2015 European Darts Open
The 2015 European Darts Open was the sixth of nine PDC European Tour events on the 2015 PDC Pro Tour. The tournament took place at the Maritim Hotel in Düsseldorf, Germany between 10 and 12 July 2015. It featured a field of 48 players and £115,000 in prize money, with £25,000 going to the winner. Robert Thornton won his first European title after beating Kim Huybrechts 6–2 in the final. Prize money The prize fund was increased to £115,000 after being £100,000 for the previous two years. Qualification and format The top 16 players from thPDC ProTour Order of Meriton 9 May 2015 automatically qualified for the event. The remaining 32 places went to players from three qualifying events - 20 from the UK Qualifier (held in Crawley on 15 May), eight from the European Qualifier (held in Düsseldorf on 9 July) and four from the Host Nation Qualifier (held at the venue the day before the event started). The number four seed Gary Anderson and Keegan Brown withdrew before the day b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state and the seventh-largest city in Germany, with a population of 617,280. Düsseldorf is located at the confluence of two rivers: the Rhine and the Düssel, a small tributary. The ''-dorf'' suffix means "village" in German (English cognate: ''thorp''); its use is unusual for a settlement as large as Düsseldorf. Most of the city lies on the right bank of the Rhine. Düsseldorf lies in the centre of both the Rhine-Ruhr and the Rhineland Metropolitan Region. It neighbours the Cologne Bonn Region to the south and the Ruhr to the north. It is the largest city in the German Low Franconian dialect area (closely related to Dutch). Mercer's 2012 Quality of Living survey ranked Düsseldorf the sixth most livable city in the world. Düsse ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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John Henderson (darts Player)
John Henderson (born 4 May 1973) is a Scottish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Career Henderson started out in the PDC circuit and played one tournament in Scotland as well as the 2003 UK Open where he lost in the first round, having won his preliminary match. He then qualified for the 2005 BDO World Darts Championship, where he beat Stephen Bunting in the first round before losing in round two to Martin Adams – hitting a record thirteen 180s (for a five-set match) in the 3–2 defeat. Henderson then reached the quarter-finals of the 2005 British Open and the last 32 of the 2005 Winmau World Masters. Henderson reached the final of the 2007 British Open. He beat Tony O'Shea in the quarter finals and Ted Hankey in the semis before losing to Gary Anderson in the final. This was followed however with failure to qualify for the 2008 BDO World Championship and an early exit from the 2007 World Masters. 2008–2009 2008 was a good year f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gerwyn Price
Gerwyn Stephen Price (born 7 March 1985) is a Welsh professional darts player and former professional rugby union and rugby league player. Nicknamed "The Iceman", he competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), where he is currently the World No. 4. He is a 3-time Grand Slam Champion and a former world champion, becoming the first ever Welshman to win the tournament. He is also a former world No. 1. He broke into the top 32 on the PDC Order of Merit in 2016 and soon afterwards won his first Pro Tour title. In 2017, he was the runner-up at the UK Open, Price's first major event final, and has also competed in the prestigious Premier League Darts tournament on three occasions, finishing 10th, 5th, and 5th, in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. Price took his first major win in controversial fashion at the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts tournament. He retained the title at the 2019 tournament, and won it again in 2021. Price has also played rugby union for Welsh P ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stephen Bunting
Stephen Bunting (born 9 April 1985) is an English professional darts player who competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Nicknamed The Bullet, Bunting won the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and is a twice former World Masters champion. Darts career Beginnings Bunting won both the British Teenage Open and the World Youth Masters in 2001 and also captured the WDF Europe Youth Cup in 2002. He made his BDO World Darts Championship debut in 2004 aged 18, where he beat Vincent van der Voort in the first round before losing in the second round to former World Champion Ted Hankey. He returned to Lakeside in 2005 but was beaten in the first round by John Henderson. In 2008 Bunting won the Lytham St Annes Open and was also recalled to the England squad. In July 2008 he reached the quarter-finals of the BDO British Classic where he lost to Scotland's Ross Montgomery live on Setanta. In November 2008 Bunting captured his maiden BDO ranked open title when he won ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Walsh (darts Player)
Mark Walsh (born 2 February 1965) is a former English professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. He reached No. 6 in the PDC Order of Merit. Walsh reached his first major televised final in 2005, when he was beaten by Phil Taylor (darts player), Phil Taylor in the 2005 UK Open, UK Open. Early career Walsh made his televised debut at the 2002 World Matchplay Darts, 2002 World Matchplay but suffered a 10-0 whitewash at the hands of John Part. His World Championship debut came in 2004, but he lost 0-3 to Erik Clarys in his first match. He went out to Wayne Mardle 2-4 in 2005. He won his first match at the World Championship at his third attempt in 2006. He was seeded 12th for the event, and beat Warren Parry before losing 0-4 to Dennis Smith (darts player), Dennis Smith in the next round. Later career 2007-2010 He had slipped to 16th in the Darts world rankings, world rankings for the 2007 World Championship, when he was surprisin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Benito Van De Pas
Benito van de Pas (born 18 January 1993) is a Dutch professional darts player. Career BDO Van de Pas reached the semi-finals of the 2011 PDC Under-21 World Championship, losing 1-4 to Michael van Gerwen. Van de Pas won the 2011 German Open. This result helped him to qualify for the 2012 BDO World Darts Championship as the 14th seed. He lost 2-3 in the first round against Alan Norris. He also qualified for the Lakeside in 2013 and 2014, losing in the first round again on both occasions. PDC In January 2014, van de Pas entered the PDC Q School, earning a tour card on Day 1 with a 5–4 win over fellow BDO player and compatriot Joey ten Berge in the final round. His first PDC major was the UK Open and he beat Doug Thompson and Davy Dodds both by 5–3 scorelines, before losing 9–3 to Paul Hogan in the third round. Van de Pas reached the last 16 of a PDC event for the first time in May at the eighth Players Championship, but was defeated 6–1 by Simon Whitlock. He won thro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton (born 5 April 1964) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won the BDO World Darts Championship in 1996 and is a former World No. 1. Background Beaton was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England. BDO career Beaton made his World Championship debut in 1992, at a time when the world darts championship was still a unified tournament. He lost in the first round to Chris Johns 1–3, but he was encouraged by his performance in the same tournament in 1993 when he achieved a huge upset win over the tournament favourite and former world champion Dennis Priestley, and he also beat another former world champion in Bob Anderson, before losing in the semi-final to Alan Warriner. He became a full-time professional later in 1993 at a time after the split, which saw the WDC players banned from all BDO tournaments – and Beaton went on to win the prestigious Winmau World Masters, beating Les Wallace in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins (born 26 September 1963) is an English former professional darts player who was nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the name "Tucker" for his matches. He reached number three in the world rankings and was a runner-up in nine major PDC televised finals, those being the 2006 and 2007 World Grand Prix, 2007 Premier League, 2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic, 2007 and 2009 World Matchplay, 2008 Grand Slam of Darts, 2014 UK Open and 2014 European Championship. Darts career It is a common myth that Jenkins is one of only a few people to exclusively play in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) when, in fact, Jenkins played in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) before, playing various opens from the early 1990s, and even reaching the quarter finals of the World Masters in 2003. Jenkins began to climb up the Professional Darts Corporation world rankings during 2005 by producing good performances in the tour events, which are played away from the television ca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Ian White (darts Player)
Ian White (born 17 August 1970), nicknamed Diamond, is an English professional darts player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. White is the winner of 13 PDC ranking events, and has reached many quarter-finals in majors. In 2019, he reached his first major semi final. Career In 1997, White reached the final of the PDC's revived News of the World Darts Championship. He defeated Des Byrne, Gary Spedding, Peter Manley and Andy Jenkins on the way to the final, where he was defeated by Phil Taylor. White won the Antwerp Open, Denmark Open and the English National Championship in 2009. He qualified for the 2010 BDO World Darts Championship, but lost 0-3 in the first round to Stephen Bunting. Shortly afterwards, he left the BDO and joined the PDC, when fellow Stoke player Adrian Lewis offered to sponsor White and suggested he was capable of being in the world's top eight. A solid first year in the PDC saw him reach the semi-finals of a Pro Tour event i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |