PART DEFIES HEAT FOR VIENNA VICTORY
JOHN PART won his second Players Championship of 2011 with a whitewash of Denis Ovens in the Austrian Open decider on Saturday in Wiener Neustadt.
The Canadian had picked up a £6,000 title in Derby in February with a flawless 6-0 win over Mark Walsh, and repeated the scoreline in the final in Austria to see off Ovens.
Part also claimed the notable scalp of 15-time World Champion Phil Taylor in a brilliant day of darts, as the world number 30 ensured qualification for July^s World Matchplay, as well as the year^s other televised major championships.
Part began the event with a 6-1 win over Austrian Mario Schutter, before defeating Steve Maish and Co Stompe to set up a last 15 clash with his great rival Taylor.
Taylor had dropped just four legs in his first three games, but went down 6-2 as Part swept into the last eight, where he defeated a second home favourite, Mensur Suljovic, with a 6-1 scoreline.
Part trailed 3-2 in his semi-final with Wright before finishing 124 to level, and after the colourful ace from Lowestoft won the seventh, Part took three without reply to reach the final.
There, he proved too strong for Ovens by winning all six leg without reply to take the £6,000 first prize.
"To whitewash Denis after what happened with Mark Walsh, I guess I^m pretty good in finals!" said the three-time World Champion. "I^ve got a nice throw going, I^m scoring well.
"I guess the big game was against Phil [Taylor]. He hit five or six 180s against me and although he tried to bully me, I never let him get far enough ahead to do that and I scored pretty well and didn^t miss too many shots.
"It^s all about making as few mistakes as possible, and you can^t make too many and expect to get a win on this tour now.
"I had a silly leg in the semi-final, where both Peter and I missed a lot of darts and he eventually went 4-3 up, but I didn^t let it get to me.
"Beating Phil and going on to win an event isn^t just special, I can also say I was the best player today, I^m the champion. I^ll come back tomorrow and see if I am the champion again."
Ovens^ display earned him £3,000 for his efforts, which including a narrow 6-5 win over Kim Huybrechts in the semis.
Belgian prospect Huybrechts led 5-3 and missed three darts to win the match in the ninth leg before Ovens took out 74 to keep the game alive, hit two 180s in levelling the match and finished double top in the decider for victory.
Ovens also defeated Austrian Christoper Ollinger, Spain^s Carlos Rodriguez and the English trio of Mick Todd, Ronnie Baxter and Mark Hylton in his run to the final, which should see him earn a World Matchplay qualifying place through the Players Championship Order of Merit.
Huybrechts is now likely to qualify to compete in July^s European Championship after reaching the semi-finals with some superb darts, including a quarter-final whitewash of Kevin Painter and wins over Andree Welge, Vincent van der Voort, Michael Smith and Tony Eccles.
Suljovic had won his place in the quarter-finals in a dramatic last 16 game which was played on stage at the Arena Nova, with Robert Thornton missing a dart to win the game in the deciding leg before the Austrian thrilled 1,500 fans by hitting tops for victory.
Painter^s run saw him reach his second quarter-final of the year on the PDC ProTour, and featured an impressive 6-4 win over Simon Whitlock in the last 16.
Scott Rand continued his emergence by reaching a second quarter-final of the year, while left-hander Mark Hylton also progressed to the last eight.
Sunday will see a second £35,000 Austrian Open Players Championship take place at the Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt.
Austrian Open Players Championship (Saturday)
First Preliminary Round
Wilhelm Schwingenschlogel 6-2 Wilfried Hoberg
Anton Pein 6-3 Ignacio Basullas
Remco van Eijden 6-0 Alexander Brandl
Robert Marijanovic 6-3 Stefan Taferner
Michel Kocik 6-0 Christian Kruger
Josef Untermarzone 6-2 Stefan Schaffer
Christopher Ollinger 6-3 Gerhard Fichtinger
Miroslav Slusarcik 6-4 Raul Invernon
Karl Binder 6-1 Christian Maier
Michael Rasztovitz 6-0 Franz Flaser
Kristian Kaufmann 6-0 Claus Wodel
Martino Tagliapietra 6-0 Michael Tafner
Roland Freistatter 6-1 Andreas Weinzierl
James Rodriguez 6-4 Rowby Rodriguez
Harald Leitinger 6-3 Marco Balzer
Zsolt Messanos 6-3 Hannes Schnier
Jorg Kraus 6-2 Johann Schweiger
Reinhard Fruhmann 6-1 Romano Ruggeri
Rene Rapp 6-0 Christian Freidl
Reinhard Ertl 6-3 Kevin Munch
Second Preliminary Round
Stefanie Luck 6-1 Michael Jacques
Hans-Peter Benseler 6-3 Arno Merk
Norbert Stuckheil 6-1 Andreas Horvath
Pivarc Lubos 6-2 Wilhelm Schwingenschlogel
Robert Wagner 6-3 Anton Pein
Remco van Eijden 6-3 Martin Pichler
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Robert Marijanovic
Marek Polach 6-4 Michel Kocik
Ivan Petric 6-4 Josef Untermarzone
Christian Kallinger 6-2 Markus Sehoberwalter
Jonas Adler 6-1 Daniel Baeuerlein
Martin Kurecka 6-0 Michael Ramsenthaler
Christopher Ollinger 6-0 Andreas Rigler
Gerhard Sorger 6-4 Miroslav Slusarcik
Martin Kapucian 6-3 Andreas Kutawatz
Co Stompe Jnr 6-0 Jurgen Valland
Pavel Drtil 6-0 Alois Lechner
Karl Binder 6-3 Pierre Fink
Patrick Bulen 6-5 Michael Rasztovitz
Johann Sarrer 6-2 Maurizio Monterubbianesi
Martin Marti 6-4 Robert Scherzer
Arron Hardy 6-0 Georg Vargyas
Kristian Kaufmann 6-0 Markus Lindinger
Roman Marysler 6-4 Martino Tagliapietra
Josef Flonner 6-0 Wolfgang Angeli
Roland Freistatter 6-4 Bernd Frick
James Rodriguez 6-1 Franz Schrammel
Maik Langendorf 6-2 Harald Leitinger
Elmar Lindenmaier 6-3 Uwe Bacher
Zsolt Messanos 6-3 Zdravko Antunovic
Josef Kraus 6-2 Jorg Kraus
Mario Schutter 6-1 Reinhard Fruhmann
Reinhard Fletzberger 6-2 Karsten Kornath
Patrick Wasserfallen 6-1 Guiseppe Quintiero
Manuel Fischer 6-1 Rene Hellmich
Tonci Restovic 6-0 Rene Rapp
Sebastian Pecjak 6-3 Reinhard Ertl
First Round
Simon Whitlock (1) 6-0 Stefanie Luck
Chris Thompson 6-0 Hans-Peter Benseler
Kevin McDine (32) 6-0 Norbert Stuckheil
William O^Connor 6-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Kevin Painter (16) 6-3 Pivarc Lubos
Barrie Bates 6-3 Kirk Shepherd
Robert Wagner 6-4 Colin Osborne (17)
Jyhan Artut 6-4 Jon Archer
Vincent van der Voort (8) 6-3 Remco van Eijden
Joe Cullen 6-5 Steve Grubb
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Tony Eccles (25)
Michael Smith 6-3 Jann Hoffmann
Paul Nicholson (9) 6-1 Marek Polach
Prakash Jiwa 6-2 Matt Padgett
Dennis Smith (24) 6-0 Ivan Petric
Andree Welge 6-5 Michael Mansell
Ronnie Baxter (5) 6-3 Christian Kallinger
Jonas Adler 6-5 Michael Rosenauer
Nigel Heydon (28) 6-1 Martin Kurecka
Brian Woods 6-5 Dave Smith
Denis Ovens (12) 6-1 Christopher Ollinger
Mick Todd 6-4 Ken MacNeil
Terry Jenkins (21) 6-0 Gerhard Sorger
Carlos Rodriguez 6-4 Reece Robinson
Mark Walsh (4) 6-5 Martin Kapucian
Darren Johnson 6-2 Co Stompe Jnr
Mark Hylton (29) 6-4 Pavel Drtil
Gary Welding 6-5 Ryan Harrington
Justin Pipe (13) 6-0 Karl Binder
John Michael 6-2 Veijo Viinikka
Richie Burnett (20) 6-2 Patrick Bulen
Andy Hutchings 6-4 Chris Aubrey
Wes Newton (2) 6-0 Johann Sarrer
Peter Wright 6-1 Martin Marti
Steve Hine (31) 6-3 Arron Hardy
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Roland Scholten
Wayne Jones (15) 6-0 Kristian Kaufmann
Magnus Caris 6-2 Steve Evans
Andy Smith (18) 6-0 Roman Marysler
Boris Krcmar 6-2 Marko Kantele
Colin Lloyd (7) 6-2 Josef Flonner
Scott Rand 6-2 Nandor Bezzeg
Steve Brown (26) 6-2 Roland Freistatter
Nick Fullwell 6-2 Shane O^Connor
Alan Tabern (10) 6-1 James Rodriguez
Michael Barnard 6-2 Shaun Griffiths
Jelle Klaasen (23) 6-4 Maik Langendorf
Mareno Michels 6-1 Arron Monk
Phil Taylor (6) 6-0 Elmar Lindenmaier
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Ian White
Mark Dudbridge (27) 6-2 Zsolt Messanos
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Bernd Roith
Co Stompe (11) 6-5 Josef Kraus
Devon Petersen 6-5 Dietmar Burger
John Part (22) 6-1 Mario Schutter
Steve Maish 6-4 Per Laursen
Jamie Caven (3) 6-2 Reinhard Fletzberger
Antonio Alcinas 6-0 Patrick Wasserfallen
Brendan Dolan (30) 6-2 Manuel Fischer
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Steve Beaton (14) 6-1 Tonci Restovic
John Henderson 6-0 Dylan Duo
Andy Hamilton (19) 6-5 Sebastian Pecjak
Robert Thornton 6-3 Tomas Seyler
Second Round
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Chris Thompson
William O^Connor 6-4 Kevin McDine
Kevin Painter 6-2 Barrie Bates
Jyhan Artut 6-5 Robert Wagner
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Joe Cullen
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Michael Smith
Paul Nicholson 6-1 Prakash Jiwa
Andree Welge 6-3 Dennis Smith
Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Jonas Adler
Brian Woods 6-3 Nigel Heydon
Denis Ovens 6-1 Mick Todd
Carlos Rodriguez 6-2 Terry Jenkins
Mark Walsh 6-1 Darren Johnson
Mark Hylton 6-4 Gary Welding
Justin Pipe 6-4 John Michael
Richie Burnett 6-0 Andy Hutchings
Peter Wright 6-5 Wes Newton
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Steve Hine
Magnus Caris 6-4 Wayne Jones
Andy Smith 6-3 Boris Krcmar
Scott Rand 6-5 Colin Lloyd
Steve Brown 6-3 Nick Fullwell
Alan Tabern 6-1 Michael Barnard
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Mareno Michels
Phil Taylor 6-2 Michael van Gerwen
Mark Dudbridge 6-4 Andy Jenkins
Co Stompe 6-5 Devon Petersen
John Part 6-3 Steve Maish
Jamie Caven 6-3 Antonio Alcinas
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Steve Beaton 6-2 John Henderson
Robert Thornton 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Losers £200
Third Round
Simon Whitlock 6-1 William O^Connor
Kevin Painter 6-1 Jyhan Artut
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Vincent van der Voort
Andree Welge 6-4 Paul Nicholson
Ronnie Baxter 6-4 Brian Woods
Denis Ovens 6-2 Carlos Rodriguez
Mark Hylton 6-5 Mark Walsh
Richie Burnett 6-3 Justin Pipe
Peter Wright 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Magnus Caris 6-4 Andy Smith
Scott Rand 6-4 Steve Brown
Alan Tabern 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Phil Taylor 6-2 Mark Dudbridge
John Part 6-2 Co Stompe
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Jamie Caven
Robert Thornton 6-5 Steve Beaton
Losers £400
Fourth Round
Kevin Painter 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Andree Welge
Denis Ovens 6-1 Ronnie Baxter
Mark Hylton 6-3 Richie Burnett
Peter Wright 6-3 Magnus Caris
Scott Rand 6-5 Alan Tabern
John Part 6-2 Phil Taylor
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Robert Thornton
Losers £600
Quarter-Finals
Kim Huybrechts 6-0 Kevin Painter
Denis Ovens 6-3 Mark Hylton
Peter Wright 6-3 Scott Rand
John Part 6-1 Mensur Suljovic
Losers £1,000
Semi-Finals
Denis Ovens 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
John Part 6-4 Peter Wright
Losers £2,000
Final
John Part 6-0 Denis Ovens
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000
ENDS
CULLEN CLAIMS MAIDEN PROFESSIONAL WIN
JOE CULLEN claimed his maiden professional title with a 4-2 defeat of Paul Barham in Saturday^s PDC Unicorn Youth Tour event in Austria.
The 21-year-old from Bradford had not previously won past the last 16 in six Youth Tour events, but continued the form which saw him reach the final of a Speedy Hire UK Open Qualifier last month to win the €660 first prize at the Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt.
He defeated Jonathan Mulley, Leon Crump, Reece Robinson and Steve Haggerty to reach the final, before deny Barham a second Youth Tour victory.
Essex^s Barham led 2-1 but missed his chance to break in the fourth as Cullen levelled, before the Yorkshireman punished three more misses by hitting double 16 for a 3-2 lead with the game^s first break.
Cullen then hit double 16 for a second successive leg in securing victory, and said: "I^m delighted.
"I^ve not had a great run in the previous events but that shows the standard of players on the Youth Tour, so to win one of these is a big honour.
"It^s a massive confidence boost for me too, and hopefully I can keep this form up in Sunday^s Players Championship and also going into the UK Open in a few weeks."
Barham had defeated Austrian prospect John Rodriguez in the semi-finals, having also overcome Josh Jones, Holland^s John De Kruijf and Italian youngster Martino Tagliapietra in the event.
Rodriguez won €220 for his run to the last eight, hours after he also competed for the first time on the PDC ProTour in the Austrian Open Players Championship.
Essex^s Steve Haggerty was denied a second final of the year by Cullen, while Adam Smith-Neale and Reece Robinson joined Jones and Patrick Kovacs in the last eight.
Shaun Griffiths, who topped the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit ahead of Saturday^s event, was a first round victim, losing 3-0 to Smith-Neale, while Under-21 World Champion Arron Monk and Event Three winner Ryan Harrington lost in the last 32.
Smith-Neale also defeated Dutch pair Co Stompe Jnr and Michael van Gerwen to reach the last eight in his best run since the first event.
The eighth PDC Unicorn Youth Tour event will be held at the K2 Centre in Crawley on Saturday May 21. Players aged 14-21 can still enter this event until 12pm on Friday by calling the PDC Head Office on 08712 501 180.
PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Event Seven
First Round
Tebor Tax 3-0 Markus Steinkellner
Wouter Vaes 3-0 Schantal Domenik
James Rodriguez 3-0 Arno Merk
John De Kruijf 3-0 Marie Lechner
Josh Jones 3-0 Daniel Zingl
Reece Robinson 3-0 Aden Kirk
Jonathan Mulley 3-2 Daniel Holzinger
Chris Aubrey 3-0 Teemu Harju
Adam Smith-Neale 3-0 Shaun Griffiths
Second Round
Patrick Kovacs 3-0 Harald Tauchner
Wouter Vaes 3-0 Tebor Tax
Michael Smith 3-0 Ryan Harrington
James Rodriguez 3-2 Marcel Spreitzer
Paul Barham 3-0 Martino Tagliapietra
John De Kruijf 3-2 Daniel Pree
Fredi Gsellmann 3-2 Stefanie Luck
Josh Jones 3-0 Michael Holzer
Rainer Hofweber 3-0 Sebastian Angerer
Reece Robinson 3-0 Zoltan Daranye
Leon Crump 3-2 Philipp Perstaller
Joe Cullen 3-1 Jonathan Mulley
Steve Haggerty 3-1 Arron Monk
Chris Aubrey 3-1 Jimmy Hendriks
Michael van Gerwen 3-0 Curtis Hammond
Adam Smith-Neale 3-1 Co Stompe Jnr
Third Round
Patrick Kovacs 3-0 Wouter Vaes
James Rodriguez 3-2 Michael Smith
Paul Barham 3-1 John De Kruijf
Josh Jones 3-0 Fredi Gsellmann
Reece Robinson 3-0 Rainer Hofweber
Joe Cullen 3-1 Leon Crump
Steve Haggerty 3-2 Chris Aubrey
Adam Smith-Neale 3-2 Michael van Gerwen
Losers €27.50 (£25 to Order of Merit)
Fourth Round
James Rodriguez 3-2 Patrick Kovacs
Paul Barham 3-1 Josh Jones
Joe Cullen 3-2 Reece Robinson
Steve Haggerty 3-1 Adam Smith-Neale
Losers €110 (£100 to Order of Merit)
Semi-Finals
Paul Barham 4-1 James Rodriguez
Joe Cullen 4-3 Steve Haggerty
Losers €220 (£200 to Order of Merit)
Final
Joe Cullen 4-2 Paul Barham
Winner €660 (£600 to Order of Merit)
Runner-Up €440 (£400 to Order of Merit)