The first of our Summer competitions took place tonight, the Blind Pairs. 18 players were randomly paired, some much happier than others, so there is a lot of luck in this competition, meaning anyone is capable of winning.
The first of the semi-finals kicked off in what was a convincing win for Andy Harvey and Reece Bryant, beating Barry Bowsher and Damian Smith 3-0. The second semi-final between Stuart Giddings / Sam Ellis and Tom Smart / Stewart Clackson was much closer. It went down to the last leg, Tom Smart narrowly missing double 8 for the game, allowing for Sam Ellis to check out 122 on the bull.
In the final, Stuart Giddings and Sam Ellis won nearest to the bull and the right to throw first, which turned out to be paramount. Each leg went with the darts, Giddings / Ellis going 1 up. Harvey / Reece pulled it back to 1 all, leaving their rivals on 126. The next leg was much closer with Harvey / Reece left on 9. As with the other legs, the match was soon level at 2-2, this time Giddings / Ellis sat on 147. In the final leg Ellis went off with 140 and Harvey’s reply of 26 did them no favours. Giddings / Ellis never looked back and romped to victory, leaving their rivals on 186.
Well done to Stuart Giddings and Sam Ellis on their victory. Despite coming close to exiting the competition in the Semis, they took their chances which is all you can ask.
Thank you to the Wolversdene Club for hosting the event.
As it happened:
Final
- Stuart Giddings & Sam Ellis beat Andy Harvey & Reece Bryant 3-2
Semi-final
- Stuart Giddings & Sam Ellis beat Tom Smart & Stewart Clackson 3-2
- Andy Harvey & Reece Bryant beat Barry Bowsher & Damian Smith 3-0
Quarter-finals
- Stuart Giddings & Sam Ellis beat Les Thirlaway & Richard Smith 3-0
- Tom Smart & Stewart Clackson beat Chris Tanner & Paul Barnard 3-2
- Andy Harvey & Reece Bryant beat Colin Denyer & Mike Berntsen 3-0
- Barry Bowsher & Damian Smith beat Steve Shaw & Charlotte Burgess 3-1
Pre-Lim
- Barry Bowsher & Damian Smith beat Neil Thurston & John Cost 3-2
