2005 UK Open Darts

The 2005 Budweiser UK Open was the third year of the darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. A massive field of 170 players were whittled down to just one in 48 hours of hectic competition at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton. Phil Taylor eventually took the trophy with a 13-7 final victory over Mark Walsh. The tournament also featured Phil Taylor's third televised nine dart finish in his semi-final victory over Roland Scholten

Tournament review

=Friday 10 June=

=Preliminary Round, best of 7 legs= Before the top ranked players were involved in the competition, a few players had to play in a preliminary round before round one proper, including three times World Champion John Lowe. He took on Wantage’s Jimmy Pryde in his opener and had little trouble winning 4-2. PDC veteran Kevin Spiolek returned to top flight darts with a 4-3 win over Ireland’s Paul Dillon (seen at last year’s World Grand Prix).

Steve Alker produced a sensational performance in the first preliminary round with a rare 100% checkout rate (137, 120, 121 and 96) to win all four legs.
* James Barton - Steve Alker 0 - 4
* John Lowe - Jimmy Pryde 4 - 2
* Mike Smith - Mark Tiller 2 - 4
* Marcus Knapman - Alan Tabern 3 - 4
* Wayne Atwood - Clive Bardon 4 - 1
* Gary Ellis - Robert Heard 4 - 2
* Mel Porter - Andy Boulton 0 - 4
* Arthur Griffiths - Vernon Shepherd 4 - 1
* Ian Critchett - Mark Davis 4 - 2
* Ian Lever - Scott Lacroix 4 - 1
* Mick Doabe - Mark Holyoake 3 - 4
* Geoff Harkup - Eamon Lilly 1 - 4
* Kevin Rudling - Steve Gittins 0 - 4
* Richard Cantwell - Rikki Blay 2 - 4
* Ian Wise - Matt Sheehan 4 - 1

=1st Round, best of 7 legs= There was a fairytale that the UK Open often conjures, which is why it has earned the nickname, "The FA Cup of Darts". A 67 year old Italian waiter from Lewisham called Sergio Bongiovanni appeared on tv many years before as a competitor in News Of The World tournament. His opponent was Portsmouth’s Ian Critchett. Critchett led 2-1, then 3-2 and it looked like ‘goodnight’ to the Italian. But some inspired darts saw him claw back and go through to round two with a 4-3 win.
* Paul Dillon - Kevin Spiolek 3 - 4
* Jason Clark - Aaron Turner 4 - 3
* Nigel Russell - Steve Richie 2 - 2
* Ian Critchett - Sergio Bongiovanni 3 - 4
* Mick Magowan - Barry McLean 4 - 0
* Paul Everson - Yorei Raets 4 - 4
* Mark Holyoake - Yves Cottenge 4 - 4
* Ian Lever - Steve Gittins 4 - 0
* Bob Avenell - Deka Kennedy 1 - 4
* Darren Moulsley - Glen Durrant 2 - 4
* Andy Boulton - Roger Haines 4 - 3
* Al Hedman - Steve Alker 0 - 4
* Gary Blades - Gary Flynn 3 - 4
* Chris Gough - David Venables 4 - 3
* Eamon Lilly - Robert Alford 0 - 4
* Gary Ellis - Paul Hollis 4 - 2
* Andrew Stephenson - Glenn Moody 3 - 4
* Jamie Robinson - Ken Thomas 4 - 1
* Ken Dobson - Mark Tiller 4 - 3
* Ben Burton - Wayne Atwood 1 - 4
* Sam Rooney - John King 4 - 1
* Norman Fletcher - Lee Topper 4 - 3
* Ian Wise - Jason Gilbert 4 - 3
* Arthur Griffiths - Phil Wathen 1 - 4
* Gary Noonan - Leon Bartrup 4 - 0
* Darren Johnson - Mark Frost 4 - 2
* Stuart Pickles - Andy McGovern 4 - 3
* John Lowe - Steve Evans 4 - 3
* Jimmy Dunlop - Rikki Blay 3 - 4
* Gary Creamer - Shaun Walshe 1 - 4
* Chris Hook - Terry Hays 4 - 1
* Dave Honey - Alan Tabern 2 - 4

=2nd Round, best of 7 legs= In Round 2, a rejuvanted Richie Burnett soundly beat ‘Fen Tiger’ Peter Evison 4-0. Burnett said that he had taken a couple of months away from darts and had come back with a real desire to win. Another former world champ, Keith Deller seemed to be having a tough time against Surrey’s Jason Roberts at 2-2. However Deller’s experience showed through and he won 4-2 courtesy of a 100 checkout.

Other round two highlights included Rod Harrington scraping through against Witney’s Nigel Russell 4-2 and Andy Boulton ending the dreams of Sergio Bongiovanni with a 4-3 win. Snake fancier Steve Alker slithered through to round 4 with a 4-0 win over Rikki Blay and John Lowe continued to reel back the year’s with a 4-3 win over Mark Lawrence from Yorkshire (even going 6 darts into a possible perfect nine-darter during one of the legs).
* Richie Burnett - Peter Evison 4 - 0
* Jason Roberts - Keith Deller 2 - 4
* Norman Fletcher - David Platt 4 - 3
* Gary Ellis - Matt Chapman 2 - 2
* Kelvin Painter - Graeme Stoddart 0 - 4
* Deta Hedman - Aaron Turner 4 - 3
* Nigel Russell - Rod Harrington 3 - 4
* John Lowe - Mark Lawrence 4 - 3
* Andrew Davies - Tony Randell 4 - 2
* Mick McGowan - James Wheatley 3 - 4
* Ian Lever - Chris Gough 4 - 3
* Stuart Rattray - Paul Hesten 4 - 0
* Chris Hook - Gary Noonan 3 - 4
* Andy Keen - Darren Johnson 2 - 4
* Kevin Spiolek - Joeri Raets 1 - 4
* Tony Smith - Simon Whatley 4 - 2
* Phil Wathen - Alan Tabern 3 - 3
* Vic Hubbard - Ian Wise 4 - 0
* Dave Jowett - Gary Flynn 4 - 2
* Andy Nye - Bye 4 - 0
* Gary Dellow - Robert Allford 4 - 3
* Yves Cottenge - Bye 4 - 0
* Ray Cornibert - Glen Durrant 4 - 3
* Sam Rooney - Glenn Moody 1 - 4
* Peter Wright - John Watson 4 - 3
* Dave Smith - Stuart Pickles 4 - 3
* Sergio Bongiovanni - Andy Boulton 3 - 4
* Robbie Widdows - Wayne Atwood 3 - 4
* Gareth Pass - Ian Whillis 2 - 4
* Jamie Robinson - Deka Kennedy 4 - 3
* Shaun Walshe - Ken Dobson 1 - 4
* Rikki Blay - Steve Alker 0 - 4

=Saturday 11 June=

=3rd Round, best of 9 legs= ‘Sparky’ Mark Landers took out the veteran Tom Kirby from County Kildaire 5-2, while Richie Burnett comfortably beat Keith Deller 5-0 in a battle of former World Champions. ‘Big’ Cliff Lazarenko showed some inspired form to take out up-and-coming youngster Adrian Gray 5-1, while Dennis Smith scraped through 5-4 against Kevin Pearson from Surrey. Andy Belton scraped through 5-4 against Andy Callaby and Steve Alker continued his charge with a 5-4 win over Gary Dobson.

Lionel Sams had no trouble with Glenn Moody and a 5-0 win and John Part beat Alan Warriner by the same score. John Lowe won again with an impressive 5-0 over Steve Johnson and Gary Welding beat a ‘mullet-less’ Steve Beaton 5-3 winning with a 109 checkout.
* Tom Kirby - Mark Landers 2 - 5
* Cliff Lazarenko - Adrian Gray 5 - 1
* Alan Warriner - John Part 0 - 5
* Wes Newton - Andrew Hamilton 4 - 5
* Dennis Smith - Kevin Pearson 5 - 4
* Eddie Lovely - Steve Coote 4 - 5
* Barrie Bates - Jamie Harvey 1 - 1
* Gary Welding - Steve Beaton 3 - 3
* Andy Hayfield - Steve Maish 3 - 3
* Steve Alker - Ken Dobson 4 - 4
* Wayne Atwood - Ray Cornibert 2 - 2
* Yves Cottenge - Sean Palfrey 2 - 2
* Mark Robinson - James Wheatley 4 - 4
* Graeme Stoddart - Paul Williams 3 - 5
* Joeri Raets - Gary Noonan 5 - 2
* Stuart Rattray - Gary Dellow 5 - 2
* Andy Nye - Kevin Dowling 4 - 5
* Andrew Davies - Gary Ellis 5 - 2
* Bob Crawley - Rod Harrington 5 - 2
* Deta Hedman - Norman Fletcher 0 - 3
* Keith Deller - Richie Burnett 0 - 5
* Glenn Moody - Lionel Sams 5 - 5
* Dennis Priestley - Phil Wathen 5 - 1
* Vic Hubbard - Ian Lever 3 - 2
* Dave Jowett - Darren Webster 5 - 5
* Andy Belton - Andy Callaby 5 - 4
* Colin Osbourne - Andy Boulton 5 - 1
* Dave Smith - Peter Wright 5 - 4
* Jamie Robinson - Ian Whillis 2 - 5
* Peter Allen - Darren Williams 5 - 3
* Steve Johnson - John Lowe 0 - 5
* Tony Smith - Darren Johnson 4 - 5

=4th Round, best of 15 legs= Round 4 and the top 32 money ranked players from the regional finals entered the fray. Probably the most eagerly awaited tie of the round was Phil Taylor against Ronnie Baxter. Many thought that this could be the tournament where Taylor could be challenged and that Rocket Ronnie could be the man to do it. However Taylor got off to a blistering start leaving Baxter trailing because of some indifferent throwing. Before you could catch your breath Taylor was 6-1 up and averaging 102. However Baxter began to show his class, too late unfortunately, but he managed to claw the scoreline back to a respectable 8-6 to Taylor.

Wayne Mardle also flew out of the traps against James Wade but the Hampshire lad clawed the game back to overturn a 4-1 deficit to lead 6-5. Mardle took the next with a 104 checkout and that seemed the impetus he needed to take the next two legs as well for victory.

Chris Mason stormed past Paul Williams 8-1 and “Tommo” Mark Thomson took out Richie Burnett 8-4. John Lowe soared on with an 8-5 win over Darren Johnson and surprise of the round saw Kevin Painter fall to this year’s UK Open hero, Steve Alker by 6 legs to 8.
* Michael Barnard - Roland Scholten 7 - 8
* Colin Lloyd - Andy Hayfield 8 - 2
* Ronnie Baxter - Phil Taylor 6 - 8
* Wayne Mardle - James Wade 6 - 8
* Mark Dudbridge - Mark Walsh 5 - 8
* Andy Jenkins - Bob Anderson 6 - 8
* Peter Manley - Steve Coote 8 - 3
* Steve Alker - Kevin Painter 8 - 6
* Bob Crawley - Steve Hine 6 - 8
* Darren Webster - Matt Clark 8 - 7
* Denis Ovens - Alex Roy 6 - 8
* Jimmy Mann - Mark Landers 6 - 8
* Mick Manning - Kevin Dowling 8 - 3
* Tom Wilson - Gary Welding 6 - 8
* Wayne Atwood - Deta Hedman 8 - 1
* Colin Osborne - Yves Cottenge 8 - 5
* Andy Smith - Wayne Jones 8 - 5
* Andrew Davies - Mark Holden 0 - 8
* Dave Smith - Cliff Lazarenko 5 - 8
* Chris Mason - Paul Williams 8 - 1
* Alan Caves - Colin Monk 5 - 8
* Stewart Rattray - Erik Clarys 6 - 8
* John Part - Dennis Priestley 8 - 5
* Darren Johnson - John Lowe 5 - 8
* Andy Belton - Peter Allen 4 - 4
* Ian Whillis - Alan Reynolds 5 - 8
* Lionel Sams - Dennis Smith 8 - 5
* Richie Burnett - Mark Thomson 4 - 8
* Terry Jenkins - Dave Askew 5 - 8
* Barrie Bates - Joeri Raets 8 - 3
* Adrian Lewis - Vic Hubbard 8 - 2
* Mark Robinson - Andy Hamilton 4 - 8

=5th Round, best of 21 legs= Into the last 32 and a cracking match between Chris Mason and Colin Lloyd. Played to a very high standard Mason led 9-4 after taking 6 legs on the trot. Lloyd clawed two back taking it to 9-6 with a 90 checkout on the bull. Mason took the next and then Lloyd made it 10-7 with a 120 checkout. ‘Mase The Ace’ just needed one more leg though and he took it to win 11-7 in a match where he threw 7 x 180s and averaged 99.

Adrian Lewis had little trouble with Colin Monk winning 11-0 and Peter Manley beat Alan Reynolds 11-3. Erik Clarys went through to the last 16 beating Wayne Atwood 11-6 and Roland Scholten took out ‘Pie Man’ Andy Smith by the same score.

Snake fancier Steve Alker finally had to slither home after coming up against ‘The Power’. Taylor took a 5-0 lead and by the next interval it was 9-1. 11-1 was the result to end and Alker’s tremendous weekend.

Mark Walsh beat Andy Hamilton by an impressive 11 legs to 4 and Lionel Sams squeezed through against Barrie Bates 11-10. John Part took out Mark Landers 11-3, while ‘Diamond’ Dave Askew put an end to Darren Webster’s tournament with an 11-8 win.

It was a real case of the veteran against the young pretender as former World Champion Bob Andersontook on James Wade. Anderson took the early advantage leading 6-4 and he held the two leg advantage still at 8-6. Wade then won two legs in succession to tie the match and then another two to lead 10-8. Though Anderson took the next it was too late as Wade won 11-9 and booked his place in the final 16.

John Lowe played a belter against Andy Belton to win 11-4 and Alex Roy took out ‘Big’ Cliff Lazarenko 11-5.
* Chris Mason - Colin Lloyd 11 - 7
* Phil Taylor - Steve Alker 11 - 1
* Roland Scholten - Andy Smith 11 - 6
* James Wade - Bob Anderson 11 - 9
* Mark Walsh - Andy Hamilton 11 - 4
* Gary Welding - Mark Thomson 6 - 11
* Lionel Sams - Barrie Bates 11 - 10
* Steve Hine - Mark Holden 9 - 11
* Adrian Lewis - Colin Monk 11 - 0
* Mick Manning - Colin Osborne 10 - 11
* Alan Reynolds - Peter Manley 3 - 11
* John Lowe - Andy Belton 11 - 4
* Darren Webster - Dave Askew 8 - 11
* John Part - Mark Landers 11 - 3
* Wayne Atwood - Erik Clarys 6 - 11
* Alex Roy - Cliff Lazarenko 11 - 5

=Sunday 12 June=

=6th Round (Last 16) best of 21 legs = First match of the last 16 couldn’t have been any more dramatic as Roland Scholten took on the ‘Legend’ John Lowe. Lowe had the first break to lead 3-2 courtesy of a 101 checkout but Scholten came back to then lead 4-3 (Scholten averaging 104). Lowe squared it at 5-5 and then following missed doubles by the Dutchman, Lowe led 8-6. At 9-7 and following a 141 checkout many thought John Lowe was on his way to the quarters. But Roland Scholten brought it back to 10-10 and then took the last leg to go into the quarters.

Chris Mason was 4-2 down to Adrian Lewis early-on but in another high class encounter Mason came back to win 11-8. Mason also came within a whisker of a 9 darter shaving the wire of the final D18.

Alex Roy beat Dave Askew 11-3 and Mark Walsh beat Mark Thomson 11-8. Things were close between Lionel Sams and Colin Osborne for half of the match but it was Osborne that motored at the business end to win 11-6. Erik Clarys took out ‘The boosh’ Mark Holden 11-6 and Peter Manley put an end to James Wade’s tournament with an 11-4 win.

Tie of the round though was Phil Taylor against John Part. Recent Premier League form may have made punters think Taylor was a sure bet for the quarters, but the Canadian more than any other player has tested ‘The Power’ in recent years and this match was no exception. Incredibly Part took the first 4 legs averaging 102 before Taylor chalked up his first. Part then soared to 7-1 with Taylor averaging 99. But Taylor did what he does best and took out a 146 to make it 7-3. Part then showed his mettle with a 157 checkout against the darts to make it 8-3 but Taylor broke straight back. Part took it to 9-5, then 10-6 needing just one more leg for victory. Taylor dug in even though his average had dropped to 94 and pipped the remaining legs off one by one as Part’s nerve seemed to break. Finishing in spectacular style on 108 for the win, Taylor went through but perhaps no one will have a better chance of beating Taylor this year.
* John Lowe - Roland Scholten 10 - 11
* Phil Taylor - John Part 11 - 10
* Chris Mason - Adrian Lewis 11 - 8
* James Wade - Peter Manley 4 - 11
* Mark Thomson - Mark Walsh 10 - 11
* Erik Clarys - Mark Holden 11 - 6
* Lionel Sams - Colin Osborne 6 - 11
* Alex Roy - Dave Askew 11 - 3

=Quarter Finals, best of 21 legs= Into the quarters and first up was Alex Roy against Peter Manley. Roy had shown a more mature approach of late but Manley would be a tough nut to crack. Too tough as it turned out for the Hertfordshire man. Manley turned a 5-3 lead into a 7-4 lead courtesy of a 164 checkout. That seemed to kick the last of the fight out of Roy and it was Manley who was in the semi’s.

Roland Scholten stormed to an 8-1 lead against Colin Osborne and victory soon followed 11-4. Mark Walsh had too many bullets for ‘The Sheriff’ Erik Clarys turning a 5-1 lead into an ultimate 11-3 win.

Many thought Phil Taylor against Chris Mason would be the match of the tournament but sadly not the case this time. Taylor led 6-0 with a 108 average to Mason’s 92 showing the difference in the two players in this particular match. Mason had to wait until the tenth to take a leg and by then of course the match was long gone, 11-2 to Taylor.
* Peter Manley - Alex Roy 11 - 5
* Roland Scholten - Colin Osborne 11 - 4
* Mark Walsh - Erik Clarys 11 - 2
* Phil Taylor - Chris Mason 11 - 3

=Semi Finals, best of 21 legs=
Phil Taylor has often said that top quality opponents (such as Roland Scholten) always bring the best out of you and there is always the chance of a nine-darter. For the second year in succession at the UK Open and for an incredible third time on live tv (of the few other players that have hit nine-darters on tv none have done so more than once – Lowe, Lim and Greatbatch). The match was of course overshadowed by the remarkable feat and Scholten put in a reasonable performance but nowhere near enough to worry Taylor who whipped in a 156 to win 11-6.

Mark Walsh against Peter Manley was a poor match and it seemed the slow throw of ‘Walshie’ was grinding the fast-throwing ‘One Dart’ down. At 8-6 Walsh was winning with only an 84 average showing the poor standard of this semi-final. 11-7 ultimately to Walsh.
* Phil Taylor 11 - 6 Roland Scholten (included 9 dart finish by Taylor)
* Mark Walsh 11 - 7 Peter Manley

=Final, best of 25 legs= No one gave Mark Walsh a hope for the final particularly after the poor semi-final that he had been involved in. However while Walsh never looked like he could win the game, he didn’t disgrace himself at all and made the final a less predictable affair than many would have thought. He broke Taylor immediately to win the first leg but shortly after and with a 124 Taylor led 4-2. Taylor made it 5-2 with a 107 finish averaging 97. Walsh brought the match back to 4-6 courtesy of another break in the ninth leg and then 5-6 following another break. Taylor then took 4 legs on the spin and upped his average from a pedestrian 97 to over 100. Another brief fight back from Walsh as he broke Taylor again with a 111 checkout but two more to Taylor effectively put an end to the match. 13-7 to Taylor finishing on 96 and another title to ‘The Power’.

A gruelling day and Taylor said, “I’m absolutely shattered, this is the hardest tournament I have ever won.”
* Phil Taylor 13 - 7 Mark Walsh