Monthly Archives: August 2017

Gary Anderson rounded off the latest leg in the World Series with a superb victory at the Perth Darts Masters.

It's a fifth World Series title for the Team Unicorn star who beat Raymond van Barneveld 11-7 in a high quality final on Sunday.

Anderson had earlier won a thrilling all Unicorn semi-final 11-9 against James Wade.

"It is a great feeling to win in the World Series again," he said. "After the disappointment of Auckland and Melbourne I had a point to prove here."

And he did!

Gary averaged 104 in a dominating display in the final against the Dutchman after staving off a Wade fight back in the semi-finals.

It was the first time that Anderson and Barney had met in a PDC Final. The Unicorn man led 3-2 with a break and was averaging 113.

Van Barneveld, who had survived three missed match darts to beat Daryl Gurney in the semi-finals, kept in it despite a brilliant 136 finish from Anderson who stretched his advantage to 6-4

The

It's an all Unicorn showdown for a place in the final at the Perth Darts Masters!

Gary Anderson will face James Wade in the semi-finals after both produced strong performances on Saturday night in Western Australia. 

Wade was too good for Michael Smith as he won the all Unicorn quarter-final 10-5 and Anderson was ruthless as he won six legs on the spin to take care of Simon Whitlock. 

Gary did extremely well to lead 4-3 at the break. The Aussie had nailed a 115 finish and then took out 80 thanks to 'tops' 'tops' but the Unicorn man hit two 12 darters. In fact six out of the first eight legs saw breaks of throw and Whitlock was then in front for the first time at 5-4. 

However, that was the signal for Anderson! A brilliant 110 finish turned the match in his favour. Whitlock was sat on 56 to make it 6-4. 

The Scot then hit four 180s in five legs and won it thanks to a brilliant

Unicorn duo Michael Smith and James Wade will face off for a place in the semi-finals of the Perth Darts Masters. 

Both were convincing winners on Friday night. Gary Anderson is also through to the last eight where he will play Simon Whitlock, but Kyle Anderson was knocked out. 

Wade averaged 96 and hit six doubles from nine attempts as he whitewashed qualifier Darren Hayes. He won the match in style with a 103 finish. 

Smith stuttered over the finishing line. He beat Adam Rowe 6-2 but saved the best for last with a 120 check-out to win it. 

Gary Anderson made a slow start against Kiwi Rob Szabo. He then hit seven perfect darts in the fourth leg. The Unicorn ace should have won 6-0 but missed eight darts for the match. A third maximum helped him to a convincing 6-1 victory. 

Kyle Anderson missed a great opportunity to beat Phil Taylor for the first time as he bowed out

Unicorn Aussie ace Kyle Anderson will be looking to upset the odds again at this weekend's Perth Darts Masters.

Back home in Perth, Kyle will have huge support when he takes on Phil Taylor in the 1st Round on Friday.

"It will be a terrific atmosphere and a challenge that I am relishing," he said. The draw means the two players to win World Series events on this trip clash head on. Anderson of course won in Auckland, while Taylor triumphed in Melbourne. 

"It has been great to be here with all the family. They inspire me and they encourage and support me, so I want to win for them," Anderson added.

Team Unicorn namesake Gary is due a good tournament having drawn a blank in the World Series since his victory in Dubai in May.

He plays New Zealander Ron Szabo.

"I know I have under achieved and I want to put that right. I love being in Perth and I want to finish this trip on

After a miserable Melbourne night, all eyes turn to the final World Series event of the summer in Perth next weekend.  

Gary Anderson, James Wade and Michael Smith all lost in the quarter-finals at the Melbourne Darts Masters on Saturday. 

Wade and Smith were beaten in last leg deciders while Anderson missed 25 darts at doubles as he lost to Daryl Gurney for third time inside a month. 

Wade hit seven 180s as he got himself into a winning position against Simon Whitlock. The Unicorn man was 9-7 in front only for the Aussie to win the last three legs to snatch the victory. Wade missed two darts at 'tops' to win it 10-8, but Whitlock forced the decider and hit his 8th maximum, followed by a 174 and won the match with an 11 darter.

Anderson missed NINE darts at doubles in the opening leg of his quarter-final and that set the tone. He did battle back to move 8-7 in front but then hit the buffers. The Scot

Kyle Anderson's bid to win back-to-back World Series titles ended in disappointment on the opening night in Australia. 

He was beaten 6-1 by fellow Aussie Simon Whitlock in the 1st Round of the Melbourne Darts Masters, but Gary Anderson turned on the style at the Hisense Arena.

Gary got angry after missing seven darts for a 3-1 lead against Australian qualifier Justin Thompson. The Unicorn star then played some superb darts.

A superb 170 finish was followed by three brilliant legs in 13, 13 and 11 darts as he won at a canter with a 104 average to set up another clash with Daryl Gurney. Anderson will be looking for revenge after losing to the Irishman at the US Masters and World Matchplay. 

Kyle came up against an inspired Whitlock. From one leg apiece, 'The Wizard ' hit four 180s as he won five legs on the spin.

Team Unicorn's Michael Smith and James Wade struggled for any sort of rhythm

Fresh from his terrific victory at the Auckland Darts Masters, Unicorn star Kyle Anderson faces another big all Aussie clash in the 1st Round of the first ever Melbourne Masters.

For the third time inside a month, Kyle takes on Simon Whitlock in one of the highlights of the draw. They met at the World Matchplay when Whitlock took the spoils, but Anderson won a thrilling last leg decider in the Auckland quarter-finals.

"It has been an incredible week," he said. "It is just sinking in that I won a big TV event but to play Simon again is great for me. I relish these sorts of games and I will be ready."

Kyle has been much in demand with the Melbourne media after his 11-10 win over Corey Cadby in the Auckland final.

Unicorn star Gary Anderson is again the top seed despite his 1st Round defeat to Kyle in New Zealand. The Scot plays Australian Justin Thompson.

Michael Smith plays Perth-based qualifier David Platt, while James Wade meets highly-rated Kiwi

Darts has been given a stamp of approval by the British public after topping an independent poll as the UK sport with the highest integrity.

The UK Sports Integrity Index by Portland Communications polled over 2,000 members of the general public in June 2017 to measure the perceived level of integrity of the top 12 professional sports in the UK.

The poll looked at how far people had judged sports to be affected by four key issues: match, point or race fixing; players, racers or athletes using performance enhancing drugs; financial corruption; and cover-up stories & scandals.

Darts was perceived as the sport with the highest integrity by the most people in four age categories from 18-54, and as the least likely to be affected by performance enhancing drugs or cover-up stories.

"This independent report is a big thumbs-up for the sport of darts during a time of amazing growth at a professional level both in the UK and worldwide," said PDC Chairman Barry