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2015 European Championship (darts)
The 2015 Unibet European Championship was the eighth edition of the Professional Darts Corporation tournament, the European Championship, which saw the top European players compete against the highest ranked players from the PDC Order of Merit. The tournament took place from 30 October–1 November 2015 at the Ethias Arena in Hasselt, Belgium. Michael van Gerwen was the defending champion, having beaten Terry Jenkins 11–4 in the final of the 2014 tournament, and he retained his title by overcoming Gary Anderson 11–10, having trailed 10-7. It was the first time Van Gerwen had successfully defended a major title. Prize money The 2015 European Championship had a total prize fund of £300,000, a £50,000 increase since the previous staging of the tournament. The following is the breakdown of the fund: Qualification The top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit on 19 October automatically qualified for the event. The top eight non-qualified players from the Pro Tour Order of M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hasselt
Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its local distelleries of Hasselt jenever (gin), the Hasselt Jenever Festivities, Limburgish pie and the Hasselt speculaas. The municipality includes the original city of Hasselt, plus the boroughs of Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Wimmertingen, Kermt, Spalbeek, Kuringen, Stokrooie, Stevoort and Runkst, as well as the hamlets and parishes of Kiewit, Godsheide and Rapertingen. On 01 July 2022 Hasselt had a total population of 80,260 (39,288 men and 40,972 women). Both the Demer river and the Albert Canal run through the municipality. Hasselt is located in between the Campine region, north of the Demer river, and the Hesbaye region, to the south. On a larger scale, it is also situated in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion. History Hasselt was founded in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Thornton (darts Player)
Robert "Bob" Thornton (born 17 July 1967) is a Scottish professional darts player, who is the current World Seniors champion. Thornton is a three-time major winner between the BDO and PDC, having won the World Masters in 2007, UK Open in 2012, and World Grand Prix in 2015. He is also a former finalist at the Players Championship Finals in 2009 and Grand Slam of Darts in 2013. In addition, Thornton has reached three World Championship quarter-finals across both organisations and was a participant in the Premier League in 2013, 2014 and 2016. BDO career Thornton returned to playing darts in 2002, having given up the game for two decades to raise his children. He qualified for the BDO World Championship for the first time in 2005. He beat Martin Atkins and Tony West before losing to Darryl Fitton in the quarter-finals. He then failed to qualify for the 2006 and 2007 events. Thornton's first professional title came in the Central Scotland Open in April 2007, beating Mike Veitc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mensur Suljović
Mensur Suljović (Serbian Cyrillic: Менсур Суљовић; born 5 March 1972) is an Austrian professional darts player. He plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, having previously played in the British Darts Organisation (BDO). Nicknamed The Gentle, Suljović is noted for his unorthodox throwing action and favouring double 14 as his finishing double where possible. Suljović is the number one Austrian player in the PDC and reached his first major final in 2016 at the European Championship. He went one step further in winning his first major TV title at the 2017 Champions League of Darts, defeating two-times world champion Gary Anderson on two occasions. Personal life Suljović has been living in Vienna since 1993. He escaped from war-torn Serbia to live in Austria together with his older brothers. They owned a coffee shop where he started playing darts. He is married to Enisa with two children and owns his own pub called The Gentle in Vienna. Despite the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justin Pipe
Justin Pipe (born 9 November 1971) is an English former professional darts player who has played in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was a former top 10 player. Playing career Pipe was a boxer in his youth, and, as a staunch anti-smoker, he refused to play darts in local pubs as the cigarette smoke would make his eyes water. In 2007, a smoking ban was introduced to England which enabled him to restart his darts career. He first emerged at the 2008 UK Open as a pub qualifier. He defeated Geoff Wylie and Lionel Sams before losing 9–3 to James Wade in the third round. Following this performance, he joined the PDC Pro Tour and reached the same stage of the UK Open a year later, this time losing 9–5 against Andy Jenkins. He qualified for the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts as one of four ITV Wildcard qualifiers. He lost all three of his group games to James Wade, Vincent van der Voort, and Tony O'Shea. 2011–2014 Pipe also qualified for the 2011 PDC World ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen (born 17 October 1984), nicknamed The Cobra, is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and World Darts Federation (WDF) events. In 2006, he became the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship, aged 21 at the time. He also is a Dutch Open champion. Since November 2022, he has been the leader of the World Darts Federation men's ranking. Beginnings of his career His first attempt at the international stage was a 2005 Winmau World Masters ended with a 2–3 defeat to Irishman Steve McDonald. On 15 January 2006, Klaasen became the youngest World Darts Champion, aged 21 years 90 days, when he defeated fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld in the final of the 2006 BDO World Championship by 7 sets to 5. He also beat Shaun Greatbatch and world number one Mervyn King on his way to the final. Before the championship, he was said to be a 100–1 outsider to win the title as he did not even have a BDO Ranking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vincent Van Der Voort
Vincent van der Voort (born 18 December 1975) is a Dutch professional darts player on the PDC circuit. As of the 2012 PDC World Darts Championship, his nickname is the "Dutch Destroyer", although he used to go by "Grease Lightning". He is best known for his quick throwing style, which is how he got his temporary nickname "The Fastest Player in the World". He reached the final of the 2007 UK Open, which helped him become a well known face in the world of darts. Playing style Van der Voort is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world. This ties in with his old entrance music, "Fast Fuse" by English band Kasabian. This has resulted in him tending to be either right on or way off his intended target. BDO career His best results in British Darts Organisation events were winning the Danish Open in 2002 and 2006 and reaching the quarte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Chisnall
Dave Chisnall (born 12 September 1980) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He began his career in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and was the runner-up in their World Championship in 2010. He switched to the PDC a year later where he has since reached six major TV finals and won 17 PDC ranking events. Since his switch to the PDC, Chisnall has been a staple in the top 20 of the rankings, appearing in the Premier League five times, and representing England at the PDC World Cup on three occasions. Career Early career Chisnall was brought up in St Helens and played for a local football team until he was 17 when he broke his foot. He switched to darts and first played in a friend's bedroom, throwing 180 on his first ever visit to the board. His nickname ("Chizzy") actually originates from his work as a carpenter rather than his surname. His debut in BDO events came at the 2004 Welsh Open, losing in the last 32 to A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mervyn King (darts Player)
Mervyn King (born 15 March 1966) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. Nicknamed The King, he has reached seven PDC major TV finals and reached a peak of No. 4 in the PDC Order of Merit. Early life King first took up the game at the age of 12, playing with an old rolled-cardboard dartboard given to him by his father. His father insisted that he played darts using competition distance and height. By the age of 13, he had ambitions to become a professional player as he was playing county darts at Superleague level. His first county A game was at the age of 14 and he won his local men's singles league at that age. Additionally, King hit his first ever nine-dart leg of 501 aged 14 in a practice match with his father. BDO career King made his professional debut as a 28-year-old in the 1994 World Masters where he lost in the last 32 to Andy Fordham. His first title in the BDO came in the 1996 French Open where he bea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brendan Dolan
Brendan Gabriel Dolan (born 2 August 1973) is a Northern Irish professional darts player from County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is best known for becoming the first player to hit a nine-dart finish in a "double-to-start" event (Where a player must hit a double, with a maximum value of 40, to begin play, as opposed to the traditional free choice, 60 point maximum first dart), which he did at the 2011 World Grand Prix. He lost to Phil Taylor in the final of the tournament; to date, it was his only appearance in a major final. Away from the television cameras, in floor events on the PDC Pro Tour, Dolan lost his first seven finals before winning his maiden ranking title in 2013. Darts career Early career After two early exits in the 2003 and 2004 UK Open, Dolan's first major run came in the 2004 World Grand Prix where he earned his place through the All-Ireland qualifiers, winning one of four places. He defeated fel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Whitlock
Simon Whitlock (born 3 March 1969) is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments, having also played in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) between 2004 and 2009. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches. His walk-on music is "Down Under" by Men at Work. His greatest achievements to date are winning the 2012 European Championship and 2022 World Cup of Darts for Australia with Damon Heta. Whitlock has also finished runner-up at the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship and the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship. He claimed that the prize money gained from the latter tournament which included money for the highest checkout (joint with Phil Taylor) would allow him to move over to the UK from Australia and compete on the PDC Pro Tour. His defeat also made him the first, and only, player to have never won a World Championship after reaching both the BDO and PDC World Championship Final. Early darts career He reached ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kim Huybrechts
Kim Huybrechts (born 16 November 1985) is a Belgian professional darts player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He made the final of a major TV event, the 2012 Players Championship Finals, losing to Phil Taylor 13-6, as well as making the final of the 2013 PDC World Cup of Darts with his brother Ronny. He has also achieved the perfect nine-dart finish on TV, doing so in the 2014 Grand Slam of Darts against Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-finals, and has appeared in the Premier League on two occasions. Playing career Early career Huybrechts' first tournament wins came in 2007 at the Belgium Gold Cup and the Belgium National Championships. His only victory in a British Darts Organisation sanctioned event came at the 2008 Flanders Open where he defeated Geert De Vos 5–2 in the final. Huybrechts reached the last 16 of the 2009 Winmau World Masters, losing 3–1 to Steve West on his televised debut. In September 2010, he was a quarter-finalist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Smith (darts Player)
Michael Smith (born 18 September 1990) is an English professional darts player. Nicknamed "Bully Boy", he plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is the reigning World Champion and World No. 1, having won the 2023 World Championship. He was the 2013 PDC Under-21 World Champion and has since won 17 titles on the PDC Pro Tour. He won his first PDC major title at the 2022 Grand Slam of Darts, having previously been a runner-up at the World Championship (2019 and 2022), the Premier League (2018), the World Matchplay (2019), the European Championship (2022), the UK Open (2022), The Masters (2020) and the World Series Finals (2018). Early life Smith attended Saint Cuthbert's High School in St Helens. When he was 15 he fell off his bike on the way to school breaking his hip, which required him to use crutches for 16 weeks. During that period, Smith threw his first 180 whilst on crutches. After leaving school, he took a joinery course at college, but he de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
