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Mark Dudbridge has been confirmed as the seventh and final player in the inaugural
888.com Premier League Darts, which begins on January 20 in Stoke-on-Trent.
Dudbridge has enjoyed a breakthrough year, reaching first the final of the 2004 Stan
James World Matchplay last July and then also the final of the 2005 Ladbrokes.com World Championship.
Despite losing to Phil Taylor on both occasions, the 31-year-old from Bristol, nicknamed Flash, is rated as one of the best prospects in darts and his rise up the world rankings to 12 has been rewarded with a spot in the coveted new event.
Dudbridge will join Taylor, Colin Lloyd, Peter Manley, John Part, Roland Scholten and Wayne
Mardle in the £150,000 event, which takes place over 11 separate evenings between January and May at venues across England.
“Mark’s performance at the World Championship shows he is a player with a really big
future,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn. “We are delighted to welcome him to the Premier League Darts and look forward to his career developing even further.”
Dudbridge has been on the PDC circuit for just two years but admits this is a major
development of his career. “I’m over the moon,” he said. “It’s a great new concept and I’m really looking forward to being involved. The
World Championship underlined to me that my performance in Blackpool was not a one-off. I can compete with, and beat, all the best players in the world bar
one: Phil Taylor. That’s what I’ve got to do next. This tournament will be hard work. I’ll have to try and get a sponsored car to get me around the
country!”
Dudbridge is also considering stepping back from his hands-on role in a property
developing company to become a professional darts player full-time.
“You don’t get many opportunities like this,” said Dudbridge, “and it’s no good making a
leap like this if you’re going backwards. I’m going forwards and I’ve got to build on this.”
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