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The Bull’s-Eye News Pro Steel-tip Ranking System is the best proven system to identify and rank the top steel-tip players on the North American dart circuit. The final 2003 BEN Pro Steel-tip Rankings reported here are the 10th annual calculation of these statistics. It should be understood that there are many players who shoot top caliber darts, but for the purpose of these rankings, a professional darts player is defined as someone who attends the major tournaments and consistently performs well in those competitions.
The 2003 tournament year provided some startling statistics.
The average number of major tournaments the North American Pro players attended dropped from 4.37 to 3.00. Part of the explanation lies in that there were 3 less majors in 2003 than 2002. However, the statistics also show that the average number of ranking points earned in men’s 501 singles dropped from 36.2 in 2002 to 20.9 in 2003. Since ranking points are directly related to the number of entries, the conclusion is that less players attended each of the majors in 2003. The same trend followed for the men’s cricket singles as well as both women’s singles, although not as severe.
John Part remained one of the dominant North American players placing 3rd in the 501 and
earning the top ranking in cricket.
John Kuczynski made a strong statement by earning the top spot in the men’s 501 Pro rankings and 4th on the Cricket Pro rankings. Inching up the Pro rankings was Darin Young, this month’s cover player, taking 5th in 501 and 2nd in the Pro Cricket rankings. Ray Carver continued his strong showing in both catagories. Other important moves were made by Doug Draggon Watkins and Bill Davis, both of whom climbed the rankings significantly.
Stacy Bromberg retained her number 1 Pro ranking in women’s 501 singles and took over the
number one spot in the Pro Cricket rankings with an incredible record of winning all 6 major Cricket singles event she entered in 2003.
 Carolyn Mars retained her 2nd
place in the 501 rankings, but dropped two spots to 3rd in the Cricket rankings. Marilyn Popp was strong in both 501 and Cricket moving up to 3rd and 2nd
respectively from 4th and 3rd a year ago. Christine Carlson made a tremedous move in 2003 showing she was a Pro player in both soft and steel darts. Her
steel ranking jumped from being unranked in 2002 in 501 to tied for 7th with Tina DiGregorio and from 15th all the way up to 8th in
Cricket. DiGregorio continued to show her strength in Cricket sharing the 5th spot on the list with Jennifer Daggy, who slipped
slightly in 501 from 7th to 11th. Other very strong players include Holly Carver, Julie Nicoll, and Mary Jo Chesney. A player to
watch in 2004 would be Mischelle Johnson who came from being unranked in both 501 and Cricket to 11th and 12th respectively.
While 2002 brought an increase in the number of $20,000 and higher North
American tournaments, from 9 to 13, 2003 saw three of those tournaments either cancelled or lowered below the $20,000 threshold, leaving North
America with only 10 majors. Blueberry Hill dropped the prize money to $12,000 and both the Cleveland Extravaganza and Witch City Open tournaments
were cancelled. Fortunately, Blueberry Hill will be back up to $21,000 again in 2004. The ten majors in North American in 2003 included the
Pennsylvania Rae Chesney Memorial Open (Jan), Las Vegas Open (Feb), Virginia Beach Classic (MAR), White Mountain Open (Apr), Sarantos
Retsinas Quebec Dart Player’s Memorial Open (May), Golden Harvest Cup (May), Motor City Open (Jun), Las Vegas Desert Classic (Jul), USA Dart
Classic (Aug),and the Windy City Open (Sep).
The 2003 PDC Las Vegas Desert Classic added a bonus to top players as
there were 4 qualifying rounds that provided prize money and PDC ranking points. The 2004 Las Vegas Desert Classic has increased the prize money
to $180,000 based on £100,000.
Though 2003 was not a particularly good year for professional players in
North America, 2004 will see the number of $20,000 tournaments increase.
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![2003 Bull's-Eye News Pro Rankings [Final]](./images/news2403-02_p02propoints.jpg "2003 Bull's-Eye News Pro Rankings [Final]")
