Knockout - 2nd July 2013

It was a good turnout for Tuesday night's knockout with eight players including another new player, Claire, joining in for the first time.

Match Report

First Round

James v Tom

First on the oche to get the night under way were James and Tom. A steady performance from James was enough to see him through 2-0.

Sam v Darren

Sam was much quieter than usual as she took on Darren, who hadn't played for a couple of weeks. Some good scores from Sam in a match that went into a deciding third leg which you'd have fancied her to win, especially after Darren scored a personal worst zero in the second leg with all 3 arrows out of the board! But Darren turned things around and finally found his focus to win the third leg convincingly.

Ram v Ben

A confident Ben built up what should have been a decisive lead over Ram in the first leg, helped by a personal best 174, but some loose throws at the finish let the big man back in. It was neck and neck in the second leg with both players scoring well, but it was Ben who checked out to level the match. Ram just had the edge in the equally-close third leg and finished with 24 darts to gain his semi-final spot.

Glen v Claire

Last week's winner Glen took on new player Claire in the last match of the first round. In a low-scoring match it was Claire who had the narrow advantage leading up to the checkouts but with both players having some double trouble it could have gone either way. In the end it was Glen who threw the lucky dart to win 2-0.

Semi Finals

James v Darren

A difficult one to predict with the under-par James against Darren who had such a shaky start in his previous match. In the event Darren threw well, finding his favourite treble 19 regularly and yet again proving to be James's bogey player with a 2-0 win for a place in the final.

Ram v Glen

A Simmonds family affair as Ram took on nephew Glen. Although Glen played better than in the previous round it was not enough to match Ram who appeared to be coasting after his first round battle. A convincing win for age & experience over youth.

Final

Darren v Ram

It was Darren's first appearance in a knockout final as he stepped up against Ram, but any dreams of a fairytale ending were quickly dashed as Ram showed the same form as his previous matches. Darren threw some decent arrows but there only looked like being one winner: 2-0 to Ram.

Next Week

There will be another knockout next Tuesday night and I'm thinking about a different format, possibly double-in... See you all next week!