Here are some upcoming reported dart tournaments within a reasonable drive for New Jersey area dart players:
June 14, 2008, ADO All-Stars 5-3 Regional
10:00 AM sign-ups - 11:00 AM Start
The Varuna Boat Club - 2806 Emmons Avenue
Brooklyn, NY - 718-646-1357
(reported by usadarts.com)
This is a round-robin style 501 competition for ADO members to advance to the ADO East-West Allstar event and U.S. 501 National Chamionships in Stamford Connecticut this August.
July 17-20, 2008 Macamoodus Dart Tournament, $7,500.00
South Glastonbury, CT
This is a fun open tournament run at a local Elks Lodge. Singles, doubles and luck of the draw events are offered. A lot of dart players take advantage of the on-site camping and there is a nearby hotel.
http://www.macamoodus.com/
August 8-10, 2008 USA Dart Classic, $20,000.00+
Stamford Marriott
243 Tresser Blvd.
Stamford, CT
This is a great open tournament an easy drive away for New Jersey area dart players. The USA Dart Classic features many of the best American dart players from around the country, as it directly follows the ADO East West Allstar event and the U.S. 501 National Championships on August 8. Here is the flyer:
http://www.bullseyenews.com/images/2008_usa-classic.pdf
September 5-7, 2008 Washington Area Open Dart Tournament $10,000.00
Holiday Inn, Washington – Dulles International Airport
45425 Holiday Drive
Sterling, VA 20166
(703) 471-7411
Click here for the flyer
September 27-28, 2008 Maui Waui Tournament, $3,500.00
New Milford Athletic Club
New Milford, NJ
Save the date and dust off your Hawaiian Shirt for this fun local tournament. It is an open tournament with singles and doubles events. I haven't seen the flyer yet but usadarts.com has announced the date and location.
Let me know if you learn of any other dart tournaments and I will be glad to post them.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
You Know You're A Dart Player When ...
I hope that everyone has a nice Memorial Day. Instead of rushing off on vacation like many people I decided to spend some time at home with family. One of the chores I worked on was to clean out my old car, which I plan to donate to charity. It's an old 2001 Hyundai Elantra. It still runs fine, but it had accummulated a lot of stuff under the seats and in various nooks and crannies over the years.
That's where we get to the "you know you are a dart player when..." part. A thorough cleaning of the inside of my car yielded the following lost dart treasure:
-3 complete sets of darts
-4 sets of flights
-1 set of flight 3 protectors
-4 sets of shafts
One extra set of darts could possibly be explained by the fact that I always liked to have spare darts in the car in case I lost my regular darts. But three sets? Hmmm...I don't know why I had that many! I suppose it is not unreasonable to have several sets of shafts and flights handy though.
I cleaned off one of my old set of darts (Unicorn Phil Taylor 23 grams) and tried them out. They worked great, although a lot of the finish had worn off over the years. I am contemplating switching back from my Piranhas. We will see after a few more practices. Until then, good darts!
That's where we get to the "you know you are a dart player when..." part. A thorough cleaning of the inside of my car yielded the following lost dart treasure:
-3 complete sets of darts
-4 sets of flights
-1 set of flight 3 protectors
-4 sets of shafts
One extra set of darts could possibly be explained by the fact that I always liked to have spare darts in the car in case I lost my regular darts. But three sets? Hmmm...I don't know why I had that many! I suppose it is not unreasonable to have several sets of shafts and flights handy though.
I cleaned off one of my old set of darts (Unicorn Phil Taylor 23 grams) and tried them out. They worked great, although a lot of the finish had worn off over the years. I am contemplating switching back from my Piranhas. We will see after a few more practices. Until then, good darts!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Cricket Strategy & Being Predictably Irrational
There are few dart-related subjects that will generate more debate than cricket strategy. For my non-U.S. readers, the dart game that we call cricket is called Mickey Mouse in England. I just received my new issue of Bullseye News and there were re-prints of Tony Payne's articles entitled "Thermonuclear Cricket."
What many of us enjoy about cricket is that it involves more strategy than the '01 games. Strategy counts a lot in cricket when players are scoring at close to the same level. What you hit on any given turn can effect what your opponent has to do. Tony Payne's old articles describe how he learned to best maximize his advantage to win the close games.
Now I will make a connection with what I have learned to call being predictably irrational. Don't worry- I will make a connection to darts soon! I am borrowing the term from a man named Dan Ariely, a professor in behavioral economics at the Massachutses Institute of Technology. Mr. Ariely wrote a book called Predictably Irrational, which I found fascinating. He also has a website (click here). He looks at common irrational everyday behaviors that people do in all sorts of areas, and conducts scientific experiments to figure out how often and why we do them. Some of the answers are surprising.
Now, the connection with darts. In cricket, people have many conflicting theories about what strategies are the most efficient for winning. Often, they are very wrong. Players decisions on when to point and when to close numbers are often misguided, and Tony's articles point out how you can exploit players who use irrational strategies.
One that I particularly like to use in a close match is the concept of not wasting marks. Let's say, for instance, an opponent hits 3 marks on 20 the first turn to close it. What should you shoot at? Many players would immediately try to close 20. Not Tony, because that is the "predictably irrational" choice. Tony points out that if you go single, single, triple (five marks) on the 20 that your opponent already closed, you are only getting credit for three marks. If you do the same on 19 (which is still open), you get credit for all five, closing and scoring 38 points.
So why are so many people fooled into taking the "predictably irrational" choice and closing 20's in that situation? Something in us wants to close the big number. It seems to make sense in our brain somehow, that if the opponent scores one 20 on his next turn, you will need two 19's for score to better it. That is clearly a bad strategy in our example though, because the one-point per mark deficit that you avoid by closing the 20 is very small compared to the 38 point advantage that you get by scoring the extra marks on the 19.
Using Tony's strategy, it is clear that the player should not "waste marks" by shooting at numbers that the opponent has closed early in the game. If one player is wasting the marks in such a fashion, and one is not, the player who is not wasting marks will soon build an insurmountable lead if both are hitting equally well (of course, as Tony mentions, if one player is hitting many more marks than the other, even perfect strategy will not make a difference).
I remember when I was finally getting decent in cricket and averaging over three marks per round. I can recall plenty of practice games with Scott Wollaston where he would close 20's, I would close 19, he would close 18, I would close 17, etc. One would have all the odd numbers and the other the evens. We both knew Tony's cricket strategy and employed it. Luckily, very few others do. Until then feel free to exploit their predictable irrationality!
What many of us enjoy about cricket is that it involves more strategy than the '01 games. Strategy counts a lot in cricket when players are scoring at close to the same level. What you hit on any given turn can effect what your opponent has to do. Tony Payne's old articles describe how he learned to best maximize his advantage to win the close games.
Now I will make a connection with what I have learned to call being predictably irrational. Don't worry- I will make a connection to darts soon! I am borrowing the term from a man named Dan Ariely, a professor in behavioral economics at the Massachutses Institute of Technology. Mr. Ariely wrote a book called Predictably Irrational, which I found fascinating. He also has a website (click here). He looks at common irrational everyday behaviors that people do in all sorts of areas, and conducts scientific experiments to figure out how often and why we do them. Some of the answers are surprising.
Now, the connection with darts. In cricket, people have many conflicting theories about what strategies are the most efficient for winning. Often, they are very wrong. Players decisions on when to point and when to close numbers are often misguided, and Tony's articles point out how you can exploit players who use irrational strategies.
One that I particularly like to use in a close match is the concept of not wasting marks. Let's say, for instance, an opponent hits 3 marks on 20 the first turn to close it. What should you shoot at? Many players would immediately try to close 20. Not Tony, because that is the "predictably irrational" choice. Tony points out that if you go single, single, triple (five marks) on the 20 that your opponent already closed, you are only getting credit for three marks. If you do the same on 19 (which is still open), you get credit for all five, closing and scoring 38 points.
So why are so many people fooled into taking the "predictably irrational" choice and closing 20's in that situation? Something in us wants to close the big number. It seems to make sense in our brain somehow, that if the opponent scores one 20 on his next turn, you will need two 19's for score to better it. That is clearly a bad strategy in our example though, because the one-point per mark deficit that you avoid by closing the 20 is very small compared to the 38 point advantage that you get by scoring the extra marks on the 19.
Using Tony's strategy, it is clear that the player should not "waste marks" by shooting at numbers that the opponent has closed early in the game. If one player is wasting the marks in such a fashion, and one is not, the player who is not wasting marks will soon build an insurmountable lead if both are hitting equally well (of course, as Tony mentions, if one player is hitting many more marks than the other, even perfect strategy will not make a difference).
I remember when I was finally getting decent in cricket and averaging over three marks per round. I can recall plenty of practice games with Scott Wollaston where he would close 20's, I would close 19, he would close 18, I would close 17, etc. One would have all the odd numbers and the other the evens. We both knew Tony's cricket strategy and employed it. Luckily, very few others do. Until then feel free to exploit their predictable irrationality!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Taylor Wins U.S. Open
Phil Taylor won the U.S. Open, defeating Colin Lloyd three sets to none. Taylor's semi-final match against Dennis Priestly was also remarkable. He averaged 111.35 per turn over three sets. Dennis averaged 103 per turn and did not even win a set. That is some great darts from both players. The other semifinal featured Arizonan Dave Fatum against Colin Lloyd. Lloyd slipped through in the final leg, for a 3 sets to 2 victory. Click here to get the PDC's coverage of the semi-final and finals. Once again the PDC has put on a great event here in the states. Thanks to the PDC and everyone involved, including Laurett, Buddy, Joe and crew.
North American Dart Championships
I was due to throw in the NADC so I warmed up on my Board with the other competitors. The turnout of 242 players was significantly higher than expected, which was good news for the event. Everyone is assigned to a board and a mini-bracket in advance. Darin Young (the seeded player) and the other six of us would fight it out on Board 5, with the winner finishing in the money at the top 32, and advancing to play against other Board winners.
I like how the PDC organizes the event. Every match is laid out and there is an official standing by to immediately deal with any delays or problems. If a player is not there to start promptly, his/her match is forfeited, which does away with a lot of gamesmanship. Scott Henning won the first match on our Board (Scott-I owe you a round!). I was up second against Cameron Paine from Maine, USA.
Cameron and I both struggled to find any form, either in scoring or taking outs. We found ourselves tied at 3 legs apiece, going into a decider in the best of seven format, with Cameron to throw first. Fortunately, I settled down and hit a nice 14 dart game with a 93 out (T19, D18) to advance. It certainly could have gone the other way easily.
I next faced Tom Sawyer, a fine shot from Massachutses, who had dispatched Scott Wollaston in the first round. My form was unfortunately no better, and Tom was hitting consistent 18 dart games, resulting in his ultimately winning four legs to one. As Darin had defeated Scott Henning on the other side of the bracket, that left Tom and Darin to play the board final.
Darin is human like the rest of us, and has good days and bad. Against Tom, he had a very good day. As I had lost the last board semi-final, I got to score the match. Darin hit four 180's in five legs, winning with two 13 dart games, and a 15 and 16 darter. I heard Tom mutter "saved it all up for me, huh Darin?" with a wry grin. Tom shot well, and if Darin had missed doubles he would have been ready to take a chance. Darin wasn't offering any chances today though.
I then wandered over to watch fellow New Jersey Darter Buddy Lessig play. He was hitting exceptionally well earlier in the U.S. Open, and his good form continued. Buddy's remarkable day continued as he knocked top seed and World Champion John Part out of the tournament and won his board, eventually finishing in the top 16.
I wandered around and watched several other matches. Jim Newman made it to his board final against Johnny K and gave him a good match. A missed double or two cost him, and Johnny took that Board. Philadelphia's Bill Davis continued a great day of darts and won through his board and down to the final four, to be played on Saturday on stage. Joining Bill in the last four were Darin Young, Chris White, and Brad Wethington.
Between matches I visited with a lot of people that I had not seen in awhile. British ex-pat and current Missouri resident Steve Brown and I had a nice chat. We both love to fish so it was mostly stories about recent fish caught and of course ones that got away. It eventually got late so I had a bite to eat and headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.
On Saturday the NADC final four played off, and I would do best to refer you to the nice article that the PDC wrote covering the event (click here). Darin Young, who won my board, beat Bill Davis in the semi-final (7-5) and then won against Brad Wethington in the final by a score of 7-6. What a finish! With $10,000 more in prize money for the winner on the line, Brad had two darts at a double. Brad just missed double 20 and double 10, and Darin hit his next dart for a nice 13 dart finish. How must that feel to walk up to the oche, look at a double, and know ten grand is on the line? Next time I see Brad or Darin, I will have to ask them.
The U.S. Open played down from 16 to 8 players on Saturday, and again I would do best to refer you to PDC's good coverage of the event. Two Americans advanced to the top 8, including Dave Fatum with a win over Bill Davis, and Ray Carver with a win over Wayne Mardle. Chris Mason ended Roger Carter's excellent run, and Ronnie Baxter knocked Gary Mawson out of the tournament. Joining them in the last 8 are Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley, Mark Dudbridge, and Colin Lloyd.
I like how the PDC organizes the event. Every match is laid out and there is an official standing by to immediately deal with any delays or problems. If a player is not there to start promptly, his/her match is forfeited, which does away with a lot of gamesmanship. Scott Henning won the first match on our Board (Scott-I owe you a round!). I was up second against Cameron Paine from Maine, USA.
Cameron and I both struggled to find any form, either in scoring or taking outs. We found ourselves tied at 3 legs apiece, going into a decider in the best of seven format, with Cameron to throw first. Fortunately, I settled down and hit a nice 14 dart game with a 93 out (T19, D18) to advance. It certainly could have gone the other way easily.
I next faced Tom Sawyer, a fine shot from Massachutses, who had dispatched Scott Wollaston in the first round. My form was unfortunately no better, and Tom was hitting consistent 18 dart games, resulting in his ultimately winning four legs to one. As Darin had defeated Scott Henning on the other side of the bracket, that left Tom and Darin to play the board final.
Darin is human like the rest of us, and has good days and bad. Against Tom, he had a very good day. As I had lost the last board semi-final, I got to score the match. Darin hit four 180's in five legs, winning with two 13 dart games, and a 15 and 16 darter. I heard Tom mutter "saved it all up for me, huh Darin?" with a wry grin. Tom shot well, and if Darin had missed doubles he would have been ready to take a chance. Darin wasn't offering any chances today though.
I then wandered over to watch fellow New Jersey Darter Buddy Lessig play. He was hitting exceptionally well earlier in the U.S. Open, and his good form continued. Buddy's remarkable day continued as he knocked top seed and World Champion John Part out of the tournament and won his board, eventually finishing in the top 16.
I wandered around and watched several other matches. Jim Newman made it to his board final against Johnny K and gave him a good match. A missed double or two cost him, and Johnny took that Board. Philadelphia's Bill Davis continued a great day of darts and won through his board and down to the final four, to be played on Saturday on stage. Joining Bill in the last four were Darin Young, Chris White, and Brad Wethington.
Between matches I visited with a lot of people that I had not seen in awhile. British ex-pat and current Missouri resident Steve Brown and I had a nice chat. We both love to fish so it was mostly stories about recent fish caught and of course ones that got away. It eventually got late so I had a bite to eat and headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.
On Saturday the NADC final four played off, and I would do best to refer you to the nice article that the PDC wrote covering the event (click here). Darin Young, who won my board, beat Bill Davis in the semi-final (7-5) and then won against Brad Wethington in the final by a score of 7-6. What a finish! With $10,000 more in prize money for the winner on the line, Brad had two darts at a double. Brad just missed double 20 and double 10, and Darin hit his next dart for a nice 13 dart finish. How must that feel to walk up to the oche, look at a double, and know ten grand is on the line? Next time I see Brad or Darin, I will have to ask them.
The U.S. Open played down from 16 to 8 players on Saturday, and again I would do best to refer you to PDC's good coverage of the event. Two Americans advanced to the top 8, including Dave Fatum with a win over Bill Davis, and Ray Carver with a win over Wayne Mardle. Chris Mason ended Roger Carter's excellent run, and Ronnie Baxter knocked Gary Mawson out of the tournament. Joining them in the last 8 are Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley, Mark Dudbridge, and Colin Lloyd.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
U.S. Open and NADC Part One
Here is my first report of several on the PDC's U.S. Open and NADC. I arrived Friday early and checked into my hotel in Niantic, Connecticut. After wandering around a bit in town I drove in to the Mohegan Sun Casino, which hosts both events.
First, the good dart gossip. As soon as I found the registration area, I bumped into Laurett Meddis, Buddy Bartoletta, and Joe Hogan and his wife. We had lunch together and I was excited to get confirmation that the World Cup of Darts is slated to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September 2009. I have already volunteered to help out the event. For those of you who don't know Laurett, Buddy and Joe, they work tirelessly in organizing and putting on big dart events in the U.S.A. They are very dedicated to the success of darts in the U.S.A. and they deserve a lot of thanks.
Back to the darts. The first event was the U.S. Open. Because I was not competing, I was free to roam around, watch some great floor matches, and visit with friends. I quickly ran into George Silberzahn and Jay Tomlinson, with whom I renewed my Bullseye News subscription. Once the action got underway I watched some great matches with Phil Taylor, Ray Van Barneveld, and many other stars of the PDC circuit. I enjoy watching these guys throw. Their form and technique are so good, it makes you want to watch and absorb as much as you can. After awhile though I wanted to see how my friends were faring.
Scott Wollaston won his first round match with Stacy Stevens (no $5 bets this time:)). Scott crashed out the next round though. His mom and brother Jimmy had made the trip up from New Orleans and it was good to visit with them.
Fellow Corner Bar teammate Tom Waterman pressed John Part and won a set, but John turned up his game and won the rest. I watched John later in some board matches and American Roger Carter shot a remarkable game to defeat John and win the board. Roger plays out of Georgia, and I've seen him at dart tournaments since I started playing down in New Orleans.
Other Americans played very well. Gary Mawson picked off Ray Van Barneveld, and Johnny K defeated Vincent VanDerVoort in a thriller that went down to the last leg. Texan Davis Snider defeated Darin Young and Englishman Steve Beaton. New Jersey Darter Buddy Lessig was red hot, winning his board with a victory over Andy "The Hammer" Hamilton. Ray Carver won over Alex Roy to win his board and then beat Buddy Lessig to make it through to the top 16. Roger Carter defeated Mark Walsh to book a place in the last 16. Philadelphia's Bill Davis won his board and then defeated Tony Eccles to make the last 16 (all top 16 matches to be played Saturday). David Fatum made the top 16 cut with wins over Davis Snider and Steve Panuncialman. That means five Americans in the top 16, which shows good improvement considering the top level of competition. I witnessed a lot of 11 to 15 dart games, and quite a few matches came down to a double or two determining the outcome.
The field was so big that the NADC was delayed in starting by almost an hour. I will follow up with accounts of the NADC floor matches, and then day two of the U.S. Open. Until then, good darts!
First, the good dart gossip. As soon as I found the registration area, I bumped into Laurett Meddis, Buddy Bartoletta, and Joe Hogan and his wife. We had lunch together and I was excited to get confirmation that the World Cup of Darts is slated to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September 2009. I have already volunteered to help out the event. For those of you who don't know Laurett, Buddy and Joe, they work tirelessly in organizing and putting on big dart events in the U.S.A. They are very dedicated to the success of darts in the U.S.A. and they deserve a lot of thanks.
Back to the darts. The first event was the U.S. Open. Because I was not competing, I was free to roam around, watch some great floor matches, and visit with friends. I quickly ran into George Silberzahn and Jay Tomlinson, with whom I renewed my Bullseye News subscription. Once the action got underway I watched some great matches with Phil Taylor, Ray Van Barneveld, and many other stars of the PDC circuit. I enjoy watching these guys throw. Their form and technique are so good, it makes you want to watch and absorb as much as you can. After awhile though I wanted to see how my friends were faring.
Scott Wollaston won his first round match with Stacy Stevens (no $5 bets this time:)). Scott crashed out the next round though. His mom and brother Jimmy had made the trip up from New Orleans and it was good to visit with them.
Fellow Corner Bar teammate Tom Waterman pressed John Part and won a set, but John turned up his game and won the rest. I watched John later in some board matches and American Roger Carter shot a remarkable game to defeat John and win the board. Roger plays out of Georgia, and I've seen him at dart tournaments since I started playing down in New Orleans.
Other Americans played very well. Gary Mawson picked off Ray Van Barneveld, and Johnny K defeated Vincent VanDerVoort in a thriller that went down to the last leg. Texan Davis Snider defeated Darin Young and Englishman Steve Beaton. New Jersey Darter Buddy Lessig was red hot, winning his board with a victory over Andy "The Hammer" Hamilton. Ray Carver won over Alex Roy to win his board and then beat Buddy Lessig to make it through to the top 16. Roger Carter defeated Mark Walsh to book a place in the last 16. Philadelphia's Bill Davis won his board and then defeated Tony Eccles to make the last 16 (all top 16 matches to be played Saturday). David Fatum made the top 16 cut with wins over Davis Snider and Steve Panuncialman. That means five Americans in the top 16, which shows good improvement considering the top level of competition. I witnessed a lot of 11 to 15 dart games, and quite a few matches came down to a double or two determining the outcome.
The field was so big that the NADC was delayed in starting by almost an hour. I will follow up with accounts of the NADC floor matches, and then day two of the U.S. Open. Until then, good darts!
Monday, May 12, 2008
North American Darts Championship Draw Review
The PDC has posted the draw for the NADC and there are some more great matchups. I find myself on Board 5 along with several skilled dart players, any of whom could win the tournament if they have a good day. My first match is against Cameron Paine, and the winner of our match faces the winner of Scott Wollaston and Tom Sawyer. Darin Young is on the other side of the board, so it will be very competitive. Whoever is hot could take the board.
New Jersey darter Buddy Lessig is on Board 1 on the far side of #1 seed John Part. Buddy usually shows up well at the big tournaments, so he will be no easy opponent, especially considering the short format. Another New Jersey Darter and Corner Bar team mate Dave Hascup managed to grab a board without a seed (#6) but Matt Malone and Dayton Strawbridge will provide some competition.
Philly star Bill Davis is the seed on Board 9, but Dave Fatum and several others will make him work for it. Two of my buddies are on Board 10, including New Jersey dart player George Timpone and fellow lawyer Jerry Van Loan. Both are skilled enough to take the board if they have a good day.
Some good local New Jersey area matchups will take place on Board 13, with Tom Waterman and Jim Newman facing off in the first round. Johnny K is on the other side of that board, so it should be a competitive one. Two good matches are up right away on Board 17, with one of the Boston area's best, John Finnnegan, opening against Paul Lim, and then the winner facing Canadian star Gerry Convery. Tim Grossman will likely be waiting for the survivor on the far side of the board. Between Paul, John and Tim that is three former American Champions on one board, along with one of Canada's best!
The fun starts this Friday, and I will be looking forward to it. Until then, good darts!
New Jersey darter Buddy Lessig is on Board 1 on the far side of #1 seed John Part. Buddy usually shows up well at the big tournaments, so he will be no easy opponent, especially considering the short format. Another New Jersey Darter and Corner Bar team mate Dave Hascup managed to grab a board without a seed (#6) but Matt Malone and Dayton Strawbridge will provide some competition.
Philly star Bill Davis is the seed on Board 9, but Dave Fatum and several others will make him work for it. Two of my buddies are on Board 10, including New Jersey dart player George Timpone and fellow lawyer Jerry Van Loan. Both are skilled enough to take the board if they have a good day.
Some good local New Jersey area matchups will take place on Board 13, with Tom Waterman and Jim Newman facing off in the first round. Johnny K is on the other side of that board, so it should be a competitive one. Two good matches are up right away on Board 17, with one of the Boston area's best, John Finnnegan, opening against Paul Lim, and then the winner facing Canadian star Gerry Convery. Tim Grossman will likely be waiting for the survivor on the far side of the board. Between Paul, John and Tim that is three former American Champions on one board, along with one of Canada's best!
The fun starts this Friday, and I will be looking forward to it. Until then, good darts!
Friday, May 09, 2008
PDC U.S. Open Draw Is Made
Planetdarts has posted the draw for the PDC U.S. Open, with some fun matchups showing up early. I will mention some interesting early matches, focusing on some of my friends and people who read the blog.
Raymond Van Barneveld, the number 1 seed, drew Chris Russano in the first round. I have shot a few pairs events with Chris, who is known for his liking for 19's instead of 20's. Chris used to live on Long Island but has since moved out west. Good luck Chris...make him work for it!
Ronnie Baxter, who knocked me out last time, drew Jerry Van Loan first round. Jerry is a lawyer from New York. He is a nice guy and a fine shot who will give Ronnie a game if he is hitting well.
Johnny K drew Vincent Van De Voort, a Dutchman, in round one and that promises to be a good match. Paul Lim will play local New Jersey darter Robert Race.
Board 10 will feature a nice first round match up between some skilled Americans, Darin Young and Davis Snider, with the winner possibly facing Steve Beaton the next round. I got to play Steve once at the Desert Classic and he beat me four legs straight in a best of seven event, with his worst game a 14 darter! He had used all his best against me though and lost the next round. That's darts I guess.
My friend, Corner Bar team mate, and fellow New Jersey darter Tom Waterman always complains that he gets a tough draw in these events. Last year it was Jelle Klassen, who was on fire when he played Tom. This year it is no different, with poor Tom facing John Part in the first round on Board 13. Tom is a fighter and well capable of giving John a good game, but I can just imagine hearing him muttering under his breath right now. Roger Carter, Isen Veljic, Matt Malone, and Colin Monk will also make Board 13 quite a contest.
Robert St. Onge from New Hampshire drew the honor of playing Phil Taylor first round. Local New Jersey star Buddy Lessig faces Pat Breithaupt in his opener, with Jim Widmayer and Robert Heckman battling to play the winner of that match on board 21. It will be interesting to see who emerges from that one. New Jersey darter Dave Hascup opens against Keith Conner.
One fun first round match that I will want to see involves New Jersey Darter Stacey Stevens against Scott Wollaston, who was a top dart player in the New Orleans area when I lived down there and was first getting involved in darts. The first time I came to New Jersey was with Scott for ADO Nationals about 10 years ago, and I remember watching the two of them play at Courtside Bar in Clifton NJ, for $5 a man. They have had a rivalry going ever since, so get ready to hear some humorous trash talking in that match. The winner of Adrian Lewis vs. Jerry Convery will await whomever comes out on top.
Jim Newman, the top qualifier in the recent GHS tournament, faces John Garramone in the first round. Jim is in good form and will be able to give anyone a competitive game.
I will be covering events Friday and Saturday, but I will be out Sunday for an unavoidable family obligation. For that reason, I am not competing in the U.S. Open, but I will compete in the North American Dart Championships as it finishes on Saturday. Once that draw comes out, I will let you know. Until then, good darts!
Raymond Van Barneveld, the number 1 seed, drew Chris Russano in the first round. I have shot a few pairs events with Chris, who is known for his liking for 19's instead of 20's. Chris used to live on Long Island but has since moved out west. Good luck Chris...make him work for it!
Ronnie Baxter, who knocked me out last time, drew Jerry Van Loan first round. Jerry is a lawyer from New York. He is a nice guy and a fine shot who will give Ronnie a game if he is hitting well.
Johnny K drew Vincent Van De Voort, a Dutchman, in round one and that promises to be a good match. Paul Lim will play local New Jersey darter Robert Race.
Board 10 will feature a nice first round match up between some skilled Americans, Darin Young and Davis Snider, with the winner possibly facing Steve Beaton the next round. I got to play Steve once at the Desert Classic and he beat me four legs straight in a best of seven event, with his worst game a 14 darter! He had used all his best against me though and lost the next round. That's darts I guess.
My friend, Corner Bar team mate, and fellow New Jersey darter Tom Waterman always complains that he gets a tough draw in these events. Last year it was Jelle Klassen, who was on fire when he played Tom. This year it is no different, with poor Tom facing John Part in the first round on Board 13. Tom is a fighter and well capable of giving John a good game, but I can just imagine hearing him muttering under his breath right now. Roger Carter, Isen Veljic, Matt Malone, and Colin Monk will also make Board 13 quite a contest.
Robert St. Onge from New Hampshire drew the honor of playing Phil Taylor first round. Local New Jersey star Buddy Lessig faces Pat Breithaupt in his opener, with Jim Widmayer and Robert Heckman battling to play the winner of that match on board 21. It will be interesting to see who emerges from that one. New Jersey darter Dave Hascup opens against Keith Conner.
One fun first round match that I will want to see involves New Jersey Darter Stacey Stevens against Scott Wollaston, who was a top dart player in the New Orleans area when I lived down there and was first getting involved in darts. The first time I came to New Jersey was with Scott for ADO Nationals about 10 years ago, and I remember watching the two of them play at Courtside Bar in Clifton NJ, for $5 a man. They have had a rivalry going ever since, so get ready to hear some humorous trash talking in that match. The winner of Adrian Lewis vs. Jerry Convery will await whomever comes out on top.
Jim Newman, the top qualifier in the recent GHS tournament, faces John Garramone in the first round. Jim is in good form and will be able to give anyone a competitive game.
I will be covering events Friday and Saturday, but I will be out Sunday for an unavoidable family obligation. For that reason, I am not competing in the U.S. Open, but I will compete in the North American Dart Championships as it finishes on Saturday. Once that draw comes out, I will let you know. Until then, good darts!
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Another Big Tournament in the USA?
I had heard rumors swirling of another big tournament coming to the U.S. next year. I checked it out and Dartsworld and the World Dart Federation indicate that the 2009 World Cup of Darts will be held in Charlotte, USA in September, 2009 (I assume North Carolina). This is an interesting event that features teams from many countries competing for honors in singles and team events. Americans can play to qualify for a team through the American Dart Organization. As more information comes out I will pass it on.
Monday, May 05, 2008
GHS Tournament Results
George posted the winners of the GHS Players Tournament as follows:
Group A:
1st- Benny Amodei
2nd-Gary Yourman
3rd- Jim Newman
4th-Anthony Marchei
Group B
1st-Chris McLaughlin
2nd-Skip Stranghan
3rd-Ray Wolf
4th- Rick Arcangel
Group C
1st-Ted Northrop
2nd-Bill Cobb
3rd-Josh Hill
4th-JR Richardson
Congratulations to all!
Group A:
1st- Benny Amodei
2nd-Gary Yourman
3rd- Jim Newman
4th-Anthony Marchei
Group B
1st-Chris McLaughlin
2nd-Skip Stranghan
3rd-Ray Wolf
4th- Rick Arcangel
Group C
1st-Ted Northrop
2nd-Bill Cobb
3rd-Josh Hill
4th-JR Richardson
Congratulations to all!
GHS Tournament Report
The GHS Tournament was held at Joker's in Philadelphia on Sunday, and I had fun participating. Everyone was divided into three groups, A, B, or C based on qualifier scores, as mentioned in the previous posts. With a qualifying score of 779, I ended up being the last person to miss the "A" group, which put me at the top of the "B" group. We each then played four matches, with the top four in each group advancing to group knockout rounds.
My first round match was against an A group player, John Newsome, who is a good dart player out of South Philadelphia and one of the top shooters in the Old English Dart League. John was hitting the triples well and easily beat me down to the double in each game. However, he was having trouble hitting the doubles, just enough to let me catch up. Fortunately for me, I hit my doubles right away and took an undeserved 3-1 win.
My scoring improved in my second match and my confidence with the doubles was still high, and I won 3-0. My third match against Erik was a mirror image of my first match against John. I beat Erik to the double easily in the first leg and kept wiring the inside of the doubles until I got stuck on double 1. Erik eventually caught up and took the leg. In the second leg, I again got to the double first, and after two rounds of misses Erik hit a nice 72 out (T12, D 18) to make me pay. I battled back, winning the next two legs and forcing it into a tiebreaker. I had a look at a 121 out but missed the set-up shot (T20, 14 instead of 11), and left myself 32. Unfortunately I did not get a shot at it, as Erik hit a big 94 out (T18, D20) to win that match.
Even though I came back with a 3-0 win in my fourth round match, it was not enough to finish in the top 4 of my group to advance. Four others had won all 4 matches. Close, but not quite.
It was a great day of darts. Everyone got to play at least four rounds against players of different calibers, with a handicap system in effect that spotted points. That made even the top players have to work for each game.
Jokers put out a nice lunch buffet for the dart players, incuding chicken, vodka penne, pasta salad, and baked ziti with cheese. George kept the tournament running smoothly and efficiently (see picture above) with every match laid out on a ticket in advance for each player. Once I get the final results, I will pass them on. After that, all eyes turn to Connecticut and the Mohegan Sun Casino for the PDC U.S. Open and the North American Darts Championship on May 16-18. Until then, good darts!
Thursday, May 01, 2008
New Jersey Darts Milestone
I noticed that New Jersey Darts just passed a milestone of 10,000 hits! I usually get about 20 to 30 a day, from a diverse and interesting bunch of people around the world who share in their interest and enjoyment of darts. I still enjoy writing the articles, and thanks for everyone's interest.
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