Winmau Darts Centre at Wolverhampton Sports Arena by Alan Towe
Amazingly for the third consecutive time Derbyshire man Matt Padgett has won the Winmau Centre First Thursday Knockout at the Wolverhampton Sports Arena. After two previous final wins over Warwickshire’s Ashley Hykin, Padgett on this occasion came up against West Midlands man Mick Baker as his final opponent, there may have been a change of opponent but the outcome was exactly the same as Padgett stormed to a 6-3 win.
Former runner up Hykin lost in the quarter finals a close 4-3 verdict in favour of West Midlands man John Mycock
Matt Padgett had a bye in the preliminary round won 4-0 in the last sixteen against Simon Meredith then won 4-2 against Richard Hosey and booked his final spot with a 5-3 success against John Mycock. Mick Baker kicked off with a 4-0 win over Kris Maniola then followed that with a 4-1 win over Kristian Wharton and after a 4-0 success against Danny Key he reached the final with a 5-3 win against Louis Burley.
Losing semi finalists John Mycock and Louis Burley, Runner up Mick Baker, Winner Matt Padgett and Arena owner Dharam (Tam) Jagpal
Full Results:- Preliminary Round:- Rob Harris 4 Kevin Harris 2, Ashley Hykin – bye, Liam Baker – bye, John Mycock 4 Matt Barnfather 0, Simon Meredith 4 Lee Craig 0, Matt Padgett – bye, Richard Hosey – bye, Steven Homer 4 Joshua Parkes 1, Mick O’Neill 2 Kristen Bircher 4, Danny Key 4 Tam Singh 0, Mick Baker 4 Kris Maniola 0, Kristian Wharton – bye, Brian Key 0 Kenny West 4, Danny Baker – bye, Louis Burley – bye, Euan McGovern – bye, Last Sixteen:- Rob Harris 2 Ashley Hykin 4, Liam Baker 2 John Mycock 4, Simon Meredith 0 Matt Padgett 4, Richard Hosey 4 Steven Homer 1, Kristen Bircher 1 Danny Key 4, Mick Baker 4 Kristian Wharton 1, Kenny West 4 Danny Baker 0, Louuis Burley 4 Euan McGovern 0, Quarter Finals:- Ashley Hykin 3 John Mycock 4, Matt Padgett 4 Richard Hosey 2, Danny Key 0 Mick Baker 4, Kenny West 1 Louis Burley 4, Semi Finals:- John Mycock 3 Matt Padgett 5, Mick Baker 5 Louis Burley 3, Final:- Matt Padgett 6 Mick Baker 3.
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Yet again the Winmau Centre in the Wolverhampton Sports Arena is setting the standards and has now come up with a revolutionary idea for promoting the sport of darts, a Corporate Darts League for companies.
This ground breaking concept is most definitely a first for the West Midlands and possibly for the country again demonstrating how ambitious arena owner Dharam Singh is with his forward thinking and always looking for new ideas to keep the sport alive, exciting and inviting for all no matter what their standard of play.
Why not enter your company into this new league and get some of your customers and suppliers to do the same, have a good night out and who knows as well as promoting your business you may also win at darts.
Anyone requiring more details or wishing to add their company name to the league listing should e-mail info@wolverhamptonsportsarena.co.uk
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At the time of going to print there is only one fixture remaining in the Winmau Centre Monday Night League at the Wolverhampton Sports Arena and the title is still in the balance with The Untouchables on 848 points and Bully Boys hot on their heels with 846 points.
The final games will be crucial to both teams but on paper The Untouchables have the easier fixture as they take on bottom of the table Double Trouble while The Bully Boys will play against Here For The Beer who are two places off the foot of the table, but with only a slender two points between the two teams anything can and usually does happen
Although at present the season hasn’t actually finished due to the huge success of the league and the enjoyment that an in-house competition has created the centre is already looking forward to next season and anyone wishing to enter a team or requiring any further information regarding the league or any of the other darts related activities at the arena should contact the centre on 01902-420827 or e-mail info@wolverhamptonsportsarena.co.uk
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| The Untouchables | 25 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 848 | 352 | 848 |
| The Bully Boys | 25 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 846 | 354 | 846 |
| Whats The Point | 26 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 830 | 424 | 830 |
| Misfits | 25 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 811 | 391 | 811 |
| Cupid Stunts | 25 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 779 | 419 | 779 |
| Johns Klan | 25 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 746 | 454 | 746 |
| 3 Men and A Lady | 25 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 720 | 456 | 720 |
| Not So Far Travellers | 25 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 526 | 658 | 526 |
| Keep It In The Family | 26 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 490 | 756 | 490 |
| Yam Yams | 25 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 483 | 717 | 483 |
| Mad House | 25 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 420 | 828 | 420 |
| Here For The Beer | 25 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 394 | 806 | 394 |
| Make Mine A Double | 25 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 295 | 905 | 295 |
| Double Trouble | 25 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 291 | 914 | 291 |
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Kevin Harris is forging ahead in the Winmau Thursday Night Champions League, with 149 points from 28 games he holds a 14 points lead over second in the table Kenny West who has only played 27 games. Not out of the frame is third in the table Mick O’Neill who despite trailing Harris by 31 points has six games in hand in which he could amass a possible 42 points, however there is a long way to go and fortunes could easily change but at the time of print the title does appear to be being contested by the three top players.
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