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The 2008 US Open is the second year of a darts tournament, organized by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). It was played at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort, Connecticut, USA between May 16 and May 18, 2008.
Phil Taylor successfully defended his title.
The event was broadcast on Nuts TV in the UK from the last 16 onwards. [1]
The tournament was open to PDPA members and citizens and Green Card holders from the US and Canada. The elimination tournament was played down to the last 16 on the Friday and the last 16 played off on Saturday. The quarter-finals onwards took place on Sunday.
In addition, the PDC also staged the $50,000 North American Darts Championship on the 16th and 17 May.
Five American players made it through to the last 16 as there were a series of shock results on the opening day of the event. The biggest shock was when Gary Mawson beat world number one and five-time former World Champion, Raymond van Barneveld in the last 32. Current World Champion, John Part went out in round two to Roger Carter who also progressed to the last 16. Bill Davis beat Tony Eccles to reach Saturday's main stage competition. David Fatum and Ray Carver completed the American line-up of five in the last 16.
World number four, Terry Jenkins also suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Paul Lim, the man who achieved the first ever World Championship nine darter in 1990. World number seven, Andy Hamilton, was beaten in the third round by Buddy Lessig. Number three seed, James Wade withdrew from the event due to illness. Out of the top 8 seeds, only two, Phil Taylor and Roland Scholten, made it to the last 16.
The fifth round action opened with David Fatum being the first player and first American to reach the quarter-finals, beating out fellow countryman Bill Davis. Davis however did save some face with a 164 checkout, the highest of the night. Roger Carter was another American player to lose out, to Chris Mason. Mark Dudbridge also put on an impressive display in beating Dave Honey in straight sets.
Veteran Dennis Priestley moved into the quarters, dropping only one leg against Adrian Gray. Phil Taylor continued his imposing form, averaging 107 against Colin Osborne, who did take a set out of 'The Power'. American Gary Mawson, who had earlier knocked out the number one seed Raymond van Barneveld, lost 3–1 to Blackpool's Ronnie Baxter, and Colin Lloyd also looked to be in menacing form, not dropping a leg against world number eight Roland Scholten. The biggest shock of the night came with America's Ray Carver beating Wayne Mardle 3–1 in a high quality match including a 131 checkout from Carver.
Total Prize Fund £126,000 (unchanged from 2007) [2] [3]
Fifth round losers £3,000 | Quarter-finals losers £4,000 | Semi-finals losers £5,000 | Final runner up £7,500 winner £12,500 | ||||||||||||||||
Gary Mawson 93.18 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Ronnie Baxter 90.33 | 3 | Ronnie Baxter 95.17 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Roland Scholten 83.77 | 0 | Colin Lloyd 101.07 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Colin Lloyd 95.94 | 3 | Colin Lloyd 83.82 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
David Fatum 86.14 | 3 | David Fatum 76.08 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
Bill Davis 76.74 | 0 | David Fatum 84.69 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Roger Carter 85.79 | 1 | Chris Mason 83.72 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Chris Mason 90.94 | 3 | Colin Lloyd 91.48 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Phil Taylor 107.09 | 3 | Phil Taylor 96.86 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Colin Osborne 93.49 | 1 | Phil Taylor 100.45 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Ray Carver 90.07 | 3 | Ray Carver 93.83 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Wayne Mardle 94.43 | 1 | Phil Taylor 111.35 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Dave Honey 82.08 | 0 | Dennis Priestley 103.00 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Mark Dudbridge 87.78 | 3 | Mark Dudbridge 83.44 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Adrian Gray 77.68 | 0 | Dennis Priestley 92.34 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Dennis Priestley 90.18 | 3 |
Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
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Losers £1,000
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Losers £1,500
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For the first time the PDC staged a large tournament available only to citizens and Green Card holders from the US and Canada. The tournament was worth $50,000, with $15,000 going to the winner. It was played separately from the US Open on the 16th and 17 May, though players could enter for both tournaments. Darin Young, who had been knocked out in the first round of the US Open, emerged the victor.
On the first night the main shock was the defeat of World Champion and number one seed John Part, who was beaten by Buddy Lessig in the third round. The number two seed, Gerry Convery, also lost in the second round to Paul Lim. Leading American and third seed Ray Carver was defeated in the fifth round by Brad Wethington and John Kuczynski was beaten in the quarters by Brian Blake.
The second night saw the semi-finals and final being played out. Number eight seed Darin Young beat out Bill Davis in a close 7–5 game in the first semi-final, while Brad Wethington just beat Chris White in a 7–6 affair. The final followed suit. Wethington missed a dart to win the title before Young came back to win 8–7 and claim the title. Young said it was 'the biggest win of [his] career'. That moment was dubbed the 'most interesting' part of the Championship.
Roland Scholten is a Dutch former professional darts player who played in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO). Nicknamed The Tripod and The Flying Dutchman, Scholten turned full-time professional in 2001 having previously worked as a publican. Despite his Dutch nationality, Scholten speaks with a strong English accent having lived in Peterborough for several years. His considerable height and throwing technique meant his darts hit the board at a considerably narrow angle.
The World Series of Darts was a professional darts tournament held from 19 to 21 May 2006 at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut. It was the first and only edition of the competition, which was established by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) to capitalise on the potentially large North American market. It was the second of four PDC non-ranking events in the 2006 season and featured 32 players: 16 American entrants and 16 PDC players. There was a $1,000,000 bonus to the winner of the tournament if they were from the United States.
The 2007 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament took place between 18 December 2006 – 1 January 2007. The championship was once again held at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, where it had been staged since the first PDC World Championship in 1994. However, it would turn out to be the last time the tournament would be held at the Tavern: in April 2007, the PDC announced that the event would be moving to Alexandra Palace from 2008.
The 1998 Embassy World Professional Darts Championship was held from 3–11 January 1998 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey.
The 2004 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 10th anniversary of the PDC version of the World Darts Championship. The tournament took place between 27 December 2003 and 4 January 2004 at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet, England.
The 2003 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the tenth World Championship organized by the Professional Darts Corporation since its split from the British Darts Organisation in 1993. The tournament took place between 27 December 2002 and 5 January 2003 at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, England. Ladbrokes took over sponsorship of the event from Skol.
The 2001 PDC World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament held from 28 December 2000 and 3 January 2001 at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, England. It was the eighth staging of the competition since the 1994 competition. The competition was the first of 34 Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments in the 2001 season. The tournament was broadcast on Sky Sports and was sponsored by Skol.
Richard Mark Burnett, nicknamed Prince of Wales, is a Welsh professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is a former World No. 1 who won the 1995 Embassy World Darts Championship. Burnett is known for coming on to "Dakota" and dancing on stage. He is also known for his fiery personality, fighting with Adrian Lewis on stage during the 2012 Players Championship Finals.
John Michael Walton is an English professional darts player currently playing in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. He is best known for winning the 2001 BDO World Darts Championship. He adopted the nickname John Boy and used the song "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex as his walk-on theme.
Dave Askew is a former English professional darts player who competed from 1988 to 2010 in events of the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He is a two-time semi-finalist of the PDC World Championship, losing to eventual winner Phil Taylor on both occasions.
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.
Jacobus Wilhelmus "Co" Stompé is a Dutch former professional darts player. He was nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance, making him look like a matchstick. He was also one of very few professionals who played in longsleeved shirts.
The 2007 Blue Square UK Open was the fifth year of the PDC's UK Open darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament took place at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton, England, between 7–10 June 2007. Blue Square took over as title sponsor after Budweiser's three-year deal expired.
Matthew Clark is an English darts player who competes for the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and formerly played for the British Darts Organisation (BDO). He uses the nickname "Superman" for his matches.
Mensur Suljović is a Serbian-Austrian professional darts player. He plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, having previously played in the British Darts Organisation (BDO).
Stephen Bunting is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. Nicknamed The Bullet, Bunting is the reigning Masters champion. He also won the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and is a twice former BDO World Masters champion.
The 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 16th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at Alexandra Palace in London from 19 December 2008 and 4 January 2009.
The 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic was a professional darts tournament staged from July 1 to July 5, 2009 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the eighth and final staging of the event since the original 2002 edition, and the fourth time it took place at the Mandalay Bay Resort. The tournament was the third of five Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) premier events in the 2009 season. Online gambling website PartyPower.com sponsored the tournament broadcast on Sky Sports.
Ronnie Baxter is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He used the nickname "The Rocket" for his matches. Baxter was known for his fast robotic throwing action. He currently resides in his hometown Blackpool. Baxter is widely regarded as one of the best players never to have won a major TV title. He is still active on the exhibition circuit.
Joseph Cullen is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won three Youth Tour tournaments in his early career and has qualified for the PDC World Championship twelve times, winning only thrice in the first round. Cullen reached his first major quarter-final at the 2016 UK Open and won his first PDC Pro Tour title in 2017. He won his first televised title at the 2022 Masters.