Glory For Norris In Hildesheim

ALAN NORRIS claimed his first European Tour title by defeating Jelle Klaasen 6-5 in the final of the HappyBet German Darts Championship in Hildesheim - securing a SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts spot in the process.

The 44-year-old had won his maiden PDC title at a Players Championship last October, and picked up his second triumph 12 months later with a brilliant comeback win against Dutch ace Klaasen.

The victory saw Norris claim the £25,000 first prize as the winner of the year's final PDC European Tour event, and also ensures that he will qualify for next month's Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.

Those prizes, though, could easily have gone to Klaasen in a thrilling final which the Dutchman began in scintillating form with an 11-darter in the opening leg and a 132 bull finish to break throw and double his lead.

Norris hit back in leg three but then saw Klaasen finish 134 to regain his two-leg cushion at 3-1.

Norris capitalised on three misses from the 31-year-old in the fifth leg by landing double ten and after his rival moved 4-2 up it was the Englishman who pulled level with brilliant legs of 13 and 11 darts before pinning double 18 to go ahead for the first time at 5-4.

Klaasen took the tenth leg to force a decider, but was unable to take out another 132 finish and Norris stepped in to check out 72 for the triumph - avenging his quarter-final loss to the Dutchman at the 2016 William Hill World Darts Championship.

"It’s nice to get one back over Jelle after Ally Pally, but I’m sure he’ll be disappointed as he’s probably played the best darts this weekend," said Norris.

"He’s incredible, I was leaving finishes and he was taking out massive checkouts, so I’m really pleased to win this."

The final day at Halle 39 had started for Norris with victory over Ian White, who raced into a 4-1 lead before seeing the Bo'ness-based thrower fight back to win the next five.

Norris then overcame Steve West in the quarter-finals with a 6-2 win before overcoming Mensur Suljovic in a decider to book his spot in a first European Tour final, as the Austrian paid for missing his chance to close out the win in leg ten.

Klaasen was also appearing in his first European Tour final, having begun the day with wins over Cristo Reyes and Joe Cullen before coming from 4-1 down to punish Dave Chisnall's missed doubles and take a 6-4 semi-final triumph.

Suljovic had been bidding to win his second European Tour title of the year, following his first ranking triumph last month, and was joined in the semi-finals by Dave Chisnall, who has appeared in two finals this year.

Mark Webster's run to the quarter-finals, where he lost out to Chisnall, was not enough to see the left-hander snatch qualification for the Unibet European Championship.

Daryl Gurney also reached the last eight with a memorable win over world number one Michael van Gerwen in Sunday afternoon's third round, avenging his loss to the Dutchman in February's Dutch Darts Masters final.

Gurney raced into a 5-1 lead in the clash before van Gerwen pulled back to 5-4, but a crucial slip from the Dutchman allowed his rival to close out the win and deny him a chance to win a seventh European Tour title of the year.

Steve West and Joe Cullen, who are both enjoying fine years, also won through to the final session, with Cullen overcoming number two seed Peter Wright 6-3 in their third round clash to claim his first win over the Scot for more than two years.

West had survived a match dart against Kim Huybrechts before he edged into the quarter-finals, while Webster progressed in another deciding leg at the third round stage as he overcame Terry Jenkins.

Spain's Cristo Reyes, former Austrian Darts Open winner Justin Pipe and emerging star David Pallett were other third round losers as he 2016 European Tour came to a close.

The year saw £1.15 million in prize money paid out in tournaments held in Germany, Netherlands, Austria and Gibraltar, with van Gerwen's six wins accompanied by one win apiece for James Wade, Phil Taylor, Suljovic and Norris.

The top 32 players from the final European Tour Order of Merit now progress to compete in the Unibet European Championship at the Ethias Arena in Hasselt from October 28-30, live on ITV4.

2016 HappyBet German Darts Championship
Afternoon Session
Third Round
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Justin Pipe
Mark Webster 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Cristo Reyes
Peter Wright 3-6 Joe Cullen
Ian White 4-6 Alan Norris
Kim Huybrechts 5-6 Steve West
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 David Pallett
Michael van Gerwen 4-6 Daryl Gurney

Evening Session
Quarter-Finals
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Mark Webster
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Joe Cullen
Alan Norris 6-2 Steve West
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Daryl Gurney

Semi-Finals
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Alan Norris 6-5 Mensur Suljovic

Final
Alan Norris 6-5 Jelle Klaasen

All games are the best of 11 legs

Match Stats
Third Round

Average	180s	Finishing				Average	180s	Finishing
96.82	2	6/14	Dave Chisnall	6-3	Justin Pipe	95.25	1	3/6
93.02	4	6/20	Mark Webster	6-5	Terry Jenkins	89.67	3	5/18
103.11	2	2/7	Cristo Reyes	2-6	Jelle Klaasen	102.86	4	6/10
90.37	4	3/12	Peter Wright	3-6	Joe Cullen	96.33	3	6/17
93.24	1	4/12	Ian White	4-6	Alan Norris	92.15	5	6/11
95.39	3	5/13	Kim Huybrechts	5-6	Steve West	91.65	3	6/12
91.72	1	6/16	Mensur Suljovic	6-4	David Pallett	91.49	4	4/13
102.02	2	4/10	Michael van Gerwen	4-6	Daryl Gurney	96.67	4	6/15

Quarter-Finals

Average	180s	Finishing				Average	180s	Finishing
98.51	4	6/20	Dave Chisnall	6-2	Mark Webster	92.06	1	2/5
99.75	4	6/15	Jelle Klaasen	6-4	Joe Cullen	93.64	2	4/15
92.13	1	6/11	Alan Norris	6-2	Steve West	88.93	4	2/6
96.34	2	6/15	Mensur Suljovic	6-4	Daryl Gurney	91.17	2	4/6

Semi-Final s

Average	180s	Finishing				Average	180s	Finishing
90.52	3	4/19	Dave Chisnall	4-6	Jelle Klaasen	94.79	4	6/14
93.96	3	6/17	Alan Norris	6-5	Mensur Suljovic	97.23	2	5/12

Final

Jelle Klaasen	5-6	Alan Norris
16	100+	10
3	140+	7
0	170+	1
2	180	1
89.19	Average	97.48
132	High Finish	90
1	Breaks of Throw	1
5/15 33.33%	Checkout %	6/8 75.00%

Final 2016 European Tour Order of Merit

1	Gerwen, Michael van	£160,500
2	Suljovic, Mensur	£60,500
3	Wright, Peter	£51,500
4	Wade, James	£41,000
5	Huybrechts, Kim	£38,500
6	Chisnall, Dave	£38,000
7	Norris, Alan	£37,500
8	Klaasen, Jelle	£31,500
8	Smith, Michael	£31,500
10	Pas, Benito van de	£26,500
11	Taylor, Phil	£25,000
12	Jenkins, Terry	£23,000
12	White, Ian	£23,000
14	Bunting, Stephen	£21,000
15	Gurney, Daryl	£20,500
16	Whitlock, Simon	£18,500
17	Price, Gerwyn	£16,500
17	Cullen, Joe	£16,500
19	Anderson, Gary	£14,000
20	Anderson, Kyle	£12,000
20	Thornton, Robert	£12,000
22	King, Mervyn	£11,500
23	West, Steve	£10,500
24	Wilson, James	£10,000
24	Wattimena, Jermaine	£10,000
24	Petersen, Devon	£10,000
24	Hopp, Max	£10,000
28	Reyes, Cristo	£9,500
28	Pipe, Justin	£9,500
30	Dobey, Chris	£9,000
30	Richardson, James	£9,000
32	Caven, Jamie	£8,500
33	Green, Robbie	£8,000
33	Painter, Kevin	£8,000
35	Dolan, Brendan	£7,500
35	Lewis, Adrian	£7,500
37	Boulton, Andy	£7,000
37	Rodriguez, Rowby-John	£7,000
39	Clayton, Jonny	£6,500
39	Bergh, Dimitri Van Den	£6,500
41	Webster, Mark	£6,000
41	Murnan, Joe	£6,000
41	Beaton, Steve	£6,000
41	Henderson, John	£6,000
45	Webster, Darren	£5,500
45	Voort, Vincent van der	£5,500
45	Kist, Christian	£5,500
45	Graaf, Jeffrey de	£5,500
49	Barneveld, Raymond van	£5,000
49	Huybrechts, Ronny	£5,000
49	Schindler, Martin	£5,000
49	Frost, Mark	£5,000
49	Meulenkamp, Ron	£5,000
54	Horvat, Dragutin	£4,500
54	Meeuwisse, Yordi	£4,500
54	Edhouse, Ritchie	£4,500
57	Pallett, David	£4,000
57	Payne, Josh	£4,000
57	Lerchbacher, Zoran	£4,000
57	Eidams, Rene	£4,000
61	Evans, Ricky	£3,500
61	Johnson, Darren	£3,500
61	Walsh, Mark	£3,500
61	Lewis, Jamie	£3,500
61	Michael, John	£3,500
61	Heydon, Nigel	£3,500
61	Parody, Dyson	£3,500
68	Smith, Andy	£3,000
68	Jenkins, Andy	£3,000
68	Hamilton, Andy	£3,000
68	Herz, Fabian	£3,000
68	Artut, Jyhan	£3,000
68	Newton, Wes	£3,000
68	Dekker, Jan	£3,000
68	Eijden, Remco van	£3,000
76	Allenstein, Robert	£2,500
76	Holz, Mike	£2,500
76	Kamphuis, Vincent	£2,500
76	Taylor, Scott	£2,500
76	West, Tony	£2,500
76	Aspinall, Nathan	£2,500
76	Hudson, Peter	£2,500
76	Stoyke, Stefan	£2,500
76	Stevenson, Simon	£2,500
76	Langendorf, Maik	£2,500
76	Rasztovits, Michael	£2,500
76	Decker, Mike De	£2,500
88	Meikle, Ryan	£2,000
88	Vegso, Janos	£2,000
88	Zwaan, Jeffrey de	£2,000
88	Puls, Marko	£2,000
88	Jones, Wayne	£2,000
88	Smith, Ross	£2,000
88	Zuydwijk, Mike	£2,000
88	Gilding, Andrew	£2,000
88	Welge, Andree	£2,000
88	Kellett, Stuart	£2,000
88	Duijvenbode, Dirk van	£2,000
88	O'Connor, William	£2,000
100	Brown, Keegan	£1,500
100	Dootson, Eddie	£1,500
100	Evetts, Ted	£1,500
100	McGowan, Mick	£1,500
100	Tabern, Alan	£1,500
100	Walker, Jim	£1,500
100	Viljanen, Kim	£1,500
100	Caris, Magnus	£1,500
100	Alcinas, Antonio	£1,500
100	Fullwell, Nick	£1,500
100	Bowles, John	£1,500
100	Harrington, Ryan	£1,500
100	Thomas, Kevin	£1,500
113	Barnard, Michael	£1,000
113	Clemens, Gabriel	£1,000
113	Dale, Scott	£1,000
113	Dennant, Matthew	£1,000
113	Foreman, Jay	£1,000
113	Hine, Steve	£1,000
113	Hubbard, James	£1,000
113	Mansell, Mickey	£1,000
113	Marijanovic, Robert	£1,000
113	Munch, Kevin	£1,000
113	Owen, Robert	£1,000
113	Ratajski, Krzysztof	£1,000
113	Webers, Justin	£1,000
113	Griffiths, Shaun	£1,000
113	Newell, Tony	£1,000
113	Petri, Daniele	£1,000
113	Rettig, Holger	£1,000
113	Ward, Harry	£1,000
113	Brown, Darron	£1,000
113	Mandl, Nico	£1,000
113	McNally, Steve	£1,000
113	Rodriguez, Roxy-James	£1,000
113	Corner, Richie	£1,000
113	Horst, Michel van der	£1,000
113	Robinson, Jamie	£1,000
113	Williams, Ricky	£1,000
113	Worsley, Jonathan	£1,000
113	Federico, George	£1,000
113	Francis, David	£1,000
113	Lopez, Antony	£1,000
113	Barilli, Mark	£1,000
113	Davies, Ben	£1,000
113	Junghans, Thomas	£1,000
113	Seyler, Tomas	£1,000
113	Baxter, Ronnie	£1,000
113	Milford, Paul	£1,000