World Matchplay

Rarely has Phil Taylor won a title with apparently so little effort as he did in 2009. From the first dart he leaves to no doubt as to who is going to win this year. There is simply no one who even comes close to him. Throughout the tournament, he will only lose 20 legs. Mervyn King takes the most of his opponents in the semi-finals but also gets no further than six. Taylor’s opponent in the final is Terry Jenkins, who on his way to the final plays some excellent darts and defeats Raymond van Barneveld amongst others. It is the seventh major finale for the Raging Bull, but even after this final, he still stands empty-handed. He has never managed to win one of the major titles and after this final it will take until 2014 before he plays another one. Taylor wins with 18-4 and crowns himself the king of Blackpool for an unprecedented tenth time.

No less than five Dutch players take the oche at the start of the 2009 World Matchplay. Vincent van der Voort, Jelle Klaasen, Co Stompé, Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld are all in the draw. Because two compatriots clash in the first round one has to exit at that hurdle. Raymond van Barneveld beats Michael van Gerwen convincingly 10-3 and reached the quarterfinals. Van Barneveld loses in the quarterfinals despite an average of nearly 100 with 16-12 to Terry Jenkins. Vincent van der Voort also reaches the quarterfinals with victories over John Part and Wayne Mardle. However Mervyn King is too strong in the quarterfinals. The other two Dutchmen lose in the first round, though they certainly did not play bad. Co Stompé loses to Adrian Lewis with 7-10 and Jelle Klaasen goes down against Ronnie Baxter 8-10.