, including two 180s in one leg, before striking a 157 checkout to lead 7-1.

He remained unchallenged, landing a further three 180s and missing just four darts at the double on the way to his record-breaking win. His victory here, his 22nd of the year, follows hot on the back of successes in the UK Open, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.

Ladbrokes World Series Finals Schedule

This weekend will once more see Michael Van Gerwen defending a title, something he and we have become familiar with, as the World Series of Darts Finals take place at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow. Last time out, MVG defeated Peter Wright 11-10 in the inaugural staging of the tournament.

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Now in its second year, the £155,000 event marks the conclusion of the world tour which has visited Dubai, Auckland, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Perth. It begins just after midday on Saturday.

MVG, like the other top seeds, won’t begin playing until round two and will face the winner of the Gerwyn Price vs Steve Beaton tie.

Likewise, World Champion Gary Anderson will open against either Joe Cullen or Joe Murnan, while, interestingly, Phil Taylor could face off against his recent vanquisher Mensur Suljovic, should he bypass Robert Thornton.

Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis returns to action having missed out on last weekend’s European Championship and will meet Germany’s Max Hopp or Spain’s Cristo Reyes, while last year’s beaten finalist Peter Wright will meet either Josh Payne or Daryl Gurney.

The last three seeds given a bye into the second round are Dave Chisnall, who faces a tough draw against Dutchman Jelle Klaasen or Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts, Raymond van Barneveld who is most likely to meet Simon Whitlock if he makes his way past Brendan Dolan and James Wade who will step up against one of Benito van de Pas or Michael Smith.

World Series of Darts Betting Tips

We’re long past the point where the bookies need to run a favourite-free book eliminating MVG from the betting, such is his dominance.

I can’t find one, however, so let’s just say that Michael Van Gerwen is odds on everywhere.  Him aside, we’ll look to the two Stoke players with a point to prove to, at the very least, make the final.

With Phil Taylor having been dumped out at the quarter-final stage last week by Mensur Suljovic (40/1 at SkyBet this week), The Power will be a man on a mission this weekend in Glasgow and is a decent 7/1 at SkyBet to do so.

Similarly, Adrian Lewis didn’t qualify for last weekend’s event so also returns with a point to prove and is a best price of 18/1 at Bet365. The only other potential winners will be either Gary Anderson and Peter Wright who, as a Scotsman, will have home advantage and the backing of a hostile crowd to boot.

The best you can get on Anderson is 7/1 at both Bet365 and SkyBet, while Wright can be backed at whopping 25/1, which may be worth considering given the bookmaker involved, SkyBet, are paying half the odds for a runner-up position.

If you are split on the two, then Betway are taking bets on the nationality of the winner with 9/2 on offer should a Scotsman emerge victorious in Glasgow.

The tournament will be broadcast live on ITV4.

2016 Ladbrokes World Series of Darts Finals (Glasgow’s Braehead Arena)

Saturday November 5

First Round, Afternoon Session (12.45pm-5pm) Best of 11 legs

  • Max Hopp v Cristo Reyes
  • Benito van de Pas v Michael Smith
  • Jelle Klaasen v Kim Huybrechts
  • Brendan Dolan v Simon Whitlock
  • Mensur Suljovic v Robert Thornton
  • Joe Murnan v Joe Cullen
  • Gerwyn Price v Steve Beaton
  • Daryl Gurney v Josh Payne

Second Round, Evening Session (7pm-11pm) Best of 11 legs

  • Adrian Lewis (5) v Hopp/Reyes
  • James Wade (6) v van de Pas/Smith
  • Dave Chisnall (4) v Klaasen/Huybrechts
  • Raymond van Barneveld (8) v Dolan/Whitlock
  • Phil Taylor (3) v Suljovic/Thornton
  • Gary Anderson (2) v Murnan/Cullen
  • Michael van Gerwen (1) v Price/Beaton
  • Peter Wright (7) v Gurney/Payne

Sunday November 6

  • Quarter-Finals: Best of 19 legs
  • Semi-Finals: Best of 21 legs
  • Final: Best of 21 legs
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European Championship reaches its climax

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Starting tonight and lasting for three days, the final events of this year’s European Championship at the Ethias Arena in Hasselt, Belgium gets underway.

The £400,000 tournament brings together the top 32 players from this year’s ten PDC European Tour events so far, but all the focus, as ever, is on the Dutch darts master that is Michael Van Gerwen, gunning here for his third European Championship in a row.

Van Gerwen, who staged a long-remembered comeback in last year’s final against Gary Anderson, has won over half of this year’s ten European Tour events already. Not that he needed it, but this ensures Mighty Mike’s top seeding here. Despite this, MVG still has a more than challenging opening clash against 2012 champion, Simon Whitlock.

Four-time winner of the event, the legendary Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor faces seventh seed, Alan ‘Chuck’ Norris, who earnt his ranking courtesy of his victory in this year’s final European Tour event in Germany a fortnight ago and, while Norris has found form, Taylor’s class should see him through.

Another round one high profile clash is the coming together of reigning world champion Gary Anderson of Scotland and England’s James Wade, the latter taking down a European Tour event in Hamburg back in May.

While Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis sits out the event, which will be screened live on ITV 4, other big names on display include Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright who faces Justin Pipe first, and Dave ‘Chizzy’ Chisnall who meets Kyle Anderson this evening.

The best darts betting tips for Belgium

It goes without saying that Michael van Gerwen is the favourite, with a best price 5/4 at SkyBet to win a third successive European Championship title. SkyBet dig the deepest again for second-favourite Phil Taylor, who enjoyed success in the fifth leg of the tour in Vienna back in June.

They are laying 4/1 on The Power, who finds himself in the other side of the draw to MVG. Should these two make Sunday’s final, you can back an MVG v Taylor match off at 100/30, again with SkyBet.

For a little outside punt, Peter Wright can be backed at 14/1 at both Bet365 and Betway, while the latter are offering the best price on Dave Chisnall at 16/1. Discounting the two favourites, Snakebite and Chizzy are both sound bets, but it’s possibly Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson that might be worth a punt.

If you are feeling brave, SkyBet’s RequestABet format has produced the unusual selection: Chris Dobey to beat Phil Taylor in the second round of the European Champs at 14/1, which, if it pays off, surely deserves better reward.

If MVG does produce the goods as predicted, then the same RequestABet machine has generated  Michael Van Gerwen to win the European Championship, World series finals, Grand Slam & the World Championship at 8/1, in which case, should you fancy it, jump on early.

European Championship, Hasselt, Belgium

Round One (Best of 11 legs and seeds in brackets)

Friday October 28

Afternoon Session (12.45pm-5pm UK time)

  • Jamie Caven v James Richardson
  • Daryl Gurney v Gerwyn Price
  • Chris Dobey v Joe Cullen
  • Ian White v Terry Jenkins
  • Cristo Reyes v Robert Thornton
  • Mervyn King v Devon Petersen
  • Michael Smith v Stephen Bunting
  • Max Hopp v Benito van de Pas

Evening Session (7pm-11pm UK time)

  • Jelle Klaasen (8) v Steve West
  • Kim Huybrechts (5) v James Wilson
  • Dave Chisnall (6) v Kyle Anderson
  • Mensur Suljovic (2) v Jermaine Wattimena
  • Peter Wright (3) v Justin Pipe
  • Alan Norris (7) v Phil Taylor
  • Michael van Gerwen (1) v Simon Whitlock
  • James Wade (4) v Gary Anderson

Saturday October 29

Afternoon Session (12.45pm-5pm UK time)

Second Round (Best of 19 legs)

  • Chisnall/K Anderson v Caven/Richardson
  • Suljovic/Wattimena v White/Jenkins
  • Wright/Pipe v Reyes/Thornton
  • Huybrechts/Wilson v King/Petersen

Evening Session (7pm-11pm UK time)

  • Klaasen/West v Smith/Bunting
  • Norris/Taylor v Dobey/Cullen
  • Wade/G Anderson v Hopp/van de Pas
  • van Gerwen/Whitlock v Gurney/Price

Sunday October 30

Afternoon Session (12.45pm-5pm UK time)

Quarter-Finals (Best of 19 legs)

  • MVG/Whitlock/Gurney/Price v Klaasen/West/Smith/Bunting
  • Huybrechts/Wilson/King/Petersen v Wade/Anderson/Hopp/Van de Pas
  • Suljovic/Wattimena/White/Jenkins v Norris/Taylor/Dobey/Cullen
  • Chisnall/Anderson/Caven/Richardson v Wright/Pipe/Reyes/Thornton

Evening Session (7pm-11pm UK time)

Semi-Finals (Best of 21 legs)

Final (Best of 21 legs)

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New Darts Film Shows How Far Game Has Come

House of Flying Arrows
In a demonstration of how far the game has come, a new documentary that charts the phenomenal rise of darts was released last week. House of Flying Arrows aims to show darts’ journey from smoke-filled pubs to one of Sky Sports most valuable assets, where main performers like Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor make millions.

The game itself has changed very little since starting out as a crusty pub favourite over a century ago and yet, despite beginning life with a less than glamorous image, darts has become one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, drawing in the huge crowds that help to create those unique atmospheres we have become familiar with.

Today’s players are household names who have all made big money and the film charts this rise, both before and after the crucial split between the PDC and BDO. Stars that have played either side of the great divide, names like Eric Bristow, Bobby George and Michael van Gerwen, all talk openly in the film which is available for digital download now.

One name sadly missing from the documentary, though, is a man without whose input none of the above would have happened.

Side Waddell: the Voice Of Darts

Sid Waddell was born the son of a miner in Alnwick, north of Newcastle in 1940. When Sid died, almost 72 years to the day after his birth, tributes came in thick and fast on social media from the likes of TV personality Stephen Fry, politician John Prescott and footballer Wayne Rooney – all with good reason too.

House of Flying Arrows
From humble roots, his intelligence had taken him far; as far as Cambridge University, in fact. There, they failed to breed the working class out of him and Sid spent more time drinking and playing darts than studying, almost quitting entirely at one point to pursue a career as a folk singer.

Fortunately, academia’s loss was darts’ gain as intelligence and working class wit fused together to give darts a powerful driving force on its rise to the top.

There’s no business like…

Next up for Sid was show business. Working as scriptwriter, he created the classic kids football show Jossy’s Giants and, as a TV producer, even began making documentaries for Iranian TV. Then, in 1972, he came up with the idea that would lead him down the path for which we remember him so well: The Indoor League.

Produced by Yorkshire Television, the show was hosted by Yorkshire and England fast bowler ‘Fiery’ Fred Trueman, pint of bitter in hand, and featured pub classics shove ha’penny, arm-wrestling, billiards and, critically for Sid, darts.

The rise of televised darts

Not long after, the BBC wanted to begin pushing darts and, against popular opinion, drafted in Sid as their star voice, providing him with the chance to became one of the commentators on the first World Professional Darts Championship in 1978.

His career was launched and viewers soon began to follow. This was his life for the rest of his days, wheeling out classic quotes en masse in the most Geordie of tongues, long after the PDCBDO civil war of the early 1990s and subsequent Sky Sports boom.

Among all the iconic sports commentators that have dominated coverage of their game down the years, few, if any, can boast like Sid Waddell what a difference their input made to their sport. During his reign, he played a huge role in its transformation from an unfashionable and unloved pub game that many people wouldn’t even have classed as sport, to the international brand it has developed into today, as celebrated in the new documentary.

Like all the finest broadcasters, Sid Waddell’s darts commentaries were about his game, but also about much more than that too. He left us four years ago but his legacy lives on as does the memory of some of his zinging one liners.

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Top Sid Waddell Quotes

  • “Look at the man go! It’s like trying to stop a water buffalo with a peashooter.”
  • “Deller’s not the underdog – he’s the underpuppy.”
  • “William Tell could take an apple off your head, Taylor could take out a processed pea.”
  • “If we’d had Phil Taylor at Hastings against the Normans, they’d have gone home.”
  • “He looks about as happy as a penguin in a microwave.”
  • “Keith Deller is like Long John Silver – he’s badly in need of another leg.”
  • “You could hear a blob of vinegar drop on a chip in this hall.”
  • “There’s only one word for it – magic darts.”
  • “They’re sweating like a pair of giraffes coming up to a mirage water hole.”
  • “He’s about as predictable as a wasp on speed.”
  • “That could have landed on the pupil of a fly’s eyeball.”
  • “This game of darts is twisting like a rattlesnake with a hernia!”
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