George Morrison the General Manager of Riley’s Snooker Bar, Solihull was pleased with the turnout for the latest of their Last Sunday of the Month Knockouts in which the semi finals saw Jamie Robinson beat Lee Bryan 4-1 while from the other side of the draw Martin Partridge go down by the same margin to Ian McFarlane.
The final was extended from the best of seven to the best of nine legs of 501 both players producing some top class darts but in the end the 5-3 result went in favour of Ian McFarlane who for his efforts collected £110, Jamie received £70 and there was £20 for each of the losing semi finalists.
Running alongside the main knockout was a first round loser’s event which turned out to be an all Gallett affair with Matt beating his brother Adam 3-0 to clinch the £30 top prize, Adam as runner up received £20.
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Warwickshire’s game away to Lincolnshire in the premier division of the BDO Inter County Championships was very close but nevertheless 19-17 is a win and it keeps Warwickshire in fourth place in the table with 75 points three ahead of fifth placed Devon and only five short of third placed Lancashire.
So it was a good end to the year with two consecutive wins after opening the season with two defeats. The ladies ‘B’ got the weekend off to a great start when they accounted for their counterparts with a convincing 5-1 win their first win in four. Angela Jones got the match underway with her lady of the match straight 3-0 win over Jet McQueen averaging 17.89 and with further wins being supplied by Lisa Deslandes, Nina Bolt, Marian Conway and Kerry Bambridge it was a great victory. Not such good news for the men’s ‘B’ as they finished on the wrong side of a 7-5 scoreline with Prakash Jiwa (28.09) their top player.
Sunday’s ‘A’ games saw the ladies lose 4-2, Trina Gulliver (23.62) taking the match award and the men making it three wins in a row with a 7-5 result, Jamie Hughes also made three, three match awards so far this season when he won 4-0 against Sam Hewson recording his best average of the season so far a tremendous 32.85.
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After their excellent opening three wins in division two of the BDO Inter County Championships West Midland ended the year on a “Downer” as they suffered their first defeat of the campaign a 20-16 reversal away to Berkshire. In addition to the defeat they have also lost pole position in the promotion table London replacing them with a total of 94 points three to the good on West Midlands who in turn are eight ahead of third placed Staffordshire. Both ladies teams finished all square at 3-3 with Debbie Loon (19.80) taking the ‘A’ teams award and Sophie Singh the ‘B’ with a superb 23.48 average.
The men’s ‘B’ game was also drawn at 6-6 with Sam Hamilton (29.37) their top man while the ‘A’ side lost 8-4 their first defeat in four games, with a 27.61 average Shaun Carroll made it three match awards in four games.
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As a result of having a bye in week nine Saltley Amateur Gardeners have lost their pole position in the premier division of the Sheldon and District Winter League and have been replaced by Crown at Olton after their7-2 home win over Sheldon Dukes. The Lyndon won 5-4 at home against Castle Vale Stadium and move into second place with Saltley currently third, all three teams are on 14 points, Crown and Saltley having played eight games to Lyndon’s nine.
There’s a similar situation in division one where again the top three teams have 14 points but have played a different amount of games, Solihull Moors are top and have played nine, Highwood KB’s are second and have played eight and third placed Iron Horse are one of only two teams in the league who are undefeated and they have only played seven, the other unbeaten team is Crown Arrows who head the division two table with 14 points four more than Meadway Sports and Social, Highwood Arrows and Ridgemere Social Flights.
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After eleven games The Untouchables, reigning champions in the Winmau Centre Monday Night League are back in their most natural position top of the table. With two maximums from Chris Marshall and another from Dave Bentley Untouchables stormed to a 41-7 win over Where’s My Team to give them a total of 382 points six more than previous leaders What Are Thooose who won 34-14 against Mad House whose Reece Cooke was another player to hit two maximums while for the winners Owen Maiden notched two and Euan McGovern one.
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In division one of the Four Oaks and District League The Beehive’s ambition of retaining the league title took a knock in week six when they were beaten 6-3 by Boldmere St Mikes who lead the table with 12 points four more than The Beehive, Golden Hind and Old Oscott WMC, all three of them having played one game fewer than St Mikes. R. Hawker (Boldmere St Mikes) recorded his second maximum of the season.
Old Oscott Arrows recorded their first win of the season with an 8-1 win at the expense of Boldmere Sports and Social.
Bishop Vesey maintained their unbeaten record with a 7-2 win at The Park to top the second division while Boldmere Tap notched their first win a 5-4 victory at The Boot, and by the same margin The Fox managed to beat Brookvale Social.
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Its tight at the top of the Shirley and District Monday Night League with the top two teams Highwood and Crown Jewels both on 38 points from 20 games with only two to play. The latest round of fixtures saw Highwood, with the help of a maximum from Andrew Foulkes hand out a 9-0 whitewash to their guests bottom of the table Shirley Spartac, while Crown Jewels who also played at home lost no ground as they won 9-0 against Strawberry Fields whose Richard Brant hit a 180.
Despite a maximum from Roger Williams it was not enough for his team Shirley Legionaires to avoid a 6-3 defeat at Solihull Sports Club.
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The Warwickshire Darts Organisation staged their annual Dennis Roberts Singles competition and with some tremendous throwing on the night taking the title was Birmingham Hillyfields man Richard Hosey. The event attracted a very encouraging 50 entries and had a total payout of £300.
Hosey had come up against tough opposition throughout none tougher than in the semi’s where he beat Erdington’s Rob Hawker 4-2. From the other half of the draw Dean Sanders (Nuneaton and Bedworth) booked his final spot with a 4-0 win over Stratford’s Ant West.
The final result was a very close 5-4 win for Hosey.
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Just one result from the Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League to complete the final table and that was a 5-2 win for league champions Old Hop Pole over The Vine who finished third.
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Bird ‘A’ (Stourbridge) and Britannia march on in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League both teams extending their unbeaten run to nine games, Bird ‘A’ winning 6-3 at Crestwood and Britannia having a 7-2 home win over High Acres to leave them just one leg short of top team Bird ‘A’.
In the local derby between Ten Arches ‘A’ and Ten Arches ‘B’ it was the ‘A’ team who got the 7-2 verdict which was a little surprising as they were sixth and move up one place to fifth while the ‘B; side were third and drop down to sixth, they were the only losers in the top seven teams. After the leading duo on 18 points come three teams all on 16 Ashwood, Brickmakers Arms and Ten Arches ‘A’.
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Cotterills Lane Club and HMS Lions are respectively top and second in the Camp Hill League and in the most recent round of fixtures they squared up to each other on the Lions board. The result was a close 4-3 win for Cotterills to open up a two points lead between them and their hosts.
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For the first time in the season’s four games played so far Erdington Members Club lost in division one of the South Birmingham League, playing at home they took on Family Tree who prior to the tie had only won one of their three games but the 5-4 result went in their favour. Erdington remain in pole position but are now level on the same six points as Mackadown Social.
Division two leaders Banbury Flights kept up their unbeaten run with a 5-4 win against Toby Jug to keep them two points ahead of The Dog who had a 7-2 home win over Kingfisher.
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Round one of the Presidents Cup was on the agenda for the Forest of Arden Winter League and probably the biggest shock of the round was the 5-4 win by second division’s Ivy Bush over their first division opponents Sheldon Marlborough Arrows. Division one leaders Olton Crown were also 5-4 winners in their game against Crown Arrows from the second division. Journeys End who are second in division one had a clear cut 8-1 win over their division two visitors Sheldon Marlborough Flights.
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The Small Heath League staged their doubles knockout and clinching the title were M.Cooper and D.Heighway who had a final win over N.Parsonage and R.Fisher.
Cooper and Heighway had beaten I.Jones and C.Austin in the semi’s while Parsonage and Fisher took out M.O’Sullivan and N.Walker.
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Wins for Miners (Wollescote) and Brickmakers Arms in the Brierley Hill Friday Night League mean they remain the only two teams to have won all of their games so far. Miners who won 7-2 against The Cross (Oldswinford) are top being as they have played five games and have a superior avergae whereas Brickmakers have played four their latest win being 6-3 at Pensnett Liberal Club.
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Court Oak added another 7-0 win over Kings Heath to their tally in the Kings Norton League taking their points to 36 and their undefeated run to 18. The nearest threat, if any to Court Oak comes in the form of second in the table Kings Norton RBL, their 5-2 win at Dingle Social leaving them ten points adrift of Court Oak with a game in hand. Third in the table Stirchley United had a close 4-3 home win over fourth placed Toby Jug ‘A’ to put them on the same 26 points as RBL plus they have two games in hand on the leaders.
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Kevin Harris was long time leader in the Winmau Thursday Night Champions League last season before eventually losing the title to Kevin Lane and once again it’s Harris who is setting the pace with four wins in as many games the recent ones being 6-1 against Rob Harris and 7-0 against Tam Singh. Reigning champion Kevin Lane again is hot on the heels of Harris having won all four of his games too. In the latest round of fixtures Lane ousted Simon Meredith from the number one spot beating him 6-1 and followed that with a much closer 4-3 win over Steve O’Neill leaving him three points behind Harris as is Mick O’Neill who had 7-0 and 5-2 wins in turn against Steve O’Neill and Tam Singh.
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The Pip Club League have got their new season underway and the early leaders in division one are Birchmoor Club who won their opener against Two Gates Club 7-2, Pete Spragg hitting a maximum for Birchmoor.
In division two Globe (Tamworth) are top of the pile with a massive 16-2 win over Globe (Wilnecote), Globe Trotters are just behind the leaders after their 13-5 win against Royal Oak.
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White Swan maintained their push for the Netherton Thursday Night League title with a 7-2 win at The Widders to put them on 36 points and give them a three points lead over second placed Rose and Crown who had their fixture with Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club postponed.
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With four fixtures remaining in the Stourbridge and District Wednesday Night League leaders Gornal Conservative Club took their points tally to 42 with a very close 4-3 win away to fourth in the table Ten Arches ‘B’. Second placed Ashwood ‘A’ won 6-1 at home to bottom of the table The Leopard to keep them within two points of Gornal, Ashwood ‘B are third and a further four points adrift of their ‘A’ team following their 6-1 win at The Fox (Lye).
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With 31 of the scheduled 38 fixtures completed in division one of the Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League just two points separate the top two teams, Wednesfield FC lead the way with 58 points their latest win being 6-1 at Bradmore ‘B’ and second placed ECC chalked up a 5-2 win at Riley’s ‘D’ to put them on 56 points.
In division two leaders Whitmore Reans WMC had a bye this week and second in the table Roebuck closed the gap to four points with a game in hand after winning 6-1 away to bottom of the table Bird in Hand.. Third placed Pheasant kept in touch with the top two winning 6-1 at Wednesfield Legion ‘B’ to give them 44 points, six fewer than Whitmore.
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The Tamworth League played off the finals of their Three Tuns Trophy and in the first of the semi’s the league’s top two teams played each other, leaders Fox and Dogs winning 4-1 against Prince of Wales ‘A’. The second semi was a 4-0 win for Belgrave Club against Mile Oak Rovers. The final was another straight 4-0 win, Fox and Dogs beating Belgrave Club.
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