AS we move into the main chunk of September the PDC, and many other darts events begin to come thick and fast. The European Tour will move to Flanders field for the latest holding of a young event. It will however have crucial importance for World Grand Prix qualification and beyond.
The equivalent European Tour event was claimed by Joe Cullen who was entering another of his frequent career peaks. To overcome Durrant, Wade and MVG in turn was superb effort.
This week often featured PDC Players Championships that were vital for similar qualifications and as a result were nerve racking and unpredictable. A perfect example is Jose de Sousa grabbing a title back in 2019 together with Scott Taylor and Jamie Hughes reaching the semis the day after.
Watch out for similar in the coming couple of weeks.
DW, September 1996 was clearly sad to acknowledge the death of Billy Lennard and noted Mr Consistency’s superb competitive efforts and gentlemanly reputation. The News of the World Winner (1976) was often featured in the pages the magazine during his peak years.
The Twenty Teens
Meanwhile, the memory is stirred by a pair of BDO/WDF events that were modern classics. The England Matchplay and Classic were/are held around this time each year and have a hall of fame like few others. Glen Durrant won the Matchplay crown a remarkable 4 times in a row from 2015-18 inclusive!
The England Classic was a little less predictable, but only a little. Duzza won three titles in four years here as well. However just about every other recent titan of BDO/WDF darts claimed the crown including Stephen Bunting who claimed back-to-back crowns with the second 15 years ago this week.
The Women’s events also feature a roll call of tungsten titans (or is there female word for titan?) A decade ago in 2016, Lisa Ashton won both on consecutive days defeating Deta Hedman both times.
Fifteen years ago a slightly forgotten name from the women’s game claimed the Classic* crown. Julie Gore was an impressive player who won a raft of majors including two Winmau World Masters (Womens) titles in three years and a hatful of the games biggest titles between 2009-13.
September the 28th, in 1981, was a massive day for darts in the United Kingdom and later beyond. Don’t miss our social media for our acknowledgment of a remarkable ongoing contribution to our sport after 45 years.
Thirty Darts Years Ago
Darts World was celebrating the remarkable performance of Peter Evison in winning the PDC World Matchplay in Blackpool. The Fen Tiger put together a phenomenal run with different but equally remarkable victories over both Phil Taylor and Dennis Priestley and Darts World 286 in September 1996 gave ample space to mark this!
At the same time Raymond van Barneveld was busy collecting more BDO/WDF silverware with victory in the Belgian Open. In the final he overcame a man who left the nascent PDC when the bullying and bans became too much. Mike Gregory was only to reach one further significant final.
THE EVOLUTION OF DARTS: DartsWorld’s Dedicated Legacy Area
DARTS PLAYER MERCHANDISE AND COLLECTABLES AT OUR DARTSWORLD STORE!
* DW legacy rarely includes very current events but the 2025 Women’s England Classic winner was DartWorld’s ambassador Gemma Hayter (above). Her remarkable return to the game has seen victories in all codes and a first major title this year with her recent Women’s World Masters win.
Images: Tip Top Pics, Chris Sergeant and Darts World (covers)
