World Grand Prix 2008 Thread

NeoRox

Draw for the WGP has been made with some good clashes in the first round, notably Barneveld vs. Tabern and Thornton vs. Manley


James Wade (3) v Tony Eccles
Mervyn King v Wayne Jones
Wayne Mardle (6) v Felix McBrearty
Dennis Priestley v Denis Ovens
Colin Lloyd (7) v Vincent van der Voort
Mark Dudbridge v Kevin Painter
Raymond van Barneveld (2) v Alan Tabern
Adrian Lewis v Roland Scholten
John Part (4) v Chris Mason
Jacko Barry v Brendan Dolan
Terry Jenkins (5) v Mick McGowan
Mark Walsh v Steve Beaton
Andy Hamilton (8) v Andy Smith
Robert Thornton v Peter Manley
Phil Taylor (1) v Ronnie Baxter
John MaGowan v Colin Osborne

(Only took me five years to hit 300 posts)

Kingp35

Some really good games in there. Really looking forward to this tournament and hopefully some of the Irish lads will still be in it when I go to the quarter finals!

Pity Jacko Barry got drawn against Brendan Dolan because one of them has to go out in the first round now but suppose there is a guaranteed Irish player in the second round now.

Some very tough games to call in there!

Kazooie

Sweet. Heading up for the first two days so looks like I'll see some good matches.

Thought Barney was out for a while so pretty happy I'll get to see him throw. Any of the Irish guys any good? Felix McBrearty - Great name!

AndyP

Kazooie wrote: »

Any of the Irish guys any good? Felix McBrearty - Great name!

Mick McGowan and Jacko are serious players. Played Jacko a few weeks ago in the Shay O'Brien and while he was not at his best against me he picked up his form enough to go on and win it (very strong field it was too).

Surprised Shane O'Connor did not get a place in the field. He qualified for the PDC Worlds a few weeks ago in Kilkenny.

Kazooie

Ya I know Mick McGowan alright. I'll keep an eye out for Jacko too.
Now if only Bob Anderson was in the field it'd be perfect!:D

nhughes100

Expect Mick McGowan to go well, amazingly it's his first time to qualify for the Grand Prix and if he beats Jenkins in the first round he should make the quarters. My tip is for Barney to be beaten in the first round, Tabern is throwing serious darts and over the short format anything could and usually does happen.

Baxter is hitting some form this year too, be good to see Thornton go well but since I'm going up Wednesday and Thursday I'm gonna root for Manley just for the walk on.

Picks Below.

James Wade (3) v Tony Eccles
Mervyn King v Wayne Jones
Wayne Mardle (6) v Felix McBrearty
Dennis Priestley v Denis Ovens
Colin Lloyd (7) v Vincent van der Voort
Mark Dudbridge v Kevin Painter
Raymond van Barneveld (2) v Alan Tabern
Adrian Lewis v Roland Scholten
John Part (4) v Chris Mason
Jacko Barry v Brendan Dolan
Terry Jenkins (5) v Mick McGowan
Mark Walsh v Steve Beaton
Andy Hamilton (8) v Andy Smith
Robert Thornton v Peter Manley
Phil Taylor (1) v Ronnie Baxter
John MaGowan v Colin Osborne

rag2gar

It should be interesting to see how barney fares after his 2 month break. i think he needed it as his game had really dipped in the last 18 months since he won the World Champs.

I will be backing taylor as always (11/8 with SJ) but methinks this one could still throw a big surprise as i think for once some of the outsiders like Tabern, Baxter et all really have a chance.

Healio

Taylor @ 11/8 makes me think there is something really wrong with his game, considering he has won six of the last 10, and we all know the position he was in this time last year. Value-wise I'm still going to back it.

DFD

The World Grand Prix -dunno where to start about this competition,used to really love it because it was in dublin,but i'm really p***ed off about it this year.think its going about 11 years now but this year its all different.before we (meaning the ordinary dart player)could qualify for this competition by winning through locally and get onto the stage,remember billy mattews,ok we're not gonna win it but imagine how billy felt,getting there on the telly.but because the pressure that was put on the pdc by the professional irish lads to have the top 4 irish ranked players go into the competition instead of having qualifers really f**ks me off.if these lads aren't good enough to win through on the day well tbh they aren't good enough to be there.people will say its there livelihood and they should protect it as a certain pdc player told me last week when i asked him about it,but that doesn't wash with me.the qualifers in croker was a buzz.bit of crack.all gone now though.used to always want the irish lads to do well,but really i care about them as they do about us,not much all respect gone.interested to hear what other people think about whats happened or their take on it.
yeah, first time mick mcgowan qualified,mmmm wonder how!

dionsiseire

i cant wait for this

going on the wednesday and im looking forward to some top darts

adie is back off his 2 month ban and hit a 9 darter in the champion league of darts thing, his reward was £50 for winning the leg

Kingp35

DFD wrote: »

The World Grand Prix -dunno where to start about this competition,used to really love it because it was in dublin,but i'm really p***ed off about it this year.think its going about 11 years now but this year its all different.before we (meaning the ordinary dart player)could qualify for this competition by winning through locally and get onto the stage,remember billy mattews,ok we're not gonna win it but imagine how billy felt,getting there on the telly.but because the pressure that was put on the pdc by the professional irish lads to have the top 4 irish ranked players go into the competition instead of having qualifers really f**ks me off.if these lads aren't good enough to win through on the day well tbh they aren't good enough to be there.people will say its there livelihood and they should protect it as a certain pdc player told me last week when i asked him about it,but that doesn't wash with me.the qualifers in croker was a buzz.bit of crack.all gone now though.used to always want the irish lads to do well,but really i care about them as they do about us,not much all respect gone.interested to hear what other people think about whats happened or their take on it.
yeah, first time mick mcgowan qualified,mmmm wonder how!

I agree with you DFD. One of the best things about having this tournament in Ireland was that the average Irish thrower coukd turn up to the qualifiers and possibly play against the best in the world. It's a dream for all pub players to get to play on TV and this was the one big chance Irish players had. Now there is no way that I would have qualified but I went to the qualifiers one year and it was a great experience. It's something that would only make you better as a player to play in competitions like that.

I think the PDC were very wrong to let the top 4 Irish lads in. Maybe they could have let the top one or two in and still leave at least two places up for the grabs through the qualifiers. If the top Irish lads can't win through the qualifiers then they are not going to make much impression the main tournament anyway.

Bad decision by the PDC I feel.

MBC

Kingp35 wrote: »

I agree with you DFD. One of the best things about having this tournament in Ireland was that the average Irish thrower coukd turn up to the qualifiers and possibly play against the best in the world. It's a dream for all pub players to get to play on TV and this was the one big chance Irish players had. Now there is no way that I would have qualified but I went to the qualifiers one year and it was a great experience. It's something that would only make you better as a player to play in competitions like that.

I think the PDC were very wrong to let the top 4 Irish lads in. Maybe they could have let the top one or two in and still leave at least two places up for the grabs through the qualifiers. If the top Irish lads can't win through the qualifiers then they are not going to make much impression the main tournament anyway.

Bad decision by the PDC I feel.

I always wanted to have a go at the qualifers..............just for experience more that anything..........terrible pity they are gone now.

nhughes100

This is a decision by the PDC that encourages players that play the circuit, not who just turn up one day and get a lucky break, lets face it the guys who've qualified in past years haven't exactly shrouded themselves in glory - Anto Mc Cracken springs to mind. I actually agree with the decision, it's great to see Mick McGowan playing in his home competition. He is the best Irish player and deserves to be there.

Anyone can get lucky on a day event, lets not forget how many times Taylor has been beaten in the first round even thought he showed some great form in the competitions leading up to it.

dionsiseire

Mick and Jacko should hopefully do well

Brendan Dolan has been mixing it with the best in the circuit of late and John Magowan had a 9 darter recently

There is no reason these boys cant make an assault on the home tournament

Kingp35

nhughes100 wrote: »

This is a decision by the PDC that encourages players that play the circuit, not who just turn up one day and get a lucky break, lets face it the guys who've qualified in past years haven't exactly shrouded themselves in glory - Anto Mc Cracken springs to mind. I actually agree with the decision, it's great to see Mick McGowan playing in his home competition. He is the best Irish player and deserves to be there.

I understand all that and I agree to a point. As I said maybe 2 places could go to the top ranked Irish lads and the other to qualifiers. It costs an awful lot of money to play the circuit so it's understandable that these lads would want a shot at one of the majors but then you can look at it the other way that the likes of the pub players would never get to do the circuit so this would be their only way of getting to play in a major and possibly making the break through to be able to play the circuit. If a guy qualifies for the Grand Prix and wins a game then this can only encourage him to join the circuit and then that's better for Irish darts all round.

MBC wrote:

I always wanted to have a go at the qualifers..............just for experience more that anything..........terrible pity they are gone now.

Ah pity you never got to give it a go, was a great experience. I only gave it a go the year before it was done away with and I was really looking forward to giving it another go. Was something to practice for during the year and to dream about making the big time :cool:

Very annoying it's gone.

mr.jingle

nhughes100 wrote: »

This is a decision by the PDC that encourages players that play the circuit, not who just turn up one day and get a lucky break, lets face it the guys who've qualified in past years haven't exactly shrouded themselves in glory - Anto Mc Cracken springs to mind. I actually agree with the decision, it's great to see Mick McGowan playing in his home competition. He is the best Irish player and deserves to be there.

Anyone can get lucky on a day event, lets not forget how many times Taylor has been beaten in the first round even thought he showed some great form in the competitions leading up to it.

In what aspect did Anto McCracken not shroud himself in glory. Did he not beat Mark Walsh in the first round that yr then lose 3-1 to a great in Anderson! He may be a bit unorthodox to watch but thats how he plays and anyone who has seen him play off the stage realises hes just passionate about the game! I agree about McGowan gettin his chance to shine at last but if he is as good as he seems to think then this would be his 3rd or 4th grand prix and not his 1st! Dolan v Barry is gonna be a great match though 2 players really hitting form. Tabern to beat barney and if Taylor can win through his 1st match then he will win it.

MBC

Can someone tell me is the 1st night in citywest monday or tuesday?

Cheers

nhughes100

mr.jingle wrote: »

In what aspect did Anto McCracken not shroud himself in glory. Did he not beat Mark Walsh in the first round that yr then lose 3-1 to a great in Anderson! He may be a bit unorthodox to watch but thats how he plays and anyone who has seen him play off the stage realises hes just passionate about the game! I agree about McGowan gettin his chance to shine at last but if he is as good as he seems to think then this would be his 3rd or 4th grand prix and not his 1st! Dolan v Barry is gonna be a great match though 2 players really hitting form. Tabern to beat barney and if Taylor can win through his 1st match then he will win it.

Anto was obviously drunk, barely beat a man suffering with dartitis with the lowest average of the first round, decided to jump around like an idiot whilst Mark Walsh attempted to shake his hand. I can guarentee you he wouldn't beat Mark Walsh this year. The anderson game was painful and he hasn't done anything on the darts circuit since. It's nothing personal against him, I never met him but I thought his behaviour left a lot to be desired.

I fully expect Mick McGowan to get to the quarters at least, all the pro's hate the qualifiers as anyone can get lucky or have a bad day. Mick is a class thrower and had darts to beat Kirk Sheppard in the world championship this year(like everyone else lol) I really hope he does well.

Kingp35

MBC wrote: »

Can someone tell me is the 1st night in citywest monday or tuesday?

Cheers

Monday is the first night MBC.

MBC

Kingp35 wrote: »

Monday is the first night MBC.

Cheers KingP.

MBC

Schedule of Play:

2008 Sky Poker World Grand Prix
Monday October 6 2008 - Round One (Best of Three Sets) - 6pm-12am
6.00pm James Wade v Tony Eccles
6.40pm Dennis Priestley v Denis Ovens
7.20pm Mervyn King v Wayne Jones
8.00pm Colin Lloyd v Vincent van der Voort
8.40pm Raymond van Barneveld v Alan Tabern
9.20pm Wayne Mardle v Felix McBrearty
10.00pm Mark Dudbridge v Kevin Painter
10.40pm Adrian Lewis v Roland Scholten

Tuesday October 7 2008 - Round One (Best of Three Sets) - 6pm-12am
6.00pm Mark Walsh v Steve Beaton
6.40pm Andy Hamilton v Andy Smith
7.20pm John Part v Chris Mason
8.00pm Jacko Barry v Brendan Dolan
8.40pm Phil Taylor v Ronnie Baxter
9.20pm Robert Thornton v Peter Manley
10.00pm Terry Jenkins v Mick McGowan
10.40pm John MaGowan v Colin Osborne

Wednesday October 8 2008 - Round 2 (Best of Five Sets) - 7pm-11pm
7.00pm Lloyd / van der Voort v Dudbridge / Painter
8.00pm Wade / Eccles v King / Jones
9.00pm van Barneveld / Tabern v Lewis / Scholten
10.00pm Mardle / McBrearty v Priestley / Ovens

Thursday October 9 2008 - Second Round (Best of Five Sets) - 7pm-11pm
7.00pm - Jenkins / McGowan v Walsh / Beaton
8.00pm - Hamilton / Smith v Thornton / Manley
8.45pm - Taylor / Baxter v MaGowan / Osborne
10.00pm - Part / Mason v Barry / Dolan

Friday October 10 2008 Quarter-Finals (Best of Seven Sets) - 6pm-12am
6.00pm - Part / Mason / Barry / Dolan v Jenkins / McGowan / Walsh / Beaton
7.45pm - Lloyd / van der Voort / Dudbridge / Painter v van Barneveld / Tabern / Lewis / Scholten
9.15pm - Hamilton / Smith / Thornton / Manley v Taylor / Baxter / MaGowan / Osborne
10.45pm - Wade / Eccles / King / Jones v Mardle / McBrearty / Priestley / Ovens

Saturday October 11 2008 (Best of Nine Sets) - 7pm-11pm
7.00pm - Semi-Final 1
9.00pm - Semi-Final 2

Sunday October 12 2008 (Best of 11 sets) - 7pm-10pm
7.00pm - Final

Kingp35

Ah quality, there is no morning matches so I will get to see them all! I hate being stuck in work when there is Darts on the TV.

JUSTONE

Just saw a poster saying Terry Jenkins will be in the Elverys across from Liffey Valley this Friday afternoon October 3rd. You can meet him or if you're brave enough...take him on! Deadly!

EKRIUQ

What's the story with the Darts on Sky on Friday night?

The planner says a under 21 soccer match instead!

goodforsomethin

yep seen that this morning ok i think there is a misprint cant believe they wont show quarter finals of the arrows

NeoRox

A few other forums are talking about it too, hopefully they will put the darts on sky sports news or xtra if they really want to show under 21 soccer.


Nice sig by the way Namesco, made me look twice.

Healio

http://www.livesportontv.com/sportindex.php?id=2

looks to be on SKy Sports 1 every night, although I don't care about Friday cause I'll be out there!!

Maddison

Is it true that Phil Taylor has a signing in Lifestyle Sports tomorrow(Monday)If it is true does anybody know what time hes there???

Thanks!!
Maddie

pad180

Maddison wrote: »

Is it true that Phil Taylor has a signing in Lifestyle Sports tomorrow(Monday)If it is true does anybody know what time hes there???

Thanks!!
Maddie

yea he is in lifestyle on mary st mon ,,
not 100percent on the time its either 1oclock -2oclock
or 2oclock -3oclock
just arrive out at 12 and ul b grand

Kingp35

There's no way that Sky won't show the Quarter Finals. They know they will get a much more viewers for the Darts than a U-21 match. I'm with Healio though, I don't care about Friday because I'll be in the City West!

Good Luck to Felix McBrearty tonight!

Kingp35

Monday's First Round Results:
Tony Eccles 2-1 James Wade
Dennis Priestley 2-0 Denis Ovens
Mervyn King 2-1 Wayne Jones
Colin Lloyd 2-1 Vincent van der Voort
Raymond van Barneveld 2-1 Alan Tabern
Wayne Mardle 2-0 Felix McBrearty
Kevin Painter 2-0 Mark Dudbridge
Adrian Lewis 2-1 Roland Scholten

First shock of the tournament in the very first game as Eccles beat defending champion Wade. Eccles is a good player but that has to be one of the biggest wins of his career. Delighted to see Priestley back to good form, he won the Irish Players Championships on Sunday and looks in top form, hopefully he can go well. Lloyd finally manages to win a first round match after he has lost in all the majors so far. Barney looked excellent averaging 93 on a double start is very good darts! McBrearty gave Mardle a bit of trouble in the first set but it was plain sailing from there for Mardle. Good wins for Painter and Lewis too. Lewis plays Barney in Round 2 which sould be a good game.

Tonights Matches:
6.00pm Mark Walsh v Steve Beaton
6.40pm Andy Hamilton v Andy Smith
7.20pm John Part v Chris Mason
8.00pm Jacko Barry v Brendan Dolan
8.40pm Phil Taylor v Ronnie Baxter
9.20pm Robert Thornton v Peter Manley
10.00pm Terry Jenkins v Mick McGowan
10.40pm John MaGowan v Colin Osborne

MBC

The standard wasnt the best last night............but still enjoyable.............citywest was quiet enough for the 1st few games but the atmosphere picked up when barney came out.

Was a bit surprised that the crowd didnt give felix "the cat" :rolleyes: more of a cheer.........him being irish and all..........seemed most people wanted mardle to win...........although you can understand why mardle has so many fans........he really gets the crowd going.

nhughes100

Barney looked good last night, great performance by both players on an otherwise poor night of darts.

Painter's game was painful, Mardle's wasn't much better and I think the PDC should bring in a rule where no players named Dennis(any way you spell it) can play each other, I've sat through a few Priestly/Smith borefests and Ovens last night was hard work. Hopefully Dennis gets a good run.

Taylor up against it tonight, thornton V Manley should be good and hopefully Mick McGowan gets through to the 2nd round.

Have to say the venue looked a lot better with the different seating and walk in arrangements and those Sky Poker cards look great. Will grab a few of them Wednesday and Thursday nights.

dionsiseire

Felix never got going last night, im shocked wade went out, i was really looking forward to seeing him on the wednesday playing, big wade fan as im a cítéog myself

Lewis barney is a great prospective match for wednesday since wednesday is the day i'm heading

delighted about that one, and if mardle and priestley play well they could do quite well

i hope they give the players their walk on music for the second round, i think it add something to the event when the walk on seperately

bazalicous

Quick question... Even though the day tickets say 'Reserved' on them i presume they're same as last yr and actually Unreserved seating.... Can anyone confirm this for me????

Kingp35

bazalicous wrote: »

Quick question... Even though the day tickets say 'Reserved' on them i presume they're same as last yr and actually Unreserved seating.... Can anyone confirm this for me????

No it's different this year than last year. Every ticket is reserved seating so there is no need to go in really early to queue up. Only bad thing is you have to hope that you're reserved seat isn't at the back of the hall!

Check your ticket and it should have your table and seat number on it.

p.u.d.z.e.r.

Kingp35 wrote: »

No it's different this year than last year. Every ticket is reserved seating so there is no need to go in really early to queue up. Only bad thing is you have to hope that you're reserved seat isn't at the back of the hall!

Check your ticket and it should have your table and seat number on it.

So like if a mate was to come with us on friday ticketless would he get one outside?? if he did i take it he would have to sit elsewhere?

Whats the crack if i did get a short straw and im at the back?? Am i gona be missing anything or is there big screens all over the place?

Sorry bout all the questions.

bazalicous

that sux if id hav to sit nowhere near my mates cos i got ticket at different time to them....

Kingp35

p.u.d.z.e.r. wrote: »

So like if a mate was to come with us on friday ticketless would he get one outside?? if he did i take it he would have to sit elsewhere?

Whats the crack if i did get a short straw and im at the back?? Am i gona be missing anything or is there big screens all over the place?

Sorry bout all the questions.

He would be very lucky to get a ticket outside, there is never really any spares going and if there is they are usually above face value. if he did get one then yeah as far as I know his ticket would be for a different area but if you talk to the seating guys they might be able to sort something out. That's the other bad thing with reserved seating.

As for being at the vack it's no big deal because they do have big screen everywhere so no matter where you are sitting you will be able to see but obviously it's better if you're closer to the stage. It depends on when you bought your tickets as to how far back you're going to be.

nhughes100

Beats queueing for hours all the same! Get your tickets early next year, they normally come out in April and if you get too much for the Friday night they're easy to offload.

Gone are the days of walking in on the quarter finals night and buying your tickets there and then.

Pavement

Is there a handy way got getting to citywest from the redcow luas stop(via a link bus????

mirwillbeback

Pavement wrote: »

Is there a handy way got getting to citywest from the redcow luas stop(via a link bus????

DO NOT do this my friend. We tried last year, got to Red Cow at 5.30, ended up walking to Newlands Cross, could not get a taxi for love nor money, even ringing around. Ended up in Bewley's Hotel at 6.45, rang for a taxi and got picket up at 7.30. Disaster. :mad:

My recommendation would be to get Luas to Tallaght shopping centre and get a taxi over from the rank. About 13 euro from what I remember ( 2006 ).
There is an express bus from town about 5.30 I found out about, can get you more details if you want.

And don't forget your tickets.

Kingp35

Tuesdays Round One Results:
Mark Walsh 2-1 Steve Beaton
Andy Hamilton 2-1 Andy Smith
John Part 2-0 Chris Mason
Jacko Barry 2-1 Brendan Dolan
Phil Taylor 2-0 Ronnie Baxter
Robert Thornton 2-1 Peter Manley
Terry Jenkins 2-0 Mick McGowan
Colin Osborne 2-1 John MaGowan

No real shocks at all last night with all the big boys bar Manley going through although the Bookies had Thornton as favourite to go through anyway. Poor night for the Irish bar Jacko Barry winning through in a thriller against Dolan. He plays John Part in the next round which will definitely be the biggest game of his life but with that crowd behind him who knows what could happen!

Very poor performance from Mick McGowan, he ended up averaging 73 and continues his awful run on the TV tournaments. I wonder if it is lack of confidence on the big stage because he really is struggling. 67 year old John MaGowan put in a good performance against Osbourne only losing 2-1.

Taylor was brilliant as usual and looks unstoppable!

Tonights Second Round Matches:
7.00pm Colin Lloyd v Kevin Painter
8.00pm Tony Eccles v Mervyn King
9.00pm Raymond van Barneveld v Adrian Lewis
10.00pm Wayne Mardle v Dennis Priestley

All of those games are cracking games and could be very tight! Looking forward to a great night of darts!

MBC

mirwillbeback wrote: »

And don't forget your tickets.

:rolleyes: Never :rolleyes:

Me mate who was in there last night, said during the 1st match that some Woman jumped up from the crowd and started screaming abuse at Mark Walsh..........saying stuff like "you left me and the kids with no money" and stuff........she had to be tuffed out

The atmosphere looked very good last night from the tv..........cant wait to go back out there tomorrow.

dionsiseire

im thinking of trying to avoid the red cow tonight when i head

im picking 2 mates up in town at 4.30 and then heading straight to citywest
im thinking N81 all the way down till im past tallaght

nhughes100

Unfortunately there's no quick way from the city centre to Citywest. I think the n81 is your best bet if you don't know your way around Tallaght. Once the dual carriageway turns into a single lane keep going until you pass a Topaz garage on your left, at the next set of lights take a right. Keep going straight till you pass Citywest Shopping centre on your left. Take the left at the roundabout - keep going straight through the two roundabouts until you come to a T-Junction, go left and citywest in your next right - There'll be a big world Grand prix banner on the bridge.

Jake The Fat Ma

Somebody said the seating is all reserved. so does anyone know how many people will be there? our tickets are numbered 560+ i think. anyone know if these are good. it will be a bumber if they are miles away seen as i ordered them the day they were out. :eek:

leggo

Was there last night (as well as Monday), great atmosphere! Especially for the second night.

Jacko has nothing to lose against Part. He'll already be brimming with confidence after winning that great match against Dolan, so you never really know...

Was on top tipping form last night. Called Taylor nearly hitting a 9-darter early and and called Manley/Thornton dart-for-dart from the start. Shame I didn't have a bet, but I was too disheartened after going for an 8-way bet on Monday (would've won about E150 from a fiver bet) and then having WADE of all people mess it up for me at the first hurdle!

Barney/Lewis tonight. Can't wait. Go on the Lloyd too, would love to see him challenging for the big one's again.

MBC

Barney v lewis was a classic match...........felt a bit for lewis.........he defo has the talent to mix it with the big boys...........but he seems to always fall at the final hurdle..........although he has been in some classics already at such a young age.........class act.

Kingp35

Wednesday Nights Second Round Results:
Colin Lloyd 3-2 Kevin Painter
Tony Eccles 2-3 Mervyn King
Raymond van Barneveld 3-2 Adrian Lewis
Wayne Mardle 2-3 Dennis Priestley

Excellent night of darts with all the matches going the distance, sometimes the quality wasn't great but the entertainment and tension was fantastic. Painter really threw the match away against Lloyd, he was 2-0 up before letting Lloyd come back to 2-2. He was then 2-0 up in the final set and had 3 clear darts to win it but missed allowing Lloyd to come back and win the match. Still you could see how much that meant the Lloyd and he was bouncing around the place afterwards. Looks like his confidence is back and hopefully the old Colin Lloyd is back!

Eccles against King was close the whole way through. I always thought that King would have just that little bit much for Eccles but he made hard work of it as his scoring was no where near as good as it usually is. He will have to up a level if he is going to get past Priestley in the next round.

Barney against Lewis was an absolute cracking match, reminiscent of their great Quarter final match. Lewis is a fighter and was 2-0 down before staging an excellent comeback with some great scoring and finishing. High quality affair and I agree with MBC, he always seems to get so far before falling. I think he lacks the emntal strength to win a major but that is something he can work on. Have to say well done to Barney, he would have lost that match 3 months ago but the break has obviously done him well.

I didn't get to see the Mardle and Priestley match but I am delighted that Dennis managed to get through, especially after being 2-0 down! Priestley is never beaten and always fights to the end. I hope that match hasn't taken too much ot of him because I would love to see him beat King on Friday when I'm in the crowd!

Tonighst Second Round Matches:
7.00pm - Terry Jenkins v Mark Walsh
8.00pm - Andy Hamilton v Robert Thornton
9.00pm - Phil Taylor v Colin Osborne
10.00pm - John Part v Jacko Barry

Jacko last on against Part tonight, hope he gets through!!!

dionsiseire

What a night last night

it didnt end till 5 past 1. rediculous
all the games went the full distance with 3 of them having the sudden death deciding leg

Mardle could have won me 100 blips just by beating priestly in that final set, but he had a mare of a final leg, i couldnt believe it.

still i had a great night, ended up on the telly a good few times too, having mates with silly hair seems to pay off, that or a gorgeous girl as the cameramen love them.

few of my mates were skeptical going, thought the atmosphere on TV wouldnt be as fun in real life, but having watched the first round matches, and being at the second round there last night, i can say its every bit as fun as it looks. The one thing i will say is that the first round them playing the irish music song bringing the players on really takes away from the matches a little, i much prefer the walk ons with their music like last night

brilliant brilliant fun