Watton and Boyd triumph in Pairs

Group 1 saw Barry McLaughlin and James Walker defeat Kevin Scanlon whose partner could not make it on the night, this was followed by Damian Norton and Jim Hardy defeating Philip Moffitt & Jim McIntyre. Barry and James then overcame Damian and Jim to put them into the semi-finals.

In Group 2, Wendy’s pairing of Ivor McCloskey and Colin McLaughlin advanced after defeating D.Doherty who’s partner also failed to show before Alan Boyd & Gary Watton made a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to defeat teammates Timothy McLelland and William Robertson 3-2.

Gary and Alan then went on to defeat Ivor and Colin to set up a semi-final match against team-mates Barry and James.

Group 3 saw Brian O’Neill and Joe McLaughlin defeat the fancied pairing of Jason McNeill and Paul Montgomery before coming up against one half of last years winners in Gerald Dallas who was paired with Gardiner G. McKay this year and who got a walkover in their first game. In the end it was Gerald and Gardiner who held their nerve to progress to the semis.

In Group 4 David Finlay & James Glenn took out Martin Barr and Clark Scott followed by Davy McGregor and Rodney Kane defeating Ian Patterson and Eamon Guyler. David and James then defeated Davy and Rodney to set up a semi-final against Gerald & Gardiner.

The first semi-final saw the two Sperrin Flights pairs battle it out, Barry McLaughlin and James Walker started off well but failed to hit the doubles letting in Alan Boyd and Gary Watton who struggled at times to match Barry and James scoring but when given the opportunity hit the doubles and finished 3-0 winners to put them into the Final.

The other semi saw Gerald Dallas and Gardiner McKay up against David Finlay and James Glenn in a game that could of went either way but in the end it was Gerald and Gardiner who hit the crucial doubles putting them into the final with Gerald Dallas looking to defend the title he won last year with Davy Glenn.

The Final was another close game with both pairings throwing exceptional darts. With Alan and Gary leading 2-1 Gardiner threw to leave Gerald on double top with Gary Watton stepping up with 74 left on the board, knowing that if he missed he would give them a shot to tie the game and face a deciding leg Gary coolly took out the 74 to win the match 3-1.

Fixtures Friday 17 February

Floyds ‘A’ v Cooleys; Villa Swifts v Wendys; Sperrin ‘A’ v Railway Arms; Berthas v Floyds ‘B’; Tavern v Temple; Kellys Inn v Sperrin Flights; Finn McCools v Villa.

NI Masters

The Area One qualifiers for the Northern Ireland Masters will be played this coming Saturday (18th February) in Bertha’s Bar, Castlerock. Those who have entered should be at the venue for 1:45pm when the draw will be made, games to start at 2pm.

Roost A Win League Cup

The Roost Bar was the venue on Thursday past for the semi-finals and final of the League Cup. Forge A, Forge C, Roost A and Roost B were the four teams in the draw for the semis on what proved to be an excellent night of darts. There were three 180s hit on the night from John Evangelista, Davy Morrow and Stephen Pinkerton with his 12th of the season.

Daniel McDonald recorded the Highest Checkout of the year so far with a superb 160 (T20,T20,D20) while Michael Sweeney had a 101 checkout and Andy Martin had a 100 checkout.

Roost A and Floyds played their postponed game last week with little surprise in the score as Roost A won the game 6-0. Again they showed just what they are capable of hitting four 180s, 2 x Davy Morrow, Andy Martin and Daniel McDonald. There was a 13-dart league from Jeff Watt while Davy Morrow hit 16 and 17 dart legs followed by Daniel McDonald with a 17 dart Leg and in the pairs there were 2 x 20 dart legs from a 701 start. An Excellent display of darts on the night from the League leaders.