2007 in darts


This is a list of some of the major events and competitions in the sport of darts in 2007. Raymond van Barneveld proved to be the most successful player with ten professional tournament wins across the PDC and BDO, including four majors.

News

January

February

  • 1 – The Holsten Premier League gets underway with wins for Raymond van Barneveld, Dennis Priestley and Peter Manley. Phil Taylor was on the verge of his first ever Premier League defeat but extended his unbeaten run to 29 matches with a 7–7 draw against Roland Scholten.
  • 3 – Kevin Painter wins the non-ranking PDC event JR 128 Plus tournament in Eastbourne defeating Wes Newton 5–4 in the final.
  • 3 – John Markovic, former manager of Bob Anderson and Richie Gardner dies following a long illness. The Serbian-born businessman also contributed to the formation of the WDC in 1992.
  • 4 – Scott Waites, from Yorkshire, wins the [Other BDO tournaments#Dutch Open|BDO Dutch Open] in Veldhoven – coming through a field of 2867 players to win the €4,500 first prize. Trina Gulliver took the women's singles title.
  • 4 – Dennis Smith claimed the PDC Eastbourne Open title with a victory over Shayne Burgess.
  • 6 – Mervyn King announces that he is following his stablemates Klaasen, van Gerwen and van der Voort by switching to the PDC. The BDO consider taking legal action as King have signed contracts to play in the 2008 BDO World Championship.
  • 8 – Phil Taylor is held to a draw for the second week running in the Premier League this time by Dennis Priestley. Raymond van Barneveld maintains his 100% record and there were first victories in the league for Terry Jenkins and Adrian Lewis.
  • 10 – The Masters of Darts gets underway in the Netherlands with two upsets – Michael van Gerwen defeats Phil Taylor and Peter Manley beats PDC World Champion Raymond van Barneveld. England players won four matches to Netherlands one on the opening day.
  • 10 – More PDC switches are announced as Dutch teenager Toon Greebe and Tony Martin confirm they will be joining the PDC circuit.
  • 11 – Dennis Priestley wins the South-West regional final of the Blue Square UK Open beating James Wade in the final 2–0 and takes the £5,000 top prize.
  • 14 – The Group stages of the Masters of Darts conclude with Raymond van Barneveld winning the Dutch Group and Peter Manley winning all five matches to clinch the England Group. Phil Taylor surprisingly finishes bottom of the England table with three defeats.
  • 15 – Dennis Priestley goes top of the Premier League with a victory over Roland Scholten. Phil Taylor notches his first win of the season and Raymond van Barneveld is held to a draw by in-form Peter Manley.
  • 17 – Michael van Gerwen achieves a nine dart finish during the semi-finals of the Masters of Darts, the youngest player to achieve the feat on television. However, he lost the match to Raymond van Barneveld who will meet Peter Manley in the final.
  • 18 – Raymond van Barneveld maintains his superb start to 2007 winning his third major title of the year. He beats Peter Manley 7–0 with a 108 average in the final to win the Keukenconcurrent Masters of Darts at the ExpoCentre, Hengelo, Netherlands.
  • 19 – Gary Anderson wins the BDO Scottish Open in his home country beating World Champion Martin Adams in the semi-final and Scott Waites in the final. Michael Rosenauer took the Dortmund Open title beating Marco Puls by 3 sets to 1.
  • 21 – The Darts Regulation Authority announce fines of £750 for Chris Mason, £400 for Phil Taylor and £300 for Steve Maish following incidents at the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship. Mason also received a four-month tournament ban for his unsportsmanlike manner.
  • 22 – Barry Hearn announces a ground-breaking Grand Slam of Darts tournament to be held in Wolverhampton between 17 and 25 November. Players from both the PDC and BDO are to receive invitations to compete.
  • 22 – Night four of the Premier League and Dennis Priestley remains top with a record equalling margin of victory, 8–1 over Adrian Lewis. Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld both maintained unbeaten records, although van Barneveld was held to a draw by Terry Jenkins.
  • 25 – Lionel Sams wins the West Tyrone Open, a non-ranking PDC event at the Mahons Hotel, Irvinestown. He beat Ray Farrell 8–4 in the final to take the top prize of £1,600

March

April

  • 1 – Andy Hamilton wins the Midlands Final of the UK Open – the last regional event before the televised finals in June. He beats James Wade 2–0 in sets in the final.
  • 3 – After 14 years at the Circus Tavern the PDC announce that their World Championship will move the Alexandra Palace from 2008. The "Ally Pally" will host 2,500 spectators per session compared to 800–900 in Purfleet.
  • 5 – Phil Taylor destroys Terry Jenkins 8–1 in the Premier League to stay top and qualify for the semi-finals of the event. Adrian Lewis ended his losing streak against Colin Lloyd and the other two matches were drawn.
  • 6 – Ron Meulenkamp becomes the latest Dutch player to confirm a switch to play for the PDC – following the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Jelle Klaasen, Toon Grebe and Vincent van der Voort.
  • 8 – In a friendly international match at the Lakeside Country Club England's men, women and youth teams defeated their Netherlands counterparts 26–16.
  • 12 – The organisers of the International Darts League come to an agreement to allow the BDO/WDF players ranked 13 to 28 to enter the competition at the preliminary round stage having previously reneged on a deal which led to a threat of court action. The competition is now further expanded to 56 players
  • 12 – Week 11 of 14 in the Premier League saw the top four begin to pull away. Phil Taylor is already guaranteed a semi-final spot and Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld and Terry Jenkins are now just one win each away from qualification.
  • 14 – Terry Jenkins wins the Antwerp Open – a non-ranking PDC event beating Andy Smith by 3 sets to 0 in the final.
  • 14 – Tony Eccles wins the Norway Open event in Tønsberg beating Dutchman Hans Blijs in the final. England's Dee Bateman surprises Karin Krappen to take the women's title.
  • 15 – Terry Jenkins completes a perfect weekend by taking the Antwerp Darts Trophy – a PDPA Players Championship to add to his Antwerp Open title 24 hours previously. He beat Colin Lloyd in the final.
  • 19 – Phil Taylor extends his Premier League unbeaten run to 40 matches with a win over Colin Lloyd. Raymond van Barneveld and Dennis Priestley produced a remarkable leg of darts during the Dutchman's win. Both players started with two 180s leaving two possibilities of a nine dart leg – Barney took it in 11 darts.
  • 21 – After a day of PDPA qualifying Chris Mason, Wayne Jones, Richie Burnett, Alan Tabern, Mark Dudbridge, Matt Clark, Kevin McDine and Robbie Green all secure places in the preliminary round for the International Darts League to be held in May.
  • 21 – Martin Adams clinches his first title since his BDO World Championship success in January. He beat John Walton in the final of the German Open. Sweden's Carina Ekberg won the Women's singles.
  • 25 – Further controversy over the structure of the International Darts League results in a Dutch court having to resolve a dispute by the players from the Keukenconcurrent stable – van Gerwen, King, Klaasen and van der Voort.
  • 26 – The Holsten Premier League witnessed its first ever whitewash as Colin Lloyd beat Terry Jenkins 8–0. Jenkins still confirmed his qualification for the semi-finals joining Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Dennis Priestley.
  • 28 – Michael van Gerwen successfully defends his Open Holland title beating Colin Osborne in the final. Van Gerwen defeated James Wade, Alan Tabern, Dennis Ovens and Wayne Jones in the earlier rounds.
  • 29 – Peter Manley wins the Open Holland Masters PDPA Championship in Schediam. He beat James Wade 3–0 in the final with a 108.33 average. Manley had earlier beaten Rico Vonck, John Ferrell, Michael van Gerwen, Sean Palfrey, Wayne Mardle and Terry Jenkins en route.

May

June

July

August

  • 5 – Tony West wins the Belgian Open for the second time defeating Ted Hankey in the final. The women's title went to Francis Hoenselaar.
  • 6 – PDPA member Fred Boddey, 58, from Derby is killed in a motorcycle accident. The tragedy occurred on his wife's 52nd birthday.
  • 7 – The PDC announce a £70,000 increase in the 2008 Prize Fund for the Blue Square UK Open The winner will take £35,000 and there are increased for regional final prizes.
  • 10 – Scott Waites and Dennis Priestley are added to the field for the Grand Slam of Darts as the highest ranked players who haven't already qualified.
  • 13 – The BDO confirm a prize money increase for the November Winmau World Masters. The overall prize fund doubles to £60,000 with the winner receiving £25,000, runner-up £10,000 and semi-finalists £3,000.
  • 16 – The Dutch Grand Masters is revived as a WDF event after being cancelled in 2006. The event is booked for December and will be sponsored by its venue Zuiderduin Hotel and known as the Zuiderduin Masters.
  • 17 – ITV announce a wildcard tournament will be held on September 30 to decide a place in the Grand Slam in November.
  • 25 – Steve West beats Yorkshireman James Wilson to win the Danish Open. Francisca Hoeneslaar won her fourth Danish Open title when she beat rival Trina Gulliver in the final.
  • 26 – Wayne Mardle wins his first PDC Pro Tour event for almost three years by claiming the Peachtree Open in Atlanta. He beat James Wade in the final.

September

October

November

December

PDC

German Darts Championship

  • PartyPoker.net German Darts Championship

PDC Pro Tour events

Players Championships

  • Gibraltar, January 20: Raymond van Barneveld 3–1 Adrian Lewis
  • Gibraltar, January 21: Andy Hamilton 3–1 Colin Lloyd
  • Frankfurt, March 24: Raymond van Barneveld 3–1 Ronnie Baxter
  • Antwerp Darts Trophy, April 15: Terry Jenkins 3–1 Colin Lloyd
  • Open Holland Masters, April 29: Peter Manley 3–0 James Wade
  • Thialf Darts Trophy, Heerenveen, June 3: Roland Scholten 3–1 Chris Mason
  • Hayling Island, June 16: Terry Jenkins 3–0 Wes Newton
  • Hayling Island, June 17: John Part 3-1 Mervyn King
  • Las Vegas, July 1: Raymond van Barneveld 3–2 Terry Jenkins
  • Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy, Blackpool, July 21: Phil Taylor 3–1 Adrian Lewis
  • Peachtree Open, Atlanta, Georgia, August 26: Wayne Mardle 3–2 James Wade
  • Ireland Open Classic, County Mayo, Rep. Ireland, September 9: Denis Ovens 3–0 Colin Osborne
  • Windy City Open, Chicago, September 16: Ronnie Baxter 3–1 James Wade
  • Newport, Wales, September 22: Raymond van Barneveld 3–0 Alex Roy
  • Dublin, October 6: Phil Taylor 3–0 James Wade
  • Irvine, October 20: Andy Smith 3–0 James Wade
  • German Darts Trophy, October 27: Wayne Mardle 3–1 James Wade
  • John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic, Killarney, November 4: Jelle Klaasen 3–2 Vincent van der Voort
  • Lisse, Netherlands, November 10: Phil Taylor 3–0 Chris Mason
  • Lisse, Netherlands, November 11: Phil Taylor 3–2 Raymond van Barneveld

UK Open Regional Finals

2006/2007 Finals – Best of 3 sets, Best of 3 legs per set
  • January 6 Raymond van Barneveld 2–0 Roland Scholten
  • February 11 Dennis Priesley 2–0 James Wade
  • March 4 Phil Taylor 2–0 Wayne Mardle
  • March 18 James Wade 2–0 Terry Jenkins
  • April 1 Andy Hamilton 2–0 James Wade
2007/2008 Finals – Best of 15 legs
  • September 23, 2007 : James Wade 8–7 Raymond van Barneveld
  • October 7 : Raymond van Barneveld 8–2 Kevin McDine
  • October 21 : James Wade 8–2 Ronnie Baxter

Holsten Premier League

Final group stage table
NB: LWAT = Legs Won Against Throw. Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.

BDO

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 in Veldhoven, Netherlands, February 1–4
  • Scottish Open at the Normandy Cosmopolitan Hotel, Renfrew, February 17–18,
  • Bulls German Open in Bochum, April 20–21,
  • Red Dragon Sports Welsh Open in Prestatyn, May 18–20

WDF Category 2 Events

WDF ranking points awarded: Winner 120, Runner-up 80, Semi-finalists 60, Quarter-finalists 36, 9th to 16th place 18, 17th to 32nd place 9.
  • German Gold Cup, at Sportcenter VfB Komet, Bremen on January 27
  • Las Vegas Open at the Tuscany Suites, Las Vegas, Nevada on January 28.
  • Dortmund Open at the Sporthalle Renninghausen, Dortmund, Germany on February 17.
  • Canadian Open at the Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon June 15–17.
  • England Open at Pontins, Brean Sands, Somerset June 16–17.
  • Belgian Open in Temse, August 3–5

Other events

Six Nations Cup

WDF Team Event in Veldhoven, Netherlands.February 24–25.

Antwerp Open

PDC non-ranking event at the Waasland Expo Hallen April 14 Total Prize fund €22,560

Open Holland

PDC non-ranking event at the Sport & Evanthal Margriet, Schiedam. April 29 Total Prize fund €15,000

Thialf Open

PDC non-ranking event at the Thialf, Heerenveen. June 2 Total Prize fund €15,000

Darts calendar

DateOrganisationEventWinner
December 18, 2006 to January 1PDCLadbrokes.com World Championship, Circus Tavern, Purfleet