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BIG GUNS DRAW LOCAL QUALIFIERS
COLIN LLOYD will open the defence of his Sky Bet World Grand Prix title with a first round
match against Irish qualifier Tom Kirby after the draw was made at the CityWest Hotel in Dublin on Wednesday afternoon.
Kirby, a veteran of the Irish darts scene, made his way through the Irish qualifying event
earlier in October but faces a tough challenge to make further progress after being pulled out of the hat against the world number one.
“I’m looking forward to defending my title in Dublin,” Lloyd said. “It’ll be a tough
tournament and having to start on a double over short matches always makes things interesting. Tom will be a tough opponent for me, but I’m playing well
at the moment and am always confident when I’m on the oche.”
Phil Taylor, the 12-time World Champion, has also been handed a clash with a local qualifier
as he faces Cork’s Joe Collins in round one.
Taylor crashed out in a shock first round upset last year as he was defeated by Gary Welding in the quick-fire best of three sets format. Welding, from St Helens, has qualified for a second successive year and faces another qualifier in the form of little-known Kevin Harris from Ipswich.
Alan Warriner, the only other player to have won the tournament when he triumphed back in
2001, has been paired with Alex Roy, whilst other eye-catching match-ups include Roland Scholten versus Dennis Priestley, Peter Manley versus Denis Ovens and
Bob Anderson versus Andy Jenkins.
The Sky Bet World Grand Prix features a unique ‘double-in, double-out’ format where players
have to start and end each leg on a double.
It is screened live on Sky Sports throughout the UK and Ireland from the CityWest Hotel, starting on Monday October 25 and ending the following Sunday.
The total prize fund for the event is £100,000 ($180,000 approx), with £20,000 ($36,000
approx) to the winner and a bonus prize of £150,000 ($270,000 approx) should any player achieve what has never been managed on TV before and hit a perfect
nine-dart leg starting with a double.
2005 Sky Bet World Grand Prix – Round One Draw
Colin Lloyd (Eng - 1) v Tom Kirby (RoI)
Wes Newton (Eng) v Steve Hine (Eng)
John Part (Can - 8) v Steve Beaton (Eng)
Kevin Harris (Eng) v Gary Welding (Eng)
Wayne MARDLE (Eng – 5) v Lionel Sams (Eng)
Alex Roy (Eng) v Alan Warriner (Eng)
Roland Scholten (Hol – 4) v Dennis Priestley (Eng)
James Wade (Eng) v Keith Rooney (RoI)
Phil Taylor (Eng – 2) v Joe Collins (RoI)
Bob Anderson (Eng) v Andy Jenkins (Eng)
Kevin Painter (Eng – 7) v Terry Jenkins (Eng)
Dave Askew (Eng) v Mark Dudbridge (Eng)
Peter Manley (Eng – 6) v Denis Ovens (Eng)
Alan Caves (Eng) v John Magowan (NI)
Ronnie Baxter (Eng – 3) v Jamie Harvey (Sco)
Dennis Smith (Eng) v Mark Walsh (Eng)
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