Winmau World Masters 2011
04-09-2011
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Antony Dundas
Greetings Darts Fans! And welcome to a new dawn in the BDO! Poison Arrow here once again giving you a report on the 2011 Winmau World Masters. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the event but I did spent countless hours watching the event on the box, as well as receiving reports from friends who were in attendance. All eyes were on Hull to see how the World Masters would be run with a new BDO Board and a new TV channel! After the BBC scrapped coverage due to cost-cutting, ESPN were approached and took on the prestigious event. It was also a welcomed return to BDO televised events for Ray Stubbs. The man who presented the BBC’s coverage for so long, was back where he belonged. It was also a welcomed return to the dulcet tones of Tony Green. Commentary wasn’t the same without him. People have a mixed opinion, but his Tony Green-isms are nothing short of hilarious at times! However, it was Darts we wanted to see, and over the course of the weekend, we were not to be left disappointed!
Of course, we also had the Lakeside Playoffs running this weekend, and six lucky men and two lucky ladies would earn the right to play at Lakeside in 2012! In the Ladies event, some of the biggest names in the sport faced off! Former Lakeside players like Rilana Erades, Karen Lawman, Lorraine Farlam and Linda Ithurralde all fell short. The two ladies who reacted best to the big occasion were Lisa Ashton and former Lakeside World Champion, Anastasia Dobromyslova. Ashton defeated the likes of Scotland International Jenni Tully, Sandra Greatbatch, Rilana Erades, Apylee Jones and Australia’s Pam Burr to qualify for Lakeside. Anastasia came through matches with Lynn Cowan, Chris Savvery, Krissie Long, Floortje van Zanten, Karen Lawman and Jane Judges to make it to Lakeside.
The Men’s International Playoffs saw some of the best foreign players battle it out for their places at Lakeside and in the end, it would be two players from The Netherlands who would claim their places. Joey ten Berge would return to Lakeside once more, and earning his debut was Christian Kist. It would not be the last time we would hear this name mentioned over the weekend! Joey came through matches against Gordon Dixon (USA), John Murray (RoI), Esko Pietikainen (Fin), Radek Szaganski (RoI), Marco Puls (Ger) and Sweden’s Johan Engstrom. Kist got there after wins against Mick Egan (RoI), Nick Yorston (Can), Justin Broton (Gib), young rising star Benito van de Pas (Ned), Troy Hanlon (Can), Sean McGowan (RoI) and Vladimir Andersen of Denmark. Former Lakeside players like Fabian Roosenbrand, Marty McCloskey, Robert Wagner and Jarkko Komula were unfortunately unable to qualify.
In the domestic Men’s Playoffs, four lucky lads would be Frimley Green bound in the new year. It was tough, but those four men would be Andy Boulton, Dave Prins, Alan Norris and Gary Stone. Only Gary would be making his debut this year. West Ayrshire’s Boulton qualified after matches with Chris Gill, Derek Cunningham, Paul Hogan, George Dalglish and Jamie Hughes. Prins had to beat Andy Roberts, Curtis Hammond, Johnny Clayton, young David Pallett and Stuart Dutton. Norris would return to Lakeside after defeating Allan Bell, Richard Howson and Glen Durrant. Scotland’s Gary Stone defeated Gary Swan, Mark Blanford, James Brown, Stephen Cake and Steve West. So there we had it, we knew our qualifiers for Lakeside. The World Masters, however, was just heating up!
In the Girls Masters, the title was won by Scotland’s Emily Davidson. Emily had appeared in a Masters Final before, but she was on the losing side as Zoe Jones took the title in 2009. However this year she was able to take the crown, defeating Alannah Waters 4-0.
The Boys crown was taken by Holland’s Jimmy Hendricks, who edged out Jake Jones in a brilliant final.
In the Ladies Masters, Group 1 brought us an early shock as Deta Hedman crashed out to Merryl Dennis early doors. Linda Ithurralde was also knocked out by Japanese Mayumi Ouchi. However, Dennis would go on to win the group. Group 2 was slightly more straightforward, with Dee Bateman progressing through. Group 3 gave us a fantastic board final between Karen Lawman and Zoe Jones, with Zoe edging it 4-3. Group 4 had two of the biggest names in Ladies darts in opposite sides of the group. Irina Armstrong and Lisa Ashton both won through to the board final, but it was Lisa who triumphed 4-3. Group 5 contained the 9 time World Champion and 5 time World Master Trina Gulliver, who won the group without bring truly troubled. Stefanie Luck the only one to take legs off Trina. Group 6 brought about the possibility of Gulliver v Gulliver in the quarter finals, but it was not to be as Sue Gulliver lost 4-3 to Jennifer Summerson in the group final. Group 7 saw 4-3, 4-1 and 4-3 victories for Lorraine Farlam on her way to the final 8. Group 8 contained 3 Lakeside players in the form of Rilana Erades, Anne Kirk and Julie Gore. It would be Julie who would progress after 4-1, 4-3 and 4-1 wins. We had our Quarter Finals and Merryl Dennis kept her amazing run of form going with a 4-2 win over Dee Bateman. Lisa Ashton put an end to young Zoe Jones’ run with a 4-2 win. Trina Gulliver overcame a stern test to win 4-3 against Jennifer Summerson and Julie Gore was a 4-2 winner against Lorraine Farlam. The Semi Finals saw Lisa put an end to the amazing run of Merryl Dennis and Trina progress through to yet another World Final. In the final itself, Trina was unable to handle Lisa, who was crowned the 2011 World Masters champion after a magnificent win! Congratulations Lisa!
In the Men’s competition, the format was slightly different. The winners of the 16 boards would face off and the eight winners would earn the right to play the top 8 seeds. Group 1 saw Wales’ Kevin Thomas overcome Ash Khayat in the group final. Group 2 saw Darryl Fitton exit early and Steve Douglas defeat Ireland’s Marty McCloskey to progress. Group 3 was claimed by Glen Durrant, who saw off Jarkko Komula in the group final. Group 4 saw a cracking board final between Garry Thompson and Craig Baxter, with Baxter securing a 3-2 victory. Group 5 was a tough one to call. Benito van de Pas went out very early, Scott Mitchell going out a couple of rounds later. It would be Richard Howson that would progress, beating Paul Hogan in the group decider. Group 6 saw Willy van der Wiel and Dave Prins exit early. Both men were beaten by Andrew Gilding, who beat Keith Way to progress. Group 7 offered a big shock, as the 2010 World Masters Runner Up Stuart Kellett was defeated early.Steve West and Paul Jennings also fell by the wayside as Scotland’s Ewan Hyslop defeated Ross Smith to progress. Group 8 saw The Magician Robert Wagner progress, defeating Terry Hayhurst to progress. In Group 9, Rick Hofstra won an all Holland affair against Fabian Roosenbrand to progress after knocking out Mark Barilli. Group 10 had Jim Widmayer come through a tricky match with Ian Jones to progress. In Group 11, Martin Atkins just missed out on the board final as Radek Szaganski won the group. Group 12 saw Jan Dekker, Andy Boulton, Jamie Lewis and Jacko Barry fall short as Christian Kist progressed. Group 13 saw the impressive Colin Fowler dismiss Peter Evison and Ted Hankey en route to the Last 24. In Group 14, Welsh Legend Martin Phillips won through to the business end of the event. Group 15 had Stephen Bunting progress through, defeating Wayne Warren 3-2. Group 16 saw Paul Hanvidge and Tony O’Shea fall just short as Peter Johns won the group. In the Last 24 matches, Steve Douglas was a 3-0 winner against Kevin Thomas. Glen Durrant won a thrilling encounter with Craig Baxter to proceed. Andrew Gilding kept his run going with a 3-2 win over Richie Howson. Ewan Hyslop dispatched Robert Wagner 3-0 after a polished performance. Rick Hofstra overcame Jim Widmayer’s challenge to progress through. In what was possibly the best match of the round, Radek Szaganski fell just short as Christian Kist won through. Colin Fowler was unfortunate as he lost 3-2 to Martin Phillips. Stephen Bunting produced some brilliant darts to knock Peter Johns out of the competition. We had our final 16 players! In those matches, Martin Adams kept his quest for a fourth successive World Masters title alive with a 3-1 victory over Steve Douglas. John Boy Walton fell foul of an immaculate display from Glen Durrant, as he won 3-1. Gary Robson played well enough to end the run of Andrew Gilding. Scott Waites began his assault on the championship with a 3-0 won over Ewan Hyslop. Dean Winstanley produced a 3-0 win over Rick Hofstra despite not playing anywhere near his best. Tony West had to dig deep to take out a ton plus finish in the sudden death leg to knock Christian Kist out. Sudden death was required once again as Ross Montgomery hit Double 10 to knock Martin Phillips out. In an amusing moment, whilst bouncing up the stairs to the stage, one of Stephen Bunting’s darts fell from his case. He didn’t let this hinder him too much as he defeated Robbie Green 3-1 after his dart was retrieved. Sunday’s Quarter Finals started with Martin Adams ending Glen Durrant’s fantastic run. Scott Waites snatched victory in a cracking match against Gary Robson. Dean Winstanley put his poor performance on Saturday behind him, as he defeated Tony West. Ross Montgomery’s match against Stephen Bunting was not without controversy. After Ross sealed the first set, Stephen threw a 180 with his first three darts, only to be told that Ross was to throw first. Montgomery was able to keep his cool and progress to the Semi Finals. Scott Waites and Martin Adams produced a memorable encounter. Adams had won their previous seven encounters, so Waites was overjoyed to defeat Adams and progress to his second World Masters final. Disappointment for Adams as his dream of a fourth straight title disappeared. The second Semi Final was a breathtaking match. Once again, a sudden death leg was required, and under immense pressure, Dean Winstanley nailed double top to progress to the final The relief was clear to see as he gave Ross a massive hug. There we had it! Scott Waites would face Dean Winstanley in the Final of the 2011 Winmau World Masters!
The final started well for Waites. A 180 and two 140’s helped him to the first set, winning it 2-0. His advantage was doubled, taking the second set 2-1, scoring 4 140’s and a 102 out in the process. Winstanley roared back with a brilliant set to get back to 2-1. Waites took the next two sets, but Winstanley hit a wonderful 140 finish to get a set back, 4-2 at the break. Waites was in imperious form after the break, taking only 60 darts to win the next two sets. He looked on for a 9-dart finish in the first leg of the 9th set, after hitting consecutive 180’s. However, he would have to settle for an 11-darter. In the next leg, Winstanley began with 100, Waites answered with a maximum. Dean knocked in a 140, and Waites only managed 60. 83 from Winstanley left him 178, whilst a ton from Waites left him 161. Deano left himself Double 19 after a 140, however a magnificent 161 finish from Waites secured his first Winmau World Masters title. A grandstand finish to a fantastic weekend’s darts.
It’s most certainly safe to say that the future is looking bright under the new BDO Board. The tournament ran superbly and the standard was fantastic. I do have to say a few words about ESPN’s coverage. Apart from the lack of live coverage of the Youth tournaments and more Ladies coverage, they did a stellar job! Their graphics were smart and it was brilliant to have Ray Stubbs back on our tellies at the darts! As always, it was very nice to hear some of the players have a go at commentary. They have set the benchmark for their coverage, so if they keep to these standards, I see a long and happy partnership between the BDO and ESPN. Also nice to see some fresh refereeing faces! I just hope the referee that made the mistake in the Montgomery v Bunting match doesn’t let it dent his confidence.
Well, that’s the World Masters over for another year! My next report will be coming from the seaside town of Bridlington at the British Open in a couple of weeks. Thank you all for reading and until next time, stay safe and may your darts fly true.
Poison Arrow.