2005 UK Open

Budweiser UK Open
Tournament information
Dates	10–12 June 2005
Venue	Reebok Stadium
Location	Bolton
Country	England
Organisation(s)	PDC
Format	Legs
Prize fund	£124,000
Winners share	£30,000
Nine dart finish	Phil Taylor
Champion(s)
Phil Taylor
«2004 2006»

The 2005 Budweiser UK Open was the third year of the darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. A massive field of 170 players were whittled down to just one in 48 hours of hectic competition at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton. Phil Taylor eventually took the trophy with a 13–7 final victory over Mark Walsh. The tournament also featured Phil Taylor's third televised nine dart finish in his semi-final victory over Roland Scholten.

2004/2005 UK Open Regional Finals

26 September 2004 (Welsh) Phil Taylor 2–0 Tommy Wilson ^[1]
17 October 2004 (Irish) Phil Taylor beat Mark Walsh ^[2]
12 November 2004 (Scottish) Andy Smith 2–1 Gary Anderson^[3]
19 January 2005 (North East) Steve Hine 2–0 Bob Anderson^[4]
6 February 2005 (South West) Andy Smith 2–0 Andy Jenkins^[5]
6 March 2005 (Southern) Denis Ovens 2–1 Mark Dudbridge^[6]
20 March 2005 (North West) Alex Roy 2–1 Ronnie Baxter^[7]
10 April 2005 (Midlands) Jimmy Mann 2–0 Mark Walsh^[8]

Prize Money

^[9]
Champion: £30,000
Runner up: £15,000
Semi-finalists: £7,500
Quarter-finalists: £4,000
Last 16: £2,000
Last 32: £1,000
Last 64: £500

Tournament review

In the first round there was a fairytale that the UK Open often conjures, which is why it has earned the nickname, "The FA Cup of Darts". A 67-year-old Italian waiter from Lewisham called Sergio Bongiovanni appeared on TV many years before as a competitor in News Of The World tournament. His opponent was Portsmouth’s Ian Critchett. Critchett led 2–1, then 3–2 and it looked like ‘goodnight’ to the Italian. But some inspired darts saw him claw back and go through to round two with a 4–3 win.

In round 2, Richie Burnett soundly beat ‘Fen Tiger’ Peter Evison 4–0. Burnett said that he had taken a couple of months away from darts and had come back with a real desire to win. Another former world champ, Keith Deller seemed to be having a tough time against Surrey’s Jason Roberts at 2–2. However Deller’s experience showed through and he won 4–2 courtesy of a 100 checkout. Other round two highlights included Rod Harrington scraping through against Witney’s Nigel Russell 4–3, which is Harrington's last win on TV to date, and Andy Boulton ending the dreams of Sergio Bongiovanni with a 4–3 win. Snake fancier Steve Alker slithered through to round 4 with a 4–0 win over Rikki Blay and John Lowe continued to reel back the year’s with a 4–3 win over Mark Lawrence from Yorkshire (even going 6 darts into a possible perfect nine-darter during one of the legs). Lady player Deta Hedman provided the round's biggest upset though, defeating Aaron Turner in a last leg decider to become the first lady to defeat a male player in a televised major.

In round 3 ‘Sparky’ Mark Landers took out the veteran Tom Kirby from County Kildaire 5–2, while Richie Burnett comfortably beat Keith Deller 5–0 in a battle of former World Champions. ‘Big’ Cliff Lazarenko showed some inspired form to take out up-and-coming youngster Adrian Gray 5–1, while Dennis Smith scraped through 5–4 against Kevin Pearson from Surrey. Andy Belton scraped through 5–4 against Andy Callaby and Steve Alker continued his charge with a 5–4 win over Gary Dobson. Lionel Sams had no trouble with Glenn Moody and a 5–0 win and John Part beat Alan Warriner by the same score. John Lowe won again with an impressive 5–0 over Steve Johnson and Gary Welding beat a ‘mullet-less’ Steve Beaton 5–3 winning with a 109 checkout.

Round 4 and the top 32 money ranked players from the regional finals entered the fray. Probably the most eagerly awaited tie of the round was Phil Taylor against Ronnie Baxter. Taylor got off to a blistering start leading 6–1 and averaging 102. However Baxter began to show his class, too late unfortunately, but he managed to claw the scoreline back to a respectable 8–6 to Taylor. Wayne Mardle also flew out of the traps against James Wade but the Hampshire lad clawed the game back to overturn a 4–1 deficit to lead 6–5. Mardle took the next with a 104 checkout and that seemed the impetus he needed to take the next two legs as well for victory. Chris Mason stormed past Paul Williams 8–1 and "Tommo" Mark Thomson took out Richie Burnett 8–4. John Lowe soared on with an 8–5 win over Darren Johnson and surprise of the round saw Kevin Painter fall to Steve Alker by 6 legs to 8.

Into the last 32 and a cracking match between Chris Mason and Colin Lloyd. Played to a very high standard Mason led 9–4 after taking 6 legs on the trot. Lloyd clawed two back taking it to 9–6 with a 90 checkout on the bull. Mason took the next and then Lloyd made it 10–7 with a 120 checkout. ‘Mase The Ace’ just needed one more leg though and he took it to win 11–7 in a match where he threw 7 x 180s and averaged 99. Adrian Lewis had little trouble with Colin Monk winning 11–0 and Peter Manley beat Alan Reynolds 11–3. Erik Clarys went through to the last 16 beating Wayne Atwood 11–6 and Roland Scholten took out ‘Pie Man’ Andy Smith by the same score. Snake fancier Steve Alker finally had to slither home after coming up against ‘The Power’. Taylor winning 11–1 was the result to end Alker’s tremendous weekend. Mark Walsh beat Andy Hamilton by an impressive 11 legs to 4 and Lionel Sams squeezed through against Barrie Bates 11–10. John Part took out Mark Landers 11–3, while ‘Diamond’ Dave Askew put an end to Darren Webster’s tournament with an 11–8 win. It was a real case of the veteran against the young pretender as former World Champion Bob Anderson took on James Wade. Anderson took the early advantage leading 6–4 and he held the two leg advantage still at 8–6. Wade then won two legs in succession to tie the match and then another two to lead 10–8. Though Anderson took the next it was too late as Wade won 11–9 and booked his place in the final 16. John Lowe played a belter against Andy Belton to win 11–4 and Alex Roy took out ‘Big’ Cliff Lazarenko 11–5.

First match of the last 16 couldn't have been any more dramatic as Roland Scholten took on the ‘Legend’ John Lowe. Lowe had the first break to lead 3–2 courtesy of a 101 checkout but Scholten came back to then lead 4–3 (Scholten averaging 104). Lowe squared it at 5–5 and then following missed doubles by the Dutchman, Lowe led 8–6. At 9–7 and following a 141 checkout many thought John Lowe was on his way to the quarters. But Roland Scholten brought it back to 10–10 and then took the last leg to go into the quarters. Chris Mason was 4–2 down to Adrian Lewis early-on but in another high class encounter Mason came back to win 11–8. Mason also came within a whisker of a 9 darter shaving the wire of the final D18. Alex Roy beat Dave Askew 11–3 and Mark Walsh beat Mark Thomson 11–8. Things were close between Lionel Sams and Colin Osborne for half of the match but it was Osborne that motored at the business end to win 11–6. Erik Clarys took out ‘The boosh’ Mark Holden 11–6 and Peter Manley put an end to James Wade’s tournament with an 11–4 win.

Tie of the round though was Phil Taylor against John Part. Incredibly, Part took the first 4 legs averaging 102 before Taylor chalked up his first. Part then soared to 7–1 with Taylor averaging 99. But Taylor did what he does best and took out a 146 to make it 7–3. Part then showed his mettle with a 157 checkout against the darts to make it 8–3 but Taylor broke straight back. Part took it to 9–5, then 10–6 needing just one more leg for victory. Taylor dug in even though his average had dropped to 94 and pipped the remaining legs off one by one as Part’s nerve seemed to break. Finishing in spectacular style on 108 for the win, Taylor went through.

Into the quarters and first up was Alex Roy against Peter Manley. Manley turned a 5–3 lead into a 7–4 lead courtesy of a 164 checkout. That seemed to kick the last of the fight out of Roy and it was Manley who was in the semi’s. Roland Scholten stormed to an 8–1 lead against Colin Osborne and victory soon followed 11–4. Mark Walsh had too many bullets for ‘The Sheriff’ Erik Clarys turning a 5–1 lead into an ultimate 11–3 win. Next was Taylor against Mason. Taylor led 6–0 with a 108 average to Mason’s 92 showing the difference in the two players in this particular match. Mason had to wait until the tenth to take a leg and by then of course the match was long gone, 11–2 to Taylor.

Into the semi-finals and Phil Taylor has often said that top quality opponents (such as Roland Scholten) always bring the best out of you and there is always the chance of a nine-darter. For the second year in succession at the UK Open and for an incredible third time on live TV (of the few other players that have hit nine-darters on TV none have done so more than once – Lowe, Lim and Greatbatch). The match was of course overshadowed by the remarkable feat and Scholten put in a reasonable performance but nowhere near enough to worry Taylor who whipped in a 156 to win 11–6. Mark Walsh against Peter Manley was a poor match and it seemed the slow throw of ‘Walshie’ was grinding the fast-throwing ‘One Dart’ down. At 8–6 Walsh was winning with only an 84 average showing the poor standard of this semi-final. 11–7 ultimately to Walsh.

In the final Walsh broke Taylor immediately to win the first leg but shortly after and with a 124 Taylor led 4–2. Taylor made it 5–2 with a 107 finish averaging 97. Walsh brought the match back to 4–6 courtesy of another break in the ninth leg and then 5–6 following another break. Taylor then took 4 legs on the spin and upped his average from a pedestrian 97 to over 100. Another brief fight back from Walsh as he broke Taylor again with a 111 checkout but two more to Taylor effectively put an end to the match. 13–7 to Taylor finishing on 96 and another title to ‘The Power’. A gruelling day and Taylor said, "I’m absolutely shattered, this is the hardest tournament I have ever won."

Friday 10 June

Preliminary Round, best of 7 legs

^[10] Before the top ranked players were involved in the competition, a few players had to play in a preliminary round before round one proper, including three times World Champion John Lowe. He took on Wantage’s Jimmy Pryde in his opener and had little trouble winning 4-2. PDC veteran Kevin Spiolek returned to top flight darts with a 4-3 win over Ireland’s Paul Dillon (seen at last year’s World Grand Prix). Steve Alker produced a sensational performance in the first preliminary round with a rare 100% checkout rate (137, 120, 121 and 96) to win all four legs.

Player Score Player James Barton 0-4 Steve Alker John Lowe 4-2 Jimmy Pryde Mike Smith 2-4 Mark Tiller Marcus Knapman 3-4 Alan Tabern Wayne Atwood 4-1 Clive Bardon Gary Ellis 4-2 Robert Heard Mel Porter 0-4 Andy Boulton

Player Score Player Arthur Griffiths 4-1 Vernon Shepard Ian Crichett 4-2 Mark Davis Ian Lever 4-1 Scott Lacroix Nick Doabe 3-4 Mark Holyoake Geoff Harkup 1-4 Eamon Lily Kevin Rudling 0-4 Steve Grittins Richard Cantwell 2-4 Rikki Blay Ian Wise 4-1 Matt Sheehan

1st Round, best of 7 legs

^[10]

Player Score Player Paul Dillon 3-4 Kevin Spiolek Jason Clark 3-4 Aaron Turner Nigel Russell 4-2 Steve Richie Ian Critchett 3-4 Sergio Bongiovanni Mick MacGowan 4-0 Barry McLean Joeri Raets 4-0 Paul Everson Yves Cottenje 4-0 Mark Hollyoake Ian Lever 4-0 Steve Griffin Bob Avenell 1-4 Deka Kennedy Darren Moulsey 2-4 Glenn Durrant Alan Boulton 4-3 Roger Haines Al Hedman 0-4 Steve Alker Gary Blades 3-4 Gary Flynn Chris Gough 4-3 David Venables Eamon Lily 0-4 Robert Alford Gary Ellis 4-2 Paul Hollis

Player Score Player Andrew Stephenson 3-4 Glenn Moody Jamie Robinson 4-1 Ken Thomas Ken Dobson 4-3 Mark Tiller Ben Burton 1-4 Wayne Atwood Sam Rooney 4-1 John King Norman Fletcher 4-3 Lee Topper Ian Wise 4-3 Jason Gilbert Arthur Griffiths 1-4 Phil Wathen Gary Noonan 4-0 Leon Bartrup Darren Johnson 4-2 Mark Frost Stuart Pickles 4-3 Andy McGovern John Lowe 4-3 Steve Evans Jimmy Dunlop 3-4 Rikki Blay Gary Creamer 1-4 Shaun Walsh Chris Hook 4-1 Terry Hays Dave Honey 2-4 Alan Tabern

2nd Round, best of 7 legs

^[10]

Player Score Player Richie Burnett 4-0 Peter Evison Jason Roberts 2-4 Keith Dellar Norman Fletcher 4-2 David Platt Gary Ellis 4-3 Matt Chapman Kevin Painter 0-4 Graeme Stoddart Deta Hedman 4-3 Aaron Turner Nigel Russell 3-4 Rod Harrington John Lowe 4-3 Mark Lawrence Andrew Davies 4-2 Tony Randell Mick McGowan 3-4 James Wheatley Ian Lever 4-3 Chris Gough Stewart Rattray 4-0 Paul Heston Chris Hook 3-4 Gary Noonan Andy Keen 2-4 Darren Johnson Kevin Spoilek 1-4 Joeri Raets

Player Score Player Tony Smith 4-2 Simon Wheatey Phil Watern 4-3 Alan Tabern Vic Hubbart 4-0 Ian Wise Dave Jowett 4-2 Gary Flynn Gary Dellow 4-3 Robert Allford Ray Cornibet 4-3 Glenn Durrant Sam Rooney 1-4 Glenn Moody Peter Wright 4-3 John Watson Dave Smith 4-3 Stuart Pickles Sergio Bongiovanni 3-4 Andy Boulton Robbie Widdows 3-4 Wayne Atwoods Gareth Pass 2-4 Ian White Jamie Robinson 4-3 Deka Kennedy Shaun Walsh 1-4 Ken Dobson Rikki Blay 0-4 Steve Alker

Saturday 11 June

3rd Round, best of 9 legs

^[10]

Player Score Player Tom Kirby 2-5 Mark Landers Cliff Lazerenko 5-1 Adrian Gray Alan Warriner 0-5 John Part Wes Newton 4-5 Andy Hamilton Dennis Smith 5-4 Kevin Pearson Eddie Lovely 4-5 Steve Coote Barrie Bates 5-1 Jamie Harvey Gary Welden 5-3 Steve Beaton Andy Hayfield 5-3 Steve Maish Steve Alker 5-4 Ken Dobson Wayne Atwood 5-2 Ray Cornibert Yves Cottenje 5-2 Sean Palfrey Mark Robinson 5-4 James Wheatley Graeme Stoddart 3-5 Paul Williams Joeri Raets 5-2 Gary Noonan Stewart Rattray 5-2 Gary Dellow

Player Score Player Andy Nye 4-5 Kevin Dowling Andrew Davies 5-2 Gary Ellis Bob Crawley 5-2 Rod Harrington Deta Hedman 5-3 Norman Fletcher Keith Dellar 0-5 Richie Burnett Glenn Moody 0-5 Lionel Sams Dennis Priestley 5-1 Phil Wathen Vic Hubbard 5-2 Ian Lever Dave Jowell 4-5 Darrren Webster Andy Belten 5-4 Andy Callaby Colin Osbourne 5-1 Andy Boulton Dave Smith 5-4 Peter Wright Jamie Robinson 2-5 Ian Whillis Peter Allen 5-3 Darren Williams Steve Johnson 0-5 John Lowe Tony Smith 4-5 Darren Johnson

4th Round, best of 15 legs

^[10]

Player Score Player Michael Barnard 7-8 Roland Scholten Colin Lloyd 8-2 Andy Hayfield Ronnie Baxter 6-8 Phil Taylor Wayne Mardle 6-8 James Wade Mark Dudbridge 5-8 Mark Walsh Andy Jenkins 6-8 Bob Anderson Peter Manley 8-3 Steve Coote Steve Alker 8-6 Kevin Painter Bob Crawley 6-8 Steve Hine Darren Webster 8-7 Matt Clark Denis Ovens 6-8 Alex Roy Jimmy Mann 6-8 Mark Landers Mick Manning 8-6 Kevin Dowling Tom Wilson 6-8 Gary Welding Wayne Atwood 8-1 Deta Hedman Colin Osbourne 8-5 Yves Cottenge

Player Score Player Andy Smith 8-5 Wayne Jones Andrew Davies 0-8 Mark Holden Dave Smith 5-8 Cliff Lazerenko Chris Mason 8-1 Paul Williams Alan Caves 5-8 Colin Monk Stewart Rattray 6-8 Erik Clarys John Part 8-5 Dennis Priestley Darren Johnson 5-8 John Lowe Andy Belten 8-4 Peter Allens Ian Whilis 5-8 Alan Reynolds Lionel Sams 8-5 Dennis Smith Richie Burnett 0-8 Mark Thomson Terry Jenkins 5-8 Dave Askew Barrie Bates 8-3 Joeri Raets Adrian Lewis 8-2 Vic Hubbard Mark Robinson 4-8 Andy Hamilton

Last 32 to final

^[11][12]

	5th Round (best of 21 legs) 11 June					6th Round (best of 21 legs) 12 June					Quarter-Finals (best of 21 legs) 12 June					Semi-Finals (best of 21 legs) 12 June					Final (best of 25 legs) 12 June
	Phil Taylor		11
	Steve Alker		1
						Phil Taylor		11
						John Part		10
	Mark Lambers		3
	John Part		11
											Phil Taylor		11
											Chris Mason		3
	Chris Mason		11
	Colin Lloyd		7
						Chris Mason		11
						Adrian Lewis		8
	Adrian Lewis		11
	Colin Monk		0
																Phil Taylor (100.62)		11
																Roland Scholten (91.59)		6
	Roland Scholten		11
	Andy Smith		0
						Roland Scholten		11
						John Lowe		10
	Andy Belton		4
	John Lowe		11
											Roland Scholten		11
											Colin Osborne		4
	Colin Osborne		11
	Mick Manning		10
						Colin Osborne		11
						Lionel Sams		6
	Lionel Sams		11
	Barrie Bates		10
																					Phil Taylor (97.80)		13
																					Mark Walsh (89.52)		7
	Mark Walsh		11
	Andy Hamilton		4
						Mark Walsh		10
						Mark Thomson		11
	Mark Thomson		11
	Gary Welding		6
											Mark Walsh		11
											Erik Clarys		2
	Erik Clarys		11
	Wayne Atwood		6
						Erik Clarys		11
						Mark Holden		6
	Mark Holden		11
	Steve Hine		9
																Mark Walsh (79.92)		11
																Peter Manley (85.02)		7
	Peter Manley		11
	Alan Reynolds		3
						Peter Manley		11
						James Wade		4
	James Wade		11
	Bob Anderson		9
											Peter Manley		11
											Alex Roy		5
	Alex Roy		11
	Cliff Lazarenko		5
						Alex Roy		11
						Dave Askew		3
	Dave Askew		11
	Darren Webster		8

Random draws were made after each round, draw bracket has been compiled retrospectively.
Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)

References