Dates 28–30 June Format Legs | Location Victoria Stadium Organisation(s) PDC Prize fund £100,000 | |
The 2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy was the fourth of eight European Tour events on the 2013 PDC Pro Tour. The tournament took place at the Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar, from 28 to 30 June. It featured a field of 64 players and £100,000 in prize money, with £20,000 going to the winner. It was won by Phil Taylor, with Jamie Lewis as the runner-up.
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Course of the event
Phil Taylor won his second European Tour title with a 6–1 victory over Jamie Lewis in the final. He had previously beaten Steve Beaton 6-0 in the last eight and Dave Chisnall 6-2 in the semi-finals, recording an average score of 112.73 in the former. The £20,000 first prize was Taylor's second win in June 2013, having earlier won the 2013 UK Open title. Taylor's victory was his first European Tour win since Berlin in June 2012, adding to a career that has led to him being called the greatest ever darts player. He told the Staffordshire newspaper The Sentinel, "It's fantastic to win this and I am over the moon. It's been a great weekend for me and I've really enjoyed it in Gibraltar."
The tournament's biggest surprise was Jamie Lewis' appearance in the final. He reached his first senior final after having to qualify to take part in the event, and was aiming to win one match and the £1,000 prize money, so that he would earn a place in the world top 64 and would avoid having to need to qualify for the 2014 PDC European Tour. He had so firmly expected to be knocked out before the quarter-finals that he had already booked his flight home, and had to cancel when he unexpectedly came through to the final legs. Taylor praised his success: "I'm very chuffed for Jamie to have got to the final because he's a lovely kid – very quiet and humble and it's great to see people like him coming through. I hope he kicks on from this now. He's like a silent assassin, he just gets on with it and I can't fault him today." Lewis spoke of his elation at beating two-time world champion Adrian Lewis and said that "it was a crazy weekend that has changed my life overnight. My head’s still up in the clouds."
The event was the first-ever Gibraltar Darts Trophy, sponsored by the Government of Gibraltar at a reported cost of £100,000. Although it was not broadcast live, it was covered by Sky Sports. The trophy was presented by the territory's Sports Minister, Stephen Linares. Four Gibraltarian players participated as home nation qualifiers, but were all eliminated in the opening round.
Qualification
The top 32 players from the PDC ProTour Order of Merit on the 22 May 2013 automatically qualified for the event. The remaining 32 places went to players from three qualifying events - 20 from the UK Qualifier (held in Wigan on 24 May), eight from the European Qualifier (held at the venue in Gibraltar on 27 June) and four from the Home Nations Qualifier (held in Gibraltar on 24 April).