So in two shakes of a Pennine lamb's tail, I am assigned Board 11 and the tungsten-throwing is underway again :
Preliminary Round
Dean Jones 6 Darrell Claydon 3
I'd be lying if I said that much of this match is still in the memory bank, other than both players being very nervous at the start and it being very low scoring as a result.
1st Round (Last 128)
Dennis Priestley 6 Kevin Dowling 2
Dennis is positively glowing, looks better than ever and is full of chat as we wait a minute or two for Kevin, and he's looking forward to coming to Ireland in April for a 4-pro exhibition in Tallaght. He is deadly form at the oche as well, and as methodical as ever. Kevin seems off-form and a bit put out that he was a little rushed to get to his board, and he goes down easily to The Menace.
Wayne Atwood 6 Mark Tiller 1
My first time to mark Wayne and he shakes my hand and introduces himself - always a nice and impressive touch. His victory over Mark is an emphatic one, who time will tell either had a bad day or does not cut the PDC mustard.
Andy Jenkins 6 Mike Gillet 2
It's a Portsmouth derby this one, and a cracking match to boot, with zippy pace and high scoring. The score doesn't do justice to Mike's performance, and with a few more matches under his belt and a decent draw, he will start to progress to later rounds.
Brendan Dolan 6 Dean Jones 1
When I ask Brendan how he is, he stumbles a little, and says that he'll tell me in a few minutes. I don't ask the question because it becomes clear that he is in good darting form, with big scoring and finishing in an easy win over Dean, who like the previous two players, also hails from Portsmouth.
Second Round (Last 64)
Dennis Priestley 6 Wayne Atwood 4
Not a game for the speed-merchants, but it was notable for the high numbers of bullseyes hit by both players, mostly to set up finishes rather than hit them and unusually for a game involving Dennis, it was probably Wayne who scored more of them.
Brendan Dolan 6 Andy Jenkins 2
This game should have been much closer but Andy just couldn't hit a double, missing 12 opportunities in one leg alone.
3rd Round (Last 32)
Brendan Dolan 6 Dennis Priestley 4
Nice banter before the game between the two players, with Dennis saying that he was out for revenge against Brendan, who counselled him not to bear such vengeful thoughts. This was a very tight battle with the first 8 legs going with throw but Brendan broke decisively in the 10th.
4th Round (Last 16)
Darren Johnson 6 Brendan Dolan 3
Darren introduced himself to me (fair play to him) and then surmised with mock accusation that with Irish bias I might be tempted to reduce Brendan's score a little too rapidly. I said that I would do my best to resrict it to the odd 40 or 50 point extra reduction. Darren was on top form though, and got the decisive break in the sixth leg and was a deserving winner, and it was good to see him go on to the semi-finals and pick up £2,000 for his troubles. A decent run and £600 for Brendan too.
In no hurry to start travelling home, I styed on to watch an excellent final where 9-dart star of last night Michael Smith kept his excellent form going and won the title and £6,000 in a 6-5 thriller against Dave Chisnall, who moved over from the BDO at the start of the year, and it looks like he will be handsomely rewarded for his decision.
I received 2 dart-boards - 1 signed by Phil Taylor, Barney, James Wade, Mark Webster, Co Stompe and Barrie Bates as a part-reward for marking last year, and the other was John Henderson's 9-dart board that I marked last week. Fellow marker Steve took them away with him, bound for a lorry that will transport them to Dublin without incurring Ryanair's £45 baggage charge - fair play to ya Steve, beers are coming your way! On my way out, I received the gift of 3 mini-baps from Paul Hinks - 2 roast beef, 1 roast ham, and a fresher more delicious breakfast you could not wish for.
It was great to have company on the journey back to Dublin in the guise of rising young Irish talent Dynamite Dave Coyne, who is giving the UK Open a try, and despite two reverses at the weekend, has picked up more valuable experience and will make the breakthrough very soon. A stroll to Barnsley train station, a train to Leeds and another to Manchester Airport, where we dallied briefly at a quiz machine, turning 50p into £3 on 1versus100 - great success! The plane landed on time and despite a quick transit to the Quickpark and drive home, it was still 11.45pm coming in the door. Time for lunch - a mouth-watering tomato cup-a-soup - and bed - shattered!
With arms like that, it's no wonder Michael won the title today
Contentment : 12 / 25
Excitement : 2.5 / 10
Memorability : 3 / 15
Overall Score : 35% (27th out of 58)
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