Thursday, May 18, 2023
Column HR407
DEEP SUBJECTS
Well, well, well. That is a deep subject. The Old Dart Coach was spot on…
He wrote that the battle for the 4th Premier League playoff berth will be decided this Thursday in the “Great City of AAAAAberdeen”.
Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall meet head-to-head to see who gets the coveted 4th spot. As the script is written… a Clayton win and the “Fat Lady” sings while Aspinall needs a win over Clayton (the Fat Lady is just waiting for her cue).
Aspinall must get the win to advance to the finals. His chances? “Slim and None”. Although, to quote the late Sid Waddell, ” It’s a funny old game”.
While “Slim and None” might be hurtful, Aspinall’s Premier League track record points to his dismissal. The “aginners” would counter, “But he played well last week”. True, but he got beat 6-2 by Gerwyn Price while averaging 104. Price averaged 111 finishing 6 for 6. Aspinall’s MO in the PL is high average and losing. Take away Aspinall-Clayton and the night in Aberdeen will be an exhibition along with a costume party.
The PDC ladies shared center stage last weekend with the Czech Open. Peter Wright had been in a slump that saw him play well in spots but far too infrequently. Last weekend, he put it all together by winning the Czech Open with an 8-6 victory over Dave Chisnall. This was Wright’s initial win in 2023 worth £30,000 which moved him back into second place in the Order of Merit. Michael van Gerwen gained second last week.
Wright said after the win, “Wow – I won! Chizzy has won three in about six months so it’s always going to be hard playing him.” It wasn’t a 100+ average that got him by Brenden Dolan in an early round – after all legs went with the darts, they were level at 3. Dolan broke for 4-3 assisted by 2 missed doubles by Wright. Dolan made it 5-3 in 13 darts. Wright’s pair of 15-darters drew him level at 5. Dolan’s second trip yielded only 47 points leaving him a point deficit he never overcame. Wright 6-5.
Against “Chizzy”, Snakebite was effective as Wright led 2-nil, 5-3 and 6-3. At 7-5 Wright missed three match darts from 40. That gave Chisnell the chance to narrow to 6-7 in 20 darts. With the darts Wright opened with T80 which Chisnell answered in same. Wright’s next trip yielded a visit of t5, 5, 20. After a failed Chisnell trip at the oche (58 points) a Wright T40 left 56 which he closed with 3 for the win. “To win tournaments you need these ton-plus averages.” Yes, indeed.
The ladies spent two days in Milton Keynes where they played four events each worth £2,000 to the winner. Most expected it to be another stroll through the PDC field for Beau Greaves – considering that Greaves had won 9 on the trot last year and three of four to open this year. Her one loss this year was to “Miracle” Mikuru Suzuki 5-4 – Beau Greaves in a Quarter final of match 03. This broke a match run of 66 with nary a “L”.
The surprise of the first event was the dreadful play of Mikuru Suzuki when she lost at 128 to Emma Smith 4-3 in 28, 28, 40 and 19 darts.
Greaves faced Fallon Sherrock in the final jumping off to a 4-1 lead, then applying the “coup de grâce” with a T16 check (T20, 16, d20). Beau Greaves would reach the final in event 6 sailing through Aileen de Graaf and Fallon Sherrock both by scores of 5-1. Rhian O’Sullivan got to the final after besting Trina Gulliver 5-3. Tied at 3, Gulliver rang up no score with three darts from 100 leading to O’Sullivan’s 5-3 win.
O’Sullivan used a T14 finish, then Greaves squandered 3 from 40 for a 2-nil lead. O’Sullivan missed 6 darts giving Greaves 2 legs when Greaves took one in 14 to lead 3-2. O’Sullivan answered in 14 to level. Then in a “redhead ugly” Greaves couldn’t close from 9 allowing O’Sullivan to use 7 for 32 for 4-3 with the 5-leg win in 16.
Beau Greaves’ Sunday did not go well. Laure Turner, PDC Commentator, faced Beau in the quarter finals winning the bull to start. All legs went with the darts, so Turner won 5-4. Turner would land in the finals with a 5-4 win over Spain’s Almudena Fajardo Ayuso. This one also went with the darts until Turner at 4-all (thanks to Fajardo Ayuso wasting 9 for 40) took the match 5-4. Then in the final, Ireland’s Robyn Byrne allowed Turner only one leg as she started 3-0 winning 5-1.
The final event had Mikuru Suzuki in the finals as she beat Almudena Fajardo Ayuso (5-1) in the quarters then Falllon Sherrock 5-2 in the semis. Some may remember two weeks ago when the name Noa-Lynn van Leuven appeared as the winner of the Danish Open. The note from England said, “Played youth darts for Holland as a boy. Now identifies as a lady and plays in the ladies. Still has all the weapons downstairs.”
Noa-Lynn van Leuven reached the final by beating Greaves 5-3. Tied at 3, Greaves couldn’t close with 12 darts from 60, losing in 27 darts. The final gave Mikuru Suzuki the win 5-3. Suzuki trailed 1-3 when a methodical 4-leg run occurred as van Leuven never saw a finish.
With one more weekend and four more events, places in the Lady’s Match Play in Blackpool will be on the line with only 8 going. With the winner getting £2,000 and the runner-up £1,000 no one’s save.
PDC Women’s standings…
| 1 | Beau Greaves | 10100 |
| 2 | Mikuru Suzuki | 6500 |
| 3 | Rhian O’Sullivan | 4200 |
| 4 | Robyn Byrne | 3750 |
| 5 | Fallon Sherrock | 3000 |
| 6 | Lisa Ashton | 2050 |
| 7 | Noa-Lynn van Leuven | 2000 |
| 8 | Kim Holden | 1800 |
| 9 | Kirsty Hutchinson | 1700 |
| 10 | Kirsi Viinikainen | 1550 |
The PDC must be pleased with the number of entries – this will probably ensure the series will continue. The ODC watched most of the two-day event…
“Is the series ready for TV?” NO.
While there were many quality darts thrown, some were “God Awful.”
When are the Ladies going to realize that rhythm throwing is the way to go? “No Eye Deer.”
Stay thirsty my friends.
