There is more than £22,000 on offer at the 28th Isle of Man International Festival of Darts from March 9th to 11th and reigning Lakeside World Professional Champion Scott Waites will be hoping to add the prestigious Isle of Man International Festival of Darts title to his bulging trophy cabinet after taking his winning form to the recent Dutch Open, where he emerged 2013 Champion.
There is £5000 on offer to the winner of the Men’s Singles and £3000 for the Women’s Singles champion, with the added bonus of invitations to the 2013 Winmau World Masters. Both Scott and reigning and three times Lakeside Women's World Champion, Anastasia Dobromyslova, are seeking their first Isle-of-Man titles.
A total prize fund of £22,800 is on offer across the three-day tournament (March 9-11), as well as BDO Invitation Tables Category A rankings points. Also new to the event is a 9-Dart prize sponsored by Specsavers.
The venue for the 28th festival will once again be the palatial sea-front Villa Marina entertainment complex in Douglas - one of the most impressive venues on the darts calendar. Last year there was a strong contingent from the Netherlands and the island is once again expecting an 'invasion' by the orange army after an all-Dutch 2012 final in which Jeffrey de Graaf celebrated victory over fellow countryman Jan Dekker in the Men’s Singles.
And there were further Dutch celebrations when Francis Hoenselaar won the Women’s Singles title - preventing England's Deta Hedman from collecting her sixth Manx win.
Deta will be back this year, as will nine times Lakeside Women's World Champion Trina Gulliver, who won the recent Dutch Open Singles title and will be keen to continue her good form by claiming her third I-o-M Singles title. Four times winner Julie Gore will be looking to build on previous successes but the lure of the £3000 top prize and rankings points will ensure a high quality field.
Supporting the singles events are Mixed Pairs, Men’s and Women’s Pairs, plus the island play-offs for the Winmau World Masters Youth competition. For early arrivals on the island the 2013 Festival opens on Thursday night (March 7) with a winner-takes-all knockout competition, supported by Okells Brewery.
The following night will see the Mixed Pairs and Winmau World Master Youth play-offs being staged, with the Men’s and Women’s Singles played down to the Semi-Finals on Saturday. Sunday will see the Men’s and Women’s Pairs, followed by the finals of all competitions immediately afterwards in the impressive circular Royal Hall.
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