Новости Unicorn

‘The Power’ was switched on again – thrashing Wayne Mardle 8-2 – and making it five wins out of five, which almost certainly guarantees his place on Finals Day in Plymouth at the end of May.

In the all-Unicorn clash, Peter Manley won a thriller against Colin Lloyd and although ‘One Dart’ was well beaten by Ronnie Baxter in the last match of the night, he still has a great chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.

Mardle was woefully out-of-sorts and in the other match at Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall, he lost 8-3 to Roland Scholten. ‘Hawaii 501’ is now rooted to the bottom of the table after losing all five matches so far.

Taylor averaged 96 in beating Mardle but he didn’t have to move out of second gear. He hit four 180s and banged in two ton-plus finishes for good measure.

He is now counting the days to THAT clash with Barneveld in front of 3,000 darts fans in Bournemouth on Thursday.

“It is going to be a fantastic night,” he said. “It is the game everyone has been waiting for – including me!”

“He had better be ready!” Taylor warned. “He has got a lot of bottle but so have I. I am really excited about playing Raymond and I am sure it is going to be one of the matches of the year. It is the big one!”

Unicorn’s World No.1 Colin Lloyd was down in the dumps after losing the match of the night 8-6 to Peter Manley. He is just having a nightmare run at the moment but surely will be back to his best soon…..remember the old saying: “Form is temporary but class is permanent.”

It was a hum-dinger of a game. Manley raced into a 5-1 lead as Lloyd stuttered and struggled. Then ‘Jaws’ produced four legs of dazzling darts – averaging nearly 110 – to level up the match. He hit five 180s in those four legs and chucked in a 127 finish.

Both men had chances to win it and both men started missing doubles as the pressure told. Lloyd had a running battle with some Manley fans on the balcony at Wolverhampton – continually pointing up at them every time he hit a big score.

Manley went ahead again 7-6, which left Lloyd throwing for the draw but it all fell apart again, as the man from Carlisle won that crucial last leg and the vital two points. It is the first time in five attempts that Manley has beaten Lloyd in the Premier League.

“The nerves really kicked in,” admitted Manley. “It was a big big win for me. It means so much to get through to the semi-finals. I want it badly.”

Lloyd has just one win from four matches, while Manley has two victories from his five games. One-Dart just couldn’t keep it going, as he ran up against a hot ‘Rocket’.

Baxter was on fire – averaging nearly 100 – as he swept Manley aside 8-3 to keep alive his hopes of qualifying for the last four.

So, all eyes switch to Bournemouth next week.

Can Taylor see off the challenge of Barney?

Can Lloyd find his form?

Will Manley halt Barneveld in his tracks?

It is going to be some night!

There will be an exclusive interview with Phil Taylor on the Unicorn website, as we preview the big night on the south coast.

By Stuart Pyke