Well the super AIDS summer break is nearly over, but in a very interesting move, the BDO's now said that they're removing all bans they had on PDC players entering their tournaments.
Prima facie this just seems to be clarifying things for the women players that might have been unsure whether to go for the qualifiers they had for the PDC worlds without fear they'd lose eligibility for their Lakeside, but looking deeper into it this seems to be the most sensible decision the BDO has made in decades. I've just posted about it on the blog so won't repeat everything here
Quick few updates as a bunch of stuff has happened and is about to happen:
- European Championship is on ITV4 (UK) from Thursday, I've posted outright win chances (lay MVG), draw is out, is an actual ranking event of some importance
- World Series finals are the weekend after, also on ITV4, it's an exbo so who gives a **** given there's no Cadby as he's broken his non throwing arm
- Grand Slam starts the week after (Sky), featuring from the BDO Durrant (who I'm rating incredibly highly right now), McGeeney (lol), Harms (lol), Mitchell (alright I guess), Robson (superlol), Unterbuchner (interesting German prospect who I hope gets in Hopp's group and pwns him), Williams (meh) and your new World Master Adam Smith-Neale, who's basically been a PDC jobber for the last eight years but laid the smackdown on everyone to win it and also grab the last BDO worlds spot (knocking Wes Newton out for comedy value). After Ratajski moved to the PDC and lost his qualifying spot from last year's World Masters, he won back to back floor titles to provisionally get into it from the PDC side anyway
- Players Championship Finals are the week after that, which'll finalise the worlds spots following which there'll be a last gasp qualifier
Hopp and Cullen both missed match darts in the semis and both were probably the better players in those games. Sucks for Ratajski (and King) who goes from an auto qualifier for the Grand Slam to out as a result
Now lolwade wins the World Series finals after Smith misses five match darts.
That sorts 24 of the 32 Grand Slam entrants, we have Cross, MvG, Ando, Wright, Wade, Smith, Suljovic, Barney, DVDB, Payne, Price, Clayton, White, Hopp, Ratajski and Whitlock from the PDC and Durrant, Mitchell, Robson, Williams, Smith-Neale, Unterbuchner, McGeeney and Harms from the BDO. Last eight from the PDC will come from a qualifier tomorrow which if you think of the names that I've not listed looks fairly stacked
Group A: MVG (1), Clayton, Murnan, Robson
Group B: Smith (8), RVB, Ratajski, Smith-Neale
Group C: Wade (5), Brown, Webster, Harms
Group D: Anderson (4), White, Hine, Unterbuchner
Group E: Wright (2), Hopp, Payne, Williams
Group F: Whitlock (7), Pryce, Gilding, Durrant
Group G: Suljovic (6), Bunting, Schindler, Mitchell
Group H: Cross (3), Van den Bergh, Searle, McGeeney
MVG apparently ~evens to win it all.
Group matches are best of 9 legs, top two go to the knock-outs.
Round of 16 is best of 19, then it's best of 31 legs down to a winner.
Durrant got unlucky to get bounced. Win 5-1, lose 4-5, 4-5, and Whitlock needed to hit two 170s to beat Price in a last leg decider (Price had darts to win).
Remember a few years ago when Kim Huybrechts was relevant and pictures of his other half were a staple part of this thread? She's five wins away from making Ally Pally
Also, in terms of really dumb ways to lose a load of cash, the New Zealand qualifier for the worlds let his management buy just a one way ticket to the UK for the world youth last week, oops, denied entry to the country and a 12 month ban from entering the UK