Finder Darts Masters
The Finder Darts Masters was a darts tournament held in Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands, sanctioned by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation, running intermittently under several different names from 1995 to 2018.
| Finder Masters | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Venue | Zuiderduin Hotel |
| Location | Egmond aan Zee |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Established | 1995 |
| Organisation(s) | WDF/BDO |
| Format | Legs (round robin) Sets (knock out) |
| Month(s) Played | December |
| Current champion(s) | |
  | |
The tournament was previously known as the Zuiderduin Masters from 2007 to 2014, as the Leendesk Masters in 2005, as the Doeland Grand Masters from 2001 to 2004, as the European Grand Masters in 2000, and as the Dutch Grand Masters in 1995 and 1996. It was held in December and was traditionally the last BDO event held before the annual World Championship. The tournament was an unranked event until 2008, when it was installed as a ranking event, along with the World Championships and the World Masters, following the cancellation of the World Darts Trophy and the International Darts League.[1]
The organizers of the event announced in 2019 that that year's event would not take place due to the termination of the sponsorship with Dutch e-commerce company Finder, and the tournament has been discontinued.
History
1995–1996: Dutch Grand Masters
The competition began in 1995,[2] known as the Dutch Grand Masters with Raymond van Barneveld and Francis Hoenselaar winning their first major tournament. The tournament ceased between 1997 and 1999.
2000: European Grand Masters
Following a growth in popularity in darts in the Netherlands because of the great success of players such as Raymond van Barneveld the event returned in 2000.[3] It returned as the "European Grand Masters" in 2000.
2001–2004: Doeland Grand Masters
The tournament became the "Doeland Grand Masters" from 2001 to 2004.
2005: Leendesk Masters
In 2005 the tournament was named the "Leendesk Masters".
2007–2014: Zuiderduin Masters
The 2006 Masters was postponed,[3] and was to be held in March 2007, reverting to its original title "Dutch Grand Masters".[4]
The event was later cancelled, due to lack of sponsorship, but was revived later that year when the tournament venue, the Hotel Zuidenduin, stepped in to sponsor the tournament signing a five-year contract until 2012, and it was branded the Zuiderduin Masters.[3][5] Following sponsorship from the Hotel Zuiderduin, a women's competition was added in 2008 and after a demonstration tournament for juniors in 2010, a juniors competition was added in 2011.[3] A new three-year contract was agreed in 2011 for it to remain the Zuiderduin Masters up to 2014.[6]
The first nine-dart finish at the tournament was recorded by Darryl Fitton in 2009.[2]
2015–current: Finder Darts Masters
Finder, an international operating company, took over the naming rights to the tournament from the 2015 edition onwards. It was branded the Finder Darts Masters.[7]
Format
Men
The field is made up of 24 players. Qualification is determined from the top 16 players from the Zuiderduin Masters ranking table, which is separate from the BDO/WDF World Rankings, as well four players from the International Darts Tour of the Lowlands (IDTL) before its collapse in 2010/2011, and the winner of the Netherlands Champions League of Darts, plus 3 wild cards. If an IDTL qualifier is already qualified through his ranking, an extra wild card becomes available.
From 2011, the men's winner at the MariFlex Open, a Zuiderduin Masters ranking event,[8] gained automatic entry in to that years Zuiderduin Masters tournament.[9][10][11] It was replaced with the Hal Open in 2014,[12] but retained the same stipulations the MariFlex Open had.[13] Since the 2013 Zuiderduin Masters tournament, the men's champion from the previous year was invited back to the following year's tournament.[14]
The 24 players are split into 8 groups, with each player playing 2 matches, best of 9 legs. The top player from each group advance to the quarter-finals, which is played in set format through to the final.[2][5]
Women
Following the tournament's inception as a ranking event in 2008, a women's competition was installed with an eight-player field, made up from the top five players in the Zuiderduin Masters rankings, an IDTL qualifier before its collapse, the NDB Champions League of Darts winner and a wildcard. Likewise with the men's event, an extra wildcard can also be awarded. The competition was played in a straight knockout format.[15]
The women's competition was played in a straight knockout format up to and including the 2010 tournament before a new format was introduced in 2011. The field was shortened to six players. Two groups consist of three players playing one another once, with both group winners advancing to the final.[16] The group stage matches are played over a legs format before the final in played in a sets format.
From 2011, the six-player field has been made up from the top two players in the Zuiderduin Masters rankings, the NDB Champions League of Darts winner, two wildcards and the MariFlex Open winner.[17] From 2011, the women's winner at the MariFlex Open, a Zuiderduin Masters ranking event,[8] gained automatic entry into that years Zuiderduin Masters tournament.[9][10][11] It was replaced with the Hal Open in 2014,[12] but retained the same stipulations the MariFlex Open had.[13] Since the 2013 Zuiderduin Masters tournament, the women's champion from the previous year has been invited back to the following year's tournament.[14]
Youth
The youth tournament was instigated in 2011 with the first winner being Jimmy Hendriks who in the same year also won the WDF World Youth Cup and World Youth Masters.
Venue
The tournament has been held at the Hotel Zuiderduin in Egmond aan Zee since 2001.[3][5] The 2000 tournament was held in Hardenberg.[3] In 2007, following the postponement of the 2006 event, plans were made to host the 2007 Dutch Grand Masters in Rosmalen, but after it was cancelled, the plans were aborted and it remained in Egmond.
Finals
Men
Women
| Year | Winner (average in final)[18] | Score[19] | Runner-Up (average in final)[18] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 |  |
3 – 2 | |
| 1996 | |
3 – 1 | |
| 2008 | |
2 – 0 | |
| 2009 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
2 – 0 | |
| 2010 | |
2 – 1 | |
| 2011 | |
2 – 0 | |
| 2012 |  |
2 – 1 | |
| 2013 | |
2 – 0 | |
| 2014 | |
2 – 1 | |
| 2015 | |
2 – 0 | |
| 2016 | |
2 – 1 | |
| 2017 | |
2 – 0 | |
| 2018 | |
2 – 1 | |
Youth
| Year | Winner (average in final)[18] | Score[19] | Runner-Up (average in final)[18] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | |
2 – 1 | |
| 2012 | |
2 – 0 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 2013 | |
2 – 0 | |
| 2014 | |
2 – 0 | |
| 2015 | |
2 – 0 | |
| 2016 | |
2 – 0 | |
| 2017 | |
2 – 0 |  |
| 2018 | |
2 – 0 | |
Finalists
| Player | 1st | 2nd |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 2 | 0 |
| 1 | 3 |
| 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 1 |
.svg.png){kind=small} | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 |
| 0 | 1 |
| 0 | 1 |
| 0 | 1 |
| 0 | 1 |
| 0 | 1 |
| 0 | 1 |
| 0 | 1 |
| 0 | 1 |
| 0 | 1 |
| 0 | 1 |
Notes
References
- Darts Player by Player (DEMBBO13 ed.). Jason Fenwick & Jules Gammond. 2013. p. 11. ISBN 9781909217447.
- "Finder Darts Masters". NDB. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- "Masters". Finder Masters. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- "WDF NEWS ARCHIVES: NOVEMBER 2007". WDF. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- "PRESS RELEASE:NEW DUTCH TOURNAMENT FOR BDO/WDF PLAYERS". BDO. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- "Zuiderduin Masters International Darts Events". WDF. 17 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- "Zuiderduin Masters Goes on as the Finder Darts Masters". WDF. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- "Zuiderduin Masters ranking table 2010-11". WDF. 24 February 2011. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- "Singles Champions of the 5th Mariflex Darts Open Invited for Zuiderduin Masters 2011". WDF. 28 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2015-03-26. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- "6th International MariFlex Darts Open Tournament". WDF. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- "7th International MariFlex Open Darts Tournament". WDF. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- "New tournament: Hall Open Darts replace Mariflex Open Darts". Dartfreakz. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- "Singles Winners Hal Open Darts Receive Invitation for Zuiderduin Masters". WDF. 17 January 2014. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- "Zuiderduin Masters champions now can defend their title". WDF. 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- "BDO Archives - October 2008". BDO. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- "2011 Womens Zuiderduin Masters Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- "Line up for 2011 Zuiderduin Masters". BDO. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- Each player's average score is based on the average for each 3-dart visit to the board (ie total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
- All scores in final are in set format
External links
- Official website
- Men's tournament history Darts Database.
- Women's tournament history Darts Database.
- Men's tournament history Master Caller.
- Women's tournament history Master Caller.