The punctual Ryanair flight ends with its traditional head-wrecking Punctuality Bugle and we're in Manchester, where unfortunately it looks like they're having one of their 342 rainy days of the year. But there's no time to bask in its moist sheen, so it's off to the nearby train station where several carraiges to Barnsley (via Udders' Field) await. Time to tuck into a triumvirate of chicken-themed sandwiches, a zesty apple kiwi and lime smoothie, and an utterly memorable combination of yoghurt, clusters and dehydrated raspberries - tremendous! All the while I'm listening to a medley of Tiesto choons but am eventually accosted by the conductor who pleads with me to lower it just a little bit. I ignore pointing out that it is not a designated quiet carraige and focus on his delightful manners and tact, and duly turn the iPhone volume from 100% to about 87% - the 13% reduction is thankfully deemed significant, seemingly, as he doesn't return.
Me and my suitcase trundle the few hundred yards from the station to the Barnsley Metrodome, and there is ample time to chat with fellow markers Stubby, Corset Anne, Daz, Steve, Chizzie Rascal, Lee, Kirkulator, Brian and Benjamin before the athletes are brought under Tommy Cox's starter gun for the first UK Open Qualifier of the year, with another £35,000 in prize-money on offer. I am assigned Board 8 and mark the following matches :
Preliminary Round
Mareno Michels 6 Steve Cupitt 2
After some nervy low-scoring legs, the Dutch ace ups his game and wins 4 legs in a row. Mareno is clearly delighted with the confidence-boosting win, whilst Steve looks like he will need to up his practicing effort considerably to make the grade around here.
First Round (Last 128)
Jamie Caven 6 Jamie Atkins 4
Mr. Caven strides into an expected 3-0 lead in the battle of the Jamies (the only 2 in the competition - what are the chances of them drawing each other? 6 million-to-one, I'd say) but ultra-tall young rookie Atkins hits back to level it at 3-3, and the possibility of a shock is on the cards but experience wins out and Jabba prevails 6-4. It has been well documented elsewhere, but Jamie C is one of the most affable people you'll meet and he stays back after each game to have a chat about it. He realises that he got out of jail in this game, and heads quickly to the practice board afterwards.
Steve Beaton 6 Ken Dobson 2
This was the first time that I had marked for Steve, the 12th World Champion for which I have marked or called a darts game (John Lowe, Phil Taylor, Barney, Dennis Priestley, Jelle Klassen, Ted Hankey, Richie Burnett, Adrian Lewis, John Boy Walton, Andy Fordham and Mark Webster being the others). He was in great scoring form, and he hit 5 perfect darts in the 4th leg, on his way to an easy win against Ken.
Alex Roy 6 Mike Gillett 3
From the moment he arrives at the oche to well after the point of exit, Alex does not shut up, commenting on each one of his darts (single 1 "oh yeah, good one Alex!", treble 20 "there you are!" etc) and it's hard to keep a straight face throughout it all. His opponent Mike, another up-and-coming rookie, joins in the banter, and puts in some high scores, but nerves causes him to mis-count and leave 38 instead of double-top, whilst well ahead of Alex in the 1st leg. He misses 6 darts to take it out, and Alex pounces. The ability is there, and the wins will definitely come for him later.
Steve Evans 6 Mareno Michels 2
Scoring was on the low side in this game, but Steve won comfortably.
2nd Round (Last 64)
Jamie Caven 6 Steve Beaton 3
Given their previous match performances, Steve would have been fancied to win this but his high scoring deserted him somewhat and Jabba was back to his clinical best to run out the 6-3 winner.
Steve Evans 6 Alex Roy 5
Much good-natured banter between these two in this very tight tussle that went to a deciding leg. Neither were happy with their finishing in particular.
3rd Round (Last 32)
Jamie Caven 6 Steve Evans 3
During the pre-match practice, Steve was moaning at how badly he was playing, prompting Jamie to say, "Well stop winning then!", and Steve duly obliged, although he threw the best darts of his three games.
4th Round (Last 16)
Jamie Caven 6 Robert Thornton 2
On the neighbouring board, Robert had been in excellent form, but this deserted him against Jamie, who upped his game yet another notch to win easily.
So nine games and 3 and a half hours later, it was time to kick back and relax with a foot-long sausage sandwich with lashings of brown sauce (£3.20) and a delicious pint of Carling (£3) - champion! Alex Roy, gentleman that he is, then presents me with another pint to say thanks for marking - top bloke!
The Under 21 tournament is now well under way, Steve Brown having prevailed over Ian White in the Players Championship final to win his first PDC title. I am asked to mark a few of the games to keep things moving, and Matt Gallett enlists me to mark the 4th Round game between Ricky Evans and Paul Barham for him, which is a pleasure to do, as Ricky is a very exciting young player who will do very well on the main circuit before long. Soon after, I watch Michael Smith bang in a 9-darter against Michael van Gerwen - initially there is intended to be no prize for this but after some words in ears and a phone call, a retrospective £200 rolling jackpot is established, giving the lad a well deserved £400 bonus.
Time to speed to the Premier Inn with Scott and Michael, check in, quick change, then hit Walkabout which is busy and buzzing, and like the rest of Barnsley city centre on this Saturday night, it's full of lovely leggy ladies. Some chappie walks round with wristbands that entitle the wearers to drinks for £1.50 each until midnight - outstanding insanity! There are plenty of darts people around - Paul Nicholson, Alex Roy, Rod Harrington, the security guys, officials, roadies and markers Kirk, Ben and Hitman. We move on and indulge in a bit of a pub-crawl and at the next port of call there's Jamie Atkins organising an arm-wrestling contest, and Mike Gillet worrying the local ladies! Then it's onto a 70s themed bar where £2.50 double vodka and cokes are heartily enjoyed, boosting already-high spirits furthermore.
At the end of the night, someone chooses Barnsley's rankest fast foot takeaway where a foul spicy chilli beef pizza is ordered, and eventually quarter-eaten upon arrival back in the hotel. I walk back with Lee and Chizzie Rascal, to whom we make pleadings to shave off his moustache, enlisting the help of the two ladies at hotel reception, who are in total agreement. The moustachioed man's not for turning, though! Time to check out the general election results online and indulge in morsels of manky pizza before eventually hitting the sack.
We certainly do heart Saturdays in Baahnsleh!
Contentment : 15.5 / 25
Excitement : 3.5 / 10
Memorability : 5.5 / 15
Overall Score : 49% (7th out of 57)
No comments:
Post a Comment