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Colin Lloyd showed his pedigree to see off BDO World Champion Jelle Klaasen, as the second group phase got under way at the International Darts League.
The Unicorn star drew on a wealth of experience to beat Klaasen 7 legs to 2 in Holland, to give himself a great chance of reaching the quarter-finals. ‘Jaws’ started the match with a 111 finish to take the first leg and never looked back. He also hurt the young Dutch ace with a 140 kill in the 7th leg and finally nailed double three to complete a comfortable victory.
Lloyd said: “It is a great result against a talented World Champion. I used a little bit of experience, trying to slow him down at times and now I can look forward with confidence to playing Phil (Taylor) on Wednesday night.”
The Power is picking up the pace as the week goes on…..another emphatic victory – this time Shaun Greatbatch the victim! Taylor won 7-1 and it was as easy as the scoreline suggests.
Elsewhere, as the last 16 got under way, Raymond Van Barneveld came from 5-4 down to beat Ronnie Baxter 7-5. ‘The Rocket’ must be sick of the sight of Barney, after losing to him less than a week ago, in the Premier League at Reading. Barneveld hit six 180s and averaged over 100.
In the same group, Roland Scholten has also given himself a shot at qualifying for the last eight. He was a convincing 7-4 winner over Paul Hogan.
The match of the night saw Dutch teenage sensation Michael Van Gerwen edge out Martin Adams 7-6 in a thriller, with both players averaging nearly 108 apiece… and Van Gerwen checked out 164 to win the match!
Meanwhile, the Professional Darts Corporation has revealed that total prize money will reach an amazing £2 million in 2007.
There will be a 25-event Pro Tour, which will have a total prize fund of £500,000 and the rewards on offer in the big TV tournaments will also increase dramatically. The minimum on offer for the new Pro Tour will be £20,000.
By 2007, the Ladbrokes.com World Championship will see its prize fund increase to £560,000 over the next two years. The Stan James World Matchplay and SkyBet World Grand Prix will shoot up in value to £200,000…..and the 2007 Premier League will be worth a staggering £265,000 – an increase of nearly £100,000 on this year. That will increase the speculation that more players will be involved next year.
International Darts League – 2nd Group stage – results:
Gary Anderson 3-7 Simon Whitlock
Tony O’Shea 6-7 Darryl Fitton
Colin Lloyd 7-2 Jelle Klaasen
Raymond Van Barneveld 7-5 Ronnie Baxter
Roland Scholten 7-4 Paul Hogan
Phil Taylor 7-1 Shaun Greatbatch
Martin Adams 6-7 Michael Van Gerwen
Ted Hankey 7-6 Gary Robson
Wednesday Schedule of Play
Gary Robson v Simon Whitlock
Ronnie Baxter v Paul Hogan
Shaun Greatbatch v Jelle Klaasen
Raymond Van Barneveld v Roland Scholten
Darryl Fitton v Michael Van Gerwen
Ted Hankey v Gary Anderson
PHIL TAYLOR v COLIN LLOYD
Tony O’Shea v Martin Adams
BY STUART PYKE
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