It was a day to remember for Adrian Lewis! He won the first ever Austrian Open Players Championship and hit ‘The Jackpot’ with a brilliant nine-darter in the final against Carlos Rodriguez.
And Lewis dedicated the win to his daughter Myla Niamh who was born last month.
“Becoming a Dad has changed my life,” he said.
“I know my responsibilities and things are different now. It’s been a long time since my last win and hopefully this will be the start of something special for me,” Lewis added.
“I need to be challenging Phil Taylor all the time. I am delighted with the nine-darter and full credit to Carlos for pushing me all the way but this could be a turning point for me.”
The nine-darter earned him a £1,600 bonus….six 180s followed by a brilliant 141. It is his second perfect leg in competition, following on from the 9-darter at the 2008 Championship League Darts in Essex.
He was the stand-out player in Salzburg, as he secured his first tournament victory in nearly three years.
In the Final, he was given a real test by the Spaniard, who came back from 1-4 down to bring the very best out of the Unicorn ace. His consolation is this performance has secured places at the European Championship and World Championship.
The £6,000 prize money could also be absolutely crucial in Lewis’ bid to secure a 2010 Premier League spot.
In the Semi-Finals, Lewis beat Colin Osborne….the all Unicorn affair turned out to be one of the best matches of the day.
Lewis came from 3-1 down to win a thriller….Osborne raced into that early lead and in the fourth leg, he hit six perfect darts. Lewis took out 97 to pull one leg back, only for Osborne to reply with a 103 finish!
But that was the signal for Lewis to click…..he won four consecutive legs to stun ‘The Wizard’ and won it in style by taking out 117 to seal victory.
But it was a mixed day in Salzburg, where 18 Team Unicorn players were bidding for glory.
Kevin Painter reached yet another Pro Tour Quarter-Final but that tournament win continues to elude him.
And yet again, Painter fell to his nemesis – fellow Team Unicorn star Colin Osborne….for some reason, he just cannot beat ‘The Wizard’ and this time, Painter went down to a heavy 6-1 defeat.
Unicorn’s German star Michael Rosenauer enjoyed a fantastic run to the quarter-finals, beating high quality opposition along the way and he only lost in a last leg decider to Lewis…..but this performance should be enough to secure Rosy a spot in the European Championship to be held in Amsterdam next month.
In the last 16, World No.2 James Wade was a surprise 6-2 loser to Wayne Jones, while Peter Manley was also beaten at the same stage.
Manley needs to put together a string of good performances to force his way into qualifying contention for the SkyBet World Grand Prix.
But he lost 6-3 to Rodriguez and the £400 prize money isn’t good enough for him at the moment, as he tries to qualify for Dublin through the Players Championship Order of Merit.
In the last 32, Andy Hamilton went down 6-2 to Jones and the in form Wes Newton was edged out 6-4 by Tabern.
In the 2nd Round, four more Team Unicorn players came up short.
Barrie Bates lost a last leg decider to unknown Boris Krcmar and Terry Jenkins was a shock 6-3 loser against Justin Pipe….Jamie Caven went down 6-2 to Brendan Dolan, while Kirk Shepherd will consider himself unlucky to be edged out 6-5 by Osborne, after wasting chances.
There were five Team Unicorn casualties in the 1st Round.
Mick McGowan was whitewashed by Michael van Gerwen, Paul Nicholson lost 4-6 to Mark Webster, Gary Mawson was beaten 6-2 by Toon Greebe, Joe Cullen lost 6-1 to Tony Ayres and John Part was a 6-2 loser against Barrie Bates.
Youngster Arron Monk was hugely disappointed to lose 6-4 against Bernd Roith in the preliminary round.
And of course, the Austrian Players Championship part two takes place at the Renaissance Hotel in Salzburg on Sunday. We’ll have more news on the Unicorn website.
Results – last 16:
Mark Walsh 6-2 Michael van Gerwen
Losers - £400
Quarter-Finals:
Alan Tabern 6-3 Mark Walsh
Losers - £800
Semi-Finals:
Carlos Rodriguez 6-5 Alan Tabern
Losers - £1,500
Final:
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Carlos Rodriguez
Winner - £6,000
By STUART PYKE
