Monthly Archives: October 2018

He’s done it!

Team Unicorn’s James Wade has won the European Championship.

On a dramatic day when he survived six match darts in the quarter and semi-finals, Wade stormed to an 11-8 win over Simon Whitlock in the final in Dortmund.

It’s his first ‘Major’ TV ranking final in more than seven years, but an 8th ‘Major’ in all. It was a fabulous achievement and of course it is a double celebration after the birth of his son Arthur earlier this month!

But there was heartache for fellow Unicorn ace Joe Cullen who threw away a 10-7 lead to lose the semi-final 11-10 to Whitlock.

Wade though, is back up to No.6 in the world after claiming the £100,000 prize. He has also clinched a place at the Grand Slam and almost certainly a place in the 2018 Premier League.

“This is for my son Arthur,” he said. “I am so happy. It has been a real battle all day. I have ridden my luck for sure, but

James Wade remains on course for the European Championship title.

The Unicorn star put in a great performance to beat Ricky Evans 10-5 to set up a quarter-final clash against Gerwyn Price in Dortmund on Sunday.

He hasn’t won a tournament of any kind for two-and-half years but perhaps this is his moment again in Germany.

“I am enjoying darts again,” he declared after his convincing victory over Evans and a 95 average was more than enough as his opponent missed chance after chance and Wade cashed in every time.

Wade raced into a 7-1 lead and at that stage Evans has already missed 12 darts at doubles. Two 180s in the fourth leg from Wade saw Evans buckle under the pressure.

But once he managed o stop he rot, he chipped away at Wade’s lead and actually missed two darts to get back to just 6-8 behind before the Unicorn man closed it out in style.

He nailed a 130 finish on the bull to make it 9-5 and then won the match with

Joe Cullen will contest another ‘Major’ TV quarter-final on Sunday.

He dominated the all Unicorn 2nd Round clash at the European Championship as he swept to a 10-4 victory over Michael Smith on Friday night in Dortmund.

Also on Friday, Team Unicorn ace James Wade won his 1st Round match against Martin Schindler but Kyle Anderson was edged out by Gerwyn Price.

For Cullen, it is a first European Championship quarter-final and he will play World Champion Rob Cross in the last eight.

Meanwhile there could well be a new name on the European Championship trophy after Steve West caused a stunning upset by beating defending champion Michael van Gerwen 10-7.

So the door opens even wider now for Cullen in that top half of the draw.

“Michael wasn’t on his game, so it was just a case of keeping the pressure on and trying to force the errors. It was a decent performance and there is more to come. It is a great chance for me to showcase

Joe Cullen and Michael Smith will battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals of the European Championship.

The pair will meet in a tasty all Unicorn clash in the 2nd Round in Dortmund after Cullen beat Jelle Klaasen and Smith saw off Steve Lennon.

But it was a hugely disappointing night for Ian White, as he was sent packing by Richard North.

Smith averaged 101 as he came back to defeat Irishman Lennon. He had to find his best form. Lennon led 3-2 and missed a dart at the bull for a 4-2 advantage before the Unicorn man took control.

The St Helens star opened up a two-leg advantage after his opponent missed a succession of doubles. Lennon then won three on the spin despite two 180s from Smith. But that 6th leg was the turning point. After Lennon missed that one dart, Smith nailed a 105 finish to level at three apiece.

Then came a 12 darter and another maximum and despite missing four match darts, Smith nailed D5 to seal the win.

Cullen

Ian White will head to the Players Championship Finals next month as the No.1 seed.

Despite a disappointing last weekend of the PC season in Barnsley, the Unicorn man has held onto top spot and will play Scott Taylor in the first round in Minehead.

Gary Anderson is the 2nd seed and he will take on Alan Tabern in that 1st Round. The Unicorn man withdrew from PC 22 - the last event of the year - and the tournament was won again by Krzysztof Ratajski who beat Adrian Lewis 6-4 in the final.

The Pole, who beat Team Unicorn’s Chris Dobey on Saturday, joins a select band of double weekend winners!

Kyle Anderson was the best Unicorn performer at Barnsley in Sunday. He reached the semi-finals. The Aussie averaged a staggering 113 in his superb 6-4 quarter-final win over Mensur Suljovic, but he lost by the same score to Ratajski in those semi’s.

And would you believe that Kyle is one of seven Team Unicorn players in one quarter of the draw for Minehead!

What a huge day for Chris Dobey!

The Team Unicorn star has made absolutely certain of his place at the World Championship after his best performance for seven months.

The 28-year-old reached the final of Players Championship 21 in Barnsley on Saturday. Unfortunately he lost 6-2 to Krzysztof Ratajski in the final but it was great to see Dobey playing the darts we all know he can once again.

In other Team Unicorn news, Michael Smith has equalled his career high in the World rankings. He is now back up to No.7 in the PDC Order of Merit after reaching the last 16 in Barnsley. He lost in a last leg decider to Stephen Bunting but his rise up the rankings continues.

Dimitri van den Bergh has endured a disappointing year on the Pro Tour, but he should have done enough to clinch his World Championship spot with a run to the last 16 on Saturday. He eventually went down 6-1 to William O’Connor.

Gary Anderson averaged 110 and 109 in beating Ryan Searle

Mark McGeeney and Cameron Menzies are the latest two stars to join the world’s top darts team.

McGeeney was two darts away from winning this year’s Lakeside Championship, while Menzies is being tipped for big things over the next few years.

The pair are part of the Dunvegan Darts team - the same darting stable as Team Unicorn stars Gary Anderson, Michael Smith, Ian White, Chris Dobey and Adam Hunt.

The move further cements the relationship between the two companies. Dunvegan MD is Tommy Gilmour MBE: “I really am delighted that our relationship goes from strength to strength. The pair are top players and we are excited to watch the development of Mark and Cameron over the coming years.”

McGeeney has won the Dutch Open for the last two years, but you may remember his dramatic