{
Photo - Paddy Meaney who will captain the Republic of Ireland Boys'
team}
Irish
Players Contest UK Open
Irish Matchplay Introduced
THE new Irish Matchplay Darts Championship will take place on Sunday 31 August - with the winner earning a place in the 2009 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship.
The tournament will be staged at the Hotel Kilkenny in Kilkenny, and is open to players who have been resident in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for at least 12 months.
The top eight ranked PDPA members who enter the event, based on the PDC Order of Merit on 31 July 2008, will be seeded for the tournament, while the top 32 players from the Ireland Players Championship rankings will also automatically be entered.
The winner of the tournament will receive a place in the Preliminary Round of the 2009 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship in December, guaranteeing a further minimum £2,500 prize money, plus 1,000 euro to cover flights and hotels for the tournament.
The runner-up will receive 1,000 euro, and the two losing semi-finalists will receive 500 euro each.
The tournament will be played over the best of nine legs down to the quarter-finals, with the semi-finals the best of 11 legs and the final the best of 13 legs.
The Irish Matchplay Darts Championship will begin at midday on Sunday August 31, with the closing date for entries being Wednesday August 13.
Entry costs 30 euro, and entry forms can be obtained from Michael O'Sullivan (087-2648291, mcjosullivan@eircom.net or Michael O'Sullivan, 29 Mervue Crescent, Ballyvolane, Cork) or from Joe Coyne (085-1596550).
Venue Details:
Hotel Kilkenny, College Road, Kilkenny City.
Website: www.hotelkilkenny.ie
Accommodation bookings: 00353 (0)56 7762000
* In the event that the winner of the Irish Matchplay is in the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit and qualifies through this route, the runner-up from the Irish Matchplay would receive the Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship place. However, the winner would still receive the ?1000 towards flight and hotel expenses for the tournament.
The tournament will be staged at the Hotel Kilkenny in Kilkenny, and is open to players who have been resident in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for at least 12 months.
The top eight ranked PDPA members who enter the event, based on the PDC Order of Merit on 31 July 2008, will be seeded for the tournament, while the top 32 players from the Ireland Players Championship rankings will also automatically be entered.
The winner of the tournament will receive a place in the Preliminary Round of the 2009 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship in December, guaranteeing a further minimum £2,500 prize money, plus 1,000 euro to cover flights and hotels for the tournament.
The runner-up will receive 1,000 euro, and the two losing semi-finalists will receive 500 euro each.
The tournament will be played over the best of nine legs down to the quarter-finals, with the semi-finals the best of 11 legs and the final the best of 13 legs.
The Irish Matchplay Darts Championship will begin at midday on Sunday August 31, with the closing date for entries being Wednesday August 13.
Entry costs 30 euro, and entry forms can be obtained from Michael O'Sullivan (087-2648291, mcjosullivan@eircom.net or Michael O'Sullivan, 29 Mervue Crescent, Ballyvolane, Cork) or from Joe Coyne (085-1596550).
Venue Details:
Hotel Kilkenny, College Road, Kilkenny City.
Website: www.hotelkilkenny.ie
Accommodation bookings: 00353 (0)56 7762000
* In the event that the winner of the Irish Matchplay is in the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit and qualifies through this route, the runner-up from the Irish Matchplay would receive the Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship place. However, the winner would still receive the ?1000 towards flight and hotel expenses for the tournament.
* PDPA members who compete in the Irish Matchplay will not be eligible to enter the Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship PDPA Qualifiers in December.
* Should the winner of the Irish Matchplay not be a PDPA member, they would be required to join the PDPA before competing in the Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship.
* Players entering the Irish Matchplay must be aged 16 or over on Friday December 19 2008, when the Ladbrokes.com PDC World Championship begins.
* This event will not count towards any PDC Order of Merit.
Shane
O'Connor (right) won Round Seven of the 2008
Bruce Betting Ireland Players' Championship
with a 6-3 victory over Jason Barry in the
final at the Coolquay Lodge in Dublin.
