Latest news with #Hildesheim
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Michael van Gerwen PULLS OUT of tournament and risks falling out of top 100 in competition rankings - as friend gives worrying update
Michael van Gerwen pulled out of the Players Championship 16 due to a crisis of self-belief, a friend says. The Dutchman ruled himself out of Tuesday's action in Hildesheim, Germany, which saw Ross Smith secure his sixth PDC ranking title. Van Gerwen, 36, has lost in the first round of a competition six times on this year's ProTour and apparently didn't feel up to it on this occasion. One of those shock defeats was in the Players Championship 15 on Monday, and he has now dropped to 96th in the competition's Order of Merit. At the end of the season (which includes 34 floor tournaments), the top 64 will qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead. Van Gerwen risks missing out and his compatriot Vincent van der Voort has given a concerning update on his confidence. 'When I see how things are going, the belief just isn't there,' Van der Voort told the Darts Draait Door podcast. 'His presence is lacking, there's no aggression or passion in his game. 'It's just about throwing at the board and hoping for the best.' The Green Machine's slump in form means he could also miss out on the Premier League Darts finals night. He sits fourth in the rankings, one point and one place ahead of Nathan Aspinall, who will be desperate to take his spot with just two nights of the regular season left. Van Gerwen has only made it to the final of two out of 14 Premier League nights this season and was knocked out at the first time of asking by Luke Humphries in the most recent event in Leeds. He has also been told by Van der Voort that he is taking too many holidays. The Dutch star is ditching next month's World Cup of Darts in favour of a trip to Ibiza. Earlier this year, the seven-time Premier League darts winner suffered with health problems for two months after picking up an illness while on holiday in Thailand. Van der Voort told the Darts Draait Door podcast: 'Sometimes he plays really well, but then he can't keep it up. He's going to have to train hard. 'He needs to put in the effort or he'll never find consistent form again. 'You can't just take a holiday and expect things to fall back into place. It doesn't work like that.'
The Sun
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Ross Smith hits TWO nine-darters and delivers THREE straight whitewashes to win Players Championship 16 darts
ROSS SMITH reeled off the craziest stats in Players Championship history - to clinch PC16 with TWO nine-darters and three straight whitewash wins. But the English oche ace 's verdict on his performance was even more astonishing than his figures. 3 3 No player has ever been more dominant in this tournament than Smith was in triumphing in Hildesheim, Germany. But the 36-year-old claimed: "I don't actually think I played that well!" The Kent star Smith, 36, reached World No. 9 last year and has now won six PDC rankings events. And although that's a useful pedigree, no-one could have predicted his record-breaking feats on Tuesday. Smith sealed the crown by winning 24 legs in a row. In fact four of his five opponents failed to win a single leg. And only legends Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen have ever bagged more than one nine-darter at the same Players Championship event. Smith said: 'I know I can be one of the best in the world. Consistency is a big thing, but I know I can win tournaments on a regular basis." The 2022 European champion opened with a 6-0 defeat of Dylan Slevin, then dispatched Chris Landman 6-3 in the last 16. 3 Landman briefly fought back to level at 3-3 - but from that moment Smith never lost another leg all day. He next sunk Danny Noppert 6-0 and Luke Woodhouse 7-0 in the semis. Barry Hearn reveals pool is the 'next darts' and predicts sport will be massive in five years And he demolished Brendan Dolan 6-0 in the final - with an average of 104.5. Smith polished off the Northern Irishman with legs of 14, 12, 13, 14, 12 and 14 darts. His joy in Germany means he has jumped up to World No. 14. Smith said: 'I'm so happy with the win. 'I've got the little plaques at home with the scoresheets from my Players Championship wins. They're my little trophies, and they mean a lot to me. 'I'm going to add another one to the wall today, and it's another incentive when I'm at home practising, because I want to win all the time; who doesn't? 'If you've won a major title you can win anything. I honestly believe I'm going to win more, but I need to keep working hard.' Leicester's Mattioli Arena will host the PDC's Players Championships 17 and 18 on June 17-18.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Smith throws two nine-darters before final whitewash
Ross Smith demolished Brendan Dolan 8-0 to win the 16th Players Championship of the year - having thrown two nine-darters on the way to the Smith, 36, had reached the final Hildesheim, Germany, with a scintillating run as he won 16 legs on the is just the third player, alongside Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor, to land multiple nine-darters in the same Players Championship final was a formality as Smith notched up an average of 104.56 and whitewashed 51-year-old Northern Irishman Dolan."I don't actually feel I've played that well - sometimes luck is on your side," Smith told the PDC."I want to win all the time. I will keep working hard to win another major event."World number one Luke Humphries, world champion Luke Littler and Van Gerwen were among the players to give the event a are 34 Players Championship events across the year, with the competition's finals held in Minehead in November.
The Sun
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Darts star nicknamed the ‘Ginja Ninja' faces fine for unsavoury antics after loss in fiery clash
A DARTS star is facing a fine over his unsavoury antics in a fiery Players Championship 15 clash. Matt Campbell lashed out during his first round defeat to Scott Williams in Hildesheim, Germany. 4 4 4 Following the 6-3 loss, Campbell raised his arm and showed the dart board his middle finger. Williams then tapped his face in a consolation gesture. Campbell, 35, who is known as the Ginja Ninja, will likely be fined for his actions given the PDC's strict stance on player conduct. Williams himself will know all about the disciplinary action his opponent could face. Last month the World Darts Championship semi-finalist gave fans the middle finger during the German Grand Prix. During the contest, Williams was heckled by fans in the crowd and appeared to be on the end of an F-word jibe. And as he stepped up to the oche, Williams flashed his middle finger towards the crowd behind him. Fans found the clash between the pair hilarious, with one saying of Campbell: "Yeah, that made me chuckle. Totally wasn't expecting that reaction from him at the end of that game 🤣🤣🤣" Another added: "Scott Williams is always absolute comedy to watch 🤣" Williams, 35, reached the semi-final where he lost 7-4 to Krzysztof Ratajski, who won the tournament.
The Sun
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Michael van Gerwen's darts woes go from bad to worse with humiliating defeat to little-known prospect
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has been sent reeling again - as unwanted stats add up for the Dutch legend in 2025. Outsider Dominik Gruellich inflicted MVG's sixth first-round loss on this year's 2025 ProTour. 2 Such lows are hard to take for the three-time world champion. Van Gerwen 's season has not been a total nightmare. Most notably, he picked up his 38th Euro Tour title at the German Grand Prix in April, with a nine-darter to boot. And the 36-year-old enters night 15 of Premier League Darts in Aberdeen on Thursday this week without a nightly win so far. But he's still fourth in that table - just ahead of Nathan Aspinall in the battle for a place in the Play-Offs on May 29. So it's his ProTour problems that will concern Mighty Mike most. And at Players Championship 15 he slumped 6-5 to German star Gruellich in the 23-year-old's home-country town of Hildesheim, Germany But MVG might think he was lucky compared to English ace Andrew Gilding. But it was due to hsi flight rather than his flights. The 54-year old didn't even make it to the tournament - as his flight was held up. Gilding's social media team blamed "KLM'S last flight... being delayed by two hours". They added: "Andrew would have missed his connecting flight to Hannover." Krzysztof Ratajski went on to win Players Championship 15. The Pole defeated Dave Chisnall 8-4 to scoop the £15,000 top prize.
