2020 World Matchplay
The 2020 Betfred World Matchplay was the 27th annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place, behind closed doors, at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, from 18 to 26 July 2020. Rob Cross was the defending champion, having won his first World Matchplay title with an 18–13 win over Michael Smith in the 2019 final. However, he was beaten 10–8 by Gabriel Clemens in the first round. Dimitri Van den Bergh became the first unseeded player since James Wade in 2006 to reach the World Matchplay final; like Wade, Van den Bergh was making his debut in the competition. He went on to win his first major title, beating Gary Anderson 18–10 in the final. Van den Bergh was the first debutant to win the World Matchplay, excluding Larry Butler's win in the inaugural tournament. The tournament was moved from its planned venue of Winter Gardens, Blackpool, due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marshall Arena
The Marshall Arena (formerly known as Arena MK, also Milton Keynes Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, located beside Stadium MK. The multi-use event space is positioned over three floors and anticipates music and sporting events, conferences, exhibitions and parties. History The arena was to be the home of the Milton Keynes Lions professional basketball team. However, the retail developments that would have provided enabling funding were deferred due to lack of financing, leaving the Lions without a home. Following the conclusion of the 2011–12 season, the Lions could not secure a venue within Milton Keynes, resulting in a move south to the Copper Box. It officially opened on 8 February 2014 when it hosted the 2014 English National Badminton Championships. Name In September 2018, Marshall Amplification announced an agreement with Arena MK to use the space for music events, rebranding it the "Marshall Arena". [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Winter Gardens, Blackpool
The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which includes a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Listed building, Grade II* listed building, operated by Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited on behalf of Blackpool Council, which purchased the property from Leisure Parcs Ltd as part of a £40 million deal in 2010. The Winter Gardens has hosted the annual conferences of British political parties and trade unions and its owners claim that every Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister since World War II has addressed an audience at the venue. It has also hosted the Blackpool Dance Festival since its inception in 1920, and the World Matchplay (darts), World Matchplay darts tournament since 1994. The annual dance competitions Miss Dance of Great Britain and Dance Master UK are hosted there annually. History The Winter Gardens Company bought the site in 1875 for £28,000. The Winter Gardens was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Krzysztof Ratajski
Krzysztof Ratajski (Polish pronunciation: ; born 1 January 1977) is a Polish professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2017 World Masters. Ratajski also plays on the Professional Darts Corporation's ProTour and has represented Poland at the PDC World Cup of Darts on numerous occasions. He is the most successful darts player to come from Poland. Career Ratajski's first major run came in the 2007 Czech Open where he reached the semi finals. He gained notable wins over Joey ten Berge and local player Marek Polak, eventually losing to Patrick Loos who won the tournament. He then went on to win the 2008 Denmark Open, a tournament previously won by the likes of John Lowe, Eric Bristow, Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld. He defeated Hungary's Nándor Bezzeg, Finland's Marko Kantele and Belgian Geert De Vos en route to the final where he beat Fabian Roosenbrand. On 4 December 2008 Ratajski qu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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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]   |
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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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Daryl Gurney
Daryl Gurney (born 22 March 1986) is a Northern Irish professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Gurney is a winner of two majors, having won the World Grand Prix in 2017 in his native Ireland, and the Players Championship Finals in 2018. Career Gurney reached the quarter finals of the 2008 Scottish Open, beating Andy Boulton and Alan Soutar before losing to Shaun Greatbatch. He then reached the final of the 2008 WDF Europe Cup, beating Stig Jorgensen in the quarter finals and then beat Fabian Roosenbrand 4–0 in the semi-finals before losing to defending champion Mark Webster 4–0 in the final. Gurney qualified for the 2009 BDO World Championships, beating former World Masters finalist Jarkko Komula before defeating Belgium's Kim Huybrechts to become the first Northern Irish player to qualify for Lakeside since Mitchell Crooks in 2001. He defeated 14th seed Garry Thompson in the first round to set up a second round encounter with ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nathan Aspinall
Nathan Aspinall (born 15 July 1991) is an English professional darts player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won the 2019 UK Open with a 170 checkout in the final leg against former World Champion Rob Cross. Career Aspinall began playing in PDC Development and Challenge Tour events in 2012. His first semi-final in those came in 2013, where he lost 4–2 to Max Hopp. He won a two-year PDC Tour Card in 2015 through the Q School Order of Merit and qualified for the UK Open, where he beat Chris Dobey 5–1 and James Richardson 9–4, before losing 4–9 to James Wade in the fourth round. Aspinall's first European Tour appearance was at the Dutch Darts Masters and he squeezed past Jamie Robinson and Vincent van der Voort both 6–5. In the third round Justin Pipe eliminated him 6–4. Aspinall won the seventh Development Tour event of 2015 with a 4–2 victory over Benito van de Pas. He also lost in the final of two other events during the year ... [...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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Peter Wright (darts Player)
Peter Wright (born 10 March 1970) is a Scottish professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), where he is currently ranked No. 2 in the world. Nicknamed "Snakebite", he is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and is a two-time world champion, having won the PDC World Darts Championship in 2020 and 2022. He is also a World Matchplay champion. When he was 24, Wright qualified for the first round of the 1995 BDO World Darts Championship, but then stopped playing darts professionally, working instead as a builder and tyre fitter while competing in local darts leagues. He resumed his professional darts career in his late 30s, playing his first full schedule of PDC events in 2008. He qualified for his first PDC World Darts Championship in 2010, entered the top 16 for the first time in 2013, and reached his first world final in 2014, where he was runner-up to Michael van Gerwen. He won his first major PDC title at the 2017 UK Open; as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player. He is currently ranked number 3 in the world, having been number 1 from 2014 to 2021. He is also a three-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Van Gerwen is regarded as one of the best players of all time. Van Gerwen began playing darts at the age of 13. He won the 2006 World Masters and threw a televised nine-dart finish at the 2007 Masters of Darts, becoming the youngest player to do both, aged 17. However, after this initial burst onto the darting scene, van Gerwen struggled for consistent form until his breakthrough year in 2012. Improving from world number 38 at the start of 2012 to number four at the beginning of 2013, he won his first major PDC title at the World Grand Prix and reached the final at the 2013 World Championship. In 2014, at the age of 24, van Gerwen became the youngest winner of the PDC World Championship, a record he still holds, as wel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2020 PDC Pro Tour
The 2020 PDC Pro Tour was a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Players Championships and European Tour events are the events that make up the Pro Tour. There were 27 PDC Pro Tour events held, 23 Players Championships and 4 European Tour events. This page also includes results from the PDC's affiliated tours including the Development and Challenge Tours and all the regional tours as well as the results from the World Championship regional qualifiers. There were 10 Challenge Tour events, 10 Development Tour events, 2 PDC Nordic and Baltic Events, 6 Dartplayers Australia Pro Tour events, 3 EuroAsian Darts Corporation Pro Tour Events and 8 Championship Darts Circuit Pro Tour events during the 2020 season. All tours were disrupted, and in the case of the PDC Asian Tour cancelled, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prize money The prize money for the Players Championship and European Tour events was unchanged from the 2019 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |