The 2008 Sky Poker World Grand Prix was the eleventh World Grand Prix darts tournament held by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held from 6 to 12 October 2008 at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin, Ireland.PDC website report - Irish Fans Show Record Support from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 15-08-2008 The event featured a tournament record prize fund of £250,000 with £50,000 going to the winner.PDC website report - Sky Poker sponsors World Grand Prix from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 15-08-2008PDC Order of Merit Explanation from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 15-08-2008
Phil Taylor won his eighth Grand Prix title with a 6–2 victory over Raymond van Barneveld in the final watched by 355,000 viewers. James Wade was the defending champion, however lost 2–1 to Tony Eccles in the first round.
Format All legs were 501 points double-in double-out format. The first-round games were best of three sets. Second round games were best of five sets, the quarter-finals best of seven sets, the semi-finals best of nine sets, and the final was best of eleven sets. All sets were best of five legs/first to three legs.PDC website report - Sky Poker World Grand Prix Schedule of Play from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 23-09-2008
Prize money A tournament record prize fund of £250,000 was available to the participants, divided based on the following performances:
Position (num. of players) Prize money(Total: £250,000)Winner (1) £50,000Runner-Up (1) £25,000Semi-finalists (2) £14,500Quarter-finalists (4) £10,000Second round losers (8) £6,750First round losers (16) £3,250Nine-dart finish (0) £15,000
Qualification The field of 32 players was mostly made up from the top sixteen players in the PDC Order of Merit on September 21, following the two Players Championship events at the Newport Center in Newport, Wales. The top eight from these rankings were also the seeded players. The remaining sixteen places went to the top twelve non-qualified players from the 2008 Players Championship Order of Merit, and then to the top four non-qualified residents of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland from the 2008 Players Championship Order of Merit who have competed in at least six Players Championship events.
PDC Top 16 Phil Taylor (winner) Raymond van Barneveld (runner-up) James Wade (first round) John Part (quarter-finals) Terry Jenkins (semi-finals) Wayne Mardle (second round) Colin Lloyd (quarter-finals) Andy Hamilton (quarter-finals) Adrian Lewis (second round) Alan Tabern (first round) Roland Scholten (first round) Dennis Priestley (quarter-finals) Peter Manley (first round) Ronnie Baxter (first round) Colin Osborne (second round) Mervyn King (semi-finals)PDPA Players Championship qualifiers Chris Mason (first round) Denis Ovens (first round) Robert Thornton (second round) Kevin Painter (second round) Mark Walsh (second round) Vincent van der Voort (first round) Wayne Jones (first round) Mark Dudbridge (first round) Andy Smith (first round) Tony Eccles (second round) Felix McBrearty (first round) Steve Beaton (first round)Irish qualifiers Mick McGowan (first round) John MaGowan (first round) Brendan Dolan (first round) Jacko Barry (second round)
Draw Draw and schedule of play was as follows:
Television coverage and sponsorship The tournament was screened by Sky Sports.
The sponsorship for the tournament was Sky Bet who had sponsored the event since 2004, however one of its brands, Sky Poker, was the new title sponsor.
References
External links World Grand Prix page on the PDC's official website