Monthly Archives: January 2018

After years of coming close, Nottingham Wildcats have their name on the WBBL Cup Final Trophy, in front of record numbers at Arena Birmingham.

In a match that was closely contested all the way through, Nottingham Wildcats managed to edge out Caledonia Pride in a 70-66 thriller. The sides were difficult to split early in the game, with both Tricia Oakes and Ashley Harris putting in big numbers.

However from the second quarter, Nottingham got their noses in front and stayed there, with Sbahi running the show and Harris and Lovett with the lions share of the points.

Ashley Harris took MVP, with Sbahi receiving a special mention for her contribution to the game.

Team Unicorn's rising star Chris Dobey was in Mayfair, London last week ahead of the Annual PDC Awards Dinner at The Dorchester Hotel where he caught up with Player Liaison Matt Rankin.

Current World no.35 Dobey is targeting a place in the World's Top 32 and a first PDC title in the coming months and is convinced his second appearance on the Alexandra Palace World Championship stage, will stand him in good stead in the future. Bedlington ace Dobey explained ''I enjoyed every minute up there. It's all about learning and gaining experience. I enjoyed it, it will bring the best out of me''.

Throughout 2018, Dobey is defending a sizeable chunk of his Order of Merit tally and is hopeful of some good performances during the first part of the year.

'Hollywood' will be in action next at the UK Open Qualifiers in Wigan at the end of this week.

See the full interview below:

Team Unicorn members Seigo Asada, Xiao Chen Zong and Yuanjun Liu are delighted with the news that The Professional Darts Corporation's global expansion will continue in 2018 with the introduction of the PDC Asian Tour.

The growth of steel-tip darts in the region in recent years has included World Series of Darts events in China and Japan and inclusion for players from across the region in the World Championship and World Cup of Darts.

The PDC Asian Tour will feature six weekends of two events in 2018, beginning in Seoul on March 10-11, with a season-ending World Championship Qualifier to find four players for the sport's biggest event.

Further PDC Asian Tour events will be held in Macao, Kobe, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and China mainland throughout the year, giving greater opportunities for Asian players in the steel-tip format.

Each weekend will feature one event per day, with $10,000 in prize money on offer including $3,600 to the winner, while the format will

Team Unicorn's latest high profile signing, Jelle Klaasen was in Mayfair, London last week ahead of the Annual PDC Awards Dinner at The Dorchester Hotel where he caught up with Player Liaison Matt Rankin.

Dutch star Klaasen, signed for Unicorn Darts earlier this month and he talked, amongst other things, about how delighted he is to now be backed by the World's leading darts manufacturer ''I think it's been a long time coming, maybe too long!. I'm practising with the prototype darts and I can't wait until everything is finished. It's a nice direction we are going in''.

2018 is a big year for Klaasen, not only using new darts, but he will also wed his long-time partner Nanke at the end of May in Italy. Congratulations to both Jelle & Nanke ahead of the big day!.

'The Cobra' will make his debut in Unicorn colours at the UK Open Qualifiers in Wigan at the end of this week.

See the full interview below:

Gary Anderson and James Wade both fell short against the victor as Michael van Gerwen won The Masters for a fourth straight year.

The Unicorn pair were beaten in the semi-final and quarter-final by Van Gerwen, who then went on to edge out Raymond van Barneveld 11-9 in a cracking final in Milton Keynes.

The World No.1 came from 6-8 down to win the title.

Anderson went down 11-5 in the semi-finals but it was closer than the scoreline suggests with the Unicorn man missing key doubles at crucial times.

He missed a chance to break early on but levelled at two apiece with a 124 finish. But the Scot drew level at four legs all before he was punished for missed opportunities and Van Gerwen won seven of the next eight legs.

Anderson will be disappointed but the signs are good for Gary. He averaged 95 and hit five 180s in the semi-final but hit only five doubles from 16 attempts. That was the telling stat.

James Wade came up against an irresistible

Unicorn duo Gary Anderson and James Wade are through to the quarter-finals of The Masters.

Wade won a thriller against Simon Whitlock on Saturday in Milton Keynes, while Anderson came through against Benito van de Pas

He was well below par but it was all about the victory. The Team Unicorn star looking to go one better than last year when he lost in the final to Michael van Gerwen.

He will now face Welsh ace Gerwyn Price in the quarter-Finals.

Anderson averaged only 90 but he wasn’t at all happy: “It was a struggle and my back was troubling me again. I felt rusty and was getting annoyed with the way I was playing. I have to improve for sure.”

The Scot raced into a 4-0 lead before Van de Pas got on the board with a 115 finish. He then missed three darts at ‘tops’ to allow the Dutchman another leg. But Anderson finally found a bit of rhythm. He won five consecutive legs with three 180s and a 109 finish.

Anderson

Michael Smith and Ian White were beaten on the opening night at The Masters in Milton Keynes.

Smith left himself too much to do as he lost 10-8 to Mensur Suljovic, while White went down 10-3 to World Champion Rob Cross.

There wasn’t much White could do as Cross hit the accelerator from the off. He didn’t show any nerves and was very cool as he hit seven 180s along the way. White did take out a 136 but from 4-1 down he was all up against it.

Cross nailed a 167 finish and looked very comfortable. Unfortunately it’s now four consecutive 1st Round exits at The Masters for the Unicorn man.

For Smith, he nearly completed a fantastic fightback. He fell five legs behind to Mensur Suljovic. The St Helens star also trailed 1-6 and 2-7 despite hitting a superb 130 check-out.

But from 3-8 down, the Unicorn man then reeled off five straight legs to level the match! But he couldn’t finish the job and a 116 finish from Suljovic gave him the

Team Unicorn star Michael Smith was in Mayfair, London earlier this week ahead of the Annual PDC Awards Dinner at The Dorchester Hotel where he caught up with Player Liaison Matt Rankin.

St.Helens ace Smith, discussed a variety of topics, including his desire to have a real tilt at the 2018 Premier League, which will be his second appearance in the prestigious event. Smith added ''I can't wait. To get back in is a big achievement. People say I don't deserve it, but when I'm in, I'll show them why I deserve it and why I should be there''

'BullyBoy' is next in action at The Unibet Masters in Milton Keynes, starting this coming Friday.

See the full video interview below:

Rules of Thumb

A post-festive season custom for my first Uniblog of the year is that it should start by congratulating the winners of the World Champs, so let’s not break with tradition! Here’s a massive “Well Played” to Rob Cross for his PDC victory – what a way to round-off a stunning debut year. As for the BDO event, it’s nice to be able to reiterate last year’s congrats to Lisa Ashton and Glen Durrant – consecutive wins are always a sign of real quality.

Apart from great entertainment, watching the World Champs always provides me with food for thought concerning both the technicalities and psychology of our sport. On the psychological side, exactly how much did the significance of the occasion contribute to MvG missing with six darts to win his