Martin Adams and Scott Mitchell among the winners on the opening day of the World Seniors Darts Championship
Former Lakeside kings Martin Adams and Scott Mitchell made a successful start to the 2023 World Seniors Darts Championship on Thursday.
Wolfie, who finished second behind Robert Thornton in last year’s opening edition, looked like he was in for a tough duel as his opponent Dave Prins papered him over in the second set for a 1-1 equalizer, but he bounced back with three unanswered legs in the third to take command.
The three-time BDO World Champion was taken to the max in the fourth set but kept his nerve with a 76 clinical checkout to secure his place in the second round – although his 79 average needs improvement.
Earlier, Mitchell showed why he’s among the favorites on his debut with a resounding 3-0 win over Peter Manley, whose attempts at mind games had no effect.
The pantomime villain tricked Scotty Dog into opening his water bottle before the competition started, then laughed playfully in his face as he took the second leg after some distracting tactics.
Mitchell finished the set 3-1, however, before whitewashing Manley in the second, and although his opponent rolled back the years with an excellent 161 checkout in the third, it wasn’t too long before victory was sealed with an 84 average.
Kevin Painter and Dennis Harbor also stormed into the last 16 in the evening session with 3-0 victories over Ronnie Baxter and Trina Gulliver respectively.
Painter averaged an impressive 87 against one of his old rivals, while Harbor averaged an impressive 85 against the 10-time women’s world champion.
During the afternoon session, Terry Jenkins set a serious milestone in terms of his title qualifications with a 3-2 win over Chris Mason.
The Bull, who was a semi-finalist last year, averaged nearly 89 in a thrilling contest that many expected would go to the end.
Mason had rolled back the years during the Super Series modus late last year to reach the inaugural Champions Week, so it came as no surprise that he made a good impression at the Circus Tavern, despite this being his first mainstream televised tournament for ten years.
Eventually, however, he ran out of breath in the final set as Jenkins won 3-0.
Meanwhile, David Cameron, who defeated Phil Taylor in last year’s World Seniors Masters final, was eliminated by Richie Howson in another five-set thriller.
Cameron defeated Howson en route to that Masters title, but the local favorite retaliated with a 3-2 victory in which he averaged 84 to his opponent’s 88.
Darren Johnson edged out Larry Butler 3-2 with an 81 average, while Darryl Fitton went 3-2 against Les Wallace in the other game of the day.
World Senior Darts Championship schedule and results
Thursday February 9th
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 1
First Round (Best of 5 Sets)
- (13) Terry Jenkins 3-2 Chris Mason
- (11) Les Wallace 2-3 Darryl Fitton
- (7) David Cameron 2-3 Richie Howson
- (15) Larry Butler 2-3 Darren Johnson
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 1
- (12) Kevin Painter 3-0 Ronnie Baxter
- (5) Trina Gulliver 0-3 Dennis Haven
- (3) Martin Adams 3-1 Dave Prins
- (16) Peter Manley 0-3 Scott Mitchell
Friday February 10th
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 1
First Round (Best of 5 Sets)
- (10) Bob Anderson vs. Andy Jenkins
- (8) Neil Duff vs. Lisa Ashton
- (14) Tony O’Shea vs. Leonard Gates
- (9) Keith Deller vs. Michael Huntley
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
First Round (Best of 5 Sets)
- (6) John Part vs. Co Stompe
- (4) Glen Durrant vs. Mark Dudbridge
- (2) Phil Taylor vs. Colin McGarry
- (1) Robert Thornton vs. Roland Scholten
Saturday February 11th
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
Second round (best of 5 sets)
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
Quarterfinals (Best of 5 sets)
Sunday February 12th
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
Semifinals (Best of 7 sets)
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV coverage: BBC i Player/BT Sport 2
Finale (Best of 9 movements)
- Winner SF 1 vs. Winner SF 2
What TV channel shows darts of the World Seniors on?
The World Senior Darts Championship will be broadcast in the UK on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website, app and BT Sport.