Thursday, September 5, 2024
Column HR465
NO Darts in Paradise
Ray Donovan was the Secretary of Labor in the Reagan administration. He was accused of fraud and forced to resign. He and six others went to trial. “Donovan (and all of the other defendants) were acquitted with a number of jurors openly applauding the verdict.” Donovan asked: “To which office do I go to get my reputation back?”
The situation (recovering reputations) is similar for some well-known dart people who were “hornswoggled” into believing what a trusted friend told them. They believed that their partner in Darts in Paradise, a self-professed up and comer in the Caribbean themed events industry, could be trusted.
They were wrong (libel lawyers advised the Old Dart Coach to say little else).
However, some may recall a past ODC column touting the tournament which elicited this contrary comment from a reader: “I called the hotel (Crocs in Jaco, Costa Rica) and was told they’d never heard of Darts in Paradise”. The ODC was ready to apologize but didn’t, knowing that the individual who commented had a history of playing loose with facts.
But was it an early warning sign – missed or dismissed more than a year in advance of the event by the reputable dart people organizing things?
While it’s possible the poster spoke to someone who was unaware of the tournament, what later turned out to be fact (confirmed by others) is that the hotel was indeed essentially vacant for the dates of the tournament. Hence the need to shift the tournament to Cancun, Mexico (for more rooms) was, well, alas, there’s those pesky libel lawyers.
Suffice it to say there is much more – and Ray Donovan had a point.
“Hornswoggled” – look it up.
While there’ll be no Darts in Paradise this year, or probably any year, Peter “Snakebite” Wright found a darting paradise at Halle 38 in Hildesheim, Germany last weekend (no idea what happen to Halle 1-37). For the Old Dart Coach to write that Wright has had a difficult year would be akin to calling a “mountain apple a chocolate éclair.” The unabashed Wright fans that stayed with him during this period shared the joy.
Nothing was handed to Wright on a silver platter in the German Darts Open. The truth is he played some of his best darts in eons. For Wright, an eon must be defined as a dreadful year, and more. Wright played well but even more importantly, he fought like hell to defeat his demons. He was a Tungsten Warrior.
Say what?
Okay, in his third round 6-4 win over Gian van Veen he trailed by one at 3-4. Then, he used 12 to level (T43), followed in 13 to take the lead 5-4 and finished the job in 16 – while checking at a 40% rate. In the quarter finals against Michael van Gerwen, Wright fell behind 2-4 after leading 2-nil (with 14 and 15 darts). MvG had a nice run of 4 legs with two legs in his column in 11 and 12 darts.
Wright got to 4-3 in 13 darts. Then 12 darts and a T61 check (T20, T17 and Fat Bull) made it a level 4. Eleven darts is better than 12, which is what Wright used to move ahead 5-4 before winning in 17. Wright averages 108.9 smothering MvG’s 104.1. This average difference highlights how MvG hit 4 of 5 but lost the match. It proves the old adage “if you don’t get to a finishing double you can’t hit one.” True fact.
The semifinal was a delayed case of déjà vu. Dave Chisnall had defeated Peter Wright for the German Darts Championship in 2013. Up to the semis Chisnall was playing well with a pair of ton-plus averages. Chisnall came out firing against Wright, taking the opening leg (with the darts) in 12 and an 86-check. Wright answered back with a run of 3 for a 3-1 lead. Chisnall assisted when he missed 6 doubles to level the score at 2.
Chisnall broke Wright’s run needing only 11 darts to grab a leg back for 3-2. The score advanced to 4-3. Chisnall’s leg came in 16. Quick to answer back, Wright used a T03 check to go up 5-3. Chisnall got his 4th leg which he followed with a T17 (20, t19, d20) to level for the first time since the opening two legs.
Wright’s scoring returned when he used just 12 to move ahead 6-5. What would be the final leg turned into a horror show for Chisnall…
Chisnall led 141 to 261 when Wright fired a T21. On his next throw Chisnall’s first 2 darts yielded 80, leaving 61. His third dart hit a Big Bull leaving 11. Chisnall went for 3 to leave 8. Instead, he hit the 17 for a bust. Wright closed with 15 darts and a 75 (17, 18, d20) close.
The final against Luke Littler promised, on paper, to be another win for the youngster. Enter the old quote about being favored on paper: “That’s why they play the game.”
But the paper prediction looked to be spot on as Littler jumped out to a 3-nil lead, averaging 118. That became 4-1 as Littler missed nary a double. With the lead, Littler missed 2 doubles as Wright made him pay with a T10 (T20, 10, d20) for 2-4. Littler regained his 3-leg lead in 12 darts and a Ton finish for 5-2 just 3-legs from victory.
Then the “fit hit the shan” as Wright unrolled a 12-dart beauty to finish T46 (t20, t20, d13) for 5-3. Wright cashed the next 2 in his column for 5-5. Littler had double troubles, missing 5 to fall behind for the first time at 6-5.
The 12th leg was one of those “Whiskey Foxtrot Tango” legs that often come out of nowhere. Wright was ahead on points, sitting at 185 with Littler at 206. Wright scored T20 with two darts. While attempting a baby bull for 40 he hit the Big Guy, leaving 15. Wright got the 7 to leave 4, then left 2. Littler, at T20 got one dart at a 30 finish, but missed. Wright used 1 to reach 7-5.
Throwing first, Littler had an early lead which was erased when Wright went T40, T80 to leave 60. It took just 2 for Wright to get the win 8-5.
Littler averaged 106.87 with 10 T80s yet lost as Wright’s averaged only 96+. Por qué? Wright scored when it counted and hit 50% on doubles.
Words of wisdom from the ODC: “In life and darts, which is sometimes life, you make your own Paradise.”
Stay thirsty my friends.
