The Stan James World Matchplay - 22nd-28th July 2007

Kingp35

So the World Matchplay starts on Sunday night and it will once again be held at the wonderful Winter Gardens in Blackpool. It is arguably the second biggest tournament behind the World Championships. Who do you think will win it and who do you think will so well?

The first round draw is:

Phil Taylor (1) v Wes Newton
Kevin Painter (16) v Adrian Gray
Wayne Mardle (8) v Mark Dudbridge
Roland Scholten (9) v Chris Mason
Terry Jenkins (5) v Alan Tabern
John Part (12) v Alan Warriner-Little
Peter Manley (4) v Michael van Gerwen
Ronnie Baxter (13) v Bob Anderson
Raymond van Barneveld (2) v Denis Ovens
Barrie Bates (15) v Andy Smith
Adrian Lewis (7) v Steve Beaton
Andy Hamilton (10) v Mick McGowan
Dennis Priestley (6) v Colin Osborne
James Wade (11) v Wayne Jones
Colin Lloyd (3) v Mervyn King
Andy Jenkins (14) v Mark Walsh

Personally I think that Barney has got to be the favourite even though this is the first time he ha splayed in this tournament. He has looked very good in recent times and he is almost becoming the new Taylor in that it's looking very unlikely that he will be beaten. There are very few players that have the ability to beat Barney and if he can maintain the form he has shown in the UK Open and the Desert Classic then it is hard to look past him.

Obviously Phil Taylor is also in with a real shout. He has states many times that this is his favourite tournament and, other than the Worlds, is the one that he really wants to win. He has won it 6 out of the last 7 times but Barney was not in it last year. He has got to be hurting after getting a hammering by Barney in Bolton and then losing first round to Dudbridge in Vegas. Some people are beginning to say Taylor is nearing the end but I think that's stupid. He will be very hard to beat and he always has a huge following in Blackpool.

There are a few dark horses who I also think have a great chance. First is John Part. Part has been in great form lately and was unlucky to lose to Barney in both the UK Open and Desert classic although he didn't perform as well in Vegas. He is the one player that can put it up to Barney and Taylor every time and he could easily win this tournament. There is no doubting that Michael Van Gerwen has the ability to beat anyone but I don't think he is quite consistent enough to win a tournament in this format yet. Mervin King is an excellent dart player who could also win this but he has a very tough first round draw against Colin Lloyd, a former winner of the event. Whoever wins that match could go far.

So personally I think the winner will come from either Barney, Taylor, Part. Van Gerwen, King or Lloyd. I'm just hoping that someone other than Taylor or Barney will win.

What do you lot think?

The Rooster

Phil Taylor (1) v Wes Newton
Kevin Painter (16) v Adrian Gray
I think Taylor will be troubled by both Newton and Painter.

Wayne Mardle (8) v Mark Dudbridge
Roland Scholten (9) v Chris Mason
If Dudbridge can win from this section, I think he might just do Taylor again. However Mardle/Dudbridge is 50/50.

Terry Jenkins (5) v Alan Tabern
John Part (12) v Alan Warriner-Little
I think Part should come through this section.

Peter Manley (4) v Michael van Gerwen
Ronnie Baxter (13) v Bob Anderson
Hopefully MvG will come through here. Part v MvG would make a great quarter final. However, Manley has a habit of spoiling the best laid plans.

Raymond van Barneveld (2) v Denis Ovens
Barrie Bates (15) v Andy Smith
I think Barney might be fallible in the Blackpool heat, but none of these three are in good enough form to make him pay.

Adrian Lewis (7) v Steve Beaton
Andy Hamilton (10) v Mick McGowan
I was thinking Lewis was a sure thing, but Hamilton won a minor tournament last weekend, so perhaps in back in form. Obviously would love to see McGowan do well, but I dont think he's yet got to grips with his new unicorn darts. No good reason for it, but still I fancy Lewis to come through here and then to push Barney all the way, maybe even beat him!

Dennis Priestley (6) v Colin Osborne
James Wade (11) v Wayne Jones
Very hard to call. I hope Wade pulls through.

Colin Lloyd (3) v Mervyn King
Andy Jenkins (14) v Mark Walsh
The winner of Lloyd/King is a dead cert to make Round 2, and I think will make it to the quarters. But very hard to call Jaws v Merv.

Overall, I'm going to tip the winner of the MvG/Part quarter-final to go all the way! Beating either Lewis or Lloyd in the final!

Kingp35

The Rooster wrote:

Overall, I'm going to tip the winner of the MvG/Part quarter-final to go all the way! Beating either Lewis or Lloyd in the final!

Brave call Rooster but I would love to see it myself. John Part has been one of my favourite players for a while and I am delighted he is back on form. As for Lewis, I still don't think he has it mentally to go the distance yet although he is improving now after the experience of the Premier League.

Healio

Peter Manley could be a good trade for this, provided he gets through his first round match. If he gets through that match he should get through into the QF, presumably against Barney. Trading at 80's on betfair currently (100's with the sponsors) he should half in price if gets to the quarters (he has reached them 5 times previously)

My other bets are the token bet on Lewis (if i didnt id never live it down!!) and Mervyn King.

NeoRox

Night One Results

Kevin Painter 12-10 Adrian Gray
Wayne Mardle 10-7 Mark Dudbridge
Roland Scholten 13-11 Chris Mason

Kingp35

Some good games tonight. Painter and Gray wasn't a very high standard but it was exciting and very close the whole way. Painter did well to come back from behind and to win in the end but credit has to be given to Gray who put in a good performance on his debut. Painter will really have to up his game if he is going to beat the winner of the Taylor v Newton match.

Mardle and Dudbridge took about 7 or 8 legs to really get going but once it did there was some quality darts. Mardle was brilliant on the finishing as he took out 5 100+ finished but he also threw some poor darts. He will need to find some consistancy if he is going to progress. Dudbridge disappointed me a bit. His scoring was poor and was lucky not to be beaten by a bigger margin.

Scholten V Mason was the game of the night. Scholten was brilliant on the 180's but he also hit some poor scores to allow Mason to get down to doubles where he was excellent at the start. Mason went into a good lead and really should have went on to win the match but credit to Scholten for fighting back. Mason then picked his game up again and had darts to win the match bt missed them. He then had two chances to throw for the match as he broke Scholten twice but allowed the dutch man to break straight back twice. Mason really should have won that match and I'm disappointed he didn't. Still fair play to Scholten.

Tomorrows Schedule of Play:
Monday 23 July
1.00pm Terry Jenkins v Alan Tabern
2.00pm Ronnie Baxter v Bob Anderson
3.00pm John Part v Alan Warriner-Little
4.00pm Barrie Bates v Andy Smith

7.00pm Dennis Priestley v Colin Osborne
8.00pm Peter Manley v Michael van Gerwen
9.00pm Phil Taylor v Wes Newton
10.00pm Colin Lloyd v Mervyn King

Kingp35

Terry Jenkins wins the first match of today with a comfortable 10-5 win against Alan Tabern. No surprise there really.

Kingp35

Here are the results of the Afternoon session:

Terry Jenkins 10-5 Alan Tabern
Ronnie Baxter 10-6 Bob Anderson
John Part 10-5 Alan Warriner-Little
Barrie Bates 10-8 Andy Smith

Reports including averages etc. found here:
http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/WorldMatchplayDetail/0,,10180~1077347,00.html

I didn't get to see any of the matches because I'm stuck in work but there were no real surprises. John Parts win looks the most impressive out of the four. Baxter against Anderson looked like it was a very poor quality match.

Really looking forward to tonights matches. The four of them should be very close. Can't wait to see Michael Van Gerwen on the main stage.

7.00pm Dennis Priestley v Colin Osborne
8.00pm Peter Manley v Michael van Gerwen
9.00pm Phil Taylor v Wes Newton
10.00pm Colin Lloyd v Mervyn King

Kingp35

Last nights results:
Dennis Priestley 10-5 Colin Osborne
Peter Manley 9-11 Michael van Gerwen
Phil Taylor 10-2 Wes Newton
Colin Lloyd 4-10 Mervyn King

Some good matches last although they were far more one sided than I expected them to be. Colin Osbourne was not his usual self against Priestley as he really struggled with his scoring. I think he wasn't able to cope with the speed that Dennis was throwing. Priestley scored much better than Osbourne and that's what saw him through.

Manley against MvG was the match of the night, even if it did lack quality in parts. You can see the sheer natural talent that MvG has but he is far from the finished article. He shows moments of sheer brilliance but can then go 9 darts without hitting a treble. He struggled a little on his doubles as well in the middle if the match. Credit to Manley as he kept fighting and put in a good comeback. I thought he was going to win the match when he went 9-8 up as I thought MvG had bottled it. Again credit to MvG for coming back and winning 11-9. He is capable of much better darts and I hope he shows it as the week progresses.

Wes Newton was simply awful against Taylor. For the first session Taylor was useless, he was averaging 74 at one point but Newton was so bad that he couldn't take advantage. Taylor upped his game considerably after the break and game Newton a serious beating. I still don't think Taylor is playing at his best and is beatable.

Colin Lloyd was a major disappointment against Mervin King. He just doesn't look like the same player he was 2 years ago. He will drop down the rankings now after that defeat as he won this event 2 years ago and collected £25k. As the Order of Merit works ona two year basis and Lloyd lost first round it means he has lost £22.5k in ranking money as is in danger of not qualifying for the Premier League. Mervin was solid last night. He didn't score great but he finished well and I think he was a real good chance in this tournament.

gdez

Any word on how Mick McGowan got on?

Healio

gdez wrote:

Any word on how Mick McGowan got on?

Beaten 10-6 by Andy Hamilton

Kingp35

Healio wrote:

Beaten 10-5 by Andy Hamilton

It was 10-6 Healio. Mick was absolutely awful. He finished with an average of 73.58 which is by far the worst average of the tournament. Hamilton wasn't much better with an average of 79.

Other matches so far today:
1.00pm Andy Hamilton 10-6 Mick McGowan
2.00pm Adrian Lewis 10-4 Steve Beaton
3.00pm James Wade 10-7 Wayne Jones
4.00pm Andy Jenkins 10-6 Mark Walsh

Reports from this afternoons matches can be found here
http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/WorldMatchplayDetail/0,,10180~1078102,00.html

Tonight's matches:
First Round
7.00pm Raymond van Barneveld v Denis Ovens
Second Round
8.15pm Wayne Mardle v Roland Scholten
9.30pm Terry Jenkins v John Part

I'm hoping Mardle and Part can both win through tonight.

TheBigEvil

Barney wasn't in great form last night. Like the commentators said, If Ovens was playing any other player, other than a Barney or a Taylor, he'd have cruised into the final. Struggled to his win. The Heat was definitively on!

Disappointed nether Part or Mardel wen through. I couldn't believe the number of bounce outs Mardel had, it was ridiculous.

And Part just didn't show the form he has over the last few months.

Kingp35

Yeah Dennis Ovens really put it up to Barney. He only lost by one break of throw in the end and he had his chances to break back. If only he could have taken out that 133 at the end, the place would have went nuts. Barney wasn't on his top game but he still averaged 96 which is better than most. Shows how well Ovens played to stay with him.

Mardle and Scholten was a very disappointing match. How Mardle went into the break 4-1 down I'll never know, he should have went in 4-1 up! still he missed his doubles and Scholten didn't. It was the story of the game really, Mardle missed his chances and Scholten didn't. Mardle had some really bad luck with bounce outs though, the one where he had 2 darts in the treble 20 then knocked one of them out with his third darts to only score 60 was unreal.

Part against Jenkins was also not as close as I thought it would be. Again Part had his chances early on. He broke Jenkins throw 3 times early on but allowed Jenkins to break straight back again. In the end Part just wasn't scoring well and Jenkins took his chances. Disappointed to see Part lose because I thought he had a real chance of winning this.

Last nights scores:
First Round
Raymond van Barneveld 10-7 Denis Ovens
Second Round
Wayne Mardle 6-13 Roland Scholten
Terry Jenkins 13-8 John Part

This afternoons second round matches:
1.00pm Dennis Priestley v James Wade
2.30pm Mervyn King v Andy Jenkins
4.00pm Michael van Gerwen v Ronnie Baxter

I'm hoping MvG can win through his match. It certainly will be a fast one against Ronnie! would like to see King go through as well and although many people don't like him, would also like to see Priestley win through.

leuler

Both van Gerwen and Priestley were disappointing. They were beaten by poor performances from Wade and Baxter, who should both go out next round.
Lewis was impressive, he always looked like he could be great and this could be his tournament. I am not sure if he would be able to beat Taylor but he has a good chance against Barney.
I am usually wrong, but can't see past Jenkins/King/Lewis/Taylor semis.

Does anyone know who can meet in the semis, haven't been able to find it on planet darts.

Kingp35

Yesterdays second round results:
Dennis Priestley 14-16 James Wade
Mervyn King 13-4 Andy Jenkins
Michael van Gerwen 12-14 Ronnie Baxter
http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/WorldMatchplayDetail/0,,10180~1078808,00.html

Adrian Lewis 13-9 Andy Hamilton
Phil Taylor 13-6 Kevin Painter
Raymond van Barneveld 13-5 Barrie Bates
http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/WorldMatchplayDetail/0,,10180~1079025,00.html

Two brilliant matches in the early session. The first saw wade miss 11 darts for the match before eventually winning in an epic battle. Credit has to be give to Priestley who never gave in and kept coming back from behind. Priestley missed darts to level it was well before Wade eventually won out. Disappointed Priestley is out but fair play to Wade.

Second match saw Mervyn King give Andy Jenkins a lesson. It took King a bit to get going and it was 4-4 at one point but then Mervyn won 9 legs in a row to win the match. None of his winning legs were more than 18 darts and he finished with an average close to 97. He is looking good and has a great chance for the title.

Third match on was another classic. I'm delighted to see Ronnie Baxter playing well on TV again. He is been off form for so long now but he looked good yesterday as he deservedly beat MvG. MvG was far too inconsistant with his throws and Ronnie outscored him which was surprising. If Ronnie was better on his doubles he would have won more comfortable. I'm disappointed that MvG didn't show what he is capable of in this tournament but take nothing away from Baxter as he deserved to win.

The evening session saw Lewis V Hamilton first up. It was very close for the early stages as Hamilton played far better than he did against McGowan. Lewis was in top form though as his scoring eventually did for Hamilton. Lewis ended with an average over 100 and he looks much more settled now. No more showboating and it certainly has helped him. I think he will give Barney a real game in the Quarters.

Taylor was back to his best against Painter. He finished the game with a 101 average and really didn't give Painter a chance. Painter actually played well and had a 170 checkout during the game but there was nothing he could do when Taylor was in that kind of form. Tayor is looking like he will be very hard to beat.

Barney wasn't at his best against Barrie Bates but he didn't have to be. bates put in a decent performance especially since he was suffering from Gout and was limping throughout the match. Barney wasn't scoring as high as he usually does but his finishing was very good. I think his match against Lewis could be very close.

Todays Quarter Final Matches:
1.00pm Terry Jenkins v Ronnie Baxter
3.00pm James Wade v Mervyn King

7.00pm Raymond van Barneveld v Adrian Lewis
9.00pm Taylor/Painter v Roland Scholten

Kingp35

leuler wrote:

Does anyone know who can meet in the semis, haven't been able to find it on planet darts.

the winner of Wade/King plays the winner of Barney/Lewis.

leuler

Cheers, I would expect King to get through and he will not be easy for Barney/Lewis. Some great matches to come.

Kingp35

First Quarter Final sees Terry Jenkins beat Ronnie Baxter 16-13 in another great match.

Jenkins was 15-8 up and Ronnie won 5 legs in a row to get it back to 15-13 before Jenkins finally won. Ronnie missed a lot of doubles early on and he shouldn't have been so far behind. Great drama near the end. Looking forward to Wade and King now who are on next.

Kingp35

Yesterdays Quarter Final Results:
Terry Jenkins 16-13 Ronnie Baxter
James Wade 16-11 Mervyn King
http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/WorldMatchplayDetail/0,,10180~1079449,00.html

Adrian Lewis 16-14 Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor 16-1 Roland Scholten
http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/WorldMatchplayDetail/0,,10180~1079639,00.html

Mervyn King never looked on his game against Wade. He didn't score anything like he usually does and it was only his finishing that kept him in the game at all. He didn't have his usual mean look on his face and was a beaten man well before the match was over. Something must not have been right with him. Still tale nothing away from Wade who played well and deserves his semi-final place. He will have to up his game though if he is to make it through.

Barney against Lewis was the match of the tournament. I have been Lewis's biggest critic on these boards. I think he is arrogant and tends to bottle it but since the Premier League and night he got booed up in Aberdeen he has cut out the show boating and got on with playing darts, making him a much better player. Last night was the first night that Lewis really showed what he is capable of and if he can keep concentrated like he did last night then he can be as good as Taylor and Barney. Barney wasn't at his best but I think this had a lot to do with the pressure Lewis put on him. Fantastic display from Lewis and I'm glad to say he proved me wrong last night.

Scholten just never turned up against Taylor. He couldn't hit anything and there was nothing he could do about it, it was just one of those nights. It was a practice match for Taylor but he still played very well averaging 97. There is no way he will have it so easy against Terry Jenkins in the Semi-Final though.

Tonight's Semi-Finals:
7.00pm Adrian Lewis v James Wade
9.00pm Taylor v Terry Jenkins

Lewis v Wade will be a great game. The two young up and coming players against each other. Lewis has got to be the favourite after last nights win but do not count out Wade as he is a better finisher than Lewis and if he can score well could easily win. I will have to go for Lewis though.

Jenkins is a very consistent player and I think he will give Taylor a real match but he just doesn't have that little bit extra that Taylor does. Jenkins will always average around the mid 90's which is good enough to beat most players but not a Taylor who is on his game. I can't see past Taylor in this but I would love for Terry to win through.

Kingp35

Semi-Final Results
Adrian Lewis 7-17 James Wade
Phil Taylor 11-18 Terry Jenkins

Final Result
Terry Jenkins 7-18 James Wade

Well we had two brilliant goos Semi-Finals and a decent final last. You have to say congratulations to James Wade as he totally deserved his win last night. His finishing was fantastic in the Semi and was good in the final. I always knew if he could match Lewis in the scoring then he would win and he did just that.

You have to feel for Terry Jenkins though. He put in a terrific display to beat Taylor in the Semis. It wasn't is if Taylor played bad because he averaged 98.5 but Jenkins was too good for him on the night. Jenkins has now got to four major finals and lost them all. That has got to be playing on his mind now.

So congratulations to Wade for winning a great tournament. Next up is the World Grand Prix here in Dublin