2023 Bahrain Darts Masters preview

World Series of Darts

The 2023 Bahrain Darts Masters begins on Thursday, as World Champion Michael Smith makes his first competitive appearance since lifting The Sid Waddell Trophy last week.

Van Barneveld relishing World Series of Darts return in Bahrain

World Series of Darts

Raymond van Barneveld is determined to show that he can still compete with the sport’s elite when he makes his World Series of Darts return at the Bahrain Darts Masters.

World Champion Smith draws local star in Bahrain Darts Masters

World Series of Darts

Michael Smith will make his first competitive outing as World Champion when he takes on local qualifier Abdulnasser Yusuf in the first round of the Bahrain Darts Masters.

Bahrain Darts Masters spot for Clayton

World Series of Darts

Jonny Clayton will complete the line-up of PDC representatives for the inaugural Bahrain Darts Masters on January 12-13.

Van den Bergh headlines 2023 Nordic Darts Masters field

World Series of Darts

Reigning champion Dimitri Van den Bergh will headline the field at the 2023 Nordic Darts Masters on January 20-21, with the stars for the World Series of Darts event in Copenhagen now confirmed.

Mahmood & Yusuf qualify for Bahrain Darts Masters

World Series of Darts

Bassim Mahmood and Abdulnaser Yusuf have secured their qualification for the 2023 Bahrain Darts Masters

Humphries & Van Barneveld among Bahrain Darts Masters field

World Series of Darts

Luke Humphries will make his World Series of Darts debut at the inaugural Bahrain Darts Masters in January, as Raymond van Barneveld returns to the global stage.

New York, Wollongong & Hamilton 2023 ticket info confirmed

World Series of Darts

Tickets for the 2023 World Series of Darts events in New York, Wollongong and Hamilton will go on sale from early December.

World Series of Darts to debut in Bahrain in January 2023

World Series of Darts

Bahrain International Circuit, together with sports promoter CBX, has teamed up with the PDC to bring the World Series of Darts to Bahrain for the first time.

World Series of Darts to break new ground as 2023 schedule announced

World Series of Darts

The PDC World Series of Darts will break new ground in 2023 with the introduction of a tournament in Bahrain in January.

The 2021 Jack's World Series of Darts Finals took place from October 29-31 at the AFAS Live in Amsterdam.

The tournament saw 24 PDC stars competing across three days for the title and £300,000 in prize money.

Details of the 2022 event will be confirmed in due course.

Jonny Clayton continued his dream 2021 by winning his fourth TV title of the year at the Jack's World Series of Darts Finals, defeating Dimitri Van den Bergh in the final on Sunday in Amsterdam.

A winner of the World Grand Prix earlier in October, Clayton sealed his second TV title of the month in style, averaging 101.63 in an 11-6 victory over Van den Bergh.

That was the Welshman's second ton-plus average of the day, having posted a 101.47 in an 11-6 semi-final win over Dutch number one Michael van Gerwen, who received vociferous support from the AFAS Live crowd.

Clayton also claimed the scalp of reigning champion, world number one and Welsh World Cup teammate Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals on another memorable day for the 47-year-old.

"I'm enjoying every second of what I'm doing right now," Clayton reflected. "I want to thank everyone who supports me and gives me the chance to do this.

"I feel brilliant, my confidence is sky high at the moment. I'm one very happy man.

"There's no easy games, everyone in this competition is fantastic but it's my weekend so I'm going to smile tonight.

"It was a class game in the final, fair play to Dimitri. I could not get away from him until the last quarter of the game."

A captivating final saw Clayton go 2-0 up before the lead changed hands four times across the next nine legs as both players wrestled to take hold of the contest.

The 14th leg proved pivotal, as Clayton broke the Van den Bergh throw to go 8-6 in front before taking out 103 to give himself a three-leg buffer.

Clayton pressed home his advantage, winning the last two legs with finishes of 121 and 96 to lift his first World Series title and pocket the £70k top prize.

Despite coming up short in the final, Van den Bergh enjoyed a return to form across the weekend as he bounced back from a disappointing first round exit at the World Grand Prix.

The world number five claimed a gutsy 11-8 win over Krzysztof Ratajski in the semi-finals, having got the better of his Belgian World Cup teammate Kim Huybrechts in the quarter-finals.

"It wasn't the result I wanted but Jonny and I played a fantastic final, what a star he is," said Van den Bergh.

"I felt a lot better in my game this weekend than I have in the last few weeks. I've sorted something out and now I feel free to enjoy my darts again.

"I want to say a massive thank you to the fans, it was a joy playing in front of this crowd. I will be back."

Sunday also saw the quarter-finals take place in the afternoon, as Clayton and Van den Bergh defeated their World Cup partners Price and Huybrechts in thrilling contests.

Dutch youngster Niels Zonneveld saw his run ended by Ratajski, while Van Gerwen delighted the Dutch crowd with a 10-5 win over Mervyn King.

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