Новости Unicorn

Part delivered his third and Unicorn’s 20th World Championship title, had very little time for a celebratory drink, before he was up and out and back at the airport to catch an early flight to Canada.

He treated himself to an upgrade to business class and reserved a special place on the plane for the fantastic World Championship Trophy!

“It will take some time to sink in,” he admitted. “I always thought I had another World Championship left in me but if I’m honest, I didn’t think it would come this year!”

Part joins that elite band of darting brothers who have won three World Titles. “To be spoken about in the same breath as Taylor, Barney, Bristow and Lowe is a huge honour for me,” he said. “I think I threw some pretty good darts during the tournament and I have no doubt that experience counted for a lot during the final.”

His 7-2 victory over Kirk Shepherd and the £100,000 prize money takes the Unicorn star back up to No.4 in the world and of course, earns him that prized place back in the Premier League for 2008.

“I will have to sit down and work out a whole fresh set of travel plans now!” he said. Part will be back in the London next week for the 2nd annual PDC Awards Night at The Dorchester and then the opening night of the Premier League comes in Glasgow at the end of the month.

“I have been disappointed at my performances in the Premier League in the past, so I am doubly determined to get the travel right so it doesn’t affect me and I want to have a real go at reaching the semi-finals this year,” he said.

For Shepherd, life will never be the same again….he is planning to pack in his job as a sheet metal worker in Ramsgate and give it a real go on the PDC Pro Tour during 2008.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for me,” he said. “I don’t want to be seen as a one-trick pony and I will prove to everyone that I can do well in this sport. The last fortnight has given me a hunger to go on from this and it is a chance I will grasp with both hands.”

He is now up to No.22 in the world, which means he will be a seeded player for all the PDC Pro Tour events and gives him every opportunity to qualify for the big TV events during the year.

It is also certain that Unicorn will reward Shepherd for his achievement, with promotion up the ladder from Team Global to ‘Contender’ or maybe even ‘Maestro’…..watch this space.

The brand new PDC Order of Merit has been published and it confirms that Phil Taylor has lost his No.1 spot to Barney. Peter Manley is a big loser dropping outside the top 10 in the world for the first time in many years.

Here is the updated world ranking list after the Alexandra Palace (Unicorn players in BOLD)

1 – Raymond Van Barneveld
2 – PHIL TAYLOR
3 – JAMES WADE
4 – JOHN PART
5 – TERRY JENKINS
6 – ADRIAN LEWIS
7 – Roland Scholten
8 – ANDY HAMILTON
9 – Wayne Mardle
10 – Colin Lloyd

Selected others:

12 – BARRIE BATES
13 – PETER MANLEY
14 – KEVIN PAINTER
20 – Chris Mason
21 – COLIN OSBORNE
22 – KIRK SHEPHERD
23 – Mervyn King
25 – Vincent van der Voort
26 – WES NEWTON
28 – MICK MCGOWAN
32 – BOB ANDERSON
37 – Michael Van Gerwen
40 – Tony Eccles
42 – Jelle Klaasen
51 – RAY CARVER
63 – WYNAND HAVENGA
82 – ROBBIE GREEN
86 – MICHAEL ROSENAUER (up from No.582!)

BY STUART PYKE

Photo courtesy of Lawrence Lustig / PDC