Number three seed James Wade made a fine start to his bid for the 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship on Friday night.

Giant-killer Adrian Gray continued his march at the SkyBet World Grand Prix with a victory over Andy Smith on Wednesday night to reach his first major quarter-final.

Phil Taylor defeated James Wade in straight sets to win the Irish Players Championship at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin on Saturday.

Phil ’The Power’ Taylor overcame his recent faltering form when he claimed an emphatic 10-2 win over Wes Newton at the Stan James World Matchplay in Blackpool.

Phil Taylor will meet Mark Dudbridge in the pick of the first round matches at the Las Vegas Desert Classic VI, while John Part begins his title defence against Steve Maish at Mandalay Bay.

Phil Taylor made it a hat-trick of Blue Square UK Open televised nine-dart finishes as he set up a quarter-final re-match with arch rival Raymond van Barneveld at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton.

Phil Taylor will begin his challenge at the Blue Square UK Open on Saturday with a clash against world number four Peter Manley.

Teenage wonderkid Michael van Gerwen powered into round two of the Blue Square UK Open as the tournament began on Thursday - but American Ray Carver was the biggest casualty of the opening night.

Michael van Gerwen will begin his Blue Square UK Open challenge against Punch Taverns Qualifier Chris McTernan on Thursday June 7.

MARK DUDBRIDGE withstood another superb Wayne Mardle fightback to win an exhilarating Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship semi-final 6-4 at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet last night.

ANDY HAMILTON put paid to the chance of any more heroics from last year’s giant-killer Gary Welding with a first-round victory at the Ladbrokes.com World Championship yesterday.

Gary Welding’s stunning victory over number one seed Colin Lloyd has blown the top half of the Ladbrokes.com World Championship draw wide open.

Phil Taylor’s quest for a sixth World Grand Prix title moved a step closer in Dublin as he outplayed Mark Dudbridge in a high-scoring quarter-final encounter.

Former Las Vegas Desert Classic champion Peter Manley was among eight seeded players to be knocked out of this year’s event in the first round.

Darts legend Phil Taylor has revealed he would relish another showdown with Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld.

Phil Taylor has always maintained his lucky number is 13 – and this time next year he hopes that will be the amount of world titles in his collection.

PHIL TAYLOR shrugged off a determined challenge from young pretender Mark Dudbridge to capture his 12th world title at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet last night.

Teenage sensation Adrian Lewis will be looking to make a big impression when the Skybet World Grand Prix darts championship gets underway in Dublin today.

Teenage sensation Adrian Lewis will be looking to make a big impression when the Skybet World Grand Prix gets underway in Dublin tomorrow.

Cambridgeshire-based qualifier Andy Callaby faces the daunting prospect of taking on 11-times world champion Phil Taylor in the first round of the Skybet World Grand Prix in Dublin next month.

Phil Taylor predicted a bright new era for darts after his seventh Stan James World Matchplay victory in Blackpool - but issued an ominous warning to his rivals.

Darts legend Phil Taylor will undertake a tough training regime this year in a bid to keep one step ahead of the game’s rising stars.

Darts ace Mark Dudbridge reflected on his stunning victory over world champion John Part and insisted: “I am not going to get carried away.”

Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor will face former World Champion Steve Beaton as he looks to retain the Paddy Power World Grand Prix in Dublin next month.