Новости Unicorn

Sky Sports commentator Stuart Pyke takes a light-hearted look back at the 2006 Ladbrokes.com World Championships……a tournament that gave the Unicorn brand an amazing 19th World crown.

BEST MATCH……..only one contender! That epic semi-final between Taylor and Mardle. Even now, ‘Hawaii 501’ will be thinking of what might have been. He was three sets down but just for an hour or so, the great man was vulnerable. Mardle won four sets on the bounce but then missed four darts to make it 5-3. That was his chance gone. They say the sign of a true champion is one who plays below par but still finds a way to win. That man is Unicorn’s very own ‘Powerhouse’.

WORST MATCH……..The 1st Round encounter between Belgian Erik Clarys and the qualifier from Barbados Winston Cadogan springs to mind. The man from the Caribbean was out of his league and with Clarys, you never quite know what to expect. The winner though, also comes from the 1st Round. Denis Ovens against Geoff Wylie….Watching paint dry is probably too kind!! Ovens won 3-1….thank goodness it didn’t go the distance!

BIGGEST STORY…….no doubt about this one…….the controversial all-Unicorn quarter-final between Peter Manley and Adrian Lewis. The youngster walked off stage after Manley’s mind-games and verbals….but ‘One Dart’ played brilliantly and Lewis will learn a big lesson. He was tipped to go all the way to the final and one day he surely will. The media had a field day but it was good to see them ‘kiss and make-up’ on the stage after the final!

BEST WALK-ON…………..only one winner in this category – Unicorn star John Part, nicknamed ‘Darth Maple’, came into the arena with the cast of Star Wars. This was classic Sky Sports entertainment and the crowd loved it.

BEST SID-ISM…………….Over the two weeks of the tournament, ‘The Geordie Lip’ was on top form. Our Sid came out with some classics but for me this topped the lot: “If there were skyscrapers in Stoke-on-Trent, he’d be standing on top of one, screaming his defiance at the heavens like King Kong!”…………Mr.Waddell at his brilliant best during the Taylor/Mardle semi-final.

BEST PLACARD……….Over the years, the punters at The Tavern have come up with some belters and this tournament was no exception. The winner said simply ‘PIE SPORTS!’ ……..To explain – Andy Smith from the West Midlands – is a gentle giant. He made a great impression with the darts but because of his stature, he is nicknamed ‘The Pie Man’. One imaginative punter had gone to the trouble of re-creating the blue and red Sky Sports logo and changing it to ‘PIE SPORTS’…….just two words but brilliant!

BEST NEWCOMER………..talking of which – some new faces made great impressions but Andy Smith has the talent to go far in the sport. His performance at Purfleet will take him into the top 32 in the world and expect him to reach the top 16 by next year’s party at The Circus.

MOST IMPRESSIVE NEWCOMER…….has to be Unicorn’s very own Adrian Lewis. Yes, he was undone by Manley in the quarter-finals but has such natural ability. I predict he will be World Champion, following in the footsteps of his mentor Phil Taylor, within five years.

BIGGEST UPSET…………. Sadly the downfall of Unicorn;s World No.1 Colin Lloyd. ‘Jaws’ bit off more than he could chew in the 1st round against qualifier Gary Welding. For two sets, Lloyd was throwing the sort of darts Taylor would have envied but it all fell apart. He will be back – of that make no mistake – and one day he will be a World Champion…..but it is going to be a long year, before he can put it out of his memory at The Circus in December 2006.

ABIDING MEMORY OF PURFLEET 2006………The new format of 64 players was a great success. It is here to stay and the ‘big boys’ of the sport had better get used to it. But you just can’t take it away from Taylor. His performance against Manley in the final was simply sensational. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Here’s to the 2007 World Championships……….just when you thought it couldn’t get any better…………

By Stuart Pyke