In division two of the BDO Inter County Championships West Midlands rounded off their season with a top of the table clash against London at Gilberts Bar, Willenhall, the outcome of the game deciding who would get promotion to division one as champions.
The ladies ‘B’ match saw all six games go with the first throw advantage however the opening game between Claire Hobbs and Dee Belcher could easily have gone either way as both players had throws to win all four legs played but it was London’s Belcher who was first to find her doubles and run out the 3-1 winner.
Kirsty Shaughnessy (West Midlands) went two up against Nikki Patten but was taken to the fifth and final leg after Patten won the third and fourth legs nevertheless it was Shaughnessy who won the decider to level the game.
London went ahead for a second time, this time through Lynne Biondini who at one stage looked as though she would lose when she trailed 2-0 to Heather Wright but went on to win 3-2. Again the visitors lead was cancelled out this time by lady of the match Shellbie Simmons who had a 3-1 win against Kelly Livett, Shellbie recording an 18.98 average.
Shaz Deboo Costello was the third player to give London the lead going on to win 3-1 after her opponent Jacqueline Maiden had won the opening leg.
In the final game Jane Biggs (London) went 2-0 up against Samantha Maiden but then lost her way with finishing doubles and in stepped Maiden to win the next three legs and claim the 3-2 win to put the score at the end of the tie at 3-3.
The ladies ‘B’ completed a successful season with four wins, four draws and only one defeat.
After the opening 3-1 win by Scott Baker (West Midlands) over Brian Herraghty the visitors strung together three consecutive wins Diogo Portela beating Richard Platt 3-1, Nick Cocks winning by the same margin against Paul Wells and Danny Faulkner rounding off the trio of wins with his 3-0 success against Mark Allen-Watkiss.
Despite West Midlands going 1-0 up and then 3-1 down by the midway point of the match the score was level at 3-3 as Danny Coyle and Daniel Nicholls responded for the home side, Coyle winning 3-1 against Tony Field and Nicholls beating David Wawrzewski 3-2.
West Midlands good run continued into the second half and opened up a 5-3 lead as John Mycock won 3-1 against Matt Finch and Neil Pointon accounted for Stuart Patt with a 3-2 scoreline after Patt had gone two up.
By game number ten London had drawn level once again this time it was thanks to a 3-1 win by Robbie Hain against Mark Rollinson and 3-2 success for Michael Artiss against Paul Price.
Securing a share of the points for West Midlands was Ashe Khayat who made short work of his opponent Joe Imber when he won the first three legs in 21, 16 and 17 darts for a man of the match average of 27.83.
The final game of the day would decide the outcome and as it turned out it ended all square at 6-6 as London’s Steve Day beat Robert Smith 3-0.
The draw meant that the men’s ‘B’ went through the season undefeated with five wins and four draws.
With four wins and four draws already under their belt the ladies ‘A’ had been in superb form all season and they got this their final fixture of the season off to a great start with wins in the opening four games to make it five wins and four draws.
Lisa Astbury was first on and in double quick time with a 3-0 result accounted for her opponent Leanne Topper. Debbie Loon won the first against Carly Townsend and although she then fell 2-1 behind she came back with wins in the last two legs for a 3-2 win.
Debs Watling appeared to be on the way to London’s first win when she went 1-0 and 2-1 up against Sarah Roberts, but Roberts who has been in tremendous form this season came roaring back to win 3-2 and at the same time her superb 22.97 average providing her with her seventh lady of the match award for the season and make it five consecutive award wins.
Chalking up the winning fourth game was Sophie Singh who after going 2-0 up against Tammy MacKenzie was pegged back to level terms and then won the last leg in 19 darts.
Gemma Barrett looked as though she would make it 5-0 when she won the first two legs against Steph Stutley but was unable to add to her lead despite throws at a finishing double to win and Stutley ran out the 3-2 winner. That however was the away team’s only win as Katharine Jenkins wrapped up a fantastic 5-1 win when in the final game she beat Su Holt 3-1.
A 7-5 defeat would now be good enough from the men’s ‘A’ to give an overall 19-17 victory but any hopes of that were soon dismissed as London stormed into a 6-0 lead. Tommy Sanwell was the visitor’s first winner when he won 4-2 against Gavin Baker, Conan Whitehead made it 2-0 with his 4-1 win over Ian Jones, a rare defeat for Jones but Whitehead did get the Londoner’s man of the match award for his 32.40 average.
Taking the score along to 3-0 was Steve Douglas when he won 4-2 against John Morris and with a further 4-3 success for Lee Cocks against Avtar Singh a 4-2 win for Lewis McGurn against Keith Allman and Wayne Brown beating Gareth Watts 4-3 the game was at the halfway point and without a win on the board for the home team.
Lewis Venes stopped the rot when he accounted for Gene Hill with a straight 4-0 victory and reducing the deficit to 6-2 was Mark Craddock who won 4-1 against Spencer Ellis.
The game was won in the ninth when Chris Stevens added his 4-3 win over Nick Fullwell to the away team’s tally giving them a 7-2 advantage. Stevens however was made to fight for his win after going 3-0 up Fullwell fought back to level terms and then narrowly lost the final leg.
Steven Ferguson took the score to 8-2 with a 4-1 win over Christopher Mason before West Midlands man of the match Shaun Carroll beat Tony Hamit in the penultimate game of the weekend. Hamit went 3-0 up including a 130 game shot in the second, then in the fourth Carroll with scores of 140,134,140 and 71 he left himself on double eight which he got with his thirteenth dart.
Carroll then reduced the arrears to 3-2 with a 20 darts leg and drew level with another thirteen darts leg hitting 180,140,131 and 42 to leave double four which again he got first dart. With another maximum in the seventh and deciding leg Carroll forged ahead and finally checkout out on ten for a 4-3 victory and an award winning average of 27.77, his fourth such award of the season.
To round off the proceedings West Midlands anchor man Michael Baker won the first against Nicky Turner, Turner then won the next two but in 20,19 and 20 darts Baker took the next three for a 4-2 win and an 8-4 result in London’s favour.
The final overall result was an 18-18 draw completing a very successful season with seven wins, one draw and only one defeat to give West Midlands a total of 202 points just four short of champions London but enough to earn them the runners up spot and promotion to division one.
Full Results:West Midlands v London (18-18):(West Midlands names first): Men’s ‘A’:- Gavin Baker 2 Tommy Sanwell 4, Ian Jones 1 Conan Whitehead 4, John Morris 2 Steve Douglas 4, Avtar Singh 3 Lee Cocks 4, Keith Allman 2 Lewis McGurn 4, Gareth Watts 3 Wayne Brown 4, Lewis Venes 4 Gene Hill 0, Mark Craddock 4 Spencer Ellis 1, Nick Fullwell 3 Chris Stevens 4, Christopher Mason 1 Steven Ferguson 4, Shaun Carroll 4 Tony Hamit 3, Michael Baker 4 Nicky Turner 2, Men’s ‘B’:- Scott Baker 3 Brian Herraghty 1, Richard Platt 1 Diogo Portela 3, Paul Wells 1 Nick Cocks 3, Mark Allen-Watkiss 0 Danny Faulkner 3, Danny Coyle 3 Tony Field 1, Daniel Nicholls 3 David Warwrzewski 2, John Mycock 3 Matt Finch 1, Neil Pointon 3 Stuart Patt 2, Mark Rollinson 1 Robbie Hain 3, Paul Price 2 Michael Artiss 3, Ashe Khayat 3 Joe Imber 0, Robert Smith 0 Steve Day 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Lisa Astbury 3 Leanne Topper 0, Debbie Loon 3 Carly Townsend 2, Sarah Roberts 3 Debs Watling 2, Sophie Singh 3 Tammy MacKenzie 2, Gemma Barrett 2 Steph Stutley 3, Kath Jenkins 3 Su Holt 1, Women’s ‘B’:- Claire Hobbs 1 Dee Belcher 3, Kirsty Shaughnessy 3 Nikki Patten 2, Heathwer Wright 2 Lynne Biondini 3, Shellbie Simmons 3 Kelly Livett 1, Jacqueline Maiden 1 Shaz Deboo Costello 3, Samantha Maiden 3 Jane Biggs 2.
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Saunders Hall WMC was the setting for the Bedworth Masters Open 2016 which attracted numerous top class county players from Warwickshire, West Midlands and beyond.
Throughout the competition there were some top darts with big names falling along the way. The final was contested between two local Warwickshire county players Nigel Heydon and Mark Westgarth,
Heydon made his way to the final with a straight 4-0 win over Dean Saunders in the last thirty two and then to reach the final had a 4-2 win over James Robinson followed by 5-2 wins against Tony Randell and Simon Hardy who had taken out West Midlands star Ian Jones in the quarter finals with a 5-2 result.
Westgarth meanwhile had a 4-2 win in round one against Wayne Willis, was then taken to a deciding leg by Peter Wagstaff and made the quarter finals with a 4-2 win over Josh Richardson. With the games now extended to the best of nine Westgarth was again taken to a deciding leg in both of the two final preceding games, however he first beat Michael McFall and then booked his final spot against Heydon with a win over Ted Evetts.
Heydon continued his top form in the final and ran out the 6-1 winner to collect the top prize of £200 with Westgarth receiving £100. There was £50 for each of the losing semi finalists and £10 for the players going out in the last eight.
Full Results: Round One:- Will Petty – bye, Nathan Richards 4 Harrison Walker 1, Martin Edwards 4 Taylor Clark 3, Tony Randell 4 Isobel Gash 0, Adam Paxton 4 Keith Judge 2, Jamie Robinson 4 Ondrej Petrov 3, Dean Saunders 4 Justin Randle 1, Nigel Heydon – bye, Will Rattigan – bye, Michael Spencer 4 Brendan Lysaght 3, Richard Hosey 4 Alan Ward 1, Ian Jones 4 Paul Marsden 0, Charlie Symons 4 Stuart Smolin 3, Phillip Richardson 4 Leanne Earp 3, Simon Hardy 4 Stuart Biggs 1, Anthony Treharne – bye, Josh Richardson – bye, Keith Carter 0 Alan Carter 4, Mark Westgarth 4 Wayne Willis 2, Peter Wagstaff 4 Michael Shaw 0, Michael McFall 4 Daniel Gadsby 1, Darren Burdett 4 Colin Osborne 2, Ashley Hykin 4 James Day 0, Andy Kent – bye, Ian McFarlane – bye, Kevin Dowling 4 Dave Honey 1, Ted Evetts 4 Gary Cullinan 0, Neil Ward 4 Danny Humphries 2, Glen Poulton 4 Mark Livock 3, Mark Carter 4 Bradley Burdett 0, Tom Mills 4 Shay Newitt 2, Sam Howkins – bye, Last 32:- Will Petty 4 Nathan Richards 1, Tony Randell 4 Martin Edwards 0, Jamie Robinson 4 Adam Paxton 0, Nigel Heydon 4 Dean Saunders 0, Michael Spencer 4 Will Rattigan 0, Ian Jones 4 Richard Hosey 0, Charlie Symons 4 Phillip Richardson 0, Simon Hardy 4 Anthony Treharne 3, Josh Richardson 4 Alan Carter 3, Mark Westgarth 4 Peter Wagstaff 3, Michael McFall 4 Darren Burdett 0, Ashley Hykin 4 Andy Kent 2, Kevin Dowling 4 Ian McFarlane 1, Ted Evetts 4 Neil Ward 1, Mark Carter 4 Glenn Poulton 2, Tom Mills 4 Sam Howkins 1, Last 16:- Tony Randell 4 Will Petty 1, Nigel Heydon 4 Jamie Robinson 2, Ian Jones 4 Michael Spencer 2, Simon Hardy 4 Charlie Symons 2, Mark Westgarth 4 Josh Richardson 2, Michael McFall 4 Ashley Hykin 3, Ted Evetts 4 Kevin Dowling 3, Mark Carter 4 Tom Mills 1, Quarter Finals:- Nigel Heydon 5 Tony Randell 2, Simon Hardy 5 Ian Jones 2, Mark Westgarth 5 Michael McFall 4, Ted Evetts 5 Mark Carter 0, Semi Finals:- Nigel Heydon 5 Simon Hardy 2, Mark Westgarth 5 Ted Evetts 4, Final:- Nigel Heydon 6 Mark Westgarth 1.
Left Peter Wagstaff (Bedworth Darts) and Winner Nigel Heydon – Right Runner Up Mark Westgarth and Peter Wagstaff
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It was unfortunate that the latest Riley’s Last Sunday in the Month Open coincided with the weekend for the final county fixtures of the season but nevertheless a strong field turned out to contest the event. The eventual winner was Warwickshire player Ian McFarlane who after beating Alan Carter 4-1 in the preliminary round went on to win 4-2 against Luis Barberan then 4-0 against Mark Hylton in which he had a ten darts leg. A semi final 5-0 success against Matt Lloyd booked McFarlane his place in the final.
From the other half of the draw Dean Saunders made his way to the final by beating James Cole 4-2, Debbie Derbyshire 4-1 and Craig French 5-2.
In the best of eleven legs final McFarlane won the day with a 6-4 result.
Left – Winner Ian McFarlane and Sue Kingdon (Organiser), Right – Runner Up Dean Saunders and Sue Kingdon
The Plate competition was won by Neil Parsonage who was taken to a fifth and final leg by Alan Carter before securing his 3-2 victory.
Left – Plate Winner Neil Parsonage, Sue Kingdon (Organiser), Right Runner Up Alan Carter and Sure Kingdon
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West Midlands player Nick Fullwell was the man to walk away with the top prize of £140 in the Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club Open Knockout as he beat Joe Sharratt 5-1 in the final, Sharratt receiving £70.
Both players were in fine form throughout Fullwell beating G.Davies to reach the last sixteen where he won 3-1 against Rob Pierce, he then faced fellow county player Ian Jones in the quarter finals and again won 3-1, his semi final was the closest game he had as he was taken to a deciding leg before winning 4-3 against Richard Hosey.
Sharratt won his last sixteen game against Mike Musto 3-0, he then beat Wayne Willis 3-1 and with a 4-1 success against Ashley Hykin booked his final place against Fullwell. The losing semi finalists each picked up £30.
Left to right Joe Sharratt (Runner Up), Richard Griffin (Club Chairman) and Nick Fullwell (Winner)
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To round off their season the Four Oaks and District League have played off all their finals first was the Central Container Services sponsored Derek Masters Singles Trophy. In the quarter finals the top two first division teams Beehive and Boldmere St Mikes dominated the competition providing five of the eight finalists yet the only two second division players R.Bazeley (Erdington Arrows) and M.Archer (Bishop Vesey) made it to the semi-finals and actually played each other in the semi’s Archer having a narrow 2-1 win over Bazeley. In the other semi final previous winner R.Hawker (Boldmere St Mikes) won 2-1 against K.Reynolds (The Beehive).
The final was a triumph for the second division player Archer who beat his division one opponent R.Hawker (Boldmere St Mikes) 3-0.
Beaten by The Beehive in the first division title race Boldmere St Mikes found some consolation in a resounding 10-5 win against them in the final of the Coronation Shield. There were plenty of fireworks in the game with no fewer than 47 tons including a maximum from W.Mynard (The Beehive) his third of the season.
Second division runners up Bishop Vesey had a much harder fight in the Norman Day Cup final against The Lions, with the score at six each the match was decided in the final leg of the last game, Bishop Vesey the 8-7 winners
The Brian Goodman Cup saw Boldmere St Mikes open up a 4-0 lead before league champions The Beehive got their first stripe on the board, however Boldmere then went on to win 6-3 to add to their already won Coronation Shield.
The Ken Rust and Challenge Cups were both nail biting nervous encounters with The Boot going 3-0 then losing the next four games to Erdington Arrows and then having to win the final two games to seal their 5-4 win.
In the Challenge Cup Bishop Vesey trailed 4-1 to The Lions leaving them requiring just one more game to lift the cup however Bishop Vesey won the final four games to clinch a 5-4 victory.
T.Tyrie (The Boot) and M.Hall (Bishop Vesey) both hit a maximum.
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Erdington Members Club with a 6-3 win over Coleshill Social won the South Birmingham League’s division one Divisional Cup, The Dog won the division two title with a final 5-3 win against The Gate.
Winners – Erdington Members Club
The final of the Captains Cup was contested between Nigel Groves (The Gate) and Paul Moran (Banbury Flights) which saw the latter take the title.
Winner Paul Moran and Sue Kimgdon (League Secretary)
Dean Young (Mackadown Social) won the Secretary’s Cup with a final success over Steve O’Brien (The Dog).
Winner Dean Young and Sue Kingdon (League Secretary)
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The final of the Forest of Arden Winter League’s Pairs Cup was a somewhat surprising result as Ivy Leaf from division two beat Journeys End who are second in division one 12-3.
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The Harborne and District League’s League Cup final brought together the league’s top two teams Court Oak and Hillyfields ‘A’, the result was a somewhat surprising 6-3 win for Hillyfields, surprising insomuch as Court Oak were unbeaten in the fourteen league games they have played so far.
The Plate Cup final produced a 7-2 win for Crazy Horses over Avenue Flights the two teams respectively placed third and fifth in the table. C.Millward was in form for Horses as he notched a 180.
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Supported by Red Dragon Darts