2008 US Open Darts
Encyclopedia
The 2008 US Open is the second year of a darts tournament, organized by the Professional Darts Corporation
(PDC). It was played at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort
, Connecticut
, USA
between May 16 and May 18, 2008.
Phil Taylor successfully defended his title.
in the UK from the last 16 onwards.
The tournament was open to PDPA
members and citizens and Green Card holders from the USA and Canada. The elimination tournament was played down to the last 16 on the Friday and the last 16 played off on Saturday. The quarter-finals onwards took place on Sunday.
In addition, the PDC also staged the $50,000 North American Darts Championship on the 16th and 17 May.
beat world number one and five-time former World Champion, Raymond van Barneveld
in the last 32. Current World Champion, John Part
went out in round two to Roger Carter
who also progressed to the last 16. Bill Davis
beat Tony Eccles
to reach Saturday's main stage competition. David Fatum
and Ray Carver
completed the American line-up of five in the last 16.
World number four, Terry Jenkins
also suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Paul Lim
, the man who achieved the first ever World Championship nine darter
in 1990. World number seven, Andy Hamilton
, was beaten in the third round by Buddy Lessig. Number three seed, James Wade
withdrew from the event due to illness. Out of the top 8 seeds, only two, Phil Taylor and Roland Scholten
, made it to the last 16.
. Mark Dudbridge
also put on an impressive display in beating Dave Honey in straight sets.
Veteran Dennis Priestley
moved into the quarters, dropping only one leg against Adrian Gray. Phil Taylor continued his imposing form, averaging 107 against Colin Osborne, who did take a set out of 'The Power'. American Gary Mawson, who had earlier knocked out the number one seed Raymond van Barneveld, lost 3-1 to Blackpool's Ronnie Baxter
, and Colin Lloyd
also looked to be in menacing form, not dropping a leg against world number eight Roland Scholten. The biggest shock of the night came with America's Ray Carver
beating Wayne Mardle
3-1 in a high quality match including a 131 checkout from Carver.
Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
, who had been knocked out in the first round of the US Open, emerged the victor.
On the first night the main shock was the defeat of World Champion and number one seed John Part
, who was beaten by Buddy Lessig in the third round. The number two seed, Gerry Convery
, also lost in the second round to Paul Lim. Leading American and third seed Ray Carver was defeated in the fifth round by Brad Wethington and John Kuczynski
was beaten in the quarters by Brian Blake.
The second night saw the semi-finals and final being played out. Number eight seed Darin Young beat out Bill Davis in a close 7-5 game in the first semi-final, while Brad Wethington just beat Chris White in a 7-6 affair. The final followed suit. Wethington missed a dart to win the title before Young came back to win 8-7 and claim the title. Young said it was 'the biggest win of [his] career'.
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
(PDC). It was played at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort
Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun, located in Uncasville, Connecticut, is the second largest casino in the United States with of gaming space. It is located on along the banks of the Thames River. It is at the heart of the scenic foothills of southeastern Connecticut, where 60 percent of the state's tourism is...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
between May 16 and May 18, 2008.
Phil Taylor successfully defended his title.
Television coverage and format
The event was broadcast on Nuts TVNuts TV
Nuts TV was a British television channel related to Nuts magazine. Nuts TV began broadcasting on Freeview channel 42 on 12 September 2007, and launched on Sky Digital on 21 January 2008....
in the UK from the last 16 onwards.
The tournament was open to PDPA
Professional Dart Players Association
The Professional Dart Players Association is an organisation for professional dart players. Its intention is to look after the interests of professional players through an annually elected Board of six current professionals.-Formation:...
members and citizens and Green Card holders from the USA and Canada. The elimination tournament was played down to the last 16 on the Friday and the last 16 played off on Saturday. The quarter-finals onwards took place on Sunday.
In addition, the PDC also staged the $50,000 North American Darts Championship on the 16th and 17 May.
Friday 16th May
Five American players made it through to the last 16 as there were a series of shock results on the opening day of the event. The biggest shock was when Gary MawsonGary Mawson
Gary Mawson is a Canadian-born American darts player, who currently resides in North Royalton, Ohio, United States. He moved from Niagara Falls to Ohio to further increase his chances of success on the growing American darts circuit. He uses the nickname The Mauler for his matches...
beat world number one and five-time former World Champion, Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
in the last 32. Current World Champion, John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
went out in round two to Roger Carter
Roger Carter (darts player)
Roger Carter is an American darts player.Carter appeared in the BDO World Darts Championship four times with his best run being in 1997 when he made it to the Quarter finals, where he lost to Marshall James...
who also progressed to the last 16. Bill Davis
Bill Davis (darts player)
Bill Davis is an American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation.Davis made his televised debut in the States, taking part in the World Series of Darts in 2006, losing in the first round to Denis Ovens in a tight game...
beat Tony Eccles
Tony Eccles
Tony Eccles is a Winmau sponsored darts player currently residing in Hartlepool. He uses the nickname The Viper.-BDO career:...
to reach Saturday's main stage competition. David Fatum
David Fatum
David Fatum is a Canadian-American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. His nickname is The Scorpion. He is not a full-time professional and makes his living as a paramedic firefighter.Fatum's first major exposure came in the 2008 US Open where he reached the semi finals...
and Ray Carver
Ray Carver (darts player)
Ray Carver is an American darts player who competes in the Professional Darts Corporation and is generally regarded as one of the top American darts players...
completed the American line-up of five in the last 16.
World number four, Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...
also suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Paul Lim
Paul Lim
Paul Lim Leong Hwa known simply as Paul Lim is a professional darts player who will be best remembered for being the first player to hit a perfect nine-dart finish during the Embassy World Professional Darts Championship in 1990...
, the man who achieved the first ever World Championship nine darter
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
in 1990. World number seven, Andy Hamilton
Andy Hamilton (darts player)
Andy Hamilton is a full time professional English darts player widely known for his "aggressive" style of play. He is nicknamed The Hammer and is currently ranked 12th on the PDC Order of Merit....
, was beaten in the third round by Buddy Lessig. Number three seed, James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...
withdrew from the event due to illness. Out of the top 8 seeds, only two, Phil Taylor and Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten is a Dutch professional darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly for the British Darts Organisation. He is nicknamed Tripod or The Flying Dutchman and uses Hey Ya by Outkast as his walk-on. He is currently ranked 45th in the PDC...
, made it to the last 16.
Saturday 17th May
The fifth round action opened with David Fatum being the first player and first American to reach the quarter finals, beating out fellow countryman Bill Davis. Davis however did save some face with a 164 checkout, the highest of the night. Roger Carter was another American player to lose out, to Chris MasonChris Mason (darts player)
Christopher John Mason is an English darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Mace the Ace for his matches.- BDO and first PDC spell :...
. Mark Dudbridge
Mark Dudbridge
Mark Daniel Dudbridge is an English professional darts player.-Darts career:He started playing in his very early teens, citing Dennis Priestley as one of his heroes...
also put on an impressive display in beating Dave Honey in straight sets.
Veteran Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...
moved into the quarters, dropping only one leg against Adrian Gray. Phil Taylor continued his imposing form, averaging 107 against Colin Osborne, who did take a set out of 'The Power'. American Gary Mawson, who had earlier knocked out the number one seed Raymond van Barneveld, lost 3-1 to Blackpool's Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...
, and Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...
also looked to be in menacing form, not dropping a leg against world number eight Roland Scholten. The biggest shock of the night came with America's Ray Carver
Ray Carver (darts player)
Ray Carver is an American darts player who competes in the Professional Darts Corporation and is generally regarded as one of the top American darts players...
beating Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle is a darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, and former player in the BDO. He now lives in Romford...
3-1 in a high quality match including a 131 checkout from Carver.
Results
Total Prize Fund £126,000 (unchanged from 2007)Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
First round
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Second round
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Third round
Losers £1,000
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Fourth round
Losers £1,500
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North American Darts Championship
For the first time the PDC staged a large tournament available only to citizens and Green Card holders from the USA and Canada. The tournament was worth $50,000, with $15,000 going to the winner. It was played separately from the US Open on the 16th and 17 May, though players could enter for both tournaments. Darin YoungDarin Young
Darin Young is an American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Big Daddy....
, who had been knocked out in the first round of the US Open, emerged the victor.
On the first night the main shock was the defeat of World Champion and number one seed John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
, who was beaten by Buddy Lessig in the third round. The number two seed, Gerry Convery
Gerry Convery
Gerry Convery is a Canadian darts player.Convery made his televised debut in the 2004 Las Vegas Desert Classic, beating Darren Webster in the first round before losing in the second round to Dennis Smith...
, also lost in the second round to Paul Lim. Leading American and third seed Ray Carver was defeated in the fifth round by Brad Wethington and John Kuczynski
John Kuczynski
John Kuczynski is an American darts player. He doesn't play the game professionally - his main career is as a self-employed sanitation engineer...
was beaten in the quarters by Brian Blake.
The second night saw the semi-finals and final being played out. Number eight seed Darin Young beat out Bill Davis in a close 7-5 game in the first semi-final, while Brad Wethington just beat Chris White in a 7-6 affair. The final followed suit. Wethington missed a dart to win the title before Young came back to win 8-7 and claim the title. Young said it was 'the biggest win of [his] career'.