Darts

Michael van Gerwen remained in unstoppable form as the newly-crowned Premier League champion won the European Darts Open in Dusseldorf.

Kim Huybrechts continued his challenge to win a maiden European Tour title with a thrilling 6-5 victory over Raymond van Barneveld in the European Darts Open on Sunday afternoon. The third European Tour event of 2013 is being held in Dusseldorf and streamed exclusively live through www.LIVEPDC.TV. Belgian ace Huybrechts had only dropped two legs in his wins over Steve Maish and Stuart Kellett earlier in the event, and was averaging 110 as he moved 3-1 up against van Barneveld. He retained that advantage as he took a 5-3 cushion before van Barneveld punished two missed match darts to hit back and force a deciding leg – only to miss one dart for the win himself as Huybrechts returned to land double ten and reach the quarter-finals. “It was a very close game and I did get a bit nervous at the end when I had a couple of match darts,” admitted Huybrechts. “Raymond missed his chance and I took mine, so I’m very happy to be through.” Huybrechts will now face Jamie Caven in Sunday evening’s quarter-finals as the £100,000 tournament reaches its conclusion at the Maritim Hotel in Dusseldorf. The quarter-finals on Sunday night will be followed by the semi-finals and final, with a £20,000 first prize on offer for the champion. All matches are being screened exclusively live at www.livepdc.tv. Read the full story >>

European Darts Open – Sunday Finals Day Results Anderson popular with the fans in Germany Lots of great players still left in the European Open in germany, but one big name will be missing; as Phil Taylor was well beaten by Mervyn King last night.  Merv is a player who will never be scared of playing Phil, in fact he always seems to raise his game against his old foe. The players have already won £2,000 for their two days work, but things get serious now, playing for the £20,000 top prize for winning later tonight. It kicks off again at 12 noon UK time, and I’ll be updating scores and watching live on my laptop.  How?… Watch Live! The action is available to watch (I’ve been watching, and it’s sharp and smooth, with multi-camera viewing and commentary).  It’s only STREAMED LIVE on the official livepdc service (subscribe here for just £2.99 the month).  Live Scores can be followed through the PDC Live Scores Website at live.dartsdata.com. Third Round Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm) Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Terry Jenkins Gary Anderson 6-1 Brendan Dolan Robert Thornton 4-6 Peter Wright Colin Osborne 1-6 Andy Hamilton Simon Whitlock v James Wade Justin Pipe v Adrian Lewis Raymond van Barneveld v Kim Huybrechts Jamie Caven v Mervyn King Evening Session (6pm-10pm) Quarter-Finals Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson v v v Semi-Finals Final Prize Fund Winner £20,000 Runner-Up £10,000 Semi-Finalists £5,000 Quarter-Finalists £3,000 Third Round Losers £2,000 Second Round Losers £1,000 First Round Losers £500 Total £100,000

Mervyn King knocked World Champion Phil Taylor out of the European Darts Open with a 6-2 victory in the second round of the £100,000 event on Saturday night, but big guns Michael van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Lewis, James Wade & Simon Whitlock all progressed to the last 16 in Dusseldorf. Taylor, who lost to van Gerwen in Thursday’s McCoy’s Premier League Darts final, had been bidding to bounced back in the £100,000 European Tour event. Read the full story >>

European Darts Open – Saturday Round 2 Updates Justin Pipe on the live stream Mrs Krispy did a great job updating the site last night while I was at my darts league presentation evening.  I’m back on the keyboard durty now though.  The second round of the European Darts Open takes place on Saturday afternoon as the Last 32 players battle for places in Sunday’s final stages in Dusseldorf. The £100,000 European Tour event is being held at the Maritim Hotel, with Friday’s first round winners returning to compete across two stages on Saturday. Follow scores and match information below throughout the day. Watch Live! The action is available to watch (I’ve seen some, and it’s sharp and smooth, with multi-camera viewing).  It’s only STREAMED LIVE on the official livepdc service (subscribe here for just £2.99 the month).  Live Scores can be followed through the PDC Live Scores Website at live.dartsdata.com. UPDATE:  Rod Harrington, talking on the live stream comentary, says that there will be even more money in PDC darts next year, with it raising up to around £7,000,000 available on the tour in 2014. European Darts Open – European Tour Event Three  Saturday May 18 Second Round Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm) Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Stuart Kellett Peter Wright 6-3 Mark Webster Ronnie Baxter 3-6 Terry Jenkins Dave Chisnall 3-6 Jamie Caven Justin Pipe 6-2 Mark Cox Ian White 3-6 Gary Anderson John Part 0-6 Brendan Dolan Robert Thornton 6-4 Alex Roy Evening Session (6pm-10pm) Paul Nicholson v James Wade Wes Newton v Colin Osborne Andy Hamilton v Andy Parsons Adrian Lewis v Richie Burnett Raymond van Barneveld v Kevin Painter Phil Taylor v Mervyn King Michael van Gerwen v Wayne Jones Simon Whitlock v Arron Monk

Michael van Gerwen swept past Germany’s Andree Welge to reach the second round of the European Darts Open, and will be joined by Premier League Play-Off rivals Phil Taylor, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld, who all returned to winning ways. The Dutch ace claimed the biggest triumph of his career on thursday night by taking glory in the McCoy’s Premier League Darts, and began his bid to win the £20,000 PDC European Tour event in Dusseldorf just 24 hours later. Welge took the lead in their first round … Read the full story >>

Nicholson, who reached the European Championship quarter-finals on the Maritim Hotel stage two years ago, dropped just one leg as he swept past Stephen Hardy, sealing a 6-1 win with a 127 finish. Belgian ace Huybrechts laid down the gauntlet to brother Ronny - who plays Peter Wright - by winning through to the second round with a 6-1 romp against Steve Maish, hitting four 180s and a 170 checkout in a fine display. March's UK Masters European Tour winner John Part was another 6-1 winner as he defeated Holland's Jerry Hendriks, with Mark Webster and Wayne Jones winning by the same scorelines against Darren Johnson and Bobby Biemans respectively. Scotland's Gary Anderson averaged just over 100 in his 6-1 defeat of youngster Shaun Griffiths, while Dave Chisnall - last year's European Darts Open runner-up to Raymond van Barneveld - won in the same fashion against Chris Aubrey. Wes Newton, a European Tour winner in Stuttgart last month, began his bid for back-to-back titles with a 6-3 win over Holland's Mareno Michels, while Terry Jenkins saw off Mark Jones 6-2. Mervyn King, meanwhile, hit back from behind to edge out popular Prakash Jiwa 6-5 in the afternoon session's closest game on the main stage. Brendan Dolan also took victory in an 11-leg thriller on Stage Two, with Jelle Klaasen hitting a 180 to leave 36 in the decider only to see the Northern Irish ace finish 125 with bullseye, 25 and bullseye. Bristol's debutant Andy Parsons came from 5-2 down to cause an upset with a fine comeback win over Colin Lloyd, who missed five match darts as he exited in the first round. Andy Smith was another seed to be knocked out on the opening afternoon as he went down 6-2 to Swindon's Mark Cox, while Ian White saw off Kevin Dowling by the same scoreline and Kevin Painter hit a superb seven 180s in his 6-3 defeat of David Pallett, with Jamie Caven seeing off Paul Amos in the same style. European Darts Open - European Tour Event Three Friday May 17 First Round Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm) Main Stage Dave Chisnall 6-1 Chris Aubrey Wes Newton 6-3 Mareno Michels Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Steve Maish Paul Nicholson 6-1 Stephen Hardy Terry Jenkins 6-2 Mark Jones Gary Anderson 6-1 Shaun Griffiths Mervyn King 6-5 Prakash Jiwa Kevin Painter 6-3 David Pallett Stage Two Wayne Jones 6-1 Bobby Biemans Ian White 6-2 Kevin Dowling Brendan Dolan 6-5 Jelle Klaasen Mark Webster 6-1 Darren Johnson Colin Lloyd 5-6 Andy Parsons Andy Smith 2-6 Mark Cox John Part 6-1 Jerry Hendriks Jamie Caven 6-3 Paul Amos Evening Session (7pm-12am) Main Stage Robert Thornton 6-5 Kurt Van De Rijck Andy Hamilton 6-5 Mensur Suljovic Adrian Lewis 6-1 Keith Stephen Justin Pipe v Max Hopp - live scores Richie Burnett v Steve Beaton Phil Taylor v Matt Clark James Wade v Jyhan Artut Michael van Gerwen v Andree Welge Simon Whitlock v Tomas Seyler Raymond van Barneveld v Adam Hunt Stage Two Arron Monk 6-5 Kevin McDine Mark Walsh 2-6 Alex Roy Peter Wright 6-2 Ronny Huybrechts Colin Osborne v Terry Temple - live scores Ronnie Baxter v Maik Langendorf Stuart Kellett v Dennis Smith

Michael van Gerwen's hard work has made him the most in-form darts player on the planet.

European Tour Event 3; Draw and Results from Dusseldorf There’s no rest for darts fans, and after last night’s fantastic Premier League final (wasn’t it a cracker!), eyes turn towards Germany, for the 3rd European tour event of the year.  These tournaments have big £20,000 first prizes, and are really having big effects on players rankings; for those who qualify, there’a a MINIMUM £500 prize money, which for some is making the difference between qualifying for the worlds or not. The action starts later today – and it’s going to be STREAMED LIVE on the official livepdc service (subscribe here for just £2.99 the month).  Live Scores can be followed through the PDC Live Scores Website at live.dartsdata.com. Full results later, today’s 1st round games are… First Round Dusseldorf venue euro open – picture take by Justin Pipe today Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm UK) Main Stage Dave Chisnall v Chris Aubrey Wes Newton v Mareno Michels Kim Huybrechts v Steve Maish Paul Nicholson v Stephen Hardy Terry Jenkins v Mark Jones Gary Anderson v Shaun Griffiths Mervyn King v Prakash Jiwa Kevin Painter v David Pallett Stage Two Wayne Jones v Bobby Biemans Ian White v Kevin Dowling Brendan Dolan v Jelle Klaasen Mark Webster v Darren Johnson Colin Lloyd v Andy Parsons Andy Smith v Mark Cox John Part v Jerry Hendriks Jamie Caven v Paul Amos Evening Session (6pm-11pm UK Time) Main Stage Robert Thornton v Kurt Van De Rijck Andy Hamilton v Mensur Suljovic Adrian Lewis v Keith Stephen Justin Pipe v Max Hopp Richie Burnett v Steve Beaton Phil Taylor v Matt Clark James Wade v Jyhan Artut Michael van Gerwen v Andree Welge Simon Whitlock v Tomas Seyler Raymond van Barneveld v Adam Hunt Stage Two Arron Monk v Kevin McDine Mark Walsh v Alex Roy Peter Wright v Ronny Huybrechts Colin Osborne v Terry Temple Ronnie Baxter v Maik Langendorf Stuart Kellett v Dennis Smith

Michael van Gerwen is the 2013 McCoy’s Premier League Darts Champion Michael van Gerwen won the 2013 McCoy’s Premier League darts title in style, hitting bull for a brilliant 132 checkout to beat defending champion Phil Taylor 10-8, in a high quality game of darts that saw both players post 100+ averages. Premier League debutant Van Gerwen, who topped the table after 14 weeks of league play drew first blood in the final – taking the opening leg with throw in 13 darts. However, it was Taylor who commanded the game early on and established a 5-2 lead. Double trouble for … Read the full story >>