Lakeside 2011: A Review.
09-01-2011
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Antony Dundas
Well we have just witnessed the end of yet another brilliant Lakeside. It had it's up and down, but here is Poison Arrow's review of the 2011 Worlds!
Ladies Quarter Finals:
Eight time World Champion Trina Gulliver got her Lakeside off to the perfect start with a clinical 2-0 victory over Wendy Reinstadtler. Irina Armstrong started her Lakeside against the impressive Lorraine Farlam. Farlam had a fantastic year and was very unfortunate to come away a 2-0 loser against Armstrong. Both ladies averaged the exact same, 71.52. Deta Hedman began her assault on the Lakeside crown with a 2-1 victory over debutant Patricia De Peuter. Julie Gore was unable to reach the semi finals as she was defeated 2-1 by the impressive Rhian Edwards, bidding for her second consecutive Lakeside Final appearance.
Seeds Out: 1
Best Match: Armstrong v Farlam
Player of the Round: Trina Gulliver
Semi Finals:
Trina Gulliver made it to yet another Lakeside final with yet another clinical display to defeat Irina Armstrong 2-0. Deta Hedman was unable to produce the form that has made her one of the top ladies in the game. Rhian Edwards made her second consecutive Lakeside final with a 2-0 win.
Seeds Out: 2
Best Match: Gulliver v Armstrong
Player of the Round: Trina Gulliver
THE FINAL:
In what was a remarkably even matched contest, Trina Gulliver secured her ninth Lakeside World Crown with a 2-0 win over Rhian Edwards. Both ladies averaged 73. In this blogger's opinion, Rhian Edwards has the talent to be considered as a major player in Ladies Darts. Because there's only 8 Ladies at Lakeside, some of the world's best miss out, but I think Edwards can now be mentioned in the same breath as Gulliver, Hoenselaar, Gore, Hedman, Armstrong, Farlam and the returning Dobromyslova. 2011 is going to be a very very interesting year for Ladies darts, especially with the emergence in recent years of some fantastic younger players. Lakeside 2012 could quite possible spring some surprises!
Round One:
There were some tasty first round matches this year and some highly unexpected results! John Boy Walton got the tournament up and running with a superb display against Dave Prins. Martin Adams was able to recover from losing the first five legs of his match with Tony West to win the match 3-1 with a respectable 92.52 average. Ross Smith produced the goods in a great encounter with Tony O'Shea, winning 3-1 in what was his first Lakeside win. Debutant Alan Soutar went off like a train against Willy van de Wiel but was unable to close it out, losing 3-1. Steve West's luck didn't improve as he suffered yet another first round loss at Lakeside, this time at the hands of Dave Chisnall. Gary Robson fired a fantastic 170 in his 3-0 win over our very own Steve Douglas (and may I say, a pleasure to see him back at Lakeside after 11 years). Shaun Griffiths certainly showed why he is tipped to be the next big thing in darts with a very good display, even though he lost 3-0 to Joey ten Berge. Mark Barilli got the draw nobody wanted and his Lakeside ended at the first round once again at the hands of Martin Phillips. Stuart Kellett kept his form from the Winmau going with a brilliant display against Darryl Fitton. Debutant Jan Dekker played without nerves it seemed to take care of Scott Mitchell 3-0. Alan Norris played some excellent darts to defeat Ross Montgomery 3-1. Garry Thompson, who if he was any more laid back he'd be horizontal, got his campaign up and running with a no nonsense 3-1 win over Arno Merk. Dean Winstanley survived an early scare to defeat Martin Atkins 3-2, with both players averaging over 90. Robbie Green played very well to defeat some people's dark horse for the tournament, Andy Boulton. In what was billed by some as the match of the round, Grand Slam Champion Scott Waites disposed of 2 time champion Ted Hankey 3-0. In yet another high scoring match, Stephen Bunting was too good for Brian Woods, winning 3-0 with both players averaging over 90.
Seeds Out: 7
Best Match: Winstanley v Atkins
Player of the Round: Stephen Bunting
Round Two:
What can we say about Martin Adams v John Walton? Both of these players rolled back the years to produce an absolute classic encounter. This match turned more times than Michael Schumacher round Silverstone but it was Adams who emerged victorious after a sudden death leg. High scoring from both guys who averaged 92. Ross Smith kept his run going as he downed Willy van de Wiel 4-1. Top class stuff from the London County player. Dave Chisnall's hopes of a second consecutive appearance in a Lakeside final were dashed by Gary Robson. Both players averaged in the 90's but Robson took the match 4-1. Martin Phillips survived a scare as he was able to secure a quarter final spot by beating Joey ten Berge 4-3. The shock of the round was Jan Dekker's 4-1 win over Stuart Kellett. Nothing seemed to faze the young Dutchman as he defeated a below par Kooster. Garry Thompson produced yet another no frills victory, this time over Alan Norris. Chuck was unable to produce the darts he had thrown in his first match and Thompson won through 4-2. Dean Winstanley kept his Lakeside debut going with a impressive 4-1 victory over Robbie Green. Stephen Bunting produced another Round 2 shock when he defeated Scott Waites 4-2.
Seeds Out: 5
Best Match: Adams v Walton
Player of the Round: Martin Adams
Quarter Finals:
Martin Adams brought an end to Ross Smith's fantastic run with a 5-1 victory, with the match closer than the scoreline suggests. Yet another classic of this year's tournament was between Gary Robson and Martin Phillips. both players producing great darts, Phillips winning it in a tie break. Jan Dekker's amazing debut continued with a 5-4 win over Garry Thompson. Both players producing their best darts of the tournament. Dean Winstanley booked his place in the semi's with a 5-1 win over Stephen Bunting. Yet another match which was closer than the scoreline suggests, with both players averaging close to 91.
Seeds Out: 2
Best Match: Robson v Phillips
Player of the Round: Dean Winstanley
Semi Finals:
In what was a repeat of last year's semi final, Martin Adams once again faced off against Martin Phillips. Quite a few people believed Phillips would gain revenge and make his first Lakeside final, however Phillips was unable to keep up with Adams and for the second year running, lost 6-4. Adams had made it to his fourth Lakeside final.
Two debutants made up the other semi final. Young gun Jan Dekker and Number 3 seed Dean Winstanley. Dean produced some his best darts of the tournament to wrap up a fantastic 6-2 victory, bringing an end to Dekker's dream debut but continuing his own.
Seeds Out: 0
Best Match: Adams v Phillips
Player of the Round: Martin Adams
THE FINAL:
There we have it, the stage was set for a thrilling final. Martin Adams, aiming for his third Lakeside crown against Dean Winstanley, hoping to end his Lakeside debut with his first World Crown. Some said that it was fate. They thought the World Title would go to Yorkshire. In 1991, Dennis Priestley took the title. In 2001, John Walton was World Champion. People thought it would be Tottenham Hotspur-esque. 2011 would be Winstanley's year. He would have it tough though because Adams was the favourite and on some great form. Adams started the better, taking a 2-0 lead but Winstanley wouldn't lie down, getting to the break 3-3. It did look like Winstanley would pull away but at the tail end of the match, he seemed to fall asleep. Adams took advantage and secured a 7-5 victory. His third World Championship. A thrilling finale to a great Lakeside, but it seemed that Winstanley didn't have the stamina to last 13 sets.
All that remains to say is congratulations to Martin Adams and Trina Gulliver on their fantastic victories. My next blog will be a review of the Dutch Open. Until then, take care and good darting to you all!
Poison Arrow