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2008 PDC World Darts Championship

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2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship
Tournament information
Dates17 December 2007 –
1 January 2008
VenueAlexandra Palace
LocationLondon
Country England
Organisation(s)PDC
FormatLegs (preliminaries)
Sets (from Round 1)
Final – best of 13
Prize fund£589,000
Winner's share£100,000
High checkout
Champion(s)
 John Part
«2007 2009»

The 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 15th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place between 17 December 2007 and 1 January 2008 at the Alexandra Palace, London, England.

John Part won his third World Championship, beating the qualifier Kirk Shepherd 7–2 in the final. He joined Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Eric Bristow, and John Lowe as the only people to have won more than two world titles, although they have since been joined by Martin Adams, Michael van Gerwen and Glen Durrant. He is also one of six players to have won the PDC World Darts Championship more than once, along with Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright. In addition, he became the first player to have won World Championships in three different venues; the Lakeside, the Circus Tavern and the Alexandra Palace.

Raymond van Barneveld was the defending champion having won the PDC World Championship at the first attempt in an epic final against Taylor in 2007. He was knocked out in the third round with a 4–2 loss to Kevin Painter.

Taylor failed to reach the final of the competition for the first time in PDC World Championship history, after losing 5–4 to Wayne Mardle in the quarter-finals.

In addition to several highly ranked players failing to reach the latter stages of the competition, an argument could be made that this tournament had, statistically, the lowest standard of play from any PDC World Championship this millennium. A distinct lack of quality was exhibited across the draw: no single player achieved a 3-dart average of over 100 in any match in the entire tournament, the highest being John Part's average of 99.06 in his second-round match against Mensur Suljovic; additionally, there were only six 3-dart averages of 96 or higher in any match in the entire tournament (see Draw below). Kirk Shepherd, meanwhile, incredibly finished runner-up in the tournament without averaging over 90 in any match he played in the tournament - he is the only player to achieve this feat in any PDC World Championship event this millennium. Shepherd was also the first player making his PDC World Championship debut to reach the final, without having played in a BDO World Championship.

After being staged at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet for 14 years, the tournament moved to the Alexandra Palace in London.[1] The championships had been considered to have outgrown the Circus Tavern whose capacity of 800–1,000 spectators was considerably smaller than some Holsten Premier League darts events in 2007 which saw crowds reaching 5,000. The Alexandra Palace was the venue of the News of the World Darts Championship between 1963 and 1977 and boasts a capacity for 2008 of 2,500.

Format and qualifiers

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The televised stages featured 68 players. The top 32 players in the PDC Order of Merit on 12 November 2007 received an automatic place in the World Championship.[2] They were joined by 16 PDPA members and 20 international qualifiers determined by the PDC and PDPA.

The 16 PDPA members were made up from the top eight players (who had not already qualified) in the PDC Pro Tour Events during 2007: Jelle Klaasen, Mark Walsh, Tony Eccles, Michael van Gerwen, Steve Brown, Dave Askew, Jason Clark and Matt Clark.[3]

The final eight qualifiers were determined at a PDPA Qualifying event which was held on 17 November 2007 in Wolverhampton – prior to the Grand Slam of Darts tournament. The successful players were Steve Maish, Jan van der Rassel, Colin Monk, Steve Evans, Jamie Caven, Steve Hine, Kirk Shepherd and Jason Barry. Former world champions John Lowe, Eric Bristow, Keith Deller and Richie Burnett all played in the qualifying rounds but failed to reach the televised stages.

Prize money

[edit]

The 2008 World Championship featured a prize fund of £589,000. The prize money for earlier round losers was increased, whilst the winner and runner-up prize money was unchanged.[4]

Position (num. of players) Prize money
(Total: £589,000)
Winner (1) £100,000
Runner-Up (1) £50,000
Semi-finalists (2) £22,500
Quarter-finalists (4) £15,000
Third round losers (8) £10,500
Second round losers (16) £7,000
First round losers (32) £4,000
Preliminary round losers (4) £2,500
Nine-dart finish (0) £20,000

Draw

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Preliminary round

[edit]

(best of nine legs, played Wednesday 19 December and Thursday 20 December)

Av. Player Score Player Av.
68.85 Akihiro Nagakawa Japan 2 – 5 Barbados Anthony Forde 69.83
68.58 Rizal Barellano Philippines 0 – 5 Czech Republic Miloslav Navrátil 74.96
60.38 Alan Bolton New Zealand 0 – 5 Netherlands Erwin Extercatte 63.15
72.03 Ashfaque Sayed India 0 – 5 China Shi Yongsheng 78.28

Draw

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Finals

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Quarter-finals (best of 9 sets)
29 December
Semi-finals (best of 11 sets)
30 December
Final (best of 13 sets)
1 January
         
1 England Phil Taylor 92.32 4
9 England Wayne Mardle 92.20 5
9 England Wayne Mardle 92.36 4
England Kirk Shepherd 88.77 6
5 England Peter Manley 94.27 4
England Kirk Shepherd 89.70 5
England Kirk Shepherd 85.10 2
11 Canada John Part 92.86 7
15 England Kevin Painter 87.51 5
7 England Adrian Lewis 86.26 2
15 England Kevin Painter 91.94 2
11 Canada John Part 92.84 6
11 Canada John Part 94.81 5
3 England James Wade 91.48 4

Rounds 1-4

[edit]
First round (best of 5 sets)
17–22 December
Second round (best of 7 sets)
22–27 December
Third round (best of 7 sets)
27–28 December
Quarter-finals (best of 9 sets)
29 December
            
1 England Phil Taylor 91.11 3
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 85.99 2
1 England Taylor 94.52 4
England Walsh 89.52 3
32 England Adrian Gray 88.01 2
England Mark Walsh 87.63 3
1 England Taylor 96.71 4
17 England Tabern 93.42 3
16 England Andy Jenkins 86.80 3
Czech Republic Miloslav Navrátil 83.12 2
16 England A. Jenkins 80.04 0
17 England Tabern 86.04 4
17 England Alan Tabern 87.96 3
Denmark Per Laursen 84.17 1
1 England Taylor 92.32 4
9 England Mardle 92.20 5
8 Netherlands Roland Scholten 94.25 3
England Matt Clark 93.88 2
8 Netherlands Scholten 93.10 4
25 England King 90.31 2
25 England Mervyn King 95.97 3
Germany Michael Rosenauer 86.60 2
8 Netherlands Scholten 91.86 3
9 England Mardle 89.28 4
9 England Wayne Mardle 91.13 3
United States Ray Carver 90.30 2
9 England Mardle 89.61 4
England Caven 82.35 1
24 England Wes Newton 87.15 0
England Jamie Caven 89.36 3
5 England Peter Manley 90.09 3
Netherlands Toon Greebe 89.60 2
5 England Manley 88.96 4
28 England Warriner-Little 82.55 1
28 England Alan Warriner-Little 80.98 3
China Shi Yongsheng 76.38 1
5 England Manley 87.75 4
Netherlands van der Rassel 86.76 1
12 England Colin Lloyd 85.75 2
Netherlands Jan van der Rassel 90.66 3
Netherlands van der Rassel 90.99 4
21 England Ovens 90.22 1
21 England Denis Ovens 85.08 3
England Colin Monk 69.48 0
5 England Manley 94.27 4
England Shepherd 89.70 5
4 England Terry Jenkins 83.62 2
England Kirk Shepherd 79.09 3
England Shepherd 87.18 4
29 Republic of Ireland McGowan 85.09 3
29 Republic of Ireland Mick McGowan 86.66 3
Republic of Ireland Jason Barry 87.75 0
England Shepherd 85.86 4
13 Wales Bates 85.61 2
13 Wales Barrie Bates 82.99 3
Canada Gerry Convery 79.50 0
13 Wales Bates 82.36 4
Netherlands Extercatte 84.00 3
20 England Colin Osborne 90.33 1
Netherlands Erwin Extercatte 92.58 3
2 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 89.12 3
Barbados Anthony Forde 81.84 0
2 Netherlands van Barneveld 92.31 4
Scotland Clark 87.96 1
31 England Bob Anderson 91.07 2
Scotland Jason Clark 89.70 3
2 Netherlands van Barneveld 90.75 2
15 England Painter 95.20 4
15 England Kevin Painter 96.45 3
United States Gary Mawson 83.86 0
15 England Painter 92.04 4
18 England Mason 83.91 0
18 England Chris Mason 84.72 3
England Steve Brown 77.61 1
15 England Painter 87.51 5
7 England Lewis 86.26 2
7 England Adrian Lewis 96.79 3
England Dave Askew 90.46 1
7 England Lewis 91.81 4
26 Netherlands van der Voort 96.46 2
26 Netherlands Vincent van der Voort 86.94 3
Netherlands Jelle Klaasen 90.27 2
7 England Lewis 94.19 4
England Eccles 97.20 3
10 England Dennis Priestley 92.06 1
England Steve Maish 92.59 3
  England Maish 87.29 3
England Eccles 91.08 4
23 England Wayne Jones 83.71 0
England Tony Eccles 91.17 3
6 England Andy Hamilton 90.20 3
Netherlands Leroy Kwadijk 74.17 1
6 England Hamilton 90.97 1
27 England Roy 91.33 4
27 England Alex Roy 86.41 3
New Zealand Warren Parry 83.56 2
27 England Roy 85.16 0
11 Canada Part 91.32 4
11 Canada John Part 94.08 3
South Africa Charles Losper 85.21 1
11 Canada Part 99.06 4
Austria Suljović 91.26 1
22 England Andy Smith 81.11 2
Austria Mensur Suljović 83.26 3
11 Canada Part 94.81 5
3 England Wade 91.48 4
3 England James Wade 89.82 3
Australia Steve MacArthur 75.66 0
3 England Wade 90.92 4
30 England Beaton 87.80 3
30 England Steve Beaton 76.99 3
Wales Steve Evans 75.56 0
3 England Wade 84.54 4
19 England Dudbridge 84.96 2
14 England Ronnie Baxter 90.31 3
Canada Dan Olson 85.17 2
14 England Baxter 91.82 2
19 England Dudbridge 87.92 4
19 England Mark Dudbridge 85.46 3
England Steve Hine 83.07 1

Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)

Statistics

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Overall

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Individual statistics

[edit]
Player Played Sets Won Sets Lost Legs Won Legs Lost 100+ 140+ 180s High checkout 3-dart average[5]
Canada John Part 6 29 10 98 68 202 112 34 160 94.42
England Kirk Shepherd 6 24 23 104 101 237 120 33 160 83.92
England Phil Taylor 4 15 13 66 59 162 70 19 137 93.67
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 1 2 3 11 13 29 15 1 106 85.99
England Adrian Gray 1 2 3 10 12 28 18 3 104 88.01
England Mark Walsh 2 6 6 23 24 52 38 10 156 88.58
England Andy Jenkins 2 3 6 14 19 31 15 9 142 83.42
Philippines Rizal Barellano 1 0 0 0 5 4 3 0 68.58
Czech Republic Miloslav Navrátil 2 2 3 12 11 14 8 6 81 79.04
England Alan Tabern 3 10 5 39 30 98 55 9 160 89.14
Denmark Per Laursen 1 1 3 8 10 30 10 2 68 84.17
Netherlands Roland Scholten 3 10 8 36 40 103 56 19 140 93.07
England Matt Clark 1 2 3 12 10 25 19 4 100 93.88
England Mervyn King 2 5 6 26 24 57 47 10 170 93.14
Germany Michael Rosenauer 1 2 3 11 13 29 18 3 116 86.60
England Wayne Mardle 5 20 16 81 70 183 135 24 170 90.92
United States Ray Carver 1 2 3 8 11 26 7 7 110 90.30
England Wes Newton 1 0 3 4 9 14 11 2 81 87.15
England Jamie Caven 2 4 4 15 17 39 16 3 121 85.86
England Peter Manley 4 15 9 57 49 167 80 14 156 90.27
Netherlands Toon Greebe 1 2 3 9 12 22 17 4 94 89.60
England Alan Warriner-Little 2 4 5 19 18 46 22 4 108 86.77
India Ashfaque Sayed 1 0 0 0 5 4 2 0 72.03
China Shi Yongsheng 2 1 3 10 11 23 13 0 119 77.33
England Colin Lloyd 1 2 3 14 14 29 13 1 120 85.75
Netherlands Jan van der Rassel 3 8 7 37 37 103 51 10 116 89.47
England Denis Ovens 2 4 4 18 14 46 20 6 100 87.65
England Colin Monk 1 0 3 0 9 4 4 0 69.48
England Terry Jenkins 1 2 3 10 10 32 13 1 56 83.62
Republic of Ireland Mick McGowan 2 6 4 25 24 66 35 6 120 85.88
Republic of Ireland Jason Barry 1 0 3 5 9 13 13 1 64 87.75
Wales Barrie Bates 3 9 7 36 28 101 34 6 120 83.66
Canada Gerry Convery 1 0 3 1 9 10 4 2 82 79.50
England Colin Osborne 1 1 3 8 9 14 6 10 144 90.33
New Zealand Alan Bolton 1 0 0 0 5 3 0 0 60.38
Netherlands Erwin Extercatte 3 6 5 27 24 61 18 5 147 79.91
Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 3 9 5 34 25 73 36 13 120 90.73
Japan Akihiro Nagakawa 1 0 0 2 5 9 1 1 40 68.85
Barbados Anthony Forde 2 0 3 9 11 28 11 2 120 75.84
England Bob Anderson 1 2 3 10 11 30 16 4 141 91.07
Scotland Jason Clark 2 4 6 19 24 53 32 9 104 88.83
England Kevin Painter 5 18 10 69 45 159 77 24 137 92.23
United States Gary Mawson 1 0 3 2 9 14 4 2 96 83.86
England Chris Mason 2 3 5 16 15 39 15 2 136 84.32
England Steve Brown 1 1 3 3 11 20 7 0 67 77.61
England Adrian Lewis 4 13 11 46 50 118 55 22 136 92.26
England Dave Askew 1 1 3 8 10 25 11 3 62 90.46
Netherlands Vincent van der Voort 2 5 6 27 28 71 32 19 124 91.70
Netherlands Jelle Klaasen 1 2 3 15 15 36 19 6 104 90.27
England Dennis Priestley 1 1 3 7 9 28 7 3 130 92.06
England Steve Maish 2 6 5 25 24 68 17 7 110 89.94
England Wayne Jones 1 0 3 3 9 22 7 0 42 83.71
England Tony Eccles 3 10 7 41 33 96 55 10 156 93.15
England Andy Hamilton 2 4 5 19 17 35 20 16 144 90.59
Netherlands Leroy Kwadijk 1 1 3 3 11 10 6 0 160 74.17
England Alex Roy 3 7 7 35 30 108 41 5 124 87.63
New Zealand Warren Parry 1 2 3 11 16 41 13 1 91 83.56
South Africa Charles Losper 1 1 3 8 11 18 9 4 94 85.21
England Andy Smith 1 2 3 11 12 34 16 2 88 81.11
Austria Mensur Suljović 2 4 6 17 23 38 15 11 111 87.26
England James Wade 4 15 6 59 46 134 72 17 170 89.19
Australia Steve MacArthur 1 0 3 1 9 15 5 0 16 75.66
England Steve Beaton 2 6 4 23 18 52 23 7 98 82.40
Wales Steve Evans 1 0 3 1 9 13 9 1 20 75.56
England Ronnie Baxter 2 5 6 23 25 71 25 9 137 91.07
Canada Dan Olson 1 2 3 9 13 23 12 6 120 85.17
England Mark Dudbridge 3 9 7 38 30 71 38 12 113 86.11
England Steve Hine 1 1 3 5 11 17 8 2 100 83.07

Representation from different countries

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This table shows the number of players by country in the World Championship, the total number including the preliminary round.

England
ENG
Netherlands
NED
Scotland
SCO
Wales
WAL
Republic of Ireland
IRL
Canada
CAN
Germany
GER
Austria
AUT
New Zealand
NZL
Australia
AUS
United States
USA
South Africa
RSA
Denmark
DEN
China
CHN
Barbados
BAR
Czech Republic
CZE
Japan
JPN
Philippines
PHI
India
IND
Total
Final 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Semis 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Quarters 7 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8
Round 3 11 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
Round 2 22 5 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 32
Round 1 36 9 1 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 64
Prelim. 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 8
Total 36 9 1 2 2 3 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 68

Tournament review

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Day one

[edit]
Alan Tabern 3–1 Per Laursen
Mark Walsh 0–3 Adrian Gray
Wayne Mardle 3–0 Ray Carver
Jan van der Rassel 3–2 Colin Lloyd

Day two

[edit]
Roland Scholten 3–0 Matt Clark
Peter Manley 3–0 Toon Greebe
Phil Taylor 3–2 Michael Van Gerwen
Mervyn King 3–1 Michael Rosenauer

Day three, Wednesday 19 December

[edit]
Jamie Caven 2–3 Wes Newton
Denis Ovens 3–1 Colin Monk
Mick Mcgowan 3–0 Jason Barry
Barrie Bates 3–0 Gerry Convery
Jason Clark 3–2 Bob Anderson
Kirk Shepherd 3–1 Terry Jenkins
Chris Mason 3–1 Steve Brown
Kevin Painter 3–0 Gary Mawson

Day four, Thursday 20 December

[edit]
Andy Jenkins 3–1 Miloslav Navrátil
Tony Eccles 1–3 Wayne Jones
Andy Hamilton 3–1 Leroy Kwadijk
Alex Roy 3–0 Warren Parry
Steve Maish 3–1 Dennis Priestley
Adrian Lewis 3–1 Dave Askew
Raymond Van Barneveld 3–0 Anthony Forde
Vincent Van Der Voort 3–2 Jelle Klaasen

Day five, Friday 21 December

Alan Warriner-Little 2–3 Shi Yongsheng
Erwin Extercatte 0–3 Colin Osborne
Mensur Suljovic 3–2 Andy Smith
Steve Beaton 3–0 Steve Evans
Ronnie Baxter 3–2 Dan Olson
James Wade 3–0 Steve Macarthur
John Part 3-1 Charles Losper
Mark Dudbridge 3–1 Steve Hine
Alan Tabern 4–0 Andy Jenkins (3–1 3–1 3–1 3–0)
Jan Van Der Rassel 0–4 Denis Ovens (1–3 1–3 2–3 0–3)
Peter Manley 4–2 Shi Yongsheng ( 3–0 3–0 1–3 3–2 0–3 3–1)
Roland Scholten 0–4 Mervyn King ( 0–3 0–3 0–3 1–3)
Phil Taylor 4–1 Adrian Gray ( 1–3 3–0 3–2 3–2 3–0)
Wayne Mardle 4–2 Wes Newton (3–0 1–3 2–3 3–2 3–2 3–1)

Sunday 23 December to Tuesday 25 December

[edit]

The tournament went into hiatus for the Christmas period.

Barrie Bates 2–4 Colin Osborne 3–1 2–3 2–3 1–3 3–1 0–3
Kevin Painter 4–0 Chris Mason 3–0 3–0 3–0 3–2
Terry Jenkins 4–0 Mick Mcgowan 3–0 3–1 3–1 3–0
Adrian Lewis 4–3 Vincent Van Der Voort 3–0 3–1 3–0 1–3 1–3 1–3 5–3
John Part 4-1 Mensur Suljovic 3–1 3–1 1–3 3–1 3–1
James Wade 4–0 Steve Beaton 3–2 3–2 3–0 3–0

Day eight, Thursday 27 December

[edit]
Wayne Jones 4–0 Steve Maish 3–1 3–0 3–0 3–2
Alex Roy 1–4 Andy Hamilton 3–0 1–3 0–3 2–3 2–3
Mark Dudbridge 2–4 Ronnie Baxter 2–3 2–3 3–1 1–3 3–0 0–3
Raymond Van Barneveld 4–0 Jason Clark 3–0 3–0 3–0 1–3 3–1

Third round (Last 16)

Phil Taylor 4–2 Alan Tabern 0–3 2–3 3–1 3–1 3–0 3–2
Wayne Mardle 4–1 Mervyn King 1–3 3–1 3–2 3–2 3–2

Day nine, Friday 28 December

[edit]

Raymond van Barneveld's reign as PDC World Championship was ended by Kevin Painter in a thrilling match which Painter finished off with a ten-dart leg to clinch the match 4–2. Painter hit seven consecutive treble 20s, en route to a possible nine dart leg before missing a treble 19 before completing a remarkable ten darter to go through to the quarter-finals.

Earlier, James Wade overcame flu and Mark Dudbridge 4–2 to go through to his first World quarter-final and Kirk Shepherd defeated Barrie Bates 4–2 to be the surprise quarter-finalist. Peter Manley and John Part both had comfortable wins in their last 16 matches.

The talking point of the day may have been the Adrian Lewis v Tony Eccles clash. Eccles started in sensational fashion winning the first eight legs, but couldn't close out the third set. He missed two darts at a double for a 3–0 sets lead and then Lewis started a fightback winning the next three sets to lead 3–2. Eccles fought back himself to level the match, but controversy came in the final set when the scores were level at 2 legs each. Lewis took an unscheduled comfort break just minutes after a scheduled one and when he came back he found his rhythm to win the next two legs and make the quarter-finals.

Kirk Shepherd 4–2 Barrie Bates (3–0, 1–3, 3–2, 1–3, 3–2, 3–1)
Adrian Lewis 4–3 Tony Eccles (0–3, 0–3, 3–2, 3–0, 3–2, 1–3, 4–2)
James Wade 4–2 Mark Dudbridge (2–3, 3–1, 3–0, 3–2, 1–3, 3–2)
Peter Manley 4–1 Jan Van Der Rassel (2–3, 3–1, 3–2, 3–2, 3–1)
Kevin Painter 4–2 Raymond Van Barneveld (1–3, 3–0, 3–1, 0–3, 3–2, 3–2)
John Part 4-0 Alex Roy (3–1, 3–2, 3–1, 3–1)

Day ten, quarter-finals, Saturday 29 December

[edit]

For the first time in the 15-year history of the event, Phil Taylor failed to make it to the final after losing to Wayne Mardle. Taylor took an early 3–0 lead, but after winning a set Mardle's confidence increased and with the crowd behind him brought it back to 3–3. With the sets tied 4–4 the legs went with throw until 4–4 when Mardle broke Taylor with tops after Taylor missed double sixteen when the dart went the wrong side of the wire. Wayne closed out the match on his own darts with 140 and double 18 to win the final set 6–4 and a 5–4 win. Mardle immediately broke down into tears after the win. After the match Mardle said "it's not being in the semis that's important... it's beating that guy there (Taylor); he didn't play well, but I still had to play at my best to beat him"

Taylor said "When I was 3 sets to nil up, I thought I'm going to beat him 5–0... If he gets his game together now he's got the biggest chance of his life to win it".

World Matchplay champion James Wade also went out in the quarter-finals to two-time former World Champion John Part. It was a close match, but Part always stayed in front after establishing a 2–0 set lead. Wade did fight back from 1–3 to level the match.

Kirk Shepherd continued his amazing run and for the third time in the tournament survived his opponent having darts to win the match. Peter Manley had two darts to win the final set 3–0, but Shepherd came back to win the final set 4–2. After sharing the first four sets, Kevin Painter beat Adrian Lewis 5–2.

Kirk Shepherd 5–4 Peter Manley (3–0, 2–3, 3–2, 2–3, 1–3, 3–1, 2–3, 3–1, 4–2)
John Part 5-4 James Wade (3–2, 3–0, 1–3, 3–1, 2–3, 1–3, 3–1, 0–3, 4–2)
Wayne Mardle 5–4 Phil Taylor (0–3, 1–3, 0–3, 3–0, 3–1, 3–2, 2–3, 3–1, 6–4)
Kevin Painter 5–2 Adrian Lewis (3–0, 2–3, 3–0, 1–3, 3–0, 3–1, 3–2)

Day Eleven, Semi-finals, Sunday 30 December

[edit]

Kirk Shepherd's sensational run in the tournament continued as he beat Wayne Mardle in the semi-final to reach the final. Shepherd, the 21-year-old qualifier built up a 3–1 set lead and missed five darts to go 4–1 up only to see Mardle come back to take the lead 4–3. Mardle, who had beaten Phil Taylor the previous night in the quarter-finals looked to be on his way to his first world final before Shepherd fought back again to take the next three sets and become the first qualifier to reach the PDC World final.

The other semi-final was a more clinical performance as John Part returned to the final always having the edge over 2004 finalist Kevin Painter. The fourth set was potential decisive as Painter missed darts to take a 2–0 leg lead. Part then took out the next two legs and a 13-darter in the fourth leg gave him a 3–1 set lead. Painter missed a dart at bullseye to bring the score back to 2–3, leaving Part a 44 finish to go 4–1 up – then also missed a chance to take the sixth set. Part took the match with a classy 130 finish for a 6–2 win.

Kirk Shepherd 6–4 Wayne Mardle (0–3, 3–0, 3–2, 3–2, 2–3, 1–3, 2–3, 3–2, 3–1, 3–2)
John Part 6-2 Kevin Painter (3–2, 3–2, 0–3, 3–1, 3–2, 3–2, 0–3, 3–2)

Day Twelve, Final, Tuesday 1 January 2008

[edit]

John Part became World Champion for the third time with a ruthless 7–2 victory over qualifier Kirk Shepherd. Shepherd had beaten world number four Terry Jenkins, three time world finalist Peter Manley and Phil Taylor's conqueror Wayne Mardle to become the first qualifier to reach the PDC World final – but he had no answer to Part's experience in the final. The early stages of the match were close with both of the first two sets going down to a deciding leg. Part just edged the first set and in the deciding leg of the second started with 140, 180 and a 15-dart leg for a 2–0 lead. Part then ran off the next six legs to find himself 4–0 in front and missed a bullseye for a 5–0 lead before Shepherd took his first set. The sixth set again went to last leg with Part re-establishing a four set lead but Shepherd continued to battle away and took the seventh set with a brilliant 160 finish. Part opened the eighth set with a 139 finish, then Shepherd hit an 88 to level it before checkouts of 52 and 80 from Part took him one set away from victory at 6–2. The Canadian closed out victory in the ninth set with a double ten in the fifth leg.

John Part 7-2 Kirk Shepherd (3–2, 3–2, 3–0, 3–0, 2–3, 3–2, 2–3, 3–1, 3–2)

Trivia

[edit]
  • Kirk Shepherd became the youngest player to ever reach a Darts World Championship (PDC or BDO) final. His record was broken on 2 January 2024 when Luke Littler advanced into the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship at the age of 16 years and 348 days.[6]
  • No one in the tournament achieved a match average of over 100, for the first time since 1995.
  • As a result of Phil Taylor not advancing past the quarter-final stages, Raymond van Barneveld became the world number one.
  • The tournament saw the first ever PDC World Championship final without the presence of Phil Taylor.
  • None of the 4 semi-finalists from this tournament, the first at Alexandra Palace, have played at World Championship since the 2019 edition with Mardle not having qualified since 2010, Shepherd since 2011, champion Part since 2015, and Painter who failed to qualify in 2019 for the first time since 2001.
  • John Part became the first player to win the world championship in three different venues – having won the 1994 BDO World Championship at the Lakeside, the 2003 PDC title at the Circus Tavern and in 2008 at Alexandra Palace.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ PDC championship moves to London 2 April 2007
  2. ^ Current PDC Order of Merit Archived 4 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Top 32 players will qualify for World Championships
  3. ^ Current Players Championship Order of Merit Archived 9 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine Top eight will qualify for World Championship
  4. ^ Tournament structure Archived 9 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine Planetdarts website.
  5. ^ "Tournament averages". Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  6. ^ "Luke Littler - the 16-year-old who is changing darts at PDC World Championship". BBC Sport. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
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