Friday 23 November 2012

Barnsley

I'm hoping to qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead this weekend in Barnsley, I will be gutted if I don't, it  is so close for the last few places.

Tonight I am at the John Smiths Stadium in Huddersfield for the Champions Night, this will be a brilliant evening, hope you have booked your tickets !!!!!

Wednesday 14 November 2012

GR8ofdarts

Unfortunately Steve Beaton cannot give the commitment needed for the GR8 of Darts so will no longer be involved with the Team.
Steve will honour the booking at the Liverpool Football Club with Kevin Painter on Friday 1st February 2013 but it will be his last exhibition and involvement with the GR8.
Steve wishes the GR8 Team all the best for the future.

Saturday 10 November 2012

William Hill Grand Slam

STEVE BEATON is aiming to get off to a winning start when he meets Michael van Gerwen in the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts on Saturday.

Beaton takes on the sport's form player when the £400,000 tournament kicks off on Saturday at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, with van Gerwen having won last month's World Grand Prix and six ProTour titles this year.

Beaton, though, reached the semi-finals in Wolverhampton two years ago and is confident of coming through a tough group against van Gerwen, Robert Thornton and Ted Hankey.

"Winning the first game can give you a lot of confidence, so I'm looking to do that on Saturday," he said. "After that, you might only need to win one of the last two games to get through so the pressure is off a little bit.

"It's a tough group though! Michael van Gerwen's just won the World Grand Prix and Robert Thornton's won the UK Open, so they've won majors this year, and Ted's a great player.

"But the best thing about it is that the group stage is the best of nine legs, so it's anybody's game really."

Beaton and van Gerwen enjoyed a couple of superb battles in the Championship League Darts event recently, including one game where the Dutch ace averaged 121 and whitewashed the former World Champion in a little over eight minutes.

"I've got to get out and get the first couple of legs straight away," admits Beaton. "I don't want to be on the back foot from the beginning because he's got a good chance of romping away then.

"When Michael played me the other week and hit a 120-plus average, I had one shot at a double in the whole game - at the bull! He was going out on silly scores, and I'd be leaving a double and not getting a poke at it.

"Hopefully he's not going to be playing that well again on Saturday, or I'll have to have a 121 average, but you have ups and downs and it's hard to play that well all the time.

"It shows the standard of the game now because at the moment you can't afford to have an iffy game. Years ago, you could probably have a bit of an iffy game and get away with it, but now if you're not hitting a 100 average, you're out.

"I think that's where the game has turned around now, and you have to be hitting that average all the time."

Beaton won through to the semi-finals of the Grand Slam two years ago with a victory over Phil Taylor, and is looking forward to returning to the Wolves Civic.

"I like the Wolverhampton Civic Hall," he added. "It's a great venue, the crowd are close to you and you can get a good feel for the atmosphere.

"With the first round being round-robin, it gives you a chance to settle in and get used to the venue, the stage and the atmosphere. As you progress through the games get longer so you can relax more."

Tickets for the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts are still available in person from the Wolves Civic Box Office in Queens Square, by calling 0870 320 7000 or via www.wolvescivic.co.uk.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

WILLIAM HILL GRAND SLAM OF DARTS DRAW


WILLIAM HILL GRAND SLAM OF DARTS DRAW
A BRILLIANT WEEK OF DARTS
GROUP A
Phil Taylor (1)
Scott Waites
Mark Webster
Co Stompe

GROUP B
Michael van Gerwen (8)
Robert Thornton
Ted Hankey
Steve Beaton

GROUP C
Simon Whitlock (5)
Kevin Painter
Dean Winstanley
James Hubbard

GROUP D
James Wade (4)
Jan Dekker
Mervyn King
Arron Monk

GROUP E
Adrian Lewis (2)
Gary Anderson
John Part
Tony O'Shea

GROUP F
Andy Hamilton (7)
Paul Nicholson
Brendan Dolan
Barrie Bates

GROUP G
Wes Newton (6)
Terry Jenkins
Wesley Harms
Martin Phillips

GROUP H
Christian Kist (3)
Raymond van Barneveld
Mark Walsh
Wayne Jones