PDPA - PRO-CELEBRITY
15 Nov 2008
FORMER Olympic javelin star Steve Backley grabbed glory in the PartyPoker.com Pro-Celebrity Challenge by partnering James Wade to victory at the Wolverhampton Civic.
Backley, a three-time Olympic medallist, swapped his javelin for a set of darts in the ITV4-televised tournament, featuring eight celebrities paired with darts stars.
Having defeated the pairings of Peter Manley and poker ace David "Devilfish" Ulliott in the quarter-finals and Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Tufnell in the semis, Backley landed the winning dart to defeat Phil Taylor and Neil Ruddock and claim glory.
"I took a step back during the final and looked around because I was in awe of playing with Phil Taylor and James Wade" said Backley.
"I didn't think it could get any better, and then I hit the winning double!
"It was a fantastic experience, Phil Tufnell has been a big hero of mine for many years, and Neil Ruddock's a legend so it was great to play with them.
"I felt I got better as the tournament went on, and that showed in the final."
Backley added: "I think darts should be included in the Olympics. It's not too late to get it in there for 2012 in London and I'd love to see that!"
Wade, the PDC world number three, added: "I was certainly drawn with the right partner. Steve was pretty good and it was good for him to get the winning double."
Wade and Backley each took home £8,000 as winners of the Pro-Celebrity Challenge, with Taylor and former England footballer Ruddock winning £6,000 each.
Ruddock had hit a winning double top in their quarter-final win over six-time World Snooker champion Steve Davis and Anastasia Dobromyslova, the Women's World Champion.
They then defeated the pairing of Wayne Mardle and actor Michael Le Vell in the semis, coming from 1-0 down to win 3-1, thanks in part to a 156 finish from Taylor.
Taylor also hit a 145 finish in the final to level at two-all, before Backley applied the finishing touch.
Mardle and Le Vell opened the tournament with a 3-0 whitewash of PDC World Champion John Part and former boxer Barry McGuigan.
England rugby star Mike Tindall and BDO World Champion Mark Webster were the other first round losers, going down in a deciding leg to van Barneveld and Tufnell.
PartyPoker.com Pro-Celebrity Darts Order of Play
Quarter-Finals
Wayne Mardle & Michael Le Vell 3-0 John Part & Barry McGuigan
Phil Taylor & Neil Ruddock 3-1 Anastasia Dobromyslova & Steve Davis
James Wade & Steve Backley 3-1 Peter Manley & David Ulliott
Raymond van Barneveld & Phil Tufnell 3-2 Mark Webster & Mike Tindall
Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor & Neil Ruddock 3-1 Wayne Mardle & Michael Le Vell
James Wade & Steve Backley 3-0 Raymond van Barneveld & Phil Tufnell
Followed by, Final
James Wade & Steve Backley 3-2 Phil Taylor & Neil Ruddock
All games the best of five legs of 501, with the celebrity throwing first.
