Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen head up a scorching line-up and will resume their fiery rivalry in September’s Unibet Champions League of Darts. Other top names from the world of darts taking part will be Raymond van Barneveld, Dave Chisnall and Mensur Suljovic who will all be making their debuts in the Cardiff event.
Last year, in the inaugural BBC-televised tournament, Taylor claimed victory defeating world number one Van Gerwen in both the group stage and the final as he took the nice looking £100,000 top prize. With this year being Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor’s last year in the sport, the Champions League of Darts will be a final chance for fans in Wales to see the 16-time World Champion in competition as he tries his best to retain the title before he is set to retire at the end of 2017.
Having been ultimately written off from winning any further top honours, Taylor showed his class just weeks ago by winning the World Matchplay title by smashing rival Van Gerwen the final. This resulted in Taylor’s rise to fourth on the PDC Order of Merit meaning that he will line up alongside Van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis and Van Barneveld in Group A for this year’s Champions League of Darts.
Group B will be headlined by two-time World Champion Gary Anderson and world number three and the maestro of hairstyles, Peter Wright, who has himself won the UK Open and reached the Premier League and World Matchplay finals this year.
Completing a very strong line-up are two other Champions League debutants that will also feature in Group B. Seven-time TV finalist Dave Chisnall and 2016 European Championship runner-up Mensur Suljović will give the two Scots a good run for their money during the group phase.
Following three sessions of group matches, the top two players from each group will progress to Sunday evening’s semi-finals and final.
With darts now a huge spectacle on television as well as live, it will surely prove to be a great day out for all. With such a strong field of competition, I’d expect matches to be of the highest quality. An event that promises to be a mouth-watering prospect.
Unibet Champions League of Darts, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Sat 16 + Sun 17 Sept, Tickets: £15 – £35. Info: 029 2022 4488 / www.motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk
words OWEN SCOURFIELD