2011 Elkadart BDO British Open

18-09-2011 | Antony Dundas

Greetings once more! And welcome to the madness that is Poison Arrow's latest blog. We've been in Bridlington this weekend for the British Open - and with the new BDO Board keen to make an impression, great things were expected! Friday night saw the lottery that was the blind pairs. I am unsure as to who eventually won, but the atmosphere was good, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Saturday was Singles day! And the day began with the registration process. In a change to previous years, the registration desks were moved to the room where the Ladies event was played last year. As it is a popular event, the queue was stretched out onto the street! At half past 8 in the morning, it's safe to say there were a few cold people!

As we moved downstairs into the playing venue, there were two big screens flanking the stage, and on those screens was the time. The reason for this was as you registered, you were given an assignment card. After this blogger saying many times that assignment cards were the way forward, it was refreshing to see the new BDO Board using the initiative and introducing them. On those cards was the time you would be playing at and the board you would be playing on. Warnings were made that if you were not at the control desk ten minutes before your time, you would be eliminated. A fate soon realised by a few players!

In the eary stages of the Men's, there was a very good standard being shown, with players like Fabian Roosenbrand, Dean Winstanley, Scott Waites, Paul Jennings, Gary Robson, Martin Atkins, Ted Hankey, Glen Durrant, John Walton, Willy van der Wiel and Andrew Gilding coming through to win their groups. Some big names were unable to reach the Last 32, with players such as Ross Montgomery, Martin Adams, Garry Thompson, Stuart Kellett and Alan Norris unable to win their groups. Steve West was also an early exit, after failing to make it to the control desk on time. An incident which caused a lot of debate in the room! In the Last 32, Dean Winstanley won a great match with Scotland's Colin Feeley. Anthony Urmston-Toft, the man who defeated Martin Adams was also dispatched 3-0 by Glen Durrant. Duzza's great run continued when he knocked Ted Hankey out in the Last 16. There was also wins for Andrew Gilding, Jan Dekker, Paul Jennings, Scott Waites and Steve Douglas, who beat Dean Winstanley. In the Quarter Finals, Scott Waites made it onto the stage with a 3-1 win over Steve Douglas. Jan Dekker won a thriller with Paul Jennings 3-2. Glen Durrant had the crowd on his side as he scraped through 3-2 against John Walton, and Willy van der Wiel won another close match 3-2 against Andrew Gilding.

In the Ladies event, there was a shock early defeat for Deta Hedman, as she lost out against Canadian Cindy Pardy. It would soon be clear that Pardy was on some great form, as she battled her way through the field. The last 16 saw Zoe Jones knocked out by Frances Lawson. Julie Gore was a 3-0 winner against Natalie Carter and Trina Gulliver was a 3-0 winner against Liz Humphries. There were also wins for Julie Thompson, Loraine Farlam, Amanda Mallett and Anastasia Dobromyslova. In the final matches before moving onto the stage, Cindy Pardy won a cracker with Frances Lawson 3-2. Trina Gulliver was a winner against Julie Gore. Lorraine Farlam made short work on Julie Thompson and Anastasia Dobromyslova defeated Amanda Mallett.

We then had the stage matches. Martin Fitzmaurice was our Master of Ceremonies and our referees were Rab Butler and Huw Ware. First up we had the Ladies semi finals. Cindy Pardy took on Trina Gulliver, and after her earlier defeat of Deta, it looked to be a legend too far, as Trina wrapped up a 3-0 win. The second semi was a bit closer. Lorraine Farlam took on Anastasia in a great encounter. Lorraine was just too good for Anastasia as she walked out a 3-1 winner. Scott Waites took on Jan Dekker in the first Men's Semi. It was a briliant match to watch and Scott took it 2-1 in sets, checking out a magnificent 170 in the process. Willy van der Wiel nearly made his own piece of history in the second semi against Glen Durrant. He hit seven Treble 20's on the trot and unfortunately missed out on the Treble 19 that would have set up Double 12 for a Nine Dart Finish. However he wouldn't let that faze him as he won the Semi Final 2-1. The Ladies final was next and Trina Gulliver took on Lorraine Farlam. It had 3-2 written all over it, both girls had been playing very well. However that was not to be the case, as Farlam overcame the great Gulliver 3-0 to hand her the British Open title. In the Men's Final, Willy van der Wiel was just not strong enough to defeat Scott Waites, who won his second title in Yorkshire in the space of a couple of weeks! The World Master was now British Open champion, winning 3-1.

Sunday was Doubles day, and there were some fantastic pairings in both draws! In the Men's draw, the four pairings that reacted to the occasion best to reach the Semi Finals were Finnish duo Sami Sanssi and Petri Korte, Allan Edwards and Mal Joplin, Scott Waites and Garry Thompson and the pairing of John Walton and Martin Atkins. In those Semis, Sanssi and Korte made short work of Edwards and Joplin, winning 3-0 and in the Yorkshire Semi Final, Waites and Thompson made it through. The Ladies event was of a very high standard also. The four pairing that made the semis were Paula Jacklin and Shelly Bontoft-Gash, Lorraine Farlam and Anastasia Dobromyslova, Amanda Mallett and Dawn Standley and Deta Hedman and Karen Lawman. In those Semis, Lorraine and Anastasia took care of their opponents 3-1 and Deta and Karen were too strong for Amanda and Dawn, winning 3-0. In the Finals, Deta and Karen produced fine darts to win 3-0. It also meant that they had won the Pairs tournament without dropping a single leg throughout! A fantastic achievement. In the Men's final, it was 180's for fun as both pairs played very well. It would be the Yorkshire duo who would take the titles, as they defeated their Finnish opponents 3-1. As the four champions collected their trophies on stage, Deta made a quip that she and Karen were the professionals of the four. This was, of course, because they were dressed in their playing attire (darts shirts and black trousers) whilst Scott and Garry donned jeans and t-shirts!

So that was it! The British Open was over for another year. It was, once again, a fantastic tournament to be a part of. The new BDO Board seem to be doing very well so far. The introduction of the card system and their firm approach to timekeeping are definitely positive steps. The officials also took notes of all the people who refused to mark, making sure they didn't participate on the following day's event. I would like to congratulate the officials on a job well done! The 2011 British Open is, in my opinion, the best run tournament in Britain I have attended. The BDO has a very bright future now, and I cannot wait to see what's i store.

Well that's about all from me. I hope you enjoyed the read and until next time, wherever that may be, stay safe and may your darts fly true!

Poison Arrow