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The 2003 Paddy Power Grand Prix was held October 20-23 at the City West Hotel in
Dublin, Ireland.
Round one, final 32, format was to be best of three sets. Round two increased to best of 5 sets. The quarter finals format lengthen the matches to best of 7 sets, while the semi final increased the distance to best of 11 sets. In the end, the final match to determine the champion, was a match of best of 13 sets.
On Monday, October 20, day one of the first round of the Paddy Power World Grand Prix, Jamie
BraveDart Harvey booked his place in the second with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Alan Caves.
Then, Dennis Smith produced a brilliant comeback to overcome Les Fitton, 2-1. Peter One Dart Manley eased into the second round with a comprehensive 2-0 win over qualifier Peter Allen, and Andy Jenkins sealed his spot in the second round with a narrow 2-1 win over Mark Dudbridge. Then, Paul Williams ended brave Mattie Murtagh’s Paddy Power World Grand Prix dreams with an impressive 2-0 win, and Wayne Mardle coasted into the second round comfortably with a 2-0 win over John Magowan. John Part overcame a determined challenge from Alex Roy to book his place in the second round with a hard-fought 2-0 win. In the final match of the day, Kevin Painter caused something of a shock knocking Ronnie Baxter out of the Paddy Power World Grand Prix with a narrow 2-1 win.
Tuesday saw the second half of the first round matches to completion. Roland Scholten
breezed into the second round whitewashing a hapless John Lowe two sets to nil. Denis Ovens was too hot for Diamond Dave Askew to handle as The Heat earned a
2-0 win the their first round encounter.
Alan Warriner gave Bob Anderson the cold shoulder producing some splendid darts in a 2-0
win. Colin Lloyd ousted Richie Burnett from continuing to the second round with 2-0 win.
Then, Mark Walsh broke the hearts of the Dublin crowd as he put out local hero, Martin Murphy, 2-0. Phil The Power Taylor got his Paddy Power World Grand Prix challenge underway with a comfortable 2-0 win over a spirited Steve Beaton. Then, Keith Deller produced some top drawer finishing to dump out the final Irish challenger, Roy Montgomery, 2-0. In the last match of the first round, Dennis Priestley overcame Peter Evison in a tight contest and emerged with a 2-1 win.
With the first round behind them, the players began to feel a bit more comfortable on the
oche.
It showed in their darts as the scores improved. The second round, the final 16, began on Wednesday with Dennis Smith becoming the first man through to the quarter with an easy 3-0 win over Jamie Harvey. Next, Kevin The Artist Painter produced some of his best darts to cruise into the quarter finals with a comprehensive 3-0 win over an out-of-sorts Andy Jenkins. John Part got the better of Wayne Mardle in a thrilling sudden death 3-2 win to book his place in the quarter finals, and in the final match of the day, Peter Manley did likewise with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Paul Williams.
Thursday saw the second half of the second round to competition, filling the remaining four
positions of the final eight players. Roland Scholten overcame a slow start to beat Denis Ovens 3-1 and take his place in the quarter finals.
Alan The Iceman Wariner stormed into the last eight with a convincing 3-0 win over
Keith Deller.
Phil Taylor powered his way in with a hard-fought 3-0 win over old adversary Dennis Priestley. Finally, Colin Lloyd became the last man into the quarter finals of the Paddy Power World Grand Prix with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Mark Walsh.
With only eight players left, the matches would all be tough and Friday proved to be a
thrilling day at the City West Hotel in Dublin. First up, Peter Manley survived a superb fightback from Dennis Smith to earn his place in the
semi-finals with a 4-2 win. Next up, John Part produced some sparkling darts to book a place in the semi-final thanks to a 4-1 win over a determined
Kevin Painter. Then, Phil The Power Taylor advanced to the semi finals with a tense 4-1 win over arch-rival Alan Warriner. In the last match of
the day, Roland Scholten coasted into the semi-finals with an easy 4-0 win over a below-par Colin Lloyd.
Final four were set to play on Saturday with the semi final matches extended to best of 11
sets. John Part negotiated his way into the final
with a gruelling 6-3 victory over tough Peter Manley. Next, The Power swaggered his way into the final of the Paddy Power World Grand Prix with a crushing 6-1 victory over Roland Scholten.
Sunday was
set for a thriller with a rematch of the World Championship finalists, the number one player in the world, Phil The Power Taylor, to face the current World Champion, John Part. Taylor produced one of the greatest darting displays in recent times to destroy the World Champion, John Part, and retain his Paddy Power World Grand Prix title with a 7-2 triumph.
Seeded number one, Taylor proves once again why he is the best in the world
. The Power threw spectacular darts in the final to defeat John Part for the Championship and to defend his title. The 2003 Paddy Power World Grand
Prix Champion, Phil The Power Taylor!
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