This is a list of some of the major events and competitions in the sport of darts in 2008.
News
January
February
- 10 â Colin Lloyd takes his first PDC Pro Tour title since November 2006 by claiming the UK Open South-West Regional Final in Taunton. He beat Andy Hamilton in the final.
- 10 â Scotland's Winmau World Master Robert Thornton added the Dutch Open (WDF) title to his collection beating Dutchman Alain van Bouwel 3âÂÂ0 in the Men's Final. Reigning Women's World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova added more silverware to her collection when she won the Women's title beating Netherlands Carla Molema by 5 legs to 2.
- 17 â Yorkshire's Garry Thompson became the 14th different winner in the 14-year history of the Scottish Open. He beat Winmau World Master Robert Thornton and England captain Martin Adams on his way the final where he beat Shaun Greatbatch by 5 legs to 1. Anastasia Dobromyslova added the Scottish Open Singles title when she defeated Francis Hoenselaar by 4 legs to 2 in the women's final.
- 19 â Anastasia Dobromyslova becomes world number 1 in the WDF rankings overtaking Karin Krappen. Trina Gulliver remains third.
- 21 â A court case in the Netherlands ends with the judge unable to find enough evidence regarding an existing contract between the PDC and the organisers of the two Dutch tournaments, the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy. Without PDC players and a television agreement, the IDL is postponed indefinitely and the WDT's future remains doubtful.
- 24 â Wales win the WDF Nations Cup at the Rhydycar Leisure Centre in Merthyr Tydfil. The five man team of Robert Hughes, Gareth Holt, Wayne Warren, Martin Phillips and Mark Webster beat England 13âÂÂ8 in the final.
March
- 1 â Phil Taylor picks up the Southern Players Championship title at the Brentwood Centre in Essex. He beat Chris Mason, Wayne Mardle, Adrian Lewis and James Wade to take his first PDC Pro Tour title of the year. Despite his "lack of form",it was his fifth title in his last six tournaments â with only the World Championship missing from the collection.
- 1 â Steve West wins the Finnish Open with a 5âÂÂ4 final victory over Robert Wagner. Sari Nikula beat Tarja Salminen in an all-Finland final for the women's title.
- 2 â Colin Lloyd takes his second PDC Pro Tour title of the year by beating Phil Taylor in the Southern Regional Final of the UK Open in Brentwood, Essex. Four Dutch players reach the last eight of the event.
- 15 â St Helens player Alan Tabern won the North West Players Championship in Wigan beating Chris Mason in the final.
- 16 â Phil Taylor wins the North West Regional Final of the UK Open in Wigan in a deciding leg shootout against Adrian Lewis.
- 22 â The PDC Pro Tour moves to Germany for the weekend where Phil Taylor claims another Players Championship title. He beats rival Raymond van Barneveld in the final. Colin Lloyd takes the PDC tour's rollover prize of ã12,400 for hitting a nine dart finish against Colin Monk.
- 23 â Phil Taylor completes a perfect weekend in Germany by winning a third successive Pro Tour title. He hit a nine dart finish in the last 16 against Ronnie Baxter and beats Wayne Jones in the final. Dave Askew also hit a nine-darter in his third round defeat to James Wade.
- 25 â Bob Anderson is confirmed as the eighth and final player in the Legends Tour due to start in May.
- 27 â Adrian Lewis misses his Premier League match against Phil Taylor in Birmingham due to illness. Terry Jenkins is asked to play twice in the night, with Lewis's match rescheduled the following week.
- 29 â Phil Taylor's successful month continues in Telford with his fourth successive Pro Tour Title â the Midland Players Championship defeating Colin Lloyd in the final.
- 30 â Phil Taylor wins his fifth successive title, all in the month of March winning the Midland Regional Final of the UK Open â the last of the eight regionals. He beat Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-final and Brendan Dolan in the Telford final.
April
May
- 1 â The Premier League group stages end with Adrian Lewis taking the final semi-final place by holding Wayne Mardle to a draw. He joins the top 3 players in the world Phil Taylor, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld who had already qualified.
- 11 â Anastasia Dobromyslova, the women's world champion, is amongst the Holsten Pils pub qualifiers for the PDC 2008 UK Open. Fellow BDO players, Robert Thornton and Scott Waites also qualify.
- 12 â Barry Hearn confirms that Alexandra Palace will be the venue for the PDC World Darts Championship until 2012 after signing a four-year contract with the venue.
- 18 â Phil Taylor retains his US Open title beating Colin Lloyd in the final. Lloyd's run to final guarantees him a place in the Grand Slam of Darts for the next two years.
- 18 â The Welsh Open, Setanta Sports first televised darts event from the new BDO Grand Prix, is won by Gary Anderson who beats the previous year's winner Mark Webster in the final.
- 21 â Robert Thornton joins the PDC. Thornton becomes the first high-profile switch of 2008 and following Michael van Gerwen in 2007, it's the second consecutive year that the incumbent Winmau World Masters champion has left the BDO before defending the title. Thornton was also the BDO's number one ranked player at the time of the switch.
- 24 â Dutchman Willy van der Wiel wins the Norway Open beating Scotland's Paul Hanvidge in the final. Carina Ekberg beat Scotland's Louise Hepburn in the Women's final.
- 26 â Phil Taylor wins the Premier League for the fourth successive year. He beat Adrian Lewis 11âÂÂ1 in the semi-final with a 112.68 average then James Wade 16âÂÂ8 with a 108.36 average. Wade had earlier defeated world number one, Raymond van Barneveld in the other semi-final.
- 30 â The BetFred League of Legends kicks off at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet. Opening night wins for Keith Deller, Dave Whitcombe and Eric Bristow, who beat Bobby George in a repeat of the 1980 World final.
June
- 5 â Women's' World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova loses narrowly in the deciding leg of her first round match at the UK Open to World Masters Champion Robert Thornton.
- 7 â Phil Taylor hits his fourth UK Open nine dart finish in Bolton during a 9âÂÂ1 win over Jamie Harvey.
- 7 â The Swiss Open title is taken by Dutchman Joey ten Berge who beat England's Dave Prins 3âÂÂ2 in the final. The women's event is won by Carla Molema who beat Irina Armstrong in the Women's Final by 2 sets to 1.
- 8 â James Wade adds his third PDC major title by winning the UK Open in Bolton. He beat Gary Mawson in the final. Raymond van Barneveld beat Phil Taylor in the quarter-finals for the third successive year. The Dutchman then lost to Mawson in the semi.
- 11 â Co Stompé becomes the latest BDO player to switch to the PDC.
- 14 â Phil Taylor claims his eighth PDC Pro Tour title at the Players Championship in Bristol beating Alan Tabern in the final.
- 14 â It is confirmed that Shaun Greatbatch is diagnosed with cancer and is in hospital undergoing tests. No further details were confirmed.
- 15 â Dennis Priestley wins his first Pro Tour title since February 2007 at the second Players Championship in Bristol. He beat Kevin Painter 3âÂÂ2 in the final.
- 15 â Davy Richardson won the Setanta Sports televised BDO British International defeating Scotland's Ross Montgomery by 4 sets to 1. Francis Hoenselaar took the women's title 3âÂÂ2 over Patsy Fletcher.
- 20 â Week two of the BetFred League of Legends in Blackburn saw Dave Whitcombe make it two wins from two with a 7 legs to 4 victory over Bobby George who has now lost both his matches. Cliff Lazarenko got his first win of the league, beating Eric Bristow 7âÂÂ3. Following his draw with Bob Anderson, Peter Evison earned his first league win with a 7âÂÂ5 win over Keith Deller. On the final match of the evening, Anderson brushed aside John Lowe 7âÂÂ2. Lowe has also lost both his matches.
- 23 â John Raby passes away after a long battle against motor neurone disease and cancer. His promotions company, JR Darts helped with organisation of tournaments in the PDC from its infancy. Barry Hearn said without Raby, "we might not have had a PDC." He had been inducted into the PDC Hall of Fame in 2007.
- 27 â The League of Legends entertain the Hilton Hotel in Birmingham for week 3 of competition. Dave Whitcombe continued his winning ways, claiming a third straight win with 7âÂÂ3 win over Eric Bristow. Bobby George won his first game of the league, beating Peter Evison 7âÂÂ3. There were also wins for Bob Anderson and Keith Deller who respectively beat Cliff Lazarenko and John Lowe, who is the only one of the eight still without a win having lost his first three games.
- 29 â Phil Taylor wins his ninth PDC Pro Tour title of the year by winning the Players Championship in Las Vegas beating Ronnie Baxter in the final. Raymond van Barneveld suffered a shock first round exit to Germany's Michael Rosenauer, who went on the reach the semi-finals along with Mark Walsh. Mark Frost reached the quarter-finals and in doing so he secures his place in the World Matchplay.
July
August
- 10 â Robert Thornton clinches his first PDC Pro Tour title in Shoalhaven, Australia
- 17 â Dennis Priestley claims his second PDC Pro Tour title of 2008 with a Players Championship victory over Lionel Sams in Kitchener, Canada
- 24 â Alan Tabern wins his second PDC Pro Tour title of the year at the Peachtree Open in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 30 â Phil Taylor extends his winning run to 31 matches by taking the first of the weekend's Players Championships in the Netherlands. He beats James Wade in the final.
- 31 â Phil Taylor completes the weekend title double in the Netherlands beating Terry Jenkins in the final. It is his sixth tournament win in a row and extends his winning run to 38 matches. His record in knockout matches in 2008 stands at 128 wins, 5 defeats with 17 titles in 18 finals.
- 31 â Mark Webster wins the WDF Europe Cup with 4âÂÂ0 win over Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney while the England pairing of Martin Adams and John Walton won the Pairs. They defeated Marko Kantele and Jarkko Komula 4âÂÂ2. The men's team title went to Denmark for the first time.
- 31 â Krysztof Ratajski of Poland created a sensation by the Denmark Open Singles. He defeated Dutchman Fabian Roosenbrand in the final. The Women's title went to Julie Gore (Wales) who defeated Russia's Irina Armstrong 4âÂÂ1.
September
- 4 â Norman Wright, husband of Cumbria Secretary and BDO stalwart Alma Wright dies.
- 6 â In a staggering upset Felix McBrearty, ranked 352 in the PDC, wins the PDC Pro Tour Players Championship at the Ireland Open Classic. He beat Kevin McDine, Colin Osborne, Michael van Gerwen, Andy Hamilton, Colin Lloyd and Chris Mason to clinch the title.
- 14 â Colin Lloyd claims his third PDC Pro Tour title of 2008 by winning the Windy City Open in Chicago. He beat Wayne Mardle in the final.
- 15 â Ellie Hindle, who worked closely with the BDO for many years at Pontin's, Brean Sands dies from cancer.
- 20 â In an all Scottish final, John Henderson beats Gary Anderson 4âÂÂ2 in the final of the British Open in Bridlington. Despite the defeat Anderson won the inaugural BDO British Grand Prix and ã12,000 top prize. Ross Montgomery was second and Davy Richardson third. In the Women's singles, Trina Gulliver beat Francis Hoenselaar 3âÂÂ1 in the women's final.
- 27 â Mareno Michels (Netherlands) won the men's singles at the French Open beating Robert Hughest (Wales) 5âÂÂ4 i the final. Irina Armstrong (Russia) won the Women's Singles defeating Karin Krappen of the Netherlands 4âÂÂ0 in the final. Daniel van Mourik (Netherlands) won the Youth Singles.
- 29 â Shaun Greatbatch confirms his withdrawal from the World Masters and Zuiderduin Masters due to entering hospital at the beginning of November for continued treatment, but he remains optimistic about his chances of taking part at the Lakeside in January.
October
- 12 â Phil Taylor regains the World Grand Prix title in Dublin, beating Raymond van Barneveld in the final.
- 12 â Tony O'Shea and Anastasia Dobromyslova took the titles at the Welsh Masters. Bernie Smith (NZ) and Corrine Hammond (Aus) won the Singles titles in the 2008 New Zealand Masters.
- 12 â Gene Raymond, a former Surrey and England player dies. Raymond moved to Spain in later years.
- 17 â Lisa Ashton will replace Anastasia Dobromyslova at the Zuiderduin Masters. Anastasia is still plagued with visa problems and will not be permitted to play in the event by the Dutch authorities.
- 17 â Wes Newton secures a place in the Grand Slam of Darts winning the wildcard qualifier. Colin McGarry, Alan Tabern and Jamie Caven take second, third and fourth.
- 18 â Alex Roy wins the Scottish Players Championship
- 19 â James Wade win the second of the weekend's Players Championships
- 25 â Colin Osborne wins the Kirchheim Players Championship.
- 26 â Russell Stewart wins the Oceanic Masters.
November
- 1 â Michael van Gerwen wins the Gleneagle Irish Masters
- 2 â Phil Taylor wins the inaugural European Championship beating Adrian Lewis 11âÂÂ5 in the final in Frankfurt, Germany.
- 2 â Terry Jenkins wins the John McEvoy Gold Darts Classic Pro Tour event in Killarney beating namesake Andy Jenkins in the final.
- 8 â Mervyn King wins the first of the weekend's Players Championships in Holland.
- 9 â James Wade wins the second Player's Championship in Holland
- 14 â The Pro-Celebrity curtain raiser to the Grand Slam of Darts is won by former Olympic javelin star Steve Backley who partnered James Wade to the title at the Wolverhampton Civic.
- 16 â Stephen Bunting wins the Northern Ireland Open beating Darryl Fitton in the final. Francis Hoenselaar beat Trina Gulliver to take the women's title.
- 23 â Scott Waites beat Scott Mitchell to win the Swedish Open. Carina Ekberg beat Kristin Bomander in an all-Swedish affair in the women's final
- 23 â Phil Taylor retains his Grand Slam Of Darts title.
December
- 1 â Tom Kirby passes away of pancreatic cancer aged 61.
- 17 â PDC Official Eddie Cox, brother of Tournament Director Tommy Cox, died suddenly â aged 51.
- 18 â A new TV deal is announced confirming that the PDC World Darts Championship will remain on Sky Television until 2013 which will be the 20th PDC World Championship.
PDC
Ladbrokes World Darts Championship
PartyPoker.net US Open
Matches played in sets with three legs per set
Premier League
Blue Square UK Open
Las Vegas Desert Classic
World Matchplay
World Grand Prix
European Championship
PDC Pro Tour events
Players Championships
(All matches â Best of 5 sets, Best of 3 legs per set)
- Gibraltar, January 19: John Part 3-1 Chris Mason
- Gibraltar, January 20: James Wade 3âÂÂ1 Denis Ovens
- South, March 1: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ0 James Wade
- North-West, March 15: Alan Tabern 3âÂÂ0 Chris Mason
- Germany, March 22: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ1 Raymond van Barneveld
- Germany, March 23: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ1 Wayne Jones
- Midlands, March 29: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ0 Colin Lloyd
- Antwerp Darts Trophy, April 12: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ0 Andy Smith
- Scotland, April 19: Mervyn King 3âÂÂ0 Mark Dudbridge
- Open Holland Masters, April 26: Raymond van Barneveld 3âÂÂ0 Colin Osborne
- Thialf Darts Trophy, Heerenveen, June 1: cancelled
- Bristol, June 14: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ0 Alan Tabern
- Bristol, June 15: Dennis Priestley 3âÂÂ2 Kevin Painter
- Las Vegas, June 29: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ1 Ronnie Baxter
- Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy, Blackpool, July 19: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ0 Ronnie Baxter
- Australia Open, Shoalhaven, August 10: Robert Thornton 3âÂÂ1 Paul Nicholson
- Kitchener Open, Canada, August 17: Dennis Priestley 3âÂÂ1 Lionel Sams
- Peachtree Open, Atlanta, August 24: Alan Tabern 3âÂÂ1 Andy Hamilton
- Veldhoven, Netherlands, August 30: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ1 James Wade
- Veldhoven, Netherlands, August 31: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ0 Terry Jenkins
- Ireland Open Classic, September 7: Felix McBrearty 3âÂÂ1 Chris Mason
- Windy City Open, September 14: Colin Lloyd 3âÂÂ2 Wayne Mardle
- Newport, Wales, September 20: Ronnie Baxter 3âÂÂ0 Jamie Caven
- Newport, Wales, September 21: Alan Tabern 3âÂÂ2 Colin Osborne
- Dublin, October 4: Phil Taylor 3âÂÂ2 James Wade
- Dublin, October 5: Dennis Priestley 3âÂÂ1 Raymond van Barneveld
- Scotland, October 18: Alex Roy 3âÂÂ2 Denis Ovens
- Scotland, October 19: James Wade 3âÂÂ1 Mark Walsh
- Dinslaken, Germany, October 25: Colin Osborne 3âÂÂ2 Carlos Rodriguez
- Killarney Pro Tour, November 2: Terry Jenkins 3âÂÂ0 Andy Jenkins
- Holland, November 8: Mervyn King 3âÂÂ2 Raymond van Barneveld
- Holland, November 9: James Wade 3âÂÂ2 Mark Walsh
UK Open Regional Finals
All finals best of 15 legs
- January 13 (North East): Colin Osborne 8âÂÂ6 Denis Ovens
- February 10 (South-West): Colin Lloyd 8âÂÂ6 Andy Hamilton
- March 2 (South): Colin Lloyd 8âÂÂ6 Phil Taylor
- March 16 (North-West): Phil Taylor 8âÂÂ7 Adrian Lewis
- March 30 (Midlands): Phil Taylor 8âÂÂ0 Brendan Dolan
BDO
Lakeside World Darts Championship
Winmau World Masters
WDF Category 1 Events
WDF ranking points awarded: Winner 150, Runner-up 100, Semi-Finalists 80, Quarter-Finalists 48, 9th to 16th place 24, 17th to 32nd place 12.
- Dutch Open at NH Hotel/Congress centre, Veldhoven, February 7âÂÂ10
Quarter-finals (Losers â¬500, Best of 9 legs) Robert Thornton (84.99) 4âÂÂ1 Joey Ten Berge (88.14), Robert Wagner (100.20) 4âÂÂ0 Patrick Bulen (78.63), Alain Van Bouwel (79.53) 4âÂÂ1 Edwin Max (74.82), Willem Kralt (71.19) 4âÂÂ3 Phill Nixon (75.84)
Semi-finals (Losers â¬1,250, Best of 5 sets, 5 legs per set) Robert Thornton (102.51) 2âÂÂ0 Robert Wagner (97.59), Alain Van Bouwel (80.79) 2âÂÂ0 Willem Kralt (76.80).
Final (Winner â¬4,500 Runner-up â¬2,250, Best of 7 sets, 5 legs per set) Robert Thornton (92.52) 3âÂÂ0 Alain Van Bouwel (84.24)
- Scottish Open at Normandy Cosmopolitan Hotel, Renfrew, February 16âÂÂ17
Quarter-finals (Losers ã100, Best of 5 legs) Garry Thompson 3âÂÂ1 Robert Thornton, Martin Adams 3âÂÂ1 Willy Van De Wiel, Shaun Greatbatch 3âÂÂ2 Daryl Gurney, Scott Waites 3âÂÂ2 Steve O Donnell.
Semi-finals (Losers ã300, Best of 7 legs) Garry Thompson 4âÂÂ2 Martin Adams, Shaun Greatbatch 4âÂÂ3 Scott Waites.
Final (Winner ã2,000 Runner-up ã800) Garry Thompson 5âÂÂ1 Shaun Greatbatch
- German Open in Bochum, April 20
Quarter-finals (Losers â¬240) Mike Veitch 2âÂÂ1 Mark Salmon, Gary Anderson 2âÂÂ0 Robert Wagner, Robert Thornton 2âÂÂ1 Brian Derbyshire, Mark Webster 2âÂÂ1 Scott Waites.
Semi-finals (Losers â¬480) Gary Anderson 2âÂÂ0 Mike Veitch, Robert Thornton 2âÂÂ0 Mark Webster
Final (Winner â¬2,400 Runner-up â¬1,200) Gary Anderson 3âÂÂ0 Robert Thornton
Quarter-finals (Losers ã150) Alan Norris 2âÂÂ1 Ian Jones, Gary Anderson 2âÂÂ1 Robert Thornton, Robert Hughes 2âÂÂ0 Alan Walker, Mark Webster 2âÂÂ0 Tony Clark.
Semi-finals (Losers ã500) Gary Anderson 3âÂÂ1 Alan Norris, Mark Webster 3âÂÂ2 Robert Hughes
Final (Winner ã2,000 Runner-up ã1,000) Gary Anderson 4âÂÂ0 Mark Webster
WDF Category 2 Events
- German Gold Cup, 27 January (Winner â¬840, Runner-up â¬420) Steve West 3âÂÂ2 Andree Welge
- Las Vegas Open, 27 January (Winner $800, Runner-up $400) Darin Young beat Jerry Hilbourn
- Dortmund Open, 17 February (Winner â¬1,000, Runner-up â¬450) Ronny Huybrechts 3âÂÂ1 Jerry Hendricks
- Isle of Man Open, 9 March (Winner ã5,000, Runner-up ã1,000) Dave Chisnall 3âÂÂ1 Robert Hughes
- England Open, 12 April (Winner ã2,000, Runner-up ã1,000) Ross Montgomery 3âÂÂ2 Gary Anderson
- BDO International Open, 15 June (Winner ã2,000, Runner-up ã600) Davy Richardson 4âÂÂ1 Ross Montgomery
- Canadian Open, 15 June (Winner CAN$1,000, Runner-up CAN$500) Jerry Hull beat Danny MacInnis
- Australian Grand Masters, 6 July (Winner A$2,900, Runner-up A$1,400) Tony David 5âÂÂ3 Rob Modra
- Pacific Masters, 26 July (Winner A$1,100, Runner-up A$600) Simon Whitlock 6âÂÂ2 Anthony Fleet
- New Zealand Open, 6 August (Winner NZ$1,500, Runner-up NZ$700) Derrick Samson 5âÂÂ2 Wayne Carey
- Belgian Open, 10 August (Winner â¬2,000, Runner-up â¬1,000) Scott Waites 4âÂÂ2 Johnny Petermans
- Malaysian Open, (Winner RM2,000, Runner-up RM1,000) 24 August Tengku Hadzali Shah beat Lourence Ilagan
- WDF Europe Cup, 27âÂÂ30 August, Mark Webster 4âÂÂ0 Daryl Gurney
- British Open, 20 September, (Winner ã3,000 Runner-up ã1,000) John Henderson 4âÂÂ2 Gary Anderson
- Northern Ireland Open, 9 November, (Winner ã1,600 Runner-up ã750) Stephen Bunting 2âÂÂ0 Darryl Fitton
BDO International Grand Prix
New event consisting of five events televised by Setanta Sports in the United Kingdom. Tournament winners receive 15 Grand Prix points, runners-up 9, semi-finalists 6 and quarter-finalists 3.
- 18 May Welsh Open â winner Gary Anderson
- 15 June BDO International Open â winner Davy Richardson
- 12 July BDO Gold Cup â winner Scott Waites
- 26 July BDO British Classic â winner Ross Montgomery
- 21 September British Open â winner John Henderson
At the conclusion of the BDO International Grand Prix Series, the accumulated points won by players in each of the five tournaments from the highest to eighth position earned the following prizes:
1. Gary Anderson 42 points: ã12000
2. Ross Montgomery 24 points: ã6000
3. Davy Richardson 18 points: ã4000
4. Scott Waites 15 points: ã2750
4. John Henderson 15 points: ã2750
6. Gary Robson 12 points: ã2000
7. Mark Webster ã1500
8th place (ã1,000) was shared between the following players:
Chris Jones
Stuart Bousfield
Mareno Michels
Edwin Max
Robbie Green
Mark Barilli
Alan Norris
Robert Hughes
Darts calendar
References
External links