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2014 World Matchplay
The 2014 BetVictor World Matchplay was the 21st annual staging of the darts tournament, the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, from 19–27 July 2014. Phil Taylor won the event for the seventh consecutive year and 15th in total by beating Michael van Gerwen 18–9 in the final. Taylor also threw the event's only nine-dart finish which he did in the second round against Michael Smith. Prize money The prize fund was increased to £450,000 after being £400,000 for the previous five editions of this event. The bonus for a nine-dart finish stood at £10,000 and was won by Phil Taylor. Format In previous stagings of the event all games had to be won by two clear legs with no sudden-death legs. However, in 2013 after consulting the host broadcaster Sky Sports, the PDC decided that games will now only proceed for a maximum of six extra legs before a tie-break leg is required. For example, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter Gardens, Blackpool
The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which includes a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building, operated by Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited on behalf of Blackpool Council, which purchased the property from Leisure Parcs Ltd as part of a £40 million deal in 2010. The Winter Gardens has hosted the annual Trades Union Congress, the Conservative Party Conference (UK), Conservative Party Conference, Labour Party Conference, and the twice-annual Liberal Democrat Conference. The venue's owners claim that every Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister, since World War II has addressed an audience at the venue. It has also hosted the Blackpool Dance Festival since its inception in 1920, and the World Matchplay (darts), World Matchplay darts tournament since 1994. The annual dance competitions Miss Dance of Great Britain and Dance Master UK are hosted there an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seed (tennis)
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, whose winner becomes the tournament champion(s). Some match-ups may be a single match or several, for example two-legged ties in European sports or best-of series in North American pro sports. Defeated competitors may play no further part after losing, or may participate in "consolation" or "classification" matches against other losers to determine the lower final rankings; for example, a third place playoff between losing semi-finalists. In a shootout poker tournament, there are more than two players competing at each table, and sometimes more than one progresses to the next round. Some competitions are held with a pure single-elimination tournament system. Others have many phases, with the last being a single-elimination final stage, often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justin Pipe
Justin Pipe (born 9 November 1971) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won six PDC titles. Playing career Pipe was a Boxing, boxer in his youth, and, as a staunch anti-smoker, he refused to play darts in local pubs as the cigarette smoke would make his eyes water. In 2007, a Smoking ban in England, smoking ban was introduced to England which enabled him to restart his darts career. He first emerged at the 2008 UK Open (darts), 2008 UK Open as a pub qualifier. He defeated Geoff Wylie and Lionel Sams before losing 9–3 to James Wade in the third round. Following this performance, he joined the PDC Pro Tour and reached the same stage of the UK Open a 2009 UK Open, year later, this time losing 9–5 against Andy Jenkins. He qualified for the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts as one of four ITV Wildcard qualifiers. He lost all three of his group games to James Wade, Vincent van der Voort, and Tony O'Shea. 2011–20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mervyn King (darts Player)
Mervyn King (born 15 March 1966) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He formerly competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments. Nicknamed The King, he reached seven PDC premier event finals and a peak ranking of world number four in the PDC Order of Merit. In the BDO he was the 2004 Winmau World Masters winner, and both the Finder Masters and International Darts League champion in 2005, becoming the former BDO world number one during 2000 and 2005. He was the runner-up at the BDO World Darts Championship in both 2002 and 2004 as well as at the 2000 World Masters. In the PDC, King reached the semi-finals at the 2009 PDC World Championship, and was runner-up at the PDC Masters in both 2014 and 2021, the Players Championship Finals in 2010 and 2020, the 2009 Premier League Darts, the 2012 World Grand Prix, and the 2008 Championship League Darts. Early life King first took up the game at the age o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he was ranked world number one from January 2008 to June 2008. Nicknamed "Barney", he is a five-time World Champion (four-time BDO and one-time PDC). He is also a two-time UK Open champion, and a former winner of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the Grand Slam and the Premier League. He is also a two-time World Masters winner, and a former World Darts Trophy champion. He is a three-time winner of both the International Darts League, the Dutch Open, and the WDF World Cup singles event. Van Barneveld has won the PDC World Cup of Darts four times (once partnering Co Stompé and thrice partnering Michael van Gerwen) and the WDF World Cup Pairs once (partnering Vincent van der Voort). He also won the PDC World Pairs alongside Roland Scholten. His victory over Phil Taylor in the 2007 PDC World Championship final, added to his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brendan Dolan
Brendan Gabriel Dolan (born 2 August 1973) is a Northern Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was the first player to hit a nine-dart finish in a "double-to-start" event (where a player must hit a double to begin play), which he achieved at the 2011 World Grand Prix, giving him the nickname the History Maker. He also reached the final of this tournament, where he lost to Phil Taylor. On the PDC Pro Tour, Dolan lost his first seven finals before winning his maiden ranking title in 2013. He has since won nine more events on the Pro Tour, most recently in 2024. He is noted for his 180 celebration where he twirls his finger in a helicopter style motion. Darts career Early career After two early exits in the 2003 and 2004 UK Open, Dolan's first major run came in the 2004 World Grand Prix where he earned his place through the All-Ireland qualifiers, winning one of four places. He defeated fellow qualifier Mark Wilton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Anderson (darts Player)
Gary James Grant Anderson (born 22 December 1970) is a Scottish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number thirteen; he reached a peak ranking of world number two from 2015 to 2017. Anderson is a former British Darts Organisation (BDO) and World Darts Federation (WDF) world number one. Nicknamed "the Flying Scotsman", after the famous steam train, he is a two-time, back-to-back PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2015 and 2016, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Before switching to the PDC following the 2009 BDO World Championship, Anderson won four BDO major titles: the International Darts League, World Trophy and Finder Masters in 2007 as well as the 2008 Finder Masters. He defeated Phil Taylor 7–6 in the 2015 PDC World Championship final and Adrian Lewis 7–5 the following year, while he was also a finalist in 2011, 2017 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wes Newton
Wesley Newton (born 27 August 1977) is an English professional darts player. Darts career Newton's first PDC major was the 2003 UK Open where he lost 8–6 to Mark Thomson in the last 32. He was beaten in the semi-finals of the Eastbourne Open in 2003 and 2004 and reached the first final of his career at the Golden Harvest North American Cup, but lost 4–0 to John Part. Newton qualified for the 2004 Las Vegas Desert Classic and was beaten 2–1 by Wayne Mardle in the first round. His World Championship debut came in 2005 when he lost 3–0 to Gerry Convery in the second round. His first semi-final in a major event was at the 2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic where he knocked out George Walls, Mark Walsh and Ray Carver, before losing 4–0 to Phil Taylor. Newton suffered a broken collarbone by slipping in the shower shortly after the event which kept him out of action for three months but returned to play in his first World Grand Prix, losing 3–0 in the second round to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Chisnall
David Chisnall (born 12 September 1980) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number twelve; he reached a peak ranking of world number five in 2017 and 2024. He began his career in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and was the runner-up in the 2010 BDO World Championship. He switched to the PDC a year later where he has since won 26 ranking PDC titles, reached six televised premier event finals, participated in the Premier League four times, and represented England at the PDC World Cup on three occasions, making the semi-finals twice. Chisnall is a two-time runner-up at both the PDC Masters and the World Grand Prix, with his best performance at the PDC World Championship being reaching the semi-finals at the 2021 edition. Career Early career Chisnall was brought up in St Helens and played for a local football team until he was 17 when he broke his foot. He switched t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Hamilton (darts Player)
Andrew Hamilton (born 16 March 1967), nicknamed The Hammer, is an English former professional darts player who competes in World Seniors Darts events. Hamilton formerly competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, finishing as runner-up in three majors: the 2012 PDC World Championship, 2007 Grand Slam and 2013 UK Open. Career Early career Hamilton started playing darts at the age of 14 with his father Jim and brother Darren. By the age of 18, Hamilton was playing county level darts for Cheshire. However, he did not feel confident enough to pursue a career at the higher level and stopped playing competitive darts for 20 years. 2004–2007 Hamilton made his television debut at the 2004 UK Open but was eliminated in the first round 5–2 by Eddie Lovely. His first semi-final on the PDC Pro Tour came in just his fourth event when he was beaten 3–2 by Mark Dudbridge in a Scottish Players Championship. Hamilton qualified for the PDC World Championship for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Thornton (darts Player)
Robert Thornton (born 17 July 1967) is a Scottish professional darts player. He competes in World Seniors Darts (WSD) events; he has won the WSD World Championship twice. He also won the 2022 World Seniors Matchplay. Thorton previously participated in British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments; he won the 2007 Winmau World Masters and 2008 Dutch Open. He switched to the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in 2008. He won two PDC major titles; the UK Open in 2012, and World Grand Prix in 2015. Additionally, Thornton won eleven titles on the PDC Pro Tour. BDO career Thornton returned to playing darts in 2002, having given up the game for two decades to raise his children. He qualified for the BDO World Championship for the first time in 2005. He beat Martin Atkins and Tony West before losing to Darryl Fitton in the quarter-finals. He then failed to qualify for the 2006 and 2007 events. Thornton's first professional title came in the Central Scotland Open in April 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Wright (darts Player)
Peter Stuart Wright (born 10 March 1970) is a Scottish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world number fourteen; he was ranked world number one on two occasions in 2022. Nicknamed "Snakebite", he is a two-time PDC World Darts Championship, PDC World Champion, having won the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship, 2020 and 2022 PDC World Darts Championship, 2022 World Championships. He has also won the 2021 World Matchplay. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, Wright has won 34 events on the PDC Pro Tour, putting him fourth on the all-time list behind Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor (darts player), Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson (darts player), Gary Anderson. When he was 24, Wright qualified for the first round of the 1995 BDO World Darts Championship, 1995 BDO World Championship but then stopped playing darts professionally, working instead as a bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
