20 – James Wade wins his first ever Players Championship title, his fourth Pro Tour event in all. He won the second Stan James Players Championship of the weekend in Gibraltar by beating Denis Ovens in the final.
31 – The 2008 Premier League gets underway and Phil Taylor tastes defeat for the first time in the history of the competition. James Wade ended Taylor's three-year unbeaten run in the competition with an 8–6 win in Glasgow.
February
10 – Colin Lloyd takes his first PDC Pro Tour title since November 2006 by claiming the UK Open South-West Regional Final in Taunton. He beat Andy Hamilton in the final.
10 – Scotland's Winmau World Master Robert Thornton added the Dutch Open (WDF) title to his collection beating Dutchman Alain van Bouwel 3–0 in the Men's Final. Reigning Women's World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova added more silverware to her collection when she won the Women's title beating Netherlands Carla Molema by 5 legs to 2.
17 – Yorkshire's Garry Thompson became the 14th different winner in the 14-year history of the Scottish Open. He beat Winmau World Master Robert Thornton and England captain Martin Adams on his way the final where he beat Shaun Greatbatch by 5 legs to 1. Anastasia Dobromyslova added the Scottish Open Singles title when she defeated Francis Hoenselaar by 4 legs to 2 in the women's final.
21 – A court case in the Netherlands ends with the judge unable to find enough evidence regarding an existing contract between the PDC and the organisers of the two Dutch tournaments, the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy. Without PDC players and a television agreement, the IDL is postponed indefinitely and the WDT's future remains doubtful.
24 – Wales win the WDF Nations Cup at the Rhydycar Leisure Centre in Merthyr Tydfil. The five man team of Robert Hughes, Gareth Holt, Wayne Warren, Martin Phillips and Mark Webster beat England 13–8 in the final.
March
1 – Phil Taylor picks up the Southern Players Championship title at the Brentwood Centre in Essex. He beat Chris Mason, Wayne Mardle, Adrian Lewis and James Wade to take his first PDC Pro Tour title of the year. Despite his "lack of form",it was his fifth title in his last six tournaments – with only the World Championship missing from the collection.
1 – Steve West wins the Finnish Open with a 5–4 final victory over Robert Wagner. Sari Nikula beat Tarja Salminen in an all-Finland final for the women's title.
2 – Colin Lloyd takes his second PDC Pro Tour title of the year by beating Phil Taylor in the Southern Regional Final of the UK Open in Brentwood, Essex. Four Dutch players reach the last eight of the event.
15 – St Helens player Alan Tabern won the North West Players Championship in Wigan beating Chris Mason in the final.
16 – Phil Taylor wins the North West Regional Final of the UK Open in Wigan in a deciding leg shootout against Adrian Lewis.
25 – Bob Anderson is confirmed as the eighth and final player in the Legends Tour due to start in May.
27 – Adrian Lewis misses his Premier League match against Phil Taylor in Birmingham due to illness. Terry Jenkins is asked to play twice in the night, with Lewis's match rescheduled the following week.
29 – Phil Taylor's successful month continues in Telford with his fourth successive Pro Tour Title – the Midland Players Championship defeating Colin Lloyd in the final.
30 – Phil Taylor wins his fifth successive title, all in the month of March winning the Midland Regional Final of the UK Open – the last of the eight regionals. He beat Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-final and Brendan Dolan in the Telford final.
5 – The British Darts Organisation announce a new BDO Grand Prix series of five events to be televised by Setanta Sports from May to September, the Welsh Open, International Open, Gold Cup, British Classic and British Open.
12 – Phil Taylor wins a sixth successive PDC Pro Tour title by winning the Antwerp Darts Trophy. It takes his unbeaten run in floor events to 42 matches.
21 – Robert Thornton joins the PDC.[5] Thornton becomes the first high-profile switch of 2008 and following Michael van Gerwen in 2007, it's the second consecutive year that the incumbentWinmau World Masters champion has left the BDO before defending the title. Thornton was also the BDO's number one ranked player at the time of the switch.
24 – Dutchman Willy van der Wiel wins the Norway Open beating Scotland's Paul Hanvidge in the final. Carina Ekberg beat Scotland's Louise Hepburn in the Women's final.
26 – Phil Taylor wins the Premier League for the fourth successive year. He beat Adrian Lewis 11–1 in the semi-final with a 112.68 average then James Wade 16–8 with a 108.36 average. Wade had earlier defeated world number one, Raymond van Barneveld in the other semi-final.
5 – Women's' World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova loses narrowly in the deciding leg of her first round match at the UK Open to World Masters Champion Robert Thornton.
7 – The Swiss Open title is taken by Dutchman Joey ten Berge who beat England's Dave Prins 3–2 in the final. The women's event is won by Carla Molema who beat Irina Armstrong in the Women's Final by 2 sets to 1.
8 – James Wade adds his third PDC major title by winning the UK Open in Bolton. He beat Gary Mawson in the final. Raymond van Barneveld beat Phil Taylor in the quarter-finals for the third successive year. The Dutchman then lost to Mawson in the semi.
11 – Co Stompé becomes the latest BDO player to switch to the PDC.[6]
14 – Phil Taylor claims his eighth PDC Pro Tour title at the Players Championship in Bristol beating Alan Tabern in the final.
14 – It is confirmed that Shaun Greatbatch is diagnosed with cancer and is in hospital undergoing tests. No further details were confirmed.
15 – Dennis Priestley wins his first Pro Tour title since February 2007 at the second Players Championship in Bristol. He beat Kevin Painter 3–2 in the final.
15 – Davy Richardson won the Setanta Sports televised BDO British International defeating Scotland's Ross Montgomery by 4 sets to 1. Francis Hoenselaar took the women's title 3–2 over Patsy Fletcher.
23 – John Raby passes away after a long battle against motor neurone disease and cancer. His promotions company, JR Darts helped with organisation of tournaments in the PDC from its infancy. Barry Hearn said without Raby, "we might not have had a PDC." He had been inducted into the PDC Hall of Fame in 2007.[7]
27 – The League of Legends entertain the Hilton Hotel in Birmingham for week 3 of competition. Dave Whitcombe continued his winning ways, claiming a third straight win with 7–3 win over Eric Bristow. Bobby George won his first game of the league, beating Peter Evison 7–3. There were also wins for Bob Anderson and Keith Deller who respectively beat Cliff Lazarenko and John Lowe, who is the only one of the eight still without a win having lost his first three games.
29 – Phil Taylor wins his ninth PDC Pro Tour title of the year by winning the Players Championship in Las Vegas beating Ronnie Baxter in the final. Raymond van Barneveld suffered a shock first round exit to Germany's Michael Rosenauer, who went on the reach the semi-finals along with Mark Walsh. Mark Frost reached the quarter-finals and in doing so he secures his place in the World Matchplay.
30 – Phil Taylor extends his winning run to 31 matches by taking the first of the weekend's Players Championships in the Netherlands. He beats James Wade in the final.
31 – Phil Taylor completes the weekend title double in the Netherlands beating Terry Jenkins in the final. It is his sixth tournament win in a row and extends his winning run to 38 matches. His record in knockout matches in 2008 stands at 128 wins, 5 defeats with 17 titles in 18 finals.
31 – Mark Webster wins the WDF Europe Cup with 4–0 win over Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney while the England pairing of Martin Adams and John Walton won the Pairs. They defeated Marko Kantele and Jarkko Komula 4–2. The men's team title went to Denmark for the first time.
31 – Krysztof Ratajski of Poland created a sensation by the Denmark Open Singles. He defeated Dutchman Fabian Roosenbrand in the final. The Women's title went to Julie Gore (Wales) who defeated Russia's Irina Armstrong 4–1.
September
4 – Norman Wright, husband of Cumbria Secretary and BDO stalwart Alma Wright dies.
15 – Ellie Hindle, who worked closely with the BDO for many years at Pontin's, Brean Sands dies from cancer.
20 – In an all Scottish final, John Henderson beats Gary Anderson 4–2 in the final of the British Open in Bridlington. Despite the defeat Anderson won the inaugural BDO British Grand Prix and £12,000 top prize. Ross Montgomery was second and Davy Richardson third. In the Women's singles, Trina Gulliver beat Francis Hoenselaar 3–1 in the women's final.
27 – Mareno Michels (Netherlands) won the men's singles at the French Open beating Robert Hughest (Wales) 5–4 i the final. Irina Armstrong (Russia) won the Women's Singles defeating Karin Krappen of the Netherlands 4–0 in the final. Daniel van Mourik (Netherlands) won the Youth Singles.
29 – Shaun Greatbatch confirms his withdrawal from the World Masters and Zuiderduin Masters due to entering hospital at the beginning of November for continued treatment, but he remains optimistic about his chances of taking part at the Lakeside in January.
October
12 – Phil Taylor regains the World Grand Prix title in Dublin, beating Raymond van Barneveld in the final.
12 – Tony O'Shea and Anastasia Dobromyslova took the titles at the Welsh Masters. Bernie Smith (NZ) and Corrine Hammond (Aus) won the Singles titles in the 2008 New Zealand Masters.
12 – Gene Raymond, a former Surrey and England player dies. Raymond moved to Spain in later years.
17 – Lisa Ashton will replace Anastasia Dobromyslova at the Zuiderduin Masters. Anastasia is still plagued with visa problems and will not be permitted to play in the event by the Dutch authorities.
17 – Wes Newton secures a place in the Grand Slam of Darts winning the wildcard qualifier. Colin McGarry, Alan Tabern and Jamie Caven take second, third and fourth.
18 – Alex Roy wins the Scottish Players Championship
19 – James Wade win the second of the weekend's Players Championships
25 – Colin Osborne wins the Kirchheim Players Championship.
26 – Russell Stewart wins the Oceanic Masters.
November
1 – Michael van Gerwen wins the Gleneagle Irish Masters
2 – Phil Taylor wins the inaugural European Championship beating Adrian Lewis 11–5 in the final in Frankfurt, Germany.
2 – Terry Jenkins wins the John McEvoy Gold Darts Classic Pro Tour event in Killarney beating namesake Andy Jenkins in the final.
8 – Mervyn King wins the first of the weekend's Players Championships in Holland.
9 – James Wade wins the second Player's Championship in Holland
14 – The Pro-Celebrity curtain raiser to the Grand Slam of Darts is won by former Olympic javelin star Steve Backley who partnered James Wade to the title at the Wolverhampton Civic.
16 – Stephen Bunting wins the Northern Ireland Open beating Darryl Fitton in the final. Francis Hoenselaar beat Trina Gulliver to take the women's title.
23 – Scott Waites beat Scott Mitchell to win the Swedish Open. Carina Ekberg beat Kristin Bomander in an all-Swedish affair in the women's final
23 – Phil Taylor retains his Grand Slam Of Darts title.
17 – PDC Official Eddie Cox, brother of Tournament Director Tommy Cox, died suddenly – aged 51.[8]
18 – A new TV deal is announced confirming that the PDC World Darts Championship will remain on Sky Television until 2013 which will be the 20th PDC World Championship.
WDF ranking points awarded: Winner 150, Runner-up 100, Semi-Finalists 80, Quarter-Finalists 48, 9th to 16th place 24, 17th to 32nd place 12.
Dutch Open at NH Hotel/Congress centre, Veldhoven, February 7–10
Quarter-finals (Losers €500, Best of 9 legs) Robert Thornton (84.99) 4–1 Joey Ten Berge (88.14), Robert Wagner (100.20) 4–0 Patrick Bulen (78.63), Alain Van Bouwel (79.53) 4–1 Edwin Max (74.82), Willem Kralt (71.19) 4–3 Phill Nixon (75.84)
Semi-finals (Losers €1,250, Best of 5 sets, 5 legs per set) Robert Thornton (102.51) 2–0 Robert Wagner (97.59), Alain Van Bouwel (80.79) 2–0 Willem Kralt (76.80).
Final (Winner €4,500 Runner-up €2,250, Best of 7 sets, 5 legs per set) Robert Thornton (92.52) 3–0 Alain Van Bouwel (84.24)
Scottish Open at Normandy Cosmopolitan Hotel, Renfrew, February 16–17
Quarter-finals (Losers £100, Best of 5 legs) Garry Thompson 3–1 Robert Thornton, Martin Adams 3–1 Willy Van De Wiel, Shaun Greatbatch 3–2 Daryl Gurney, Scott Waites 3–2 Steve O Donnell.
Semi-finals (Losers £300, Best of 7 legs) Garry Thompson 4–2 Martin Adams, Shaun Greatbatch 4–3 Scott Waites.
Final (Winner £2,000 Runner-up £800) Garry Thompson 5–1 Shaun Greatbatch
Quarter-finals (Losers €240) Mike Veitch 2–1 Mark Salmon, Gary Anderson 2–0 Robert Wagner, Robert Thornton 2–1 Brian Derbyshire, Mark Webster 2–1 Scott Waites.
Semi-finals (Losers €480) Gary Anderson 2–0 Mike Veitch, Robert Thornton 2–0 Mark Webster
Final (Winner €2,400 Runner-up €1,200) Gary Anderson 3–0 Robert Thornton
Welsh Open at Pontins in Prestatyn, May 18. Matches played in sets, five legs per set.
Quarter-finals (Losers £150) Alan Norris 2–1 Ian Jones, Gary Anderson 2–1 Robert Thornton, Robert Hughes 2–0 Alan Walker, Mark Webster 2–0 Tony Clark.
Semi-finals (Losers £500) Gary Anderson 3–1 Alan Norris, Mark Webster 3–2 Robert Hughes
Final (Winner £2,000 Runner-up £1,000) Gary Anderson 4–0 Mark Webster
WDF Category 2 Events
German Gold Cup, 27 January (Winner €840, Runner-up €420) Steve West 3–2 Andree Welge
Las Vegas Open, 27 January (Winner $800, Runner-up $400) Darin Young beat Jerry Hilbourn
Dortmund Open, 17 February (Winner €1,000, Runner-up €450) Ronny Huybrechts 3–1 Jerry Hendricks
Isle of Man Open, 9 March (Winner £5,000, Runner-up £1,000) Dave Chisnall 3–1 Robert Hughes
England Open, 12 April (Winner £2,000, Runner-up £1,000) Ross Montgomery 3–2 Gary Anderson
BDO International Open, 15 June (Winner £2,000, Runner-up £600) Davy Richardson 4–1 Ross Montgomery
Canadian Open, 15 June (Winner CAN$1,000, Runner-up CAN$500) Jerry Hull beat Danny MacInnis
Australian Grand Masters, 6 July (Winner A$2,900, Runner-up A$1,400) Tony David 5–3 Rob Modra
Pacific Masters, 26 July (Winner A$1,100, Runner-up A$600) Simon Whitlock 6–2 Anthony Fleet
New Zealand Open, 6 August (Winner NZ$1,500, Runner-up NZ$700) Derrick Samson 5–2 Wayne Carey
Belgian Open, 10 August (Winner €2,000, Runner-up €1,000) Scott Waites 4–2 Johnny Petermans
Malaysian Open, (Winner RM2,000, Runner-up RM1,000) 24 August Tengku Hadzali Shah beat Lourence Ilagan
WDF Europe Cup, 27–30 August, Mark Webster 4–0 Daryl Gurney
British Open, 20 September, (Winner £3,000 Runner-up £1,000) John Henderson 4–2 Gary Anderson
New event consisting of five events televised by Setanta Sports in the United Kingdom. Tournament winners receive 15 Grand Prix points, runners-up 9, semi-finalists 6 and quarter-finalists 3.
18 May Welsh Open – winner Gary Anderson
15 June BDO International Open – winner Davy Richardson
12 July BDO Gold Cup – winner Scott Waites
26 July BDO British Classic – winner Ross Montgomery
21 September British Open – winner John Henderson
At the conclusion of the BDO International Grand Prix Series, the accumulated points won by players in each of the five tournaments from the highest to eighth position earned the following prizes:
1. Gary Anderson 42 points: £12000
2. Ross Montgomery 24 points: £6000
3. Davy Richardson 18 points: £4000
4. Scott Waites 15 points: £2750
4. John Henderson 15 points: £2750
6. Gary Robson 12 points: £2000
7. Mark Webster £1500
8th place (£1,000) was shared between the following players:
Chris Jones
Stuart Bousfield
Mareno Michels
Edwin Max
Robbie Green
Mark Barilli
Alan Norris
Robert Hughes
Other Events
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