Whitlock Fired Up For World Series

World Series of Darts

SIMON WHITLOCK is in positive mood ahead of the this weekend's Auckland Darts Masters, presented by TAB & Burger King, which kicks off August's World Series of Darts treble-header Down Under.

Melbourne and Brisbane Fields Finalised

World Series of Darts

THE fields for the Melbourne Darts Masters and Brisbane Darts Masters have been finalised after Justin Thompson and James Bailey sealed qualification.

O'Donnell and Gardner Book World Series Places

World Series of Darts

RAY O'DONNELL and Barry Gardner secured qualification for the World Series of Darts events in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Mathers and Bonser Claim World Series Spots

Betfred World Matchplay

GORDON MATHERS and Mike Bonser secured qualification for next month's World Series of Darts events in Brisbane and Melbourne respectively.

Heta Secures Double World Series Qualification

World Series of Darts

AUSTRALIAN ace Damon Heta enjoyed a double success with qualification for the PDC World Series of Darts events in Melbourne and Brisbane next month.

Puha & Cleaver Seal World Series Spots

World Series of Darts

MARK CLEAVER and Haupai Puha have qualified for the World Series of Darts in Brisbane and Melbourne respectively.

Super Smith Seals Shanghai Title

World Series of Darts

MICHAEL SMITH claimed a maiden World Series of Darts title with an 8-2 victory over Rob Cross in the final of the 21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters.

21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters Day One

World Series of Darts

THE 21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters Day One begins on Friday with the first round.

Shanghai Qualifiers: The Lowdown

BetVictor World Cup of Darts

WITH eight qualifiers confirming their place in the 21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters, we give the lowdown on the Asian players who will take on the eight PDC representatives.

21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters Draw

World Series of Darts

GARY ANDERSON will begin his quest for back-to-back PDC World Series of Darts titles against Royden Lam at the 21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters on Friday.

The German Darts Masters saw eight top PDC stars take on eight leading German players at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne on July 12-13.

2019 German Darts Masters
July 12-13, LANXESS Arena, Cologne
PDC Competitors:
Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Daryl Gurney, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright, Mensur Suljovic, James Wade, Raymond van Barneveld
German Competitors: Max Hopp, Martin Schindler, Gabriel Clemens, Nico Kurz, Kevin Munch, Robert Marijanovic, Christian Bunse, Maik Langendorf

Draw Bracket
(1) Peter Wright v Robert Marijanovic
Gary Anderson v Nico Kurz
(4) Daryl Gurney v Christian Bunse
James Wade v Kevin Munch
(2) Michael van Gerwen v Martin Schindler
Mensur Suljovic v Maik Langendorf
(3) Rob Cross v Max Hopp
Raymond van Barneveld v Gabriel Clemens

Schedule of Play
Friday July 12
First Round

James Wade 6-2 Kevin Munch
Nico Kurz 6-4 Gary Anderson
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Christian Bunse
Peter Wright 6-4 Robert Marijanovic
Gabriel Clemens 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Mensur Suljovic 6-2 Maik Langendorf
Martin Schindler 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Rob Cross 6-4 Max Hopp

Saturday July 13 (2000 start local time)
Quarter-Finals
Peter Wright 8-6 Nico Kurz
James Wade 8-0 Daryl Gurney
Mensur Suljovic 8-2 Martin Schindler
Gabriel Clemens 8-5 Rob Cross
 
Semi-Finals
Peter Wright 8-4 James Wade
Gabriel Clemens 8-3 Mensur Suljovic

Final
Peter Wright 8-6 Gabriel Clemens
All games best of 15 legs

Peter Wright won the German Darts Masters for a second time in three years in Cologne on Saturday.

Wright, who won the 2017 title in Dusseldorf, defeated rising German star Gabriel Clemens 8-6 in the final in front of 8,000 fans at the Lanxess Arena to claim a third World Series of Darts crown.

The Scottish World Cup winner last lifted an individual TV title at the Melbourne Darts Masters in August 2018, but a series of clinical displays saw him overcome Nico Kurz, James Wade and Clemens in a marathon final session.

"It feels great to win this title again, I thought I was in the form to win it but you never know because there are so many good players who can beat you," said Wright, who also beat Germany's Robert Marijanovic in Friday's last 16.

"There were a few moments where I was lucky but I think I was skilful enough and mentally strong enough to win it. I'm coming back to my best but I'm not there yet.

"I've played Gabriel a couple of times and he's an amazing player, hats off to him. German darts has gone through an incredible rise and it's only going to keep growing, this tournament showed that."

Starring in his first televised final, Clemens got off to a perfect start by taking a 2-0 lead, and after Wright hit a 116 to get his first leg on the board, the German fired in a roof-raising 134 checkout using two double tops to regain his two-leg advantage.

Undeterred, Wright broke straight back and after the next two legs went with throw, Clemens missed two darts to go 5-3 up, allowing Wright to hit tops to level and then produce an 11-dart leg to hit the front for the first time at 5-4.

With time running out for Clemens to claw himself back into the contest, the German missed a dart at double 16 to make it 6-6, and Wright made no mistake on the same target to go within a leg of the title.

A determined Clemens refused to give in as he made it 7-6, but it was to be Wright's night as the former UK Open champion showed composure to find the match-winning double four and clinch the £20,000 top prize.

Despite defeat at the final hurdle, the tournament will go down as a landmark moment for three-time ProTour runner-up Clemens who reached his first televised final in front of an adoring German crowd.

The German number three followed up his opening round win over Raymond van Barneveld with victories over former World Champion Rob Cross and reigning German Darts Masters champion Mensur Suljovic in just his fifth TV event.