The Brandon Club, Main Street, Brandon, Coventry was the setting for the Brandon Open 2012. The competition was limited to the first 64 entries and attracted top players from across the area. The event was broken down into four groups and winning through from the groups were Ian McFarlane, with a 4-0 win over Mark Strong (Group One), Nigel Heydon, who beat Jimmy Hill 4-0 (Board Two), Prakash Jiwa, who had yet another 4-0 win in his game with Ian Shaw (Board Three) and Trevor Frost after a 4-2 success against Antony Allen (Board Four).
In the semi finals the previous format of the best of seven legs was increased to the best of nine. The first of the semi’s was between Warwickshire team mates Ian McFarlane and Nigel Heydon. Heydon was first to settle down hitting 2×140 as he went 1-0 up in 17 darts with McFarlane back on 170. The second leg was a much closer affair as McFarlane hit 84 to leave double top as Heydon checked out on 40 for another 17 darts leg. Leg number three was similar to the second, McFarlane hitting a big score, this time 100 to leave double ten as his opponent recorded a 16 game shot, for a third seventeen darts leg.
Leg number four was the Heydon’s best leg of the tie. He kicked off with 140, 100, 140 and 96 to leave 25, McFarlane meanwhile was still nursing 99 when Heydon shot out on 25 for a 14 darts leg to put him within an ace of clinching a final spot.
With his back to the wall and staring defeat well and truly in the eyes McFarlane came good in leg five. He began quietly with 81 and 95 then turned the screws with 180 and 105 to leave 40. After Heydon had narrowly missed a bull finish one dart was all McFarlane required to win the leg in just thirteen darts.
The sixth leg could have gone either way, but with first throw advantage Heydon was the man to seal a 5-1 win with double twenty in 16 darts.
The second of the last four play off’s brought together another two Warwickshire county players, Prakash Jiwa and Trevor Frost. The opening leg was a cracker Jiwa throwing first and hitting 85, 180, 53 and 159 to leave double twelve after only a dozen darts. Frost’s reply was 84, 180, 100 and a fabulous 137 checkout to go one up in a tremendous twelve darts.
With 2×100 and 140 for Jiwaand 121 and 135 for Frost, the second leg was very close and Frost could easily have taken it but failed on a 60 outshot to give Jiwa a throw at 40 which with two darts he casually put to bed and levelled the game at one each.
Obviously rattled by his miss, Frost lost the third leg, still requiring 153 when Jiwa checked out on 41. Both players hit 140 to start the fourth leg, Jiwa following up with 100, 140 and 97 to Frost’s 83, 96 and 100. Throwing for 82 Frost missed his double to leave 32, Jiwa requiring 24 won the leg with his second dart for a 14 darts leg.
Despite hitting scores of 2×140 and 100 Jiwa struggled on a finishing double in the fifth leg and allowed his opponent to get down to 60 before finding his double to go 4-1 up. Frost pulled one back in the next leg, Jiwa missing a 60 checkout before Frost won the leg on 16.
With 2×140 to one from Frost, Jiwa booked his final spot with a 58 game shot in 18 darts for a 5-2 victory.
The final was extended to the best of 11 legs and although Heydon won the first in 17 darts it was Jiwa who opened up a 3-1 lead, starting the three legs win in 12 darts with scores of 140, 180, 60 and a 121 finish. He then won the next in 18 darts and followed that with a 14 darts leg.
Nigel Heydon reduced the arrears by winning the fifth leg, only to see Prakash take the next two in 17 and 13 darts to go 5-2 up and put him within an ace of lifting the title.
Still fighting Heydon won the next two legs in 17 and 12 darts, the second of those he scored 140, 140, 100 and had an outshot of 121. It turned out to be immaterial though as Jiwa came back hitting a maximum in the tenth leg and win it in 18 darts for a 6-4 victory and the top prize of £350. Heydon collected £150 and there was £65 for the losing semi finalists and £35 for the losing quarter finalists.
Full Results:Group One:Last 64:- Ray Gilder – bye, Ian McFarlane 4 Scott Whitmore 0, Ricky Frisby 4 Paul Bodsworth 0, Louise Demerum – bye, Mark Westgarth – bye, Mark Strong 4 Mark Sidgwick 0, Steve Sharpe 4 Rob Singleton 2, Martin Brown – bye, Last 32:- Ray Gilder 0 Ian McFarlane 4, Ricky Frisby 4 Louise Demerum 0, Mark Westgarth 2 Mark Strong 4, Steve Sharpe 4 Martin Brown 3, Last 16:- Ian McFarlane 4 Ricky Frisby 1, Mark Strong 4 Steve Sharpe 3, Group Two:Last 64:- Kevin Taylor – bye, Mark Carter 2 Nigel Heydon 4, Jamie Smith 0 Neil Pritchard 4, Graham Manning 4 Scott Moran 1, Jimmy Hill – bye, Martyn Walker 4 Louise Graham 2, Tommy Livingstone 4 Steve Crowther 0, Joe Carlo – bye, Last 32:- Kevin Taylor 2 Nigel Heydon 4, Neil Pritchard 1 Graham Manning 4, Jimmy Hill 4 Martyn Walker 1, Tommy Livingstone 4 Joe Carlo 0, Last 16:- Nigel Heydon 4 Graham Manning 0, Jimmy Hill 4 Tommy Livingstone 0, Group Three:Last 64:- Neil Cooper – bye, Dave Sanders 4 Ray Davies 1, Bill Smith 0 Simon Power 4, Ian Shaw 4 Paul Parsons 3, Terry Jones – bye, Martin Bowley 4 Ted Lambert 3, Prakash Jiwa 4 Calvin Ward 1, Mark Flood – bye, Last 32:- Neil Cooper 0 Dave Sanders 4, Simon Power 0 Ian Shaw 4, Terry Jones 1 Martin Bowley 4, Prakash Jiwa 4 Mark Flood 1, Last 16:- Dave Sanders 2 Ian Shaw 4, Martin Bowley 3 Prakash Jiwa 4, Group Four: Last 64:- Trevor Frost – bye, Mark Birch 2 Tommy Ryan 4, Russ Smith 0 Dave Crossingham 4, Noel Grant 4 Martin Tonks 0, Antony Allen – bye, Matt Pouncett 4 Rob Perrott 1, Sam Poland 4 Max Murray 1, Luke Kennedy – bye, Last 32:- Trevor Frost 4 Tommy Ryan 2, Dave Crossingham 2 Noel Grant 4, Antony Allen 4 Matt Pouncett 1, Sam Poland 3 Luke Kennedy 4, Last 16:- Trevor Frost 4 Noel Grant 1, Antony Allen 4 Luke Kennedy 2, Quarter Finals:- Ian McFarlane 4 Mark Strong 0, Nigel Heydon 4 Jimmy Hill 0, Ian Shaw 0 Prakash Jiwa 4, Trevor Frost 4 Antony Allen 2, Semi Finals:- Ian McFarlane 1 Nigel Heydon 5, Prakash Jiwa 5 Trevor Frost 2, Final:- Nigel Heydon 4 Prakash Jiwa 6.
———————————
West Midlands county headquarters Gilberts Bar, Willenhall played hosts for the men’s and ladies Super League singles knockouts. The men’s final produced an all Tipton play off with Andy Forrester taking on Ian Jones. The result was a 3-1 win for Jones who had winning legs of 15, 14 and 18 darts, Forrester winningleg was a 17 darts affair. Both players won their semi finals 3-1, Jones beating K.Noakes and Forrester accounting for Mark Rollinson.
The ladies final was a closely fought contest between Wednesbury’s Heather Wright and Great Wyrley’s Gemma Barrett. Finishing on the right side of the 3-2 scoreline was Heather Wright, who won her semi against S.Kaye 3-2, while Barrett beat Lisa Astbury 3-1.
Men’s Full Results:Last 32:- G.Stanley lost to I.Stanton, M.Smart lost to M.Kingston, A.Forrester beat P.Price, G.Sparrow lost to L.Burley, D.Baker lost to C.Stanley, M.Rollinson beat P.Harrison, J.Barrowman beat C.Cullen, J.Singh beat C.Hickman, P.Taylor beat J.Mycock jnr, K.Noakes beat M.O’Neal, C.Taylor lost to M.Craddock, C.Hill beat L.Arnold, D.Stewart beat G.Singh, D.Williams lost to P.Pace, D.Nicholls lost to M.Baker, A.Singh lost to I.Jones, Last 16:- I.Stanton beat M.Kingston, A.Forrester beat L.Burley, C.Stanley lost to M.Rollinson, P.Taylor lost to K.Noakes, M.Craddock beat C.Hill, D.Stewart lost to P.Pace, M.Baker lost to I.Jones, Quarter Finals:- I.Stanton lost to A.Forrester, M.Rollinson beat J.Barrowman, K.Noakes beat M.Craddock, P.Pace lost to I.Jones, Semi Finals:- A.Forrester 3 M.Rollinson 1, K.Noakes 1 I.Jones 3, Final:- A.Forrester 1 I.Jones 3, Ladies Full Results:- Round One:- L.Astbury beat D.Kaye, L.Timmins lost to S.Simmons, G.Barrett beat L.Maiden, J.Simmons beat J.Maiden, S.Kaye beat E.Bagger, H.Wright beat N.Dudley, Quarter Finals:- L.Tonks lost to L.Astbury, S.Simmons lost to G.Barrett, J.Simmons lost to S.Kaye, H.Wright beat R.Nicholls, Semi Finals:- L.Astbury 1 G.Barrett 3, S.Kaye 2 H.Wright 3, Final:- G.Barrett 2 H.Wright 3.
———————————
The Coventry Open was played off at the Bishopsgate Club, Foleshill Road, Coventry and attracted a mixture of top class international, county and super league players. The quarter finals produced some amazingly high results, the scorelines expected to be much closer with the array of talent on display. There were 5-1 wins for Dennis Smith and Andy Roberts against respective opponents Tommy Ryan and Mark Hylton, while Jamie Caven won his game against Nigel Heydon 5-0. The last of the quarter finals between Paul Cook and Prakash Jiwa was a much closer affair with Jiwa getting through with a 5-4 verdict.
The semi finals continued with the best of nine legs and Dennis Smith was made to fight all the way by Andy Roberts, going 2-0 up in 14 and 18 darts, then having his lead cut when Roberts won the third in 20 darts.
Smith went 3-1 up with a 19 darts leg only to see Roberts in 17 and 14 darts cancel out his lead. The next two legs were shared, Smith with a 21 darts leg and Roberts 18 to force a deciding leg.
Roberts had dart throw advantage and kicked off with 180 and 100. With further throws of 85 and 96 Roberts left himself on double top. Smith meanwhile, had scores of 140, 81, 140, 100 to also leave double 20. Roberts failed with his attempt at a double but Smith without hesitation nailed it first dart to book his final spot.
In the second semi Prakash Jiwa went 1-0 up in 17 darts before Jamie Caven piled on the pressure to win the next four legs in 14, 17, 12 and 18 darts to leave him requiring just one more leg for victory.
Caven was made to wait for his winning leg as Jiwa, with two 14 dart legs reduced the deficit to 4-3. However, unable to find a three figure score in the eighth leg and Caven hitting 100 plus 140, Jiwa went out of the competition 5-3.
The final was extended to the best of 11 legs. The first eight legs all went with the first throw advantage. Dennis Smith had winning legs of 15, 15, 17 and 17 darts to Jamie Caven’s 15, 17, 14 and 14 darts. It was the ninth leg before the sequence was broken. Smith began the leg with scores of 135, 40, 100, 100, and 101 missing a bull finish to leave 25. Caven had shots of 100, 125, 100, 95, and 55 leaving double 13. Smith hit 17 but missed double four, Caven found double thirteen first dart to put him 5-4 up.
Clearly rattled by his miss Smith started the tenth leg with scores of 60 and 40 and although Caven only hit 58 with his first throw he more than made up with his second by scoring 174. This made the obvious difference between the two players and with Smith still way back on 206 Caven produced a terrific 112 checkout to clinch the title with a 6-4 win.
Full Results:Group One:Last 128:- James Richardson – bye, Kevin Bambrick 0 Tim Martin 3, Daz Kitchen 3 Lee Martin 0, Chris Gallagher 1 Tommy Ryan 3, Mark Sidgwick – bye, Mark Carter 2 Graham Manning 3, Josh McCarthy 0 Jess Archer 3, Carl Green – bye, Matt Boswell – bye, Dennis Smith 3 John Newland 0, Mark Archer 3 Lewis Morris 0, Ian Shaw – bye, Steve Sharpe – bye, Matt Padgett 3 Luis Barberan 1, Mark Sutton 3 Matt Meacham 0, Colin Littlecott – bye, Last 64:- James Richardson 2 Tim Martin 3, Daz Kitchen 2 Tommy Ryan 3, Mark Sidgwick 3 Graham Manning 2, Jess Archer 3 Carl Green 1, Matt Boswell 0 Dennis Smith 3, Mark Archer 0 Ian Shaw 3, Steve Sharpe 2 Matt Padgett 3, Mark Sutton 3 Colin Littlecott 1, Last 32:- Tim Martin 1 Tommy Ryan 3, Mark Sidgwick 3 Jess Archer 2, Dennis Smith 3 Ian Shaw 0, Matt Padgett 3 Mark Sutton 0, Last 16:- Tommy Ryan 4 Mark Sidgwick 1, Dennis Smith 4 Matt Padgett 3, Group Two:Last 128:- Max Murray – bye, Steve Tingay 3 Daniel Kinchen 0, Mark Alfred Jones 3 Mark Goldstein 0, Scott Whitmore 2 Noel Grant 3, Trevor Frost – bye, Andy Roberts 3 Dan Collins 0, Ben Sharples 0 Mark Westgarth 3, John Flowers – bye, Pat Pace – bye, Rob Singleton 2 Mark Hylton 3, Tim Grant 0 Scott Rand 3, Clive Saunders – bye, Andy Mayne – bye, Martin Bowley 3 Mick Todd 2, Carl Robinson 3 Matt Needham 0, Jack Creese – bye, Last 64:- Max Murray 3 Steve Tingay 0, Mark Alfred Jones 3 Noel Grant 1, Trevor Frost 2 Andy Roberts 3, Mark Westgarth 3 John Flowers 0, Pat Pace 2 Mark Hylton 3, Scott Rand 3 Clive Saunders 0, Andy Mayne 0 Martin Bowley 3, Carl Robinson 3 Jack Creese 2, Last 32:- Max Murray 0 Mark Alfred Jones 3, Andy Roberts 3 Mark Westgarth 0, Mark Hylton 3 Scott Rand 2, Martin Bowley 3 Carl Robinson 1, Last 16:- Mark Alfred Jones 0 Andy Roberts 4, Mark Hylton 4 Martin Bowley 3, Group Three:Last 128:- Jimmy Hill – bye, Chris Grant 2 John Hampton 3, John Fowler 0 Steve Hine 3, Ricky Frisby 3 Lorna Connolly 0, Paul Parsons – bye, Matt Mitchell 3 Roy Haydon 2, Jamie Caven 3 Simon Thyer 0, Steve Gee – bye, Mark Dewsbury – bye, Adam Langford 0 Ian Speed 3, John Creed 3 Tony Comerford 2, Kevin Dowling – bye, Sam Hamilton – bye, Nigel Heydon 3 Karl Wilson 0, Like Musto 1 Brendan Lysaght 3, Adam Smith-Neale – bye, Last 64:- Jimmy Hill 0 John Hampton3, Steve Hine 3 Ricky Frisby 1, Paul Parsons 3 Matt Mitchell 2, Jamie Caven 3 Steve Gee 0, Mark Dewsbury 3 Ian Speed 0, John Creed 0 Kevin Dowling 3, Sam Hamilton 0 Nigel Heydon 3, Brendan Lysaght 0 Adam Smith-Neale 3, Last 32:- John Hampton 0 Steve Hine 3, Paul Parsons 2 Jamie Caven 3, Mark Dewsbury 3 Kevin Dowling 1, Nigel Heydon 3 Adam Smith-Neale 2, Last 16:- Steve Hine 1 Jamie Caven 4, Mark Dewsbury 3 Nigel Heydon 2, Group Four:Last 128:- Dave Nelson – bye, Shane Knight 3 Jamie Creese 0, Joe Carlo 2 Paul Cook 3, Steve Hartley 3 Tony Randell 1, Tom Martin – bye, Dave Sanders 1 Johnny Haines 3, Jonathan Creed 2 Sam Price 3, Robert Palmer – bye, Darren Swords – bye, Ian McFarlane 0 Prakash Jiwa 3, Gary Bradshaw 1 Josh Richardson 3, Mark Elliott – bye, Ryan Morris – bye, Steve Homer 1 Mark Strong 3, Gary O’Donnell 0 Nick Fulwell 3, Ian Jones – bye, Last 64:- Dave Nelson 0 Shane Knight 3, Paul Cook 3 Steve Hartley 1, Tom Martin 2 Johnny Haines 3, Sam Price 3 Robert Palmer 2, Darren Swords 0 Prakash Jiwa 3, Josh Richardson 3 Mark Elliott 1, Ryan Morris 0 Mark Strong 3, Nick Fullwell 3 Ian Jones 2, Last 32:- Shane Knight 2 Paul Cook 3, Johnny Haines 3 Sam Price 0, Prakash Jiwa 3 Josh Richardson 0, Mark Strong 1 Nick Fullwell 3, Last 16:- Paul Cook 4 Johnny Haines 2, Prakash Jiwa 4 Nick Fullwell 3, Quarter Finals:- Tommy Ryan 1 Dennis Smith 5, Andy Roberts 5 Mark Hylton 1, Jamie Caven 5 Nigel Heydon 0, Paul Cook 4 Prakash Jiwa 4, Semi Finals:- Dennis Smith 5 Andy Roberts 4, Jamie Caven 5 Prakash Jiwa 3, Final:- Dennis Smith 4 Jamie Caven 6.
———————————