Tagged: Gary Anderson
Lewis And van Gerwen Hit Top Form In Week One Of The Premier League
The first night of the premier league was kicked off by Peter Wright and Dave Chisnall. Chizzy bossed the match as Wright struggled to find his feet in the short format. Both players struggled to hit their doubles but it was Chizzy’s scoring that set him apart from his opponent allowing him to win the game with ease. The last leg was a superb 11 darter finished with a 100 checkout. A nice start to Chisnall’s campaign.
It was during the second match of the night where the pedigree of the Premier League showed its true self. Raymond van Barneveld was stunned as Adrian Lewis hit top gear with his highest televised average and the fourth highest in the Premier League’s history. The 113.8 average was matched by his 54% accuracy on doubles. Barney was left stunned. Adrian romped to a 7-1 victory, hitting five 180’s on the way and setting down a marker for the following weeks.
Watching in the wings was van Gerwen. He would not be out done. He played Kim Huybrechts in the third match. The hurricane was able to stick alongside the dutchman in the early stages of the match but then Michael hit the accelerator. He motored ahead with a 108 average, hitting his doubles 64% of the time. Huybrechts, despite losing proved his worth in the premier league with a 98 average to answer his critics.
Next up was a replay of the World Championship final as we saw Taylor take on Anderson. Taylor couldn’t get ahead in the match but stayed on Anderson’s tail up until the final leg which saw Anderson break Taylor to take the maximum points. The stats would say that Taylor was the winner as he was up five points on Anderson’s average which was only 99. Anderson, by winning a match he maybe shouldn’t have done, showed he has the attributes of a true champion.
The debutant, Stephen Bunting, was up next as he locked horns with James Wade. Bunting settled his nerves by winning the first leg. However, he then struggled to find rhythm as Wade went into a 3-1 lead. Bunting clawed his way back into the match but only for Wade to pull out in front again, winning three legs on the spin. Bunting then gritted his teeth and, with some impressive scoring, drew the match to secure his first point of his Premier League campaign. Both players seemed happy with the result.
Here’s a great interview with Bunting after the match from live darts expanding on the game and his decision to use new darts.
It was a fantastic premier league night with all the players proving why they were picked for the Premier League. The atmosphere in Leeds was jumping, every darts fan that was watching at home would have wanted to be part of that night. I’m sure they’ll be nights just as good, in what is being marked the most competitive Premier League line up to date.
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Can James Wade Defend His Title? – Preview Of The Masters
Courtesy of dawson_posts
The wait for darts action is almost over. Christmas saw us binge on food, drink and darts but now the hangover has worn off and we are all craving some more tungsten action. Saturday sees the return of the Masters to Milton Keynes, a relatively new tournament having been established in 2013. The tournament features the top sixteen ranked players in the PDC all battling it out for the trophy and a juicy check of £160,000. Taylor won the inaugural tournament in 2013, and last years winner was James Wade which feels very recent in memory due to the tournament taking place in October.
The current form horse is the newly crowned World Champion Gary Anderson. Taylor and van Gerwen are also looking in good shape to do well in the tournament with both looking for revenge after missing out on the World Championship. Then there’s a group of players under these top three who would like to prove a point. An interview with Peter Wright last week brought about a challenge to other players as he said he would like to dominate the year. Adrian Lewis has been quiet for a while and although he is clearly a talented player, is dropping in my estimations. Jenkins and King have both had good years and would now be looking to push on again this year and should not be underestimated.
Coverage will be on ITV4 thanks to a four year deal when the tournament began. Ex-professional darts players, Chris Mason and Alan Warriner-Little will grace our screens once again. The tournament will be a step down in hype from the World Championships but, with only the top 16 players competing, hopefully the quality of the darts will be superb.
Afternoon Session (12.45pm-5pm)
Peter Wright v Brendan Dolan
It’s two steady and deliberate players kick us off on Saturday afternoon. Ranked 5th in the world, Wright must feel that he’s close to a major win soon and has announced that this year he wants to dominate in similar fashion to his countryman Gary Anderson. However, Dolan is a stern challenge. He’s a slow player yes, but he’s a skilled player who’s getting better and challenging in the latter stages of major tournaments more often. This year he’s had some low profile tournament wins but is yet to win a big one. He lost in the first round last year and only managed to reach the second round in the World Championships after losing to Michael Smith. Could he win this tournament? It’s highly unlikely, Wright is the overriding favourite in this opening match. He’s unlikely to be phased by Dolan’s painfully slow style and will be sure to entertain himself and the crowd with his antics.
Robert Thornton v Dave Chisnall
This should be a cracker. Thornton ranked 8th, Chisnall ranked 9th, both players evenly matched. It should be a high scoring affair with both players being prolific on the treble twenty. Chisnall hit the second highest amount of 180’s last year, only behind van Gerwen. Both players have been knocking on the door for a while now, but haven’t been able to reach the number of finals you would expect. Chisnall suffered an unexpected loss at the World Championship when he was knocked out by Benito van de Pas in round two. Chisnall has struggled this year, having only won 58% of his matches, a figure well below par for a player of his ranking. His confidence must be low with that stat and Chisnall is a player who needs confidence when aiming at doubles. If he doesn’t think it will go in then it just won’t.
Adrian Lewis v Ian White
Adrian hasn’t had a lot to shout about over the past year aside from his nine darter in the World Championship, but even in that match he lost. His year started brightly, beating Terry Jenkins in the final of the UK Open with an impressive 109 average. But then he missed out on the playoffs in the premier league (finishing 6th) and lost in the middle rounds of a number of tournaments throughout the year. His biggest blunder however, was during the Grand Slam of darts in which he lost to youngsters Rowby-John Rodriguez and Keegan Brown. White, although no push over, is a fairly easy opener for a player of Lewis to ease his way back into form. White has improved in the last couple of years, moving into the last 16, with a notable performance in last years World Championship when he narrowly lost out on a place in the semi finals after losing a deciding set. He also beat Gary Anderson in the UK Open quarter finals. White may be a possible trip up for Lewis, but Lewis shouldn’t be too concerned, it’s not as if he’s losers to lower ranked players often.
Simon Whitlock v Raymond van Barneveld
An interesting match up. Whitlock is the higher ranked player at 7, but is in a steady decline. Barney has been up and down over the past few years and it’s hard to predict how he will play. It looks as though he will be in a positive mindset having reached the semi finals of the World Championship, but with Barney it’s hard to say. He has recently abandoned his glasses and it looks as if it is working, for now. Whitlock’s performance in the World Champs is of stark contrast to Barneys. A first round steamrollering from Darren Webster saw him knocked out of the competition. His percentage on doubles was just 17 in that match and it looked as if he was praying that the doubles would go in. Whitlock has also been denied a wildcard entry to the Premier League and it will be the only year he has been excluded since 2009. He needs a run in this tournament for his own self confidence or he could quickly find himself outside the top ten order of merit in no time. I’m expecting a scrappy match between these two and it will all go down to who will be most soldid on the doubles.
Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
James Wade v Mervyn King
A repeat of last years final, this should be a feisty contest as King looks to take revenge on last years victor. Both have a precise throwing style and are fantastic to watch in full flow. Mervyn King had a bitterly disappointing World Championship due to a back injury and he was knocked out in the first round. Now ranked 11th, King has had a stellar year, reaching the final of this event last year, the final of the Dutch darts open, and the semi finals of the UK Open and the Grand Slam. Both these two players are fantastic finishers. Wade’s checkout percentage was just a shade over 46% last year, the second highest, and Mervyn was 7th in the list. There will be a little tension in the air due to their previous meeting with Wade’s victory celebration proving to be to King’s distaste. Wade will be sure to tread lightly, so expect a quiet and professional affair but he seems ready for it.
Phil Taylor v Terry Jenkins
The match of the first round for me. Taylor, ranked 2nd in the order of merit, could have expected an easier match. Terry’s year has been a resurgence in his career. After losing in the first round of the 2014 World Championship, he then hit top form and made the final of the UK Open and European Championship. He has shown throughout the year that he still has the ability to turn on the tungsten heat with constant high averages in the big tournaments. Everyone knows that Terry is a superb player but he’s become the nearly man of darts. Nine major finals, lost them all. That’s not a good stat. Taylor has to hit the ground running if he is to get out of the first round as Terry has been devastating in the early rounds. Taylor’s mothers passing may have an influence due to his close relationship with her and I reckon it will ignite a bit of hunger and passion that’s why Taylor is my bet for the title. This tournament requires good consistent play and Taylor is a sure bet to deliver that.
Gary Anderson v Andy Hamilton
A foregone conclusion as far as I’m concerned. Gary is in superb form and full of confidence at the moment. Complacency may be an issue but with Gary’s experience it’s unlikely. Hamilton on the other hand has zero confidence. His play over the last year has been in decline and whereas in the past you could put your house on him getting out of the first round, in five majors in the last 12 months he has been knocked out in the first round.
Michael van Gerwen v Wes Newton
Again, a fairly easy prediction here. Michael has hit a total of 291 180’s from this point last year in all competitions, which is way more than anyone else including Gary Anderson. It appears as though his scoring and finishing has dropped off in the past year and he seems to have scraped through to victories, but he still won three majors in 2014. It has to be a sign of his brilliance when people can say that his form has dropped and yet he’s still winning. Who’s he playing in this first round again, oh yeah it’s Wes. Sorry Wes, you have no chance.
I can’t wait for this tournament to begin. Can James Wade defend his title?
You Watching The Darts Tonight? NO!
Darts is just fat alcoholics throwing at a board. Well there may be some truth in that but there’s so much more it than that. Tonight is the World Championship final and I implore you to watch it. The legend Phil Taylor is looking for his 17th World title and will play an on form Gary Anderson, ranked fourth in the world. It’s guaranteed to be a cracker.
Watching darts is unlike many other sports. Watching three darts hit coloured targets is quite boring, but if you stick with it and watch a full match, it’s the most exciting sport by far. Give it a go tonight. Allow yourself to become engrossed in the match. If you’ve only ever watch part of a game then your not allowing yourself to appreciate the full drama. It’s like a TV series. You don’t just watch the second episode of Breaking Bad.
I could go on forever about my reasons for loving darts but I’m going to let someone else take over. Non other than Stephen Fry. It’s at 5:45 in this video.
Stephen’s not the only one who loves the darts.
It’s just a fantastic game. The revamp in recent years has turned the humble pub game into a huge spectacle. People argue that it’s not a sport but they’re totally missing the point. The appeal of the game is the drama it creates. Huge scores, missed doubles and the tension in vital legs makes darts far more entertaining than any episode of Downton Abbey. Sky Sports Darts, today at 8pm. Watch it, you won’t regret it.
Pressure
Darts is the ultimate pressure sport. Matches can be won or lost in just one dart, and when you’re on the oche alone, in front of a crowd hundreds strong all wanting you to miss, you certainly feel the heat.
A darts crowd adds to the pressure
Pressure comes in varying forms. It can build up over the course of a match as the opponent fills up the treble twenty bed, it can be piled on by the crowd by chanting for the opponent or starting the dreaded boos but the biggest type of pressure however, is often the value of the dart. The dart that wins the match is always the hardest dart to throw.
Pressure is evidently a huge influence in sport in general. It is far harder to deal with pressure when a player steps up on his own. Penalties in football, conversions in rugby and free throws in basketball all create more pressure than open play. The difference in darts is that this pressure is constant. There is no rest bite for a player and this is exacerbated if the player is up against it in the match. However, if a player is so far behind in a match that they are on the edge of defeat, suddenly all pressure is lifted. And often the opposite is felt by the leader in the match. Again it’s the last leg that’s the hardest to finish off. The more they miss, the harder it becomes and the more the gap is closed by the opponent, the more the pressure builds. This is the very reason why comebacks are remarkably common in the game of darts.
You would imagine that experience helps combat the influence of pressure, however, I have never seen a player play without any pressure. Phil Taylor, James Wade and Michael Van Gerwen, in my opinion, deal with pressure the best. James Wade, the weaker of the three, seems to win close games over and over again.
When you look at the players that are labelled talented or gifted that have never fulfilled their potential, it’s often their failure to deal with pressure and nerves that exists as their downfall. Gary Anderson, Dave Chisnall and Vincent van der Voort all have one thing in common. They struggle with their doubles. 180’s and 140’s never seem to be an issue but when they get down to the double and the pressure is on, they crack.
The World Grand Prix game between James Wade and Gary Anderson, is a prime example of a player dealing with pressure and the other simply capitulating once the heat is turned up. Anderson set off like a train, nailing the double start and winning six legs in a row to storm to a two set advantage in a race to four. Wade got one back, but Anderson, in the next set, managed to re-establish his two set lead, to go within one set of the World Grand Prix Final. The pressure factor then hit. Anderson could not get going. He lost his rhythm by trying to force his darts into the intended targets. James Wade, in stark contrast, dealt superbly with the pressure and levelled the match at three sets a piece. It became a one set shoot out for a place in the final. Four legs later it was still a level game. Now a one leg shoot out. Anderson simply could not get into the leg, missing several darts at the required opening double. Wade on the other hand hit his double with his first dart, held his nerve throughout the leg and, yep you guessed it, hit the winning double to secure his place in the final. In the match overall, it would be fair to say Anderson was the better player, but Wade was the victor due to his ability to deal with pressure.
Here are some examples of players rising to the challenge.
Image via Flickr
The Nine Darter 