Friday 13 February 2015 18:33, UK
It’s Valentine’s Day this weekend and we are marking this special occasion by looking back at five of the most loved-up moments on the oche.
This quarter-final clash appeared to bring together two contrasting characters as Bunting had maintained his steely composure on his path to the last four, while ‘Barney’ could not mask his relief after some mentally draining battles.
The Dutchman was forced to endure another draining contest, with both men swapping big checkouts during a display of nerveless finishing.
After donning a pair of spectacles, van Barneveld checked out from 124 to gain the upper hand in the deciding set and eventually closed out a 5-4 victory.
But there were remarkable scenes in the aftermath, with ‘Barney’ voicing his admiration for his beaten opponent.
He implored organisers of the upcoming Premier League to include the popular St Helens man, who was moved to tears by the former world champion’s praise.
"This man should be in the Premier League – what a player," said van Barneveld.
"He won everything in the BDO and then last January he said, ‘I’ll come over. I want to do something else. I want to play with the best of the best’. And he is one of the best of the best."
The man nicknamed ‘Snakebite’ always wears his heart on his sleeve, whether he is dancing with delight or wincing at a missed double.
He emerged as a fan's favourite after his World Championship final defeat by Michael van Gerwen the previous year and received a warm reception for his second round clash with Ronny Huybrechts.
Wright managed to advance with a 4-1 win, but admitted afterwards that he struggled to contain his emotions as his supporters roared him on.
‘I found it hard work because the whole crowd started singing my name and I started to get tears in my eyes because the support I got was crazy,” he said.
‘I was trying to fight back the emotions to concentrate on my game and it was really hard. To have a couple of thousand people singing my name made me think “why are you doing this?”
A meeting between Lewis and his former mentor Taylor usually provokes high emotion and they served up a classic semi-final at the 2013 Grand Slam.
Hailed as one of the greatest matches of all time, the duo racked up 32 180s between them in front of a captivated crowd in Wolverhampton.
Taylor finished with an average of 109.76, with Lewis slipping to a convincing 16-9 defeat, despite averaging an even better 110.99.
There was mutual respect between the two men after this epic battle and they shared an emotional hug.
Taylor was full of praise for his old pupil, saying afterwards: "I think between me and Aidy it's always going to be (a great game).
"When I first started out and went 2-0 up, I knew he was going to come back at me. It was just a matter of hanging in there really.
"I was hoping that, because it's the long format, he'd drop a little bit. But he didn't, he just carried on."
Taylor appeared to be cruising towards another semi-final when he opened up a commanding 3-0 advantage against Mardle.
But the Dagenham man produced a memorable comeback, reeling off five sets in a row before finding double 18 for a 5-3 triumph which sparked tearful celebrations.
Overcome with emotion, Mardle briefly slumped to his knees and Taylor, in a great show of sportsmanship, warmly congratulated the winner.
“When I left double 18, I was thinking, 'I cannot miss this' and when it went in, the emotion came pouring out,” said Mardle.
“It was great to beat Phil from 3-0 down. It was a special game.”
Describing Mardle’s cherished moment, famed commentator Sid Waddell said: “Screaming to high heaven to the gods of darts: "I did it, I did it." He crumbles with emotion.
“Wayne Mardle, this is the night of your darting life. What a man, what a match, what a comeback. “
The odds appear to be stacked against the Canadian, who had suffered a string of defeats against Taylor ahead of their final at the Circus Tavern.
At this stage in his career, defending champion Taylor was enjoying a dominant reign and would have expected to wrap up victory after forging a 5-4 lead.
But Part refused to be pushed aside, taking the next two sets and held his nerve to secure a tense victory when the match went to a deciding leg.
The tearful winner was quick to pay tribute to Taylor after ending his 44-match winning streak in the tournament.
“Even winning this title this year, it’s hard to feel like a champion next to this man, because he’s done everything.
“It will take a long, long time before anyone does what he does again.”
Taylor responded in respectful fashion, saying: “To be quite honest with you, I was beaten by the better player today, John threw fantastic.
“He was the better player, he’s been the best player all week.”
