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2017 European Championship (darts)
The 2017 Unibet European Championship was the tenth edition of the Professional Darts Corporation tournament, the European Championship, which saw the top players from the twelve European tour events compete against each other. The tournament took place from 26–29 October 2017 at the Ethias Arena in Hasselt, Belgium. Michael van Gerwen was the three-time defending champion, having beaten Mensur Suljović 11–1 in the final of the 2016 tournament, and he retained once again to capture his fourth title, by defeating Rob Cross 11–7 in the final. Notably, Kyle Anderson hit a nine-dart finish in his semi-final defeat to van Gerwen, in which he also missed two match darts to win the match himself. Former World champions Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson, Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis Adrian Lewis (born 21 January 1985) is an English professional darts player currently playing in the PDC. He is a two-time PDC World Darts Champion, winning in 2011 and 2012. He is ni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethias Arena
The Trixxo Arena is the largest multipurpose arena in Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium used for music concerts, sports (tennis, indoor cycling, jumping, etc.) and other large events. It opened in September 2004 at a total construction cost of €11.7million. The arena complex can hold up to around 21,000 people, with the Main Hall holding a maximum of 18,000. The Trixxo Arena is a part of Park H and the complex has a surface of , with the Main Hall covering . At the end of 2005, "", an indoor attraction park for children, opened next to the arena and is unique in Belgium. Until 25 August 2021, the Trixxo Arena was known as the Ethias Arena. Events On 26 November 2005, the 3rd Junior Eurovision Song Contest took place in the Ethias Arena. In 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2020 it hosted the European Championship in darts, a Professional Darts Corporation event. See also *List of indoor arenas in Belgium The following is a list of indoor arenas in Belgium, ordered by seating-only capacity. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player. Nicknamed Barney, although originally known as The Man, he is one of the most successful darts players in history. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champion (four-time BDO and one-time PDC), a two-time UK Open Champion and a former winner of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Premier League. He is also a twice-winner of the World Masters and the World Darts Trophy, and a three-time winner of the International Darts League and the WDF World Cup Singles event. Van Barneveld won the PDC World Cup of Darts four times (once with Co Stompé and three times with Michael van Gerwen) and the WDF World Cup Pairs once (with Vincent van der Voort), all whilst representing the Netherlands. He also won the PDC World Pairs with Roland Scholten. From January to June 2008, he was the world's number one ranked player. His victory over Phil Taylor in the 2007 PDC World Cham ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
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] |
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] |
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] |
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] |
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] |
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] |
Joe Cullen (darts Player)
Joe Cullen (born 13 July 1989) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won three Youth Tour tournaments in his early career and has qualified for the PDC World Championship twelve times, winning only thrice in the first round. Cullen reached his first major quarter-final at the 2016 UK Open and won his first PDC Pro Tour title in 2017. He won his first televised title at the 2022 Masters. Career Early career Cullen first came to prominence in 2008 when he qualified for the UK Open. He defeated Mark Stapleton and Dennis Smith before Chris Mason defeated him in the last 64. Following his performances at Bolton, he joined the PDC circuit. He also reached the final of the New Kids on the Oche tournament, losing to Arron Monk. In 2009, Cullen decided to leave his job as a postman to concentrate on a career in darts. Cullen had another decent run at the 2010 UK Open. He knocked out Darren Latham and Mike Nott before ... [...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] |
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] |
