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PDC WORLD MATCHPLAY DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2006 Review by Andy Fairclough
In the 12 year history of the PDC Phil Taylor had never lost back to back tournaments. However since winning the Premier League, Taylor had lost the UK Open and also the Las Vegas Desert Classic (plus the independently promoted International Darts League). To lose three PDC major televised tournaments in a row seemed almost unthinkable, even though his two defeats came at the hands of his new nemesis Raymond van Barneveld. The World Matchplay was notable by Barneveld's absence (he was knocked out of the qualifiers by rising star Andy Hamilton) so perhaps it was Taylor's time to reassert his dominance in perhaps the players and the fans favourite tournament from the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
ROUND ONE The tournament kicked off with an out of form Mark Dudbridge doubly hampered with an arm injury picked up in the gym which meant he hadn't thrown for 2 weeks. His opponent the feisty young Alex Roy picked up on the lack of match fitness by taking an early break and a 2-0 lead. By 5-2 to Roy it looked to be going only one way (Roy averaging 89.0 with Dudbridge under 80). Though the averages dropped 3 points per player there was still a 9 per dart gap as Roy closed in leading 8 legs to 4. It was 10-6 at the end as Dudbridge salvaged a bit of pride while Roy strode into round two. Local lad Wes Newton only took 15 minutes to get to the venue from Fleetwood but he was on his way back almost as quickly as John Part brushed him aside 10 legs to 2 with a 127 checkout on the way. Alan Tabern had his work cut out against the revitalised Dennis Priestley but he fought back from a 3-0 deficit with a nice 120 checkout and then taking the next leg to make it 3-2. Priestley then broke throw and sailed off to an 8-3 lead averaging nearly 93 to his opponent's 86. Tabern checked out 131 in the next leg and came back a little, but too late as the veteran Priestley won 10-7. Lionel Sams has had a dreadful time in the tv tournaments over the past year or so and Terry Jenkins to be fair despite his high ranking position has also been disappointing on the big stage. Sams got the first key break to lead 4-2 but despite a 123 checkout in the 9th leg, lost the lead to Jenkins who went ahead 6-5 with a break of throw. Sams clawed back to 7-7 (Sams avg 82, Jenkins 87) and found the finishes to win through 10-7. Matt Clark is a tough competitor as hotly tipped youngster Adrian Lewis found out. 'Jackpot' edged ahead 3-2 with a break of throw and then took the next two legs (Lewis avg 99, Clark 92). Clark came back to 4-6 but Lewis was comfortable from then on as he won 10-6 with an impressive end average of 97. Andy Hamilton was rapidly becoming the name to be talked about on the pro circuit. He seems unflappable and only a red hot Raymond van Barneveld stopped his progress in Las Vegas. His demolition of Peter Manley only added to his credentials. Stoke publican, Hamilton set out his intentions with a 108 checkout in the third leg and by 6-2 (Hamilton avg 91, Manley 80) was well on his way to victory. The next four legs went without reply to 10-4 to 'The Hammer'. Chris Mason was favourite to beat Steve Beaton who had slid down the rankings recently only just clinging on to the all important top 32 place. Mason started impressively checking out 135 in leg 3. Beaton held on until a crucial break from Mason put him ahead 6-4. Beaton broke back and so did Mason and by the time it was 8-6 to Mase an incredible 5 consecutive legs went against throw. Mason solidified with a 120 checkout to lead 9-6 and then won the next to go through to round two a 10-6 winner. Many fancied chirpy Welshman Barrie Bates to cause Kevin Painter a few problems following his achievement in reaching the UK Open final a few weeks before the Matchplay. Indeed the welshman was ahead 3-2 before Painter put on a surge and won six legs on the trot, making it 8-3 with a 100 checkout. Obviously too much for Bates to come back but he put in a fair fight back as Painter won 10-8. No one really expected Steve Maish to give world number 1 Colin Lloyd too much trouble but Maish kicked off the first leg with a 106 checkout and he grew in stature from there. Maish was quickly 3-0 up before Lloyd broke throw to retrieve 2 legs and then level the game. Maish broke Lloyd to lead 4-3 and then took another four legs including a 106 checkout. Lloyd responded hitting a 10 darter and then retrieved it to 6-8. Maish however wasn't going to let slip as he took a memorable win 10-6. Not many gave Bob Anderson much of a chance against Phil Taylor, particularly as Taylor had dominated their recent encounters. Anderson surprisingly went 3-0 up, but Taylor wasn't concerned as he soon levelled to 3-3 hitting an 11 dart game along the way. At 4-3 Taylor was averaging 95 to Anderson's 81. Taylor built up to a 7-4 lead, before Anderson fought back with a 121 finish to make it 5-8. Taylor wrapped up quickly cementing his 10-5 win with a 100 finish – checked out S20, D20, D20. Wayne Mardle took a timely break of throw from Steve Hine to lead 4-2 in their match. He held onto the lead despite a 129 finish from Hine to make it 7-4. Mardle had his own high checkout, a 116 in the next leg and he crossed the finish line a comfortable victor 10-5. James Wade who had turned full time pro only a few days before the tournament proved his concentration on practice had paid off as he found himself 5-0 up against Denis Ovens very quickly including a 120 finish along the way. Things didn't improve for 'The Heat' as Wade made it 6-0 with a 138 checkout and continued on to win through easily 10-1. Andy Jenkins flew out of the starting blocks against a disappointing Alan Warriner taking out 136 to lead 4-0. More misery for the 'Iceman' as Jenkins went on to a 6-0 lead. Warriner came back with a 152 finish in the next and then began to find his game. At 7-3, Jenkins was averaging 89 to Wazza's 85. Jenkins finished a 126 to lead 8-3 before Warriner pulled three legs back. Jenkins went to 9-6 and missed a dart for the match in the next leg. Warriner amazingly clawed back to 9-9. Jenkins always slightly the more consistent, dug deep and held his nerve to win through 11 legs to 9. Roland Scholten began well hitting 7 perfect darts of an eventual 11 darter to lead Andy Smith 3-1. The 'Pieman' took out 106 in the next and then levelled the match. Scholten broke in the tenth to lead 6-4 and a further break put him 9-5 in front. 10-6 eventually to Scholten. Dave Askew led 7-2 against Mark Walsh before ultimately scraping through 10-8 and in the last match of the first round Ronnie Baxter beat Dennis Smith 10-4 as 'Smiffy' suffered from the extreme heat on stage more than most. Never known as the driest player, Smith had to leave the stage mid-match and was diagnosed afterwards as suffering from heat exhaustion.
ROUND TWO Adrian Lewis against Andy Hamilton was always going to be too close a game to a call and indeed it went to the unique tiebreak situation at the Matchplay, where you keep playing until a player wins by to legs. Hamilton broke early to lead 3-2 but Lewis broke straight back. At 5-4 to Lewis he was averaging 95 to Hamilton's 91. Hamilton created a bit of daylight by breaking Lewis' throw twice and leading 9-6. Lewis came back before Hamilton cemented a lead at 10-8 with a 104 checkout. Lewis broke back to level at 10 legs apiece and eventually the tiebreak came into play at 13-13. Hamilton broke throw straight away and then held his own throw to take the epic match 15-13. John Part clearly wasn't his usual self as Phil Taylor steamrollered through to the Quarter-finals by 13 legs to 2. Match highlights were a 120 checkout from Taylor in leg 3, a 160 finish from Part in leg 6 and a 131 from Taylor in leg 9. Towards the closing stages Taylor was averaging 97 to Part's 83. Alex Roy undoubtedly has the talent but does he have the temperament to match? He was up against the very best as Dennis Priestley, form player of the last year or so took him on. Roy began well enough taking the first leg in 14 darts but Priestley broke throw in the third leg after Roy missed 5 doubles. A key break at mid point took Priestley to a 6-3 lead and though Roy broke back with an impressive 11 dart leg, it seemed the writing was already on the wall. Priestley rode on to lead 11-4 and although Roy gave a spirited comeback after that, it was simply too late as Priestley won 13-8. Lionel Sams hadn't given Wayne Mardle too much cause for concern in their previous televised matches but with 'Hawaii 501' slightly below his usual best this turned out to be a tense encounter. Mardle broke with a 116 checkout to lead 3-2 and a further break put him 5-2 ahead. With third break to Mardle leading 8-3 the match seemed all but over. Sams however upped his average to 89 while Mardle's dropped to 85 and clawed back five legs in a row, to make it 9-8 to Mardle. A 136 finish from Sams kept the 1 leg deficit at 9-10 but Mardle then seemed to find his game again and pulled away to a 13-10 victory. Many were if not surprised then worried by the sheer dominance shown by James Wade in his opening match. He rattled off the first two legs against Kevin Painter before 'The Artist' drew level. Two breaks of throw then put Wade ahead 7-4. In the following leg Wade finished with two double tops which seemed to irritate Painter as he mistakenly thought Wade was showboating. A 121 checkout from Wade kept him well ahead at 9-5 and Painter plugged in a 116 of his own to retrieve the deficit to 8-11. However Wade was always a cut above during the match and he ended up 13-9 winner. Roland Scholten pulled ahead 9-6 in his encounter with Andy Jenkins before Jenkins pulled a leg back with a tasty 160 finish. Scholten broke throw shortly afterwards to lead 11-7 (Scholten avg 90, Jenkins 86) and followed this through by winning the match 13-8. Other results were Chris Mason beating Steve Maish by 13-7 and Ronnie Baxter who was leading 7-0, eventually beating Mark Walsh 13-9.
QUARTER FINALS James Wade carried his form of the first two rounds through to the quarter-final against Chris Mason kicking off the match with a 12 dart leg. Mason fired back in the second with a 138 checkout, with Wade then going ahead 2-1 with a 101 finish. At 4 legs to 2, Wade was averaging an astonishing 106 to Mason's 95. Wade broke throw again to make it 5-2 with Mason breaking straight back courtesy of a 146 checkout. Wade hit a 116 finish to lead 7-3 now averaging 104 (Mason 97). Three further breaks of throw put Wade in sight of the finishing line as he led 13-4 and he cemented his dominance with a 116 to finish the next leg. 16-4 to Wade with an end average of around 98. Ronnie Baxter and Roland Scholten seemed a close match on paper as the two Premier League stars clashed in the second quarter-final. Scholten got the first break of throw to lead 3-2 but Baxter came straight back to level the match. A 130 checkout to break back again from Baxter kept the match level at 4-4. Scholten took the next leg against the darts yet again, forcing Baxter to take out 126 to level against the throw for the third time. Scholten then edged ahead 9-6 checking out 106 and held onto the lead with a 131 finish to make it 12-10. Baxter won the next two to level the match and another big finish, this time 138, gave the Dutchman the advantage again. Scholten then broke to lead 15-12 and needing just one more leg. After missing a dart for the match, Baxter pulled one leg back before Scholten won through 16-13. Both Andy Hamilton and Wayne Mardle broke each other's throw in the first two legs and set the stall out for what was to be an intriguing encounter. Hamilton hit a 12 dart leg to lead 2-1, before Mardle took two on the trot. Hamilton levelled the game again with a 130 checkout (and another break of throw). Neither player could seem to make the throw count and the breaks continued right up until 5-5 when Hamilton put in a 116 finish. By 6 apiece, Mardle was averaging 88 to Hamilton's 91. The match stayed close until Hamilton put in another 12 darter to lead 10-9. He then had two successive breaks to lead 13-9 and yet another with a 121 finish to make it 15-9. Hamilton then held his throw to make it in the end a comfortable 16-9 win. Last year at the World Matchplay Phil Taylor and Dennis Priestley produced one of the all time classic games. Could Priestley come close again? Despite his excellent form some felt that Taylor would have an easier ride this year. However Priestley kicked off in style with a 12 dart leg and a 141 finish. Taylor responded by checking out 120 in the second leg. Priestley pegged a 116 to rap up leg 3 – with all 3 legs having had ton plus finishes! Taylor broke throw to lead 3-2 but Priestley came right back. With both players averaging 99 it was obvious that this game was again turning into something very special. Taylor broke again and soon had a 6-3 lead. Far from game over as Priestley broke throw twice to level at 6-6. Taylor took the lead again with a break before Priestley fought to level at 8-8 with a 118 finish (Taylor avg 100, Priestley 95). Priestley then edged in front 10-8 before Taylor took 4 in a row to lead 12-10. Still Priestley was down but not out as he took out a 116 to make it 11-12. Taylor held his throw and narrowly maintained advantage through to a 16-13 win.
SEMI-FINALS James Wade started with a 102 checkout and a break of throw against Roland Scholten as he looked to continue his excellent form of the week. Scholten responded with a 113 finish and 4 legs in a row. At 3-6 Scholten was undoubtedly deserved leader with an average of 101 to Wade's 93. Wade flew back with a 114 finish and the two leg differential stayed a while longer at the score reached Scholten 8-6 Wade (Scholten 100 average, Wade 96). Scholten broke throw again to lead 11-7 before Wade broke back after the Dutchman missed 13 darts at a double. Wade came back to 10-11 before Scholten recomposed with another break of throw. Wade took out an amazing 150 to break straight back and seemed to be in the ascendancy. Wade levelled the scores at 14-14 and it wasn't long until we were heading into a possibleWorld Matchplay tiebreak. Wade almost won at that point missing a dart for the match with Scholten pegging out 114 to make it 16-16. It was Scholten's turn to miss next as he led 17-16 and missed a dart for the match . Wade won the leg and broke throw to lead 18-17. With the winning post in sight and throwing first all Wade had to do was keep it steady. However finishing in style, Wade threw an incredible 10 dart game to book his place in the final. Just what could Stoke publican do against Phil Taylor. Hamilton had looked rock solid all week, barely making an error and his name no doubt struck fear in many a PDC player's heart as he seems unflappable. Hamilton took out 114 to win the first leg and even though he averaged an incredible 104, he soon found himself trailing 4-2. Hamilton came back to 5-5 still averaging 100 to Taylor's 94. Hamilton narrowly missed a 9 dart game in the 13th leg as his final dart shaved the double 12. He won it in 11 darts taking a 1 leg advantage over Taylor. The Power however, broke back to lead 8-7 and then built a 2 leg advantage. At 10-8 Taylor now had the higher average of 102 to Hamilton's steady 99. Taylor checked out 103 to lead 12-8 but Hamilton broke back to retrieve the deficit to 2 legs. Taylor then stormed ahead by 16 legs to 10 despite The Hammer averaging an amazing 102! Taylor booked his place in the final 17-11 winner and Andy Hamilton must have wondered what had happened as he did not falter at all in the match. Taylor just upped his performance to another level as he has so often done before.
THE FINAL Not many would have expected the final to be James Wade against Phil Taylor at the start of the week. Yes Wade had a pedigree despite his young age but his achievements in the touring tournaments had previously eclipsed his performances in the big games on tv. Not so in 2006 at the Winter Gardens in Blackpoool, the time when James Wade really came of age and showed that he was a contender for all future major titles. Into the final and two 100 checkouts saw Wade 4-1 up at the first interval. Taylor has lost many first sessions though and there was no sign of panic as he came back to 3-5 with a 136 checkout. Wade hung onto the lead at 6-4 averaging 94 to Taylor's 101. Taylor put in an 11 darter as he stayed 2 legs adrift at 5-7 and Wade won the next to regain a 3 leg cushion. Taylor took the next 2 legs averaging 100 to Wade's 93. Taylor levelled the match and took a crucial break in the 19th leg to lead for the first time 10-9. A 140 checkout in the 20th leg and a break in the next and it seemed like Taylor could be heading for another Matchplay title. Although Wade broke throw in the next, Taylor's momentum seemed to grow and he was soon 15-10 up. He continued to pull away and in the end won through 18-11. A great performance though by James Wade particularly in the first half of the match and yet another win for Phil Taylor in the World Matchplay. His fear of losing another tv tournament was gone as he had proved this week that he really was back at the top of his game.
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