Champs clash at Chambers
●● Mark Webster and, inset, Robert Thornton will both feature in the A Night at the Darts event
DARTS
ANIGHT at the Darts takes place at St Mary’s Chambers tomorrow eveing (Saturday), featuring champions Mark Webster and Robert Thornton
Wales take on Scotland at a night at the darts in what promises to be an exciting evening.
Selected local players from Rossendale’s Darts leagues will also be taking on the professionals as well as the pro’s playing each other and VIPs will also get the opportunity to battle it out in a tournament to play the pro’s.
VIP and standard tickets available still from www.stmaryslive.com or call 01706 223 222 for a great night of Darts.
Former World Champion Webster, of Wales will take on Scotland’s multiple major winner Thornton.
Webster continues to be a major contender for PDC honours, having previously won the BDO World Championship in 2008.
The left-hander, from Denbigh in Wales, broke into the top-level darts scene in style in 2006 by winning the Europe Cup. That year also included a run to the semi-finals of the World Masters.
In 2007, Webster won the World Cup and was runner-up in the International Darts League, beating Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor on his way to the final.
The Welshman was crowned World Champion in the following year when he beat Simon Whitlock in the final at Lakeside.
In the same year, he retained the Europe Cup which meant he held three titles. This was a phenomenal achievement considering he was still completing his plumbing degree.
Webster joined the PDC and became a full-time professional in 2009. He finished third in his debut PDC World Championship in 2010, beating Raymond van Barneveld in the play-off to take home £60,000 as he broke into the top 32.
Later that year, Webster and Barrie Bates represented Wales in the inaugural World Cup of Darts. They finished as runnersup despite Webster winning both of his singles matches against van Barneveld and Co Stompe in the final.
Webster continued his good form to reach a second successive semi-final at the 2011 World Championships, beating 15-time and defending champion Taylor in the process.
Having broken into the top 16 in the order of merit in just two years, Webster was selected to play in the 2011 Premier League. He has the second highest average ever in that tournament, averaging 110.19 in his game against Adrian Lewis.
Webster went on to reach the semi-finals of the UK Open and quarterfinals of the World Matchplay and Grand Slam before ending a good 2011 by reaching his first PDC major singles final, when he finished as runner-up to Kevin Painter in the Players Championship Finals.
After a temporary dip in form, Webster produced a fine run to the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Championship, defeating van Barneveld along the way.
Robert ‘ The Thorn’ Thornton is one of an elite group of players to have won more than one PDC major title.
He took glory in the 2012 UK Open, becoming the first player in PDC history to beat Phil Taylor in a major televised final outside of the World Championship, and in 2015 he defeated another world number one – Michael van Gerwen, in the final of the World Grand Prix. The Scotsman had won the prestigious World Masters in 2007 before making the switch from the BDO the following year.
Thornton, who had stopped playing darts after becoming a father, picked up the game again in 2002 and qualified for his first BDO World Championship just three years later, where he reached the quarterfinals.
He claimed his first title in 2007 when he won the Central Scotland Open before going on to seal major success at the World Masters later that year. He produced an astonishing comeback in the final when he beat Darryl Fitton 7-5, having trailed 5-2.
Thornton again reached the quarterfinals of the World Championship in 2008 before ending his time in the BDO with victory at the Dutch Open.
The Scotsman joined the PDC in 2008 when he was top of the BDO rankings. He surged into the top 32 within just eight months and made his first PDC major final in the 2009 Players Championship, where Taylor denied him victory.
After a couple of years in the darting doldrums due to illness and injury, Thornton arrived at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium in June 2012 as a 250-1 outsider for the title but went on a remarkable run, beating Mark Webster, Gary Anderson, Dennis Priestley, Wez Newton and Dave Chisnall en route to his second PDC major final.
He went on to record an impressive 11-5 victory over ‘The Power’ to lift the trophy and claim the £40,000 prize money.
He set up a repeat of that final at the Grand Slam of Darts a year later but this time was defeated by Taylor.
However, Thornton did end the year by moving into the top ten on the PDC Order of Merit.
‘The Thorn’ is one of only three players to have won both events of a PDC Pro-Tour weekend.
Thornton’s success led to him being selected for the Premier League in 2013 and 2014.
He was omitted from the tournament in 2015 but responded in style winning European Tour event before sealing his greatest glory to date with a a thrilling World Grand Prix victory, defeating van Gerwen 5-4 in the final and moving up to a careerhigh fifth in the world rankings.
●● Geoff Chiu at the coastal 10-miler at Prestatyn