Latest news with #PDC
Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ireland's darts teams take aim for Six Nations glory
As we know from others sports, Ireland's close ties and proximity to the UK can be a help as well as a hindrance. It's certainly the case in darts, where our top players have easy access to the big tournaments in the UK, but are pretty much now swallowed up by that system. It's why Irish players looking to gain a tour card on the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC ) circuit - and a chance to rub shoulders with the big boys - must do so through the UK qualifiers. Yet the rest of our EU counterparts get to play their own PDC Q School qualifiers in Germany. As Cork's former World Masters champion John O'Shea recently pointed out, Ireland's darts players are much a part of the EU as those from Germany, Holland or Poland. O'Shea also reckons this is why Ireland gets overlooked by the PDC when they put together their increasingly popular World Series of Darts fixtures each year. The World Series sees the top eight players in the PDC, including the likes of Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen, take on the top eight players in Asia and Europe in front of huge crowds in places like Bahrain, Vegas and Copenhagen. O'Shea believes there is no doubt it would be an automatic sell-out here if the PDC brought their best eight players to take on Ireland's best eight in front of an Irish crowd. Five players who would certainly be in contention for that Irish eight would be WDF World Champion Shane McGuirk of Monaghan, Stephen Rosney of Offaly, Waterford's Dean Finn and Paddy Quinn and Donegal's Gerard McGlynn. Add in the serial winners Robyn Byrne and Katie Sheldon of Dublin and Donegal's Denise Cassidy and you would have an eight there that would give the PDC boys a good run for their money! All eight will get the chance to prove their worth this weekend when they compete for the Republic of Ireland men's and ladies teams at the Six Nations in Wales, against teams from the host country, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands. Success is never far off for Irish players at these tournaments, with McGlynn the reigning Six Nations singles champion, while Robyn Byrne is the current Europe Cup singles champion. It's been a great week for darts on this island as it is, with the Northern Ireland pair of Daryl Gurney and Josh Rock winning the PDC World Cup of Darts last Sunday night. The outpouring of emotion from the two was a sight to behold and just shows how much it means to them. Derry man Gurney is a class player and PDC major winner in his own right, but young Antrim man Rock really is something special. It surely won't be long before we see him in the PDC Premier League. And while PDC supremo, Barry Hearn, is at it, he really should think about Ireland for a future World Series of Darts event.
Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
James Wade opens up on health battles after ending three year darts title drought
The Machine opens up on struggles following first triumph since 2022 as he beat Scott Williams 8-3 to return to PDC winners circle Proud James Wade blew his rivals away with a milestone return to the PDC winners circle. The Machine made all the right noises to win his first darts ranking title since 2022 at the 19th Players Championship event of the campaign. Wade had been all over social media in build-up to Thursday's tournament after an incident of breaking wind earlier in the week during a match against Peter Wrigh t was caught on TV camera. But the headlines around the 42-year-old are all about the arrows after his brilliant win which was sealed by a 8-3 success over Scott Williams in the Final. Wade has battled against health struggles during his victory drought and revealed how it has impacted his career. He said: "Everyone forgets I had pancreatitis. It's a serious health condition and I went from World No.3 to plummeting down and out of the rankings. "I just think everyone takes it for granted their health. The public and probably the organisation didn't realise I was really ill. 'I went from world number three to 27. It wasn't because my darting ability disappeared it was because my health disappeared. So give me a little bit of a break! "Today I felt really proud of myself because I've never been a press favourite or an organisation favourite, but you now, when I've gone against what I've gone against, not knowing if I I'm going to play darts again, today is a milestone. 'I've put myself under quite a bit of pressure over the last 12 months so today it has been really nice. I'm really pleased and happy. It's been a bloody long time, that is for sure.' The 42-year-old smashed in two ton-plus checkouts to overcome Gian van Veen 6-4 in the quarter-final, hammered Andrew Gilding in the last four before seeing-off Williams. Wade's success made him the third different winner of the lengthy week in Leicester after Stephen Bunting produced a string of outstanding performances to clinch his fourth title of 2025. The Bullet backed-up World Series titles in Bahrain and Copenhagen this year and a maiden European Tour crown in April's International Darts Open with a win on Wednesday. Bunting said: 'I'm so happy that my consistency is there. I'm playing with a smile on my face and, when I've got a smile on my face, I'm dangerous.' The previous day, it was Bunting's Premier League colleague Chris Dobey who took the spoils when he claimed Event 17 in dramatic fashion at the Mattioli Arena. The Geordie was able to ride a wave of momentum during his day with crucial victories over Wade and van Veen which earned him a spot in the final against Dirk van Duijvenbode. Dobey kept cool to beat the Dutchman in a deciding leg and said: 'This is my second win of the year, but just to win one tournament is an achievement. "I want to be competing with the top boys to give myself more chances of getting to the top.'
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Players Championship clash descends into ‘pub darts' with even winner looking embarrassed after ‘stinking' leg
DARTS star Pero Ljubic was left red faced after winning a leg that would not have looked out of place down the pub. The Croatian faced Niko Springer in round one of the 2 Pero Ljubic looked embarrassed after winning a marathon leg Credit: X @OfficialPDC 2 The PDC joked that they had reached pub darts territory Credit: X @OfficialPDC Ljubic was just one from victory at 5-3 up but had a nightmare trying to close out the win. It was a similar story for Springer, who failed to take his first two chances at winning the leg. Ljubic then had three throws in a row to win it - going from double ten to double five - but missing every time. It presented Springer with a second opportunity but again there was no luck. READ MORE IN DARTS His opponent returned to the oche but bust his score after throwing in single 18 when going for single one. Springer also needed double one at this point - though he ended up The shocked commentator reacted: "Incredible scenes here. Oh dear." Frustrations were visible on both players' faces by this stage of the marathon leg. Most read in Darts BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Springer nearly launched a dart at the board in pure anger before just about composing himself. But finally after Ljubic's 26th dart of the leg, he landed the double one to win. Peter Wright stunned after James Wade farts during game The 47-year-old veteran turned to his opponent with an embarrassed look on his face and threw his arms in relief. The commentator reflected: "Pub players around the world just smiling and going, 'they can do it too'." Ljubic faced fan's favourite
The Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Players Championship clash descends into ‘pub darts' with even winner looking embarrassed after ‘stinking' leg
DARTS star Pero Ljubic was left red faced after winning a leg that would not have looked out of place down the pub. The Croatian faced Niko Springer in round one of the Players Championship 19 in Leicester today. 2 Ljubic was just one from victory at 5-3 up but had a nightmare trying to close out the win. It was a similar story for Springer, who failed to take his first two chances at winning the leg. Ljubic then had three throws in a row to win it - going from double ten to double five - but missing every time. It presented Springer with a second opportunity but again there was no luck. His opponent returned to the oche but bust his score after throwing in single 18 when going for single one. Springer also needed double one at this point - though he ended up busting his score twice after another three wide of the target by Ljubic. The shocked commentator reacted: "Incredible scenes here. Oh dear." Frustrations were visible on both players' faces by this stage of the marathon leg. Springer nearly launched a dart at the board in pure anger before just about composing himself. But finally after Ljubic's 26th dart of the leg, he landed the double one to win. Peter Wright stunned after James Wade farts during game The 47-year-old veteran turned to his opponent with an embarrassed look on his face and threw his arms in relief. PDC Darts ' social media account joked that they had entered "pub darts territory" in a "stinking last leg". The commentator reflected: "Pub players around the world just smiling and going, 'they can do it too'." Ljubic faced fan's favourite Ricky Evans in the second round and lost 6-2.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘Done more in 12 months…' – Luke Littler furiously hits back at former World Darts champion's MBE dig in deleted post
FUMING Luke Littler has slammed darts legend Dennis Priestley for suggesting he does not deserve his MBE due to his age. Two-time world champion Advertisement 3 Dennis Priestley suggested Luke Littler did not deserve his MBE Credit: Getty 3 The darts star hit back at the former player on social media Credit: Getty 3 Littler shared his furious response before later deleting it Credit: Instagram @lukethenukelittler The That result came the day after it was announced the two Lukes – the top two in the world – were going to receive recognition in the King's Birthday Honours List. Straight-talking Yorkshireman Priestley said in a chat with a bookmaker that neither player had 'done enough to He added: "When I was playing in pairs with Phil Taylor we practised together and sat together, we played all over the world and I only remember us getting beaten once. Advertisement READ MORE ON DARTS 'In time they could've done enough to warrant it but it feels very early. ' 'If he is getting an MBE this soon then you'd have to think he is on the right path to a knighthood, nothing would surprise me now." This jibe angered 18-year-old Littler – the reigning PDC world champion – who posted a short but pointed response on Instagram. Advertisement Most read in Darts JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS The Nuke screenshotted an article that contained the quotes and captioned it with his response. He said: 'Don't deserve an MBE but done more in 12 months than he ever did… Being made an MBE shows I've helped 'change face of darts' says Luke Humphries 'That's what I would say anyway.' Advertisement He has since deleted the post. Littler is the most recognisable figure in the sport and his Instagram account mushroomed to 1.9 million followers shortly after he burst on to the scene in December 2023. His next appearance on the oche will be at the bet365 US Darts Masters, which will be held on June 27-28 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Littler, meanwhile, has teamed up with fast food giant McDonald's to launch a brand new burger. Advertisement The 'Big Arch' is one of five new additions to the Priestley has also offered some advice to Littler which relates to the deals he has been handed away from the oche. He said: 'Luke Littler's team needs to shield him from all distractions and make sure he gets all the best advice because he is still so young. "I hope he reads this because my advice would be it's not about how much money you earn now, it's about how much you've kept when your career comes to an end. Advertisement "He has his head screwed on but the important thing is that the darts remains the priority rather than all the sponsorship deals he keeps being offered."
