Darts News - Alan Towe’s The Line On Darts
An 18-18 draw with London in the final division one fixture of the 2016 – 2017 season was enough for West Midlands to clinch promotion to the elite premier division of the BDO Inter County Championships, indisputably the finest darts league in the world.
West Midlands will begin their top flight campaign with an away game against Devon, not an easy fixture as their hosts finished in a respectable mid table position last term, nevertheless with a confidence boosting seven wins, one draw and only one defeat in last season’s games West Midlands could well be this season’s surprise package.
The Shirley Red Lion Premier League staged a play off for the players who finished in the top four of their league, however it was a little disappointing insomuch as the man who finished the season top of the table Paul Higgins was unavailable on the night of the play off. Nevertheless finals night went ahead and after a 3-1 win over Mark Gwalchmai in the semi finals Tom Bent went on to win the final by the same margin against Andy Thomas to be crowned the overall champion.
The Stourbridge and District Monday Night League played off their singles knockout and taking the title with a final straight 2-0 win over John Jackson was Chris Williams. Williams also won his quarter final and semi final games against J.Gaskin and Rob Harris 2-0, Jackson achieving the same results against M.Rollinson and Sam Stanley.
The South Birmingham League have played off the finals of three of their knockouts the first of which was the Captains Cup which produced an exciting final between Robbie Earl and Neil Parsonage. The game went to the wire with Parsonage just getting the 2-1 verdict. Parsonage won his last four encounter against Simon Edwards 2-0 despite Edwards hitting a maximum while Earl beat Nick Walker 2-1. The Secretary’s Cup final was fought out between Gavin Jones and Dave Clinton with Clinton recording a straight 2-0 win. Clinton won his semi final against Liam Walker 2-0 while Jones was taken to a third leg by Dean Young before winning 2-1. Neil Parsonage narrowly missed out on a tremendous double as he and his partner Sue Hawkins lost 2-0 to Simon Edwards and Charlie Kingdon in the semi finals of the Mixed Doubles. Making up the final against Edwards and Kingdon were Mike McFall and Sandra Liggins after their 2-1 win over Gary Shergold and Karen Shergold in their last four game. The final went to a deciding third leg which saw Simon Edwards and Charlie Kingdon clinch the title with a 2-1 result leaving Mike McFall and Sandra Liggins as runners up.
Two cup finals have been on the fixture card for the Kings Norton League the first being the League Cup which brought together the league’s top two teams leaders Hillyfields ‘B’ who have won all twenty five of their league fixtures so far and second in the table West Heath who after twenty five games trail Hillyfields ‘B’ by eight points. Hillyfields ‘B’ took their league form into the cup taking the title with a convincing 5-2 result. The second of the league’s finals was the Consolation Cup in which two of the lower placed teams in the table Toby Jug Flights and Kings Norton Ex Serviceman’s Club did battle. The outcome was another 5-2 scoreline with the Ex Serviceman’s Club taking the honours.
The Sutton and District Summer League have completed their division one programme and The Boat clinched the divisional title in the very last fixture of the season. Playing at home Boat played hosts to Golden Hind who prior to the game were in pole position with 16 points, two more than The Boat. The outcome of the match was a 7-2 win for the home team taking them level on points with their opponents but with a far superior average they took the title off their opponents at the final hurdle. The Fox, who had already won the division three title rounded off their fixture card with a 9-0 win over The Duke to complete their ten match season undefeated, the only team in the league to win all of their fixtures this season. At the time of going to print the only unanswered question is who will win the division two title as both divisions one and three consisted of six teams and have finished their fixtures but division two with seven teams still have fixtures to play. With two to play Erdington Club top the table with 18 points two more than their nearest rivals Red Lion, however it will be these two teams that will definitely fill both the winners and runners up positions as third placed Boot are some eight points behind the leaders.
The newly formed Sheldon Heath Social Club Dukes In House League staged their very first knockout cup with all of the rounds leading up to the final being a do or die one leg shoot out. The first of the semi finals saw Paul Curry after defeating Lee Molyneux and Rob Hicks account for Steve Groves to book his place in the final while from the other half of the draw Perry Pudge made his way to the final by taking out Phil Ashford and Chris Cotter. The final was extend to the best of three legs and went the full distance with Paul Curry recording scores of 3x100 and 140 while Perry Pudge hit 140 and 2x100, the 2-1 result going in favour of Paul Curry.
The Pip Club League staged the finals of their Challenge Cups, the division one title going to Bulls Head ‘A’ (Polesworth) after they defeated Globe Trotters in the final, both teams recorded a maximum score Mark Martin finding the three treble twenties for Bulls Head and Wayne Macken for Globe Trotters. In the division two cup Royal Oak took the honours with a final victory over Globe (Wilnecote).
The Camp Hill League have played their singles knockouts and in the men’s event the honours went to Pete Yardley (Hay Mills Social Club Lions) who accounted for Neil Parsonage from Cotterills Lane Club in the final. Losing semi finalists were James Hinkley (Tyseley WMC) and Matthew Cooper (Cotterills Lane Club) The ladies knockout was won by Laura Caven (Emerald Club) who beat Jean Forde (Devil’s Club) in the final. Making their exit in the last four were Gloria Lightwood (Devil’s Club) and Jacquie Francis (Station Wagon).
The Tettenhall Wednesday Night League’s singles knockout attracted no fewer than 55 entries and in the semi finals Simon Pritchard (Riley’s) beat Simon New (ECC ‘A’) and Dave Smith (Bull) won against Sam Guest (Whitmore Reans WMC). The two winners will now square up to each other in the final which will be played on presentation night 22nd November.
BDO Inter County Championships Derbyshire Pinxton Village Hall, 3 Kirkstead Road, Pinxton, NG16 6 will be the setting for the opening fixture for Derbyshire in division three of the BDO Inter County Championships on the weekend of the 16th and 17th September. After two dismal seasons which has seen Derbyshire drop from division one to division three and in that time record just one win and one draw in eighteen games the home side will be hoping their fortunes will change and that this coming season they will make a quick return to division two, a division where only two seasons ago they won six games, drew one and lost two to gain promotion to division one.
Shropshire Shropshire will open their account in division four of the BDO Inter County Championships with a home tie against Somerset and have for this coming season chosen to move their home venue to The Royal, Delaware Avenue, Albrighton, Wolverhampton, WV7 3BW. With only one win and one draw in their nine fixtures last season the home team will be hoping for better fortunes for the new campaign.
Warwickshire Warwickshire will begin their ninth season in the Premier Division of the BDO Inter County Championships with a not surprising fixture against Yorkshire. In their nine seasons in the top flight Warwickshire’s curtain raiser has always been against Yorkshire and unfortunately after those eight games they are still seeking their first win against the reigning champions. Warwickshire’s tie against Yorkshire is a home game and will be played at the Bishopsgate Club, 141-145 Foleshill Road, Coventry, Warwickshire, CV1. 4LF on the opening weekend of the 16th and 17th September.
Winmau Darts Centre at Wolverhampton Indoor Community Sports Stadium Over the weekend of the 15th and 16th July the Winmau Darts Centre on the Wolverhampton Indoor Community Sports Arena staged two Category ‘B’ BDO tournaments. Players from all over the British Isles plus the Netherlands and Isle of Man converged on the Wolverhampton Winmau Centre to take part in both Saturday’s BDO Winmau Wolverhampton Classic and Sunday’s BDO Winmau Wolverhampton Open, all hoping to take away a share of the huge £10,000 prize pot on offer. In the Classic tournament the honours went to the BDO ranked world number one Glen Durrant (33.68) who in the final took on Worcestershire county player Liam Kelly (29.25) and won 6-2. [caption id="attachment_24275" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
BDO Winmau Wolverhampton Classic Andy Jones (Winmau), Glen Durrant (Winner) and Dharam Jagpal (Arena Owner)[/caption]
In the semi finals Durrant was taken to a deciding leg by Dean Reynolds while Kelly had a more convincing 5-2 success against Kyle McKinstry.
West Midlands man Scott Baker after winning the BDO Gold Cup Pairs with partner Dan Nicholls and then the Gateway Welsh Open was unable to make it three wins in a row as he made his exit in the quarter finals where he lost 4-2 to runner up Kelly.
Prior to the Classic final the final of the British Disability Darts Association tournament was played off and taking the crown was Sheffield’s Jonathan Hirst. In the final Hirst came up against Ricky Chilton the game going to a deciding leg in which both players had their chance to win the title but it was Hirst who found the vital finishing double to be crowned winner of the Official British Darts Organisation Wolverhampton Classic for the BDDA. [caption id="attachment_24276" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
British Disability Darts Association winner Jonathan Hirst[/caption]
Sunday saw the fifth annual BDO Winmau Wolverhampton Open which produced some world class darts from many of the top players that took part. The semi finals saw Warwickshire star Jamie Hughes take on West Midland man Glen McGrandle with Hughes recording a 33.11 average in his 5-2 win. Booking his final place against Hughes was Scotland’s Ross Montgomery (32.83) who in his last four game beat England’s Martin Atkins in a very close 5-4 encounter. The final saw Montgomery steam into a 3-0 lead and despite Hughes coming back to 3-2 it was Montgomery who went on to seal his victory with a final 6-2 scoreline. [caption id="attachment_24278" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
BDO Winmau Wolverhampton Open Andy Jones (Winmau), Ross Montgomery (Winner) and Dharam Jagpal (Arena Owner).[/caption]
The Winmau Centre Monday Night League have completed their season, What’s The Point rounding off their title winning campaign with a 35-13 win over Full Monty to finish with a total of 588 points. The Untouchables had a final 33-15 win against Keep It In The Family which saw them finish on the same 534 points and level on average with Just The Tip, however they replaced Just The Tip in second place in the table and clinched the runners up spot by virtue of the fact that they had won 13 and lost 3 to their rivals won 12 and lost 4.
During the close season for the Winmau Centre Thursday Night Champions League the centre have been staging a number of knockouts the first of which saw Matt Padgett take the winners prize money when he beat Steve Gillam 6-1 in the final. Padgett won his semi final against West Midlands player Mark Craddock 5-1 while Gillam won 5-3 against Justin Evans.
by Alan Towe Website: www.alantowedarts.co.uk
The Shirley Red Lion Premier League staged a play off for the players who finished in the top four of their league, however it was a little disappointing insomuch as the man who finished the season top of the table Paul Higgins was unavailable on the night of the play off. Nevertheless finals night went ahead and after a 3-1 win over Mark Gwalchmai in the semi finals Tom Bent went on to win the final by the same margin against Andy Thomas to be crowned the overall champion.
The Stourbridge and District Monday Night League played off their singles knockout and taking the title with a final straight 2-0 win over John Jackson was Chris Williams. Williams also won his quarter final and semi final games against J.Gaskin and Rob Harris 2-0, Jackson achieving the same results against M.Rollinson and Sam Stanley.
The South Birmingham League have played off the finals of three of their knockouts the first of which was the Captains Cup which produced an exciting final between Robbie Earl and Neil Parsonage. The game went to the wire with Parsonage just getting the 2-1 verdict. Parsonage won his last four encounter against Simon Edwards 2-0 despite Edwards hitting a maximum while Earl beat Nick Walker 2-1. The Secretary’s Cup final was fought out between Gavin Jones and Dave Clinton with Clinton recording a straight 2-0 win. Clinton won his semi final against Liam Walker 2-0 while Jones was taken to a third leg by Dean Young before winning 2-1. Neil Parsonage narrowly missed out on a tremendous double as he and his partner Sue Hawkins lost 2-0 to Simon Edwards and Charlie Kingdon in the semi finals of the Mixed Doubles. Making up the final against Edwards and Kingdon were Mike McFall and Sandra Liggins after their 2-1 win over Gary Shergold and Karen Shergold in their last four game. The final went to a deciding third leg which saw Simon Edwards and Charlie Kingdon clinch the title with a 2-1 result leaving Mike McFall and Sandra Liggins as runners up.
Two cup finals have been on the fixture card for the Kings Norton League the first being the League Cup which brought together the league’s top two teams leaders Hillyfields ‘B’ who have won all twenty five of their league fixtures so far and second in the table West Heath who after twenty five games trail Hillyfields ‘B’ by eight points. Hillyfields ‘B’ took their league form into the cup taking the title with a convincing 5-2 result. The second of the league’s finals was the Consolation Cup in which two of the lower placed teams in the table Toby Jug Flights and Kings Norton Ex Serviceman’s Club did battle. The outcome was another 5-2 scoreline with the Ex Serviceman’s Club taking the honours.
The Sutton and District Summer League have completed their division one programme and The Boat clinched the divisional title in the very last fixture of the season. Playing at home Boat played hosts to Golden Hind who prior to the game were in pole position with 16 points, two more than The Boat. The outcome of the match was a 7-2 win for the home team taking them level on points with their opponents but with a far superior average they took the title off their opponents at the final hurdle. The Fox, who had already won the division three title rounded off their fixture card with a 9-0 win over The Duke to complete their ten match season undefeated, the only team in the league to win all of their fixtures this season. At the time of going to print the only unanswered question is who will win the division two title as both divisions one and three consisted of six teams and have finished their fixtures but division two with seven teams still have fixtures to play. With two to play Erdington Club top the table with 18 points two more than their nearest rivals Red Lion, however it will be these two teams that will definitely fill both the winners and runners up positions as third placed Boot are some eight points behind the leaders.
The newly formed Sheldon Heath Social Club Dukes In House League staged their very first knockout cup with all of the rounds leading up to the final being a do or die one leg shoot out. The first of the semi finals saw Paul Curry after defeating Lee Molyneux and Rob Hicks account for Steve Groves to book his place in the final while from the other half of the draw Perry Pudge made his way to the final by taking out Phil Ashford and Chris Cotter. The final was extend to the best of three legs and went the full distance with Paul Curry recording scores of 3x100 and 140 while Perry Pudge hit 140 and 2x100, the 2-1 result going in favour of Paul Curry.
The Pip Club League staged the finals of their Challenge Cups, the division one title going to Bulls Head ‘A’ (Polesworth) after they defeated Globe Trotters in the final, both teams recorded a maximum score Mark Martin finding the three treble twenties for Bulls Head and Wayne Macken for Globe Trotters. In the division two cup Royal Oak took the honours with a final victory over Globe (Wilnecote).
The Camp Hill League have played their singles knockouts and in the men’s event the honours went to Pete Yardley (Hay Mills Social Club Lions) who accounted for Neil Parsonage from Cotterills Lane Club in the final. Losing semi finalists were James Hinkley (Tyseley WMC) and Matthew Cooper (Cotterills Lane Club) The ladies knockout was won by Laura Caven (Emerald Club) who beat Jean Forde (Devil’s Club) in the final. Making their exit in the last four were Gloria Lightwood (Devil’s Club) and Jacquie Francis (Station Wagon).
The Tettenhall Wednesday Night League’s singles knockout attracted no fewer than 55 entries and in the semi finals Simon Pritchard (Riley’s) beat Simon New (ECC ‘A’) and Dave Smith (Bull) won against Sam Guest (Whitmore Reans WMC). The two winners will now square up to each other in the final which will be played on presentation night 22nd November.
BDO Inter County Championships Derbyshire Pinxton Village Hall, 3 Kirkstead Road, Pinxton, NG16 6 will be the setting for the opening fixture for Derbyshire in division three of the BDO Inter County Championships on the weekend of the 16th and 17th September. After two dismal seasons which has seen Derbyshire drop from division one to division three and in that time record just one win and one draw in eighteen games the home side will be hoping their fortunes will change and that this coming season they will make a quick return to division two, a division where only two seasons ago they won six games, drew one and lost two to gain promotion to division one.
Shropshire Shropshire will open their account in division four of the BDO Inter County Championships with a home tie against Somerset and have for this coming season chosen to move their home venue to The Royal, Delaware Avenue, Albrighton, Wolverhampton, WV7 3BW. With only one win and one draw in their nine fixtures last season the home team will be hoping for better fortunes for the new campaign.
Warwickshire Warwickshire will begin their ninth season in the Premier Division of the BDO Inter County Championships with a not surprising fixture against Yorkshire. In their nine seasons in the top flight Warwickshire’s curtain raiser has always been against Yorkshire and unfortunately after those eight games they are still seeking their first win against the reigning champions. Warwickshire’s tie against Yorkshire is a home game and will be played at the Bishopsgate Club, 141-145 Foleshill Road, Coventry, Warwickshire, CV1. 4LF on the opening weekend of the 16th and 17th September.
Winmau Darts Centre at Wolverhampton Indoor Community Sports Stadium Over the weekend of the 15th and 16th July the Winmau Darts Centre on the Wolverhampton Indoor Community Sports Arena staged two Category ‘B’ BDO tournaments. Players from all over the British Isles plus the Netherlands and Isle of Man converged on the Wolverhampton Winmau Centre to take part in both Saturday’s BDO Winmau Wolverhampton Classic and Sunday’s BDO Winmau Wolverhampton Open, all hoping to take away a share of the huge £10,000 prize pot on offer. In the Classic tournament the honours went to the BDO ranked world number one Glen Durrant (33.68) who in the final took on Worcestershire county player Liam Kelly (29.25) and won 6-2. [caption id="attachment_24275" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
BDO Winmau Wolverhampton Classic Andy Jones (Winmau), Glen Durrant (Winner) and Dharam Jagpal (Arena Owner)[/caption]
In the semi finals Durrant was taken to a deciding leg by Dean Reynolds while Kelly had a more convincing 5-2 success against Kyle McKinstry.
West Midlands man Scott Baker after winning the BDO Gold Cup Pairs with partner Dan Nicholls and then the Gateway Welsh Open was unable to make it three wins in a row as he made his exit in the quarter finals where he lost 4-2 to runner up Kelly.
Prior to the Classic final the final of the British Disability Darts Association tournament was played off and taking the crown was Sheffield’s Jonathan Hirst. In the final Hirst came up against Ricky Chilton the game going to a deciding leg in which both players had their chance to win the title but it was Hirst who found the vital finishing double to be crowned winner of the Official British Darts Organisation Wolverhampton Classic for the BDDA. [caption id="attachment_24276" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
British Disability Darts Association winner Jonathan Hirst[/caption]
Sunday saw the fifth annual BDO Winmau Wolverhampton Open which produced some world class darts from many of the top players that took part. The semi finals saw Warwickshire star Jamie Hughes take on West Midland man Glen McGrandle with Hughes recording a 33.11 average in his 5-2 win. Booking his final place against Hughes was Scotland’s Ross Montgomery (32.83) who in his last four game beat England’s Martin Atkins in a very close 5-4 encounter. The final saw Montgomery steam into a 3-0 lead and despite Hughes coming back to 3-2 it was Montgomery who went on to seal his victory with a final 6-2 scoreline. [caption id="attachment_24278" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
BDO Winmau Wolverhampton Open Andy Jones (Winmau), Ross Montgomery (Winner) and Dharam Jagpal (Arena Owner).[/caption]
The Winmau Centre Monday Night League have completed their season, What’s The Point rounding off their title winning campaign with a 35-13 win over Full Monty to finish with a total of 588 points. The Untouchables had a final 33-15 win against Keep It In The Family which saw them finish on the same 534 points and level on average with Just The Tip, however they replaced Just The Tip in second place in the table and clinched the runners up spot by virtue of the fact that they had won 13 and lost 3 to their rivals won 12 and lost 4.
During the close season for the Winmau Centre Thursday Night Champions League the centre have been staging a number of knockouts the first of which saw Matt Padgett take the winners prize money when he beat Steve Gillam 6-1 in the final. Padgett won his semi final against West Midlands player Mark Craddock 5-1 while Gillam won 5-3 against Justin Evans.
by Alan Towe Website: www.alantowedarts.co.uk