DUBAI // As the only outdoor tournament in the professional game, the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters provides a unique challenge for its participants.
The opening salvo of its fourth edition provided a notable first. Namely, the sight of two-time world champion Adrian Lewis acting like a weather vane, standing in the middle of the stage with his finger in the air to detect which way the wind was blowing.
It is not unusual for players to ask for the air-conditioning to be switched off at indoor tournaments when they sense a cross-breeze. Clearly, there is no such facility at this event, so the players are at the whims of the wind.
As the first match on, Lewis and Dave Chisnall faced the most blustery conditions. To the extent that both were laughing incredulously as the fired their practice darts.
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And then Chisnall landed a 130 checkout to finish the opening leg, and all weather forecasts were immediately redundant.
“I played here two years ago and it was perfect, and I thought it was going to be the same again,” said Chisnall, whose eventual 10-1 success was the most convincing winning margin in the history of the Dubai tournament.
“We knew it was going to be windy as we were walking out as the curtains were blowing. When we first started it was like we were in a pub just joking and laughing about it.
“Then it started to get serious, I hit some good finishes. It is the same for all of us, it is about who can cope with it best.”
Phil Taylor, who beat James Wade 10-2 in the second quarter-final, has won everything the sport has to offer – bar this title – umpteen times over.
Despite all that success, he labelled a checkout of 110 in the win over Wade as “one of the best finishes I’ve ever had – and the luckiest,” as the wind was blowing.
“You did have a breeze every now and again but it wasn’t that bad,” said Taylor, who also threw a 170 checkout.
“For me and James, it was probably eight or nine times that it blew across, and when it did it really blew, it was weird.”
Gary Anderson brought heavier darts to Dubai specifically because of the weather. The world champion beat Raymond van Barneveld 10-8 in his opener, and said he was happy with his new arrows.
“When I go back home I might stick with them,” Anderson said. “Last year I played with 22-23g darts and they were all over the place.
“Even tonight, I had a shot at double 13. When I let it go it was in, and I just watched it curve off to the right slightly. But it has made a big difference.”
Michael van Gerwen, the three-time winner, maintained his unbeaten record in Dubai after ending a valiant challenge by Peter Wright in the final match of the opening night 10-7.
RESULTS
Quarter-finals
• Dave Chisnall 10-1 Adrian Lewis
• Phil Taylor 10-2 James Wade
• Gary Anderson 10-8 Raymond van Barneveld
• Michael van Gerwen 10-7 Peter Wright
FIXTURES
Semi-final draw
Chisnall v Van Gerwen
Taylor v Anderson
Play starts at 8pm on Friday, at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud
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