The 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic was the seventh installment of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held in the evenings (GMT, morning local time/PST) between June 30 and July 6.
Phil Taylor emerged as the champion, in all but one match posting above a 100 average, beating James Wade in the final. This was his fourth Desert Classic title, having bounced back from a first round defeat to Mark Dudbridge in the 2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic.
Last year's champion Raymond van Barneveld was looking to retain his title but he was knocked out in the second round by Alan Tabern.
Prize money
A total prize fund of £126,400 was available for the tournament, unchanged from the previous year.
Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
Tournament review
Day 1, Wednesday 2nd July
The tournament began with veteran Dennis Priestley defeating Co Stompé 6-2. This was Stompé's debut in a televised PDC tournament having moved over from the British Darts Organisation a month earlier. Last year's runner-up and the fifth seed Terry Jenkins also defeated top Irish player Mick McGowan 6-4 - having led 3-0 Jenkins then slumped to allow McGowan to take the match to 4-4. However, Jenkins rallied and took the last two legs to win the match.
An upset was caused in the next match as 27-year-old Adrian Gray defeated Wayne Mardle, twice runner-up in the competition. Gray, who twice has reached the second round here before, checked out impressive finishes of 156 and 126 on the bullseye on his way to a 6-4 victory. Another upset also took place as fourth seed, world champion, and winner of this event in 2006, John Part, was defeated by Mervyn King 6-4. Neither player played at their best, both averaging below 90 despite hitting 8 180's between them.
The best match of the night came as top seed Phil Taylor clashed with Kevin Painter. Both players incredibly averaged over 100 (Taylor - 108, Painter - 104) and Painter did not miss a double. However he still lost 6-4 to Taylor, who had lost in the first round of this event the year previous.
Another seed was dumped out of the competition in the next match - eighth seed Colin Lloyd lost 5-6 to qualifier Sam Rooney. Rooney hit a 104 checkout in his win. Another upset looked to be taking place as Welshman Barrie Bates took a 3-0 lead against Roland Scholten however the Dutchman improved upon his scoring and managed to take the match 6-4. The final match of the night saw American and North American Championship winner Darin Young defeating Martin Burchell 6-4. Young hit a 158 checkout, the highest of the night, in the win.
The second day of the tournament saw sixth seed Andy Hamilton hit a 100+ average in defeating Canadian Shawn Brenneman 6-1. Among the highlights of the match were a 128 checkout on the bull from Hamilton, and winning the match with a ten dart leg. Mark Walsh was also on the verge of an upset against American Bill Davis who took a 5-3 lead. However, Walsh powered back to win the next three legs and the match; despite Davis having such a lead, he never actually had a dart to win the match.
The next match was a quick-fire contest between young Dutchman Jelle Klaasen and Canadian Gerry Convery. Despite six perfect darts towards a nine dart leg from Convery (a leg he later lost), Klaasen's 95 average and clinical finishing saw him win 6-1. The closest match of the night saw Scotsman Robert Thornton push seventh seed Adrian Lewis all the way - Thornton had led 2-0 and 4-2, but Lewis pulled back to 5-5. In the final leg both players hit 180s but Lewis was first to the double, which he hit to win 6-5.
Raymond van Barneveld, the second seed and defending champion, began his defence with a comprehensive victory 6-0 over Matt Clark. Clark scored well but couldn't hit the doubles which led to a Barneveld victory. A high-quality affair followed as number three seed James Wade took on Dennis Smith - despite no 180s being hit in the match both players had averages around 90 and Wade's 6-1 victory scoreline was perhaps harsh on Smith's efforts.
2003 Desert Classic champion Peter Manley then faced off against Steve Maish in another high scoring match. This time both players had averages above 90 but Manley's finishing was clinical, living up to his 'One Dart' nickname and taking the match 6-3. To close the first round, Alan Tabern defeated 1994 World Matchplay champion Larry Butler 6-4, despite Butler having darts to take a 5-3 lead.
American Independence Day and the date of all eight second round matches began with a steady victory for third seed James Wade over Mark Walsh, 8-5. Walsh was 4-1 down but levelled to 5-5 - with Walsh missing a dart to take the lead, Wade soon wrapped up the game. A more heavy scoring match followed with Premier League veterans Adrian Lewis and Peter Manley trading the lead and sharing 11 180s in a match where both averaged above 95. Lewis was 4-1 up however Manley produced some inspired darts and finally finished on double 1 to win 8-6.
Next up was sixth seed Andy Hamilton facing off against Jelle Klaasen - an unspectacular match saw Klaasen take a 6-3 lead, though Hamilton levelled to 7-7 and a 180 in the deciding leg helped Hamilton to an 8-7 victory, setting up a clash with third seed James Wade in the quarter finals. Two more experienced Premier League players met in the next match - Terry Jenkins became another seed to lose out when he met Roland Scholten. In a match with both players averaging 94 and the first seven legs going against throw, Scholten eventually sneaked past with an 8-6 victory.
Phil Taylor, the top seed, produced another 100+ average in seeing off old rival Dennis Priestley 8-4. Taylor included 101 and 109 checkouts in his win. The biggest story of the night came though as second seed and defending champion Raymond van Barneveld was knocked out of the tournament - Alan Tabern was a fairly comfortable victor 8-4. From 4-4 Tabern won four successive legs to set up an encounter with Peter Manley.
Adrian Gray continued his fine finishing form with a 160 checkout in an 8-3 win over Sam Rooney. From a steady start at 2-2, Gray soon zoomed into a 5-2 lead and never looked back as he won 3 of the next 4 legs to seal the win and a rematch with Taylor, whom he had defeated in a major upset in the first round of the 2007 World Grand Prix. The final match of the night and the second round saw the lone American left in the competition, Darin Young, face off against Mervyn King. A high-quality match saw 6 180s and three checkouts over 100 from King; in one instance Young performed a 12 darter despite King hitting back-to-back 180s to leave 41 - in the next leg King hit two more 180s making 12 perfect darts in a row. Young held onto the onslaught, levelling the match at 6-6 from 6-4, but King produced 14 and 13 darters to take the match 8-6.
The quarter-finals opened with an unexpected heavy victory for Roland Scholten, the sole non-English player left in the competition, over Mervyn King. King never played his best game, perhaps because of the late game the previous day against Darin Young. After a 1-1 scoreline, Scholten won the next 7 legs to take a commanding 8-1 lead, one that King couldn't come back from and Scholten took the game comfortably 11-2. His opponent in the semi-finals would be top seed Phil Taylor, who defeated Adrian Gray 11-4. Gray took the lead 3-1 early on with an encouraging start, but Taylor soon upped a gear - with the match at 4-4, Taylor also won 7 successive legs to win the match.
The other pair of quarter-finals saw third seed James Wade make an impressive start against sixth seed Andy Hamilton - he opened the match with a 170 checkout and went 2-0 up. Hamilton fought back to take the lead 3-2, but Wade then took the next 5 legs without reply and soon took a 10-4 lead. With Wade one leg away from victory, Hamilton began a spirited fightback, including a 135 checkout to take the match to 10-7, but Wade held his nerve and wrapped up the game on double top. The last quarter-final was somewhat unspectacular though steady; neither Peter Manley nor Alan Tabern could muster a 90+ average though Manley included checkouts of 161, 120, and 118 in his 11-8 win over Barneveld's conqueror.
The final day of the tournament opened with the first semi-final between Roland Scholten and Phil Taylor. Both players had defeated their quarter-final opponents heavily but it was Scholten who was on the wrong end of an 11-2 defeat this time. With Taylor posting a 103 average and hitting 11 out of 13 attempts at a double, the Dutchman could not do much to stem the onslaught and his missed chances were unlikely to have changed the outcome of the match. Taylor would meet James Wade in the final who came through a high-quality match against 2003 champion Peter Manley. Both players averaged over 95 and Manley looked to be heading for a win at 8-6 up. However, uncharacteristic missed doubles from Manley saw Wade take the next five legs in a row to seal the win 11-8.
James Wade however suffered the after-effects of a gruelling match in the final which followed soon after. Phil Taylor on the other hand had some time to rest and it soon showed as he took a 4-0 lead. Wade could only muster a 92 average and with Taylor on 105 a victory was rarely in doubt. While Wade hit back to 5-3 Taylor upped his game and soon lead 10-4. Wade hit a 126 checkout to get back to 10-5 but Taylor won two more legs to put himself on the brink of victory. Wade then won the next two legs, one of which was an 11 darter, but Taylor hit an 11 darter himself afterwards and took the title with a 13-7 win.
