Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

The Power’ beats Caven at Las Vegas Desert Classic (UPDATED)

Bulls-Eye!

Las Vegas is hosting the Las Vegas Desert Classic this week at the Mandalay Bay. It's the biggest dart competition in the United States with the winner earning $50,000.

Phil “The Power” Taylor lost his first darts game to Jamie Caven on Wednesday at the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic.

Then the king of the sport rallied, zipping by “Jabba” Caven for a 6-3 victory in the best-of-11 match. It was the first time Taylor and Caven played against each other, and The Power helped himself by winning two games that Caven started.

Caven, who lost the vision in his right eye when he was stung by a bee as a baby, said it was incredible sharing the stage with Taylor.

Taylor called Caven "a right dodgy character," as a tribute to his skill, before their match.

"Personally, I expected to get beat by more than I did," Jabba said. "I averaged 102 and still got beat, 6-3. It shows what you have to do to beat him. He's unbelievable. This was a dream for me, really, just to play him."

With a sore back and Tuesday's loss to Ronnie Baxter in the final of the Las Vegas Players Championship, and a tough first Classic foe in Caven, some might have believed Taylor was beatable Wednesday. Not so.

Taylor, the 14-time World Champion, will play longtime foe and fellow British ace Dennis Priestley in the next round Friday at Mandalay Bay. Taylor is 30-5 lifetime against Priestley.

“A blast from the past,” Taylor said. “It always will be with me and him. It’s anybody’s game, really. We’ll both play well and entertain.”

The rest of the opening-round action from Mandalay Bay:

Dennis Priestley def. Colin Monk, 6-1

They split the first two games, then Priestley ran away from Monk to improve his record to 4-1 against Monk. In the sixth game, Priestley recorded the big event’s first perfect three-dart throw of 180 (three triple-20s). Monk had a chance to narrow it to 3-2 but let it get away, allowing Priestley the fifth game and the dominant edge.

Wez Newton def. Alan Tabern, 6-3

Wez “Av It” Newton tallied three 180s during the match, in which he won four of the first five games. In the deciding game, Tabern slipped late and Newton clamped down to improve his record over “The Saint” to 7-2.

Colin Lloyd def. Peter Wright, 6-3

Lloyd won the final three games to dispatch Wright, who sports a pink streak down the middle of his blond mein and wears a garish yellow, orange and brown shirt that makes it look as if he slipped in a Taco Bell kitchen. Lloyd improved to 4-1 vs. Wright.

Jelle Klaasen def. Ronnie Baxter, 6-2

It wasn't much of a surprise, since "The Matador" boosted his record to 6-3 against Baxter. However, Baxter had defeated Phil Taylor on Tuesday in the final of the Las Vegas Players Championship, so it appeared he was on a roll. It was a mirage in the desert as Klaasen, in one of the speediest matches on the face of the earth, won six of the final seven games. Moreover, The Matador ripped off a pair of 180s in the clinching eighth game.

Terry Jenkins def. Simon Whitlock, 6-1

A newcomer to the Professional Darts Corporation tour, having bolted from the British Darts Organization, Whitlock isn’t known very well on the Sky Sports tour. “An uknown quantity,” Jenkins said before the match. But Jenkins smashed The Wizard by winning the final five games.

Gary Anderson def. Wayne Mardle, 6-2

The first upset of the first day took place in the next-to-last match, when “The Flyin’ Scotsman” won six of the final seven games against “Hawaii 501” Mardle, who heads back home to Romford, England, with his trademark bright orange, palm-treed tropical shirt. Mardle is eighth on the money list, with 186,000 British pounds this season. Anderson, whose darts bear the blue-and-white Scottish flag, is No. 15 on the money list with 137,000 British pounds. This is Anderson's first trip to Las Vegas.

John Part def. Scott Burnett, 6-2

The day’s matches wound down with “Darth Maple,” from Canada, winning the first four games against Burnett, an American making his first appearance on live television.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy