Undisputed arrives in Wolverhampton

Words by Simon Rimington

The Undisputed Series rolls into Wolverhampton this Friday night with an action packed bill putting the European and English belts on the line, alongside some intriguing money matches, all hosted at the Cleveland Arms on the eve of the Grand Slam of Darts.

Here we preview the matches and look at where the belts and money might be going.

Kevin Painter v James Richardson – European Title Rematch brought to you by Modus Super Series

The two men in question faced off back in July in the neutral territory of Bristol, this following James’ successful defence in the bear pit up in Scotland.  On this occasion Kevin came out on top to seize James’ belt with a 10-8 victory.  The mid game interval proving critical here as Kevin rectified a slow start, hitting a barrage of 180’s down the stretch to eventually take the final 4 legs on the spin and rip away the belt James has held since the beginning of the belt series as a MAD concept. Such is James commitment to the belt that he has called for an immediate rematch, he thinks Kevin, “Got lucky last time and lightening does not strike twice”. As we know Kevin loves a bit of needle and he says it can and it will!

James can of course point to a huge win on the WDF circuit since these two last met, claiming the British Classic title in Bridlington in September, alongside solid county form for Northamptonshire. Kevin’s form is much more difficult to gauge, he has chosen to give the seniors tour a swerve, given he holds invitations to the majors and his last game of note other than beating James was a tight game with Phil Taylor in the Seniors Matchplay in Hull.

Will Kevin’s activity on the exhibitions circuit be enough to retain his title or will James’ ongoing high level competitive match practice see him win the day, Kevin came into the previous encounter fresh off the back of 3 Seniors TV appearances, shorn of that high level match practice, it is conceivable that James could take his belt back immediately. One thing is for certain, Kevin is fiercely competitive and the only way James is getting the belt is by winning it from him, there is no chance of his opponent rolling over.

Scott Marsh v Adam Atkinson – English Title Belt brought to you by Double Tops Darting Designs

We are coming up to close to a year since Scott Marsh successfully took this belt from Darryl Fitton in Rochdale and finally he has a challenger for the belt in ‘The Poolie’, Adam Atkinson.

A quieter year on the WDF tour this time for Scott, however he has still managed to pick up the England National Singles title and make a final in Romania, alongside appearance on the Challenge Tour and invites to make up the numbers on the Pro Tour. He came into his original belt win fresh off winning the British Open and securing a spot in the WDF Lakeside World Championship, his form here is not as strong and he has changed equipment since last time, his Quantum barrels swapped for new Galaxy barrels under the watch of Sharon Butler. A string of early exits in PDC events means it is hard to get a grip on Scott’s form but we know how good he is on stage and he will be desperate to hold onto his belt having waited so long for someone to step up to the challenge.

There is a huge amount of noise about Adam Atkinson right now, not least since he averaged in excess of 100 and missed darts to beat Michael van Gerwen at a large exhibition event in Newcastle. In addition to this Adam has shown stronger form in recent Challenge Tour events, reaching the last 16 in September and posting stronger recent averages, he also boasts a lot of game time in ADC events, winning two tour events, reaching the semis of the tour finals and countless local victories. However, Scott can boast a win and 2 last 16 appearances in his only 3 attempts at the ADC events this year.

This is a tough game to call, Adam is on the up and up with talk of a tour card continuous right now but Scott has the stage pedigree, the big wins and status to still be a clear favourite to retain his belt.  That being said, if he is anything less than his brilliant best, he could find himself blitzed by Adam’s incredible scoring power. This one has potential to be the game of the night.

Reece Colley v Chris Wickenden – Challenge Match brought to you by Online Darts

Over the short format, this game has the potential to be absolutely fascinating, Colley comes into this one having recently been crowned British Open Champion and having an excellent run in the Modus Super Series.  Wickenden on the other hand appears to have emerged out of nowhere over the last few months with some excellent local ADC wins and a county debut where he dispatched UKDA National Singles runner up Tom Sykes with absolute disdain. Reece also reached the last 16 of the final Development Tour of the year but his results around this have been questionable, concerning low averages accompanying some of the defeats, however he did notably win his group at the Modus Super Series recently before coming up short on the Saturday night. Chris has also struggled on recent PDC ventures with a string of early Challenge Tour exits to go alongside an early exit at the ADC Tour Finals to county teammate Steve Hine.

Both will hope to shake recent struggles to take home the cash from this one, experience in big games should make Colley a marginal favourite for this one, it is again, however, completely up in the air and over the short best of 11 format whoever makes the better start could run away with this one. Hopefully both these local lads will bring a significant following to aid the atmosphere.

Shaun Matthews v Karl Coleman brought to you by Bar 501

Woollybak takes on the Towny as two lads from the north east face off in this one. Shaun Matthews is returning to the bill on one of these events for the first time since his chastising 7-2 drubbing by Dave Prins in a belt challenge in Rochdale a year ago, the experienced Prins doling out a darting a lesson on that occasion.  Coleman meanwhile is making a first appearance on the bill for one of these events having produced some recent eye catching results in local ADC events, including a win over Matthews in the qualifying series for someone to get a shot at Prins belt when Undisputed makes its Portsmouth debut in a month’s time.

Coleman could and perhaps should have taken Atkinson out in the very first round of the Tour Finals in Reading, missing several darts for a big scalp, meanwhile Matthews will have been disappointed to go down 6-4 averaging below 70. 

Both averaged in excess of 80 in their recent clash which Coleman nicked in a decider, any repeat of those darts and the crowd are in for a treat, and who doesn’t love a bit of north east niggle too.

Raymond Marshall v Charlie Symons brought to you by CSD

This one doesn’t immediately leap out as a particular grudge match but where there is money on the line there is bound to be no quarter given. Raymond has been incredibly consistent on the ADC tour and events and is dangerous even when he looks to be beaten. He was a surprise semi-finalist at the event in Newcastle where Atkinson created so much interest. He also boasts a win over ADC number 1 Matt Jackson in September.

Charlie Symons was a real up and comer not too long ago, winning the big northern youth competition at Skipsea as well as making waves on the Development and Challenge Tour, securing a sponsor deal with Super Darts.  I’m sure Charlie would agree his career has stalled in recent times and this event could provide an opportunity to get momentum on his side, his form on the challenge tour has been scratchy but a big win in front of a local crowd might be just what he needs.

Raymond ought to be favourite for this one with his greater consistency but if Charlie has sold some tickets his local backing and undoubted talent could pull through.