The 2002 Las Vegas Desert Classic was the inaugural staging of a darts tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. It featured the top players from the PDC along with an opportunity for players from North America to qualify.[1] Over 200 players entered the event, but the last 16 featured mostly British-based players – the only exceptions being Roland Scholten and former World Champion John Part who participate regularly in UK tournaments.
This event featured an unusual format - sets were played over the best of seven legs, rather than the more standard best of five or three legs.
The total prize fund was US$58,000[2] and Phil Taylor won the title beating Ronnie Baxter in the final.
Prize Fund
| Stage (no. of players)[2] | Prize money (Total: $58,000) | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (1) | $20,000 |
| Runner-Up | (1) | $10,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | $5,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | $2,500 |
| Round 1 Losers | (8) | $1,000 |
Results
Men's tournament
Preliminary round
| Player | Score | Player |
|---|---|---|
 Kevin Painter
|
2 – 0 | Rod Harrington
|
| Denis Ovens
|
2 – 1 | Steve Beaton
|
| Simon Whatley
|
2 – 1 | Wes Newton
|
| Lee Palfreyman
|
2 – 0 |  Paul Lim
|
| Wayne Mardle
|
2 – 1 | Dave Askew
|
| Dennis Priestley
|
2 – 0 | Alex Roy
|
 Roland Scholten
|
2 – 1 |  Jamie Harvey
|
| Andy Jenkins
|
2 – 0 | Bob Anderson
|
Main Round 4-7 July
| 1st Round (best of 3 sets) (best of 7 legs) July 4–5[3] | Quarter-finals (best of 3 sets) (best of 7 legs) July 6 | Semi-finals (best of 5 sets) (best of 7 legs) July 7 | Final (best of 5 sets) (best of 7 legs) July 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Phil Taylor 93.48
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kevin Painter 89.13
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Phil Taylor 94.38
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Denis Ovens 87.93
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Denis Ovens 98.31
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Peter Manley 85.95
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Phil Taylor 100.98
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lee Palfreyman 85.95
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lee Palfreyman 96.63
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Colin Lloyd 86.76
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lee Palfreyman 88.50
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simon Whatley 85.92
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simon Whatley 84.93
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dennis Smith 79.98
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Phil Taylor 103.98
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ronnie Baxter 98.46
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ronnie Baxter 87.90
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Andy Jenkins 83.40
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ronnie Baxter 90.54
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
 John Part 89.52
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| John Part 92.13
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Richie Burnett 83.07
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ronnie Baxter 95.76
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Roland Scholten 92.25
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Roland Scholten 86.61
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dennis Priestley 88.74
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Roland Scholten 91.50
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wayne Mardle 96.99
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wayne Mardle 97.53
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alan Warriner 93.90
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Women's tournament
| Semi-finals (best of 3 sets) (best of 5 legs) | Final (best of 3 sets) (best of 5 legs) | ||||||||
| Deta Hedman
| 2 | ||||||||
| Carolyn Mars
| 0 | ||||||||
| Deta Hedman
| 2 | ||||||||
| Crissy Manley
| 1 | ||||||||
| Crissy Manley
| 2 | ||||||||
| Stacy Bromberg
| 1 | ||||||||
References
- ^ Tommy Cox on inaugural Las Vegas Desert Classic
- ^ a b "2002 Las Vegas Desert Classic Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "2002 Las Vegas Desert Classic Player Results". Darts Database. 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-05-05. Retrieved 1 November 2020.