Alright lads, Just thought I would start a thread on this. Mainly due to the fact I got my tickets booked for it last week and im all excited Got it for a bargain imo, 89 Euro for 4 table seats on the opening night and got a 4 star hotel in dublin for £54 for the night(all in not each). So all in all its working out at around £30 each for the Darts and the hotel...Just need the drink money on top of that..... It would have been rude not to go at that price

Anyone else making the trip down to this??

Nice one - wonder if Taylor will go for a couple of 9 darters now he can't be the first lol.

Thats a good deal Hamo, should be a great time too, you lucky devil you!

We went across to the world champs in the Ally Pally last year but this suits the bank balance abit better this year The double in format should be good to watch live and have a good chance of seeing some good games because the monday consists of 8 matches.

The field has been announced due to the European Championship not being able to affect the 32 man field. Heres a link to the full field for those interested;

http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2920775,00.html

Good luck to the 3 Irishmen involved. Off course we all know Brendan Dolan will be odds on favourite to win with a 9

I'm looking forward to watching Willie O'Connor, the lad is very good.

I don't really know Mickey Mansell from the north but hopefully he will do himself and the country proud.

The draw has been made for this following the weekends european championship.

Phil Taylor (1) v Michael Smith
Mark Walsh v Robert Thornton
Terry Jenkins (8) v Mervyn King
Dean Winstanley v Dave Chisnall
Simon Whitlock (5) v Justin Pipe
kevin Painter v Kim Huybrechts
Gary Anderson (4) v Brendan Dolan
Vincent Van Der Voort v William O'Connor
Adrian Lewis (2) v Richie Burnett
Michael Van Gerwin v Colin Lloyd
Andy Hamilton (7) v Mark Webster
Steve Beaton v Andy Smith
Wes Newton (6) v Ronnie Baxter
Raymond Van Barneveld v Ian White
Michael Mansell v Paul Nicholson
James Wade (3) v Colin Osborne

Some potentially great match ups there in my opinion....just need to wait on the schedule being released to see who's playing on the monday

The schedule has been released for this

First Round

MONDAY NIGHT
Mark Walsh v Robert Thornton
Dean Winstanley v Dave Chisnall
Simon Whitlock (5) v Justin Pipe
Terry Jenkins (8) v Mervyn King
Gary Anderson (4) v Brendan Dolan
Phil Taylor (1) v Michael Smith
kevin Painter v Kim Huybrechts
Vincent Van Der Voort v William O'Connor

TUESDAY NIGHT
Steve Beaton v Andy Smith
Andy Hamilton (7) v Mark Webster
Michael Van Gerwin v Colin Lloyd
Wes Newton (6) v Ronnie Baxter
James Wade (3) v Colin Osborne
Adrian Lewis (2) v Richie Burnett
Raymond Van Barneveld v Ian White
Michael Mansell v Paul Nicholson

I would probably have prefered tuesdays line up but theres still some potentially great matches ...... with the added bonus of huybrechts woman being there

Some nice looking games there.

Thought I would fire this up to wet the appetite

hamo wrote:

Thought I would fire this up to wet the appetite

Love it..Brendan DIDO The History Maker Dolan. Best player on planet earth. ( Yet again, still not biased in any way, shape or form )

Damn - Monday night looks the better of the opening nights and I've got a poxy match that night lol

A quick interview with Dolan before the upcoming Grand Prix

http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2939075,00.html

And one with mighty mike

http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2939861,00.html

And who is going to have the best stream to watch the Grand Prix???........

My TV! ;)

i watched the european championships on http://www.justin.tv/dartsnutzforum its an awesome link but i will be watching grand prix on my tele lol i cant wait now

few shots from last night....excuse the stupid red eye that i always end up with when drinkin

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nice 1 hamo

Great pics hamo!!!

awesome Hambone!

Cool.

You lucky bugga Hamo. I am soooo jealous mate.

Great pics to. Put them in the brag book. lol

Great pics Hamo!

I like Andy Smith, seems like a real nice guy

nice one looks like you had a great night out.

he seemed like a great guy grip, they both did.

best caption for the picture with smith "the pieman meets the pie eyed man"

ROD HARRINGTONS SECOND ROUND PREVIEW

Second Round - Wednesday October 10
Brendan Dolan v Vincent van der Voort
Neither of these players had great averages in the opening round, but that doesn't really matter in this format. Vincent nicked a victory off William O'Connor and this match is a real opportunity for one of them to make a quarter-final. Brendan Dolan may have the edge because of the home crowd and the fact he believes this stage is lucky for him (he made the final last year). That confidence may help him hit the doubles, but I'm still going to go for Van der Voort to nick it - as long as the crowd don't get on his back too much. I wouldn't put any of my money on this match though.


Justin Pipe v Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter produced a great display against Kim Huybrechts with nine 140s, one 180 and four tons in six legs. He missed a few doubles, but his scoring was exceptional. He came in the press room afterwards saying he'd proved everybody wrong, but I told him to stop worrying about other people; he just needs to do his job. Justin Pipe is one of the most improved players around and has proved his worth over the last couple of years and it didn't surprise me to see him knock Whitlock out. I wonder if his slow play will upset Kev's rhythm and frustrate him though? I can make a case for both players and this is a tough call.


Phil Taylor v Robert Thornton
Phil Taylor was exceptional in the first round. Before the Grand Prix he was a bit tired and fed up, but he's a true professional and he made sure he was in good shape once the tournament started. He proved again why he is the best player there has ever been. There's no question that Robert Thornton is playing the best darts of his life and I think his health scare - he caught pneumonia in 2011 - has made him knuckle down. He beat Taylor the last time he played him on a big stage in the UK Open Final, but I don't think we'll see an upset. In the first round over best-of-three I could have made a case, but I can't see it here.


Mervyn King v Dave Chisnall
I played golf with Mervyn King on Tuesday and he's up for this. He's changed his darts to make them a millimetre longer and a gram heavier. People think that's nothing, but it makes a big difference to a darts player - in the head more than anything. He's really comfortable and he played well against Terry Jenkins in round one. He knows that Dave Chisnall will miss doubles at times and if he does that here then Merv will punish him because he's a class player. I wouldn't put any money on this, but it wouldn't surprise me if Mervyn nicks it, especially if Chisnall misses some doubles early on. It should go to five sets.


Second Round - Thursday October 12

Andy Hamilton v Steve Beaton
Andy Hamilton is the favourite here, but Steve Beaton played exceptionally in round one and is confident in his own game. I played golf with him the other day and his golf swing is as good as his darts swing (he took money off me too...), so I expect another good performance. However, I think the solid play, consistency and determination of Hamilton will get him over the line. However, if Beaton plays as well as he did against Andy Smith then it should go five sets and I would back him on the handicap.


Colin Osborne v Paul Nicholson
This is a great opportunity for one of these players to make a major quarter-final for the first time in a long time. Colin Osborne didn't have a very good average in his win over James Wade, but the first round is just about getting over the line. Paul Nicholson was solid in his match against Michael Mansell and didn't miss a lot, but he was never really pushed. However, I see him winning this because Osborne's confidence in his own ability has been low. He's one of the nicest guys on the circuit and I'd like to see him do well, so if he can win this then who knows? Maybe this could be the return of Osborne.


Adrian Lewis v Michael van Gerwen
This should be a cracker of a match and could be one of the games of the tournament. Colin Lloyd threw everything at Michael van Gerwen in round one, but he focused on the board and won the game. Adrian Lewis nearly came unstuck against Richie Burnett and the world champ needs to focus on every dart if he wants to win this match. It should be a very fast, very high-scoring game and the winner will be the one who makes the fewest mistakes because they're both prone to missing doubles. I think Adie may take it because of his experience, but it will be close, and he must MAKE the darts go in rather than throwing them and hoping. I'm really looking forward to this one.


Wes Newton v Ian White
You might not think that these players are big names, but this should be a cracking game. Ian White brushed Barney aside and it's incredible to do that to somebody like him. He punished Barney when he missed those shots at double top and he is very confident in his own game right now. Wes Newton looked dead and buried at one point against Ronnie Baxter and showed some character and never-say-die attitude - something we haven't always seen from him before. He refused to lose the match and that got him over the finishing line. I'm going for Wes to win it, but there's no way you'd get a penny out of me to bet on this one!

Was surprised Ozzy won to be honest, guess wadey just was not at his best.

He didn't look well by the end of the match grip...looked like he was about to collapse... I like wadey and felt a bit sorry for him because he clearly wasn't himself, should still have closed the match out though after being that far ahead.

Not good then, think Ozzy has been lucky really.

Don't know what Ozzy's final average was, but before he took out his first leg in the second set it was around 70 - even I would have stood a chance of taking a couple of legs against that.

Also, given his bipolar problems I thought it was absolutely disgusting of the crowd to start booing Wade. I reckon he now needs to take a month or so out and go away with his girlfriend before the World's.