CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN'S BLOG

27th August 2010

The Dover Invitation Darts League Divisional Singles knockouts were held at the Whitfield Club on Friday, with all the winners and runners up winning the opportunity to play against either Andy Hamilton or Steve Beaton on the 24^th September.

In total, 95 players entered the knockouts and we start the round up in division one.

Jim Penman of the Archer was the eventual winner, beating Ritchie Buckle in the final. Jims route to the final started in the preliminary round with a 2-0 win against last weeks pairs runner up, Al Terry.

He then beat Del Palmer of the Bull A 2-1 and quickly followed that with another 2-0 win over a Three Cups player, James Warr.

In quarter finals the format changed to best of 5 legs, Penman won 3-1 against Wayne Venes of the Hairy Bull and in the semi final won by the same margin against Mel Beckett of the Phoenix Rangers.

Ritchie Buckles route to the final started with a 2-0 win against his team mate Martin Pepe. This was quickly followed up with 2-0 wins against Chris Bent of the Archer and George Clark of the Diamond.

In quarter and semi finals he beat Wheelwrights A players, Phil Proctor and Lee Dawkins 3-0 and 3-1 respectively.

Jim Penman won the final with some fantastic darts, winning the match 3-0 and taking just 15, 11 and 13 darts in the three legs. This is a three dart average of 115.6, which we all know is incredible. He also hit two 180’s in the final.

Other highlights of the division one knockout were two 180’s from Mel Beckett and Ash Battie, one from Peter Fry and four from Ritchie Buckle. Ritchie hit three in three legs against Phil Proctor.

Mel Beckett checked out on 132 and Ash Battie hit a great 128 finish.

In division two the eventual winner was Darren Hyder of the Crown & Sceptre, who beat Lloyd Clubb 3-2 in the final.

Darren’s journey was all rather smooth. All of his opponents were from the Falstaff, he beat Jason Breedon 2-0, Andy Terry 3-0 and Shaun Breedon 3-0. Darren hot four 180’s on the night, including three in his semi final win against Shaun Breedon.

Lloyds route included a 2-1 win against Kevin Elliot of the Oast Cottage, 3-0 win against Dean Smith and a semi final 3-2 win against his team mate and blind pairs winner Alan Humphries.

Mark Comley of the Sportsman checked out on 143 in his first round victory against Dave Wallace of the Real Diamonds.

In the combined division three and four knockout, the winner was Dan Cameron of the Admiral Harvey A who beat Dave Cassell of the Golden Lion 3-1 in the final.

Dan beat Tony Thompson of the Three Cups 2-1 and followed this with another win by the same margin against Ricky Cook.

With the change of format at the quarter finals stage, Dan won 3-0 against Kevin Thorpe of the Phoenix A and then he beat Craig Morton of the Boars Head C 3-1 to reach the final.

Dave’s route to his third divisional singles final in as many years included 2-0 wins against Ricky Edwards and Ben “Bunyip” Baldwin. The format change didn’t affect Dave, he won 3-0 against Laura Whatmore of the Wheelwrights and by the same margin against Graham Irons of the Phoenix A. Dave also checked out on 150 on the night.

On the night a draw was also made out of the hat for another chance to play one of the professionals.

Division 3&4 – Simon Whatmore

Division 2 – Colin Habbershaw

Division 1 – Paul Turner (Gave his place to Billy Bell)

The committee also made their own choice for the one place they award to a player from the league. This year it has been awarded to Kevin Green for his assistance to the league in running knockouts and pro events.

The full line up and order of play is.

Mark Bax v Steve Beaton

Simon Whatmore v Steve Beaton

Dave Cassell v Steve Beaton

Bet Pettley v Steve Beaton

Dan Cameron v Andy Hamilton

Draw on the night v Andy Hamilton

Colin Habbershaw v Andy Hamilton

Billy Bell v Andy Hamilton

Interval

Pairs best of three legs.

Gary Mills & Steve Beaton v Al Terry & Andy Hamilton

Paul Martin & Steve Beaton v Alan Humphries & Andy Hamilton

Darren Hyder v Steve Beaton

Kevin Green v Steve Beaton

Lloyd Clubb v Andy Hamilton

Ritchie Buckle v Andy Hamilton

STEVE BEATON v’s ANDY HAMILTON (7 legs)

20th August 2010

68 local players battled it out on Friday Night in one of the most open Dover Invitation Darts League blind pair’s competitions to date. The prize being the chance to play a pairs match with Steve Beaton and Andy Hamilton when the come to Dover on the 24^th September for the summer league presentation.

The eventual winners were Paul Martin of the Diamond and Alan Humphries of the Bull E, and they beat Gary Mills of the Bull A and Al Terry of the Three Cups in the final.

The Paul and Alan’s route to the final started with a preliminary round tough game against Tony Brown of the Diamond and Jim Penman of the Archer. Paul Martin won the all important third leg with a great 124 out shot.

That result set up a first round tie against Kevin Thorp of the Phoenix A and Paul Browning of the Malvern Movers. They won this round 2-0 to reach the last 16 against Jason Gilbert of the Admiral Harvey A and Stu Haynes of the Three Cups. This time they ran out 2-1 winners.

In the quarter finals they beat the inform Tony Knott of the Archer and Colin Townley of the Phoenix Rangers 2-1. Townley and Knott knocked out Ritchie Buckle and Andy Collins in an earlier round. Ritchie was aiming to win the blind pairs for the third time on the trot.

In the semi finals the format changed to best of five legs. They beat Steve Clark of the Hairy Bull and Kayleigh Whatmore of the Wheelwrights C 3-1 to reach the final. Steve from division one and Kayleigh from division three had a wonderful run that included a first round win against an all division one pair of Billy Bell and Martin Pepe.

A special mention to Steve’s farther in law, leave him alone, the man played well this week!

Gary Mills and Al Terry’s route to the final started with a 2-1 win against Gareth Morgan of the Archer and Ricky Edwards of the Admiral Harvey A. They won by the same margin in the last 16 against Stu Rodmell of the Oast Cottage and Phil Proctor of the Wheelwrights A.

Once again they won 2-1 in the quarter finals, beating Al Francombe of the Bull B and Bob Dryden of the Bull E.

Lee Ware of the Bull A and Kevin Elliott of the Oast Cottage were the semi final opponents. A 3-2 win for Mills and Terry saw them reach the final.

The final was the best of seven legs. Martin and Humphries took the first leg and Mills and Terry bounced back to take the second leg to make it 1-1. Martin and Humphries then won the next three legs on the bounce to take the title 4-1.

On the pro night they will all play doubles with the professionals. The line up will be: -

Paul Marin & Steve Beaton V’s Alan Humphries & Andy Hamilton

Gary Mills & Steve Beaton V’s Al Terry & Andy Hamilton

One name was also drawn out of the hat to play singles against one of the professionals. Mark Bax of the Golden Lion was the lucky player and he will play Steve Beaton.

You can still win the chance to play against the pro’s. This Friday, 27^th August it is the divisional singles at the Whitfield Club. Its just £5 to enter and this includes your entrance fee in to the pro night. All winners and runners up will play one of the professionals. The draw will be made at 8pm.

The draw for the team knockouts were also made on Friday. The full draw is available on the website, www.doverdarts.co.uk and has also been sent to the public houses.

The preliminary round matches are as follows.

The A2Z Travel division 1 & 2 knockout

Oast Cottage v Hope Inn @ The Archer

Hairy Bull v Bull B @ Three Cups

The Archer v Bull E @ Phoenix Club

The Heritage International Transport division 3 & 4 knockout

Phoenix A v Boars Head United @ The Bull

Three Cups B v Priory Hotel @ DSAA

13th August 2010

Runners up spot in the Dover Invitation Darts League division one has gone to the Three Cups, after a final night of the season tense affair between themselves and the Hairy Bull.

The Cups and the Hairy Bull basically went in to the last game of the season knowing that whoever had the best result on the night would be runners up as both sides were level on points and legs for.

The Three Cups played the Malvern Movers and raced to 5-0 lead to seal the victory. They eventually ran out 6-3 winners with 180’sfrom Andy Swan and Steve Terry. Steve and Luke Blythe also hit a 14 dart leg in the pairs and Ray Bourne of the Cups checked out on a respectable 124.

So the cups were hoping that the Hairy Bull hadn’t bettered their score line, and they were playing the champions the Bull A, it couldn’t be any harder.

However they gave it their best shot and ran out 5-4 winners, just short of taking the runners up place, but still a great result. They were 2-1 down after the pairs but soon turned that around to 3-2 lead with Ritchie Buckle and Callum Crutchfield victorious for the Hairy.

Ben Tester beat Lewis Venes to make the 3-3 and then his brother Wayne gave the Hairy the lead again with a super win against Andy Howell. Wayne hit a 180 and a 177 in the high scoring match and also hit a steady 120 shanghi checkout.

Martin Pepe sealed victory for the Hairy, beating Kev Hackett and in the final game Gary Mills of the Bull A beat Steve Clark.

Elsewhere in division one the Wheelwrights won 7-2 against the Bull B and the Phoenix Rangers beat the Archer 5-4. Jim Penman of the Archer hit a 180 and a 13 dart leg.

The Oast Cottage sealed the division two championship with a 5-4 victory against the Wheelwrights, whilst the Real Diamonds claimed the runners up spot.

The Real beat the Crown & Sceptre B 5-4, after being 3-0 in the pairs they won five of the six singles to turn the game around. Darren Hyder was the only singles winner for the Crown and he also hit a 180. Colin Habbershaw of Real Diamonds checked out on 150.

One of the inform sides in division two is the DSAA B. They have won six of their last seven games, a run which has seen them finish fourth in the table. This week they beat the Falstaff 6-3.

The Bull E beat the Sportsman 6-3 and finally the Hope Inn won by the same margin against the Archer Arrows.

Division three champions are the Boars Head C. They had no game this week but were waiting on tender hooks of the result between the Phoenix A and the Admiral Harvey A.

The Phoenix A’s 5-4 victory was enough for them to gain promotion to division one but just fell short of them clinching the championship. The Phoenix were 2-1 up after the pairs only for the Harvey to then win the next three singles to lead 4-2. The Phoenix rallied through winning the next two singles to claim victory. Kevin Thorp was the all important final game winner.

The Golden Lion A won 7-2 against the Boars Head United, a result which relegated United. The Boars Head A had the bragging rights after their 5-4 win against the Boars Head B and finally the Admiral Harvey B beat the Wheelwrights C 6-3.

The Crown & Sceptre B are promoted along with Champions the Three Cups in division four. This week the Crown beat the St Pauls Club 5-4.

The DSAA A won by the same margin against the in form Carriers and the Priory Hotel beat the Golden Lion B 6-3. The Cherry Tree ended the season without a victory as the Sportsman B beat them 5-4.

The Dover Invitation Darts League launches the “Dover Darts Hall of Fame” to recognise inductees for their contribution to the local game. This will be a permanent fixture at our summer presentation nights where a professional dart player will present a memento to the inductees to mark the occasion and the players of the league will also have the opportunity to show their appreciation.

The first of the inductees will be awarded at this season pro night with Steve Beaton and Andy Hamilton. The Committee have chosen the first two intakes, however in future years the players of the league will have the opportunity to put forward their nominations for consideration.

This Friday, 20^th August it is the blind pairs at the Archer and the following week is the divisional singles at the Whitfield Club.

Entrance fees is just £5, and remember the winners and runners up in these competitions will all play either Steve Beaton or Andy Hamilton on the 24^th September at Bluebirds.

A reminder that team darts has not finished this season, the draw for the team knockouts will be made on Friday before the blind pairs at the Archer. This season division one and division two will play in the A2Z travel knockout and the division three and four sides will play in the Heritage International Transport knockout.

Paul Turner.

6th August 2010

The Bull A have been crowned champions of the Dover Invitation Darts League division one, with just one game of the league campaign left. This was the second year on the trot that they have ended the summer campaign top of the tree, and more amazingly they have now won the league five times in the last seven summer seasons.

This week they beat the Phoenix Rangers 5-4, with this result also relegating the Phoenix Rangers back to division two. The match included 180’s for Andy Howell, Ash Battie and Gary Mills. Andy is now joint leader for the 180’s on eight with Chris Bent of the Archer.

The battle is now well and truly on in the last week of the season for runners up spot in the league. The Hairy Bull, who were in title contention for much of the season are battling it out against the Three Cups, who also finished last summer in second place.

The Cups won 5-4 this week against the Archer, whilst the Hairy had a bye. This means that they are now tied on points and legs for, so it can’t get any closer. The Cups will play against the Malvern Movers whilst the Hairy will play the champions, Bull A. Amazingly the Hairy could beat the champs and still not end up runners up, if the Three Cups win by a bigger margin.

The Wheelwrights A beat the Diamond 5-4. After flirting with relegation for a few weeks the Diamond are now safe for top flight darts in the winter.

The Bull B may be relegated, but they still keep battling away. They beat the Malvern Movers 6-3, with Dave and Dick Green rolling back the years, playing great darts all night.

The Oast Cottage and the Real Diamonds are all ready promoted to division one, but we still don’t know who the champions are. The Diamond picked up a 9-0 this week, whilst the Oast lost against the DSAA B 5-4. The Oast will make the trip in to Dover next week and play the Wheelwrights B, knowing that a win will crown them champions. The Real Diamonds have a trickier affair against the unpredictable Crown & Sceptre B.

The Crown lost 5-4 this week against the Bull E, with Ricky Dryden of the Bull checking out on 108 during the match.

The Archer Arrows picked up a 6-3 win against the Sportsman and the Hope Inn beat the Falstaff 5-4. The Falstaff are now relegated to division three.

The Boars Head C are promoted up to division three, but we still don’t know if it will be as champions or as runners up. The Phoenix A could still take the title next week if they win 7-2 or better. However, they play the Admiral Harvey A, and if the Harvey win the Boars Head C will be champions and the Harvey A will be promoted as runners up, it will be an interesting night!

This week the Boars Head C beat the Admiral Harvey A 6-3, whilst the Phoenix A beat the Admiral Harvey B 7-2.

The Boars Head United have gave themselves an outside chance of staying in the third division after their 6-3 win against the Wheelwrights C and the finally the Boars Head A beat the Golden Lion A 5-4.

In division four the Champions are the Three Cups B. They beat the Sportsman B 6-3 and the runners up are the Crown & Sceptre B who beat the winless Cherry Tree 8-1.

The Carriers cracking end to the season continued with a 6-3 win against the Priory Hotel and the St Pauls Club beat the Golden Lion B 5-4.

All the winners and runners up will receive their trophies on Friday 24^th September at the Bluebirds with professional dart players, Steve “Bronzed Adonis” Beaton and Andy “The Hammer” Hamilton undertaking the presentation.

They will also play 16 local players in singles and pairs matches and play an exhibition match against each other. Players of the league can win the chance to play the pros by entering blind pairs on the 20^th August at the Archer and the divisional singles on the 27^th August at the Whitfield Club. More details are available at www.doverdarts.co.uk

Paul Turner

30th July 2010

Barring some improbable 9-0 results the Bull A will regain the division one title after beating the Archer 6-3. Third place Archer were looking to do the double over over the champions elect after winning the reverse fixture 6-3 also. The Whitfield boys raced into a 2-0 lead with Chris Bent & Gareth Morgan beating Ash Battie & Lee Ware 2-0 and Jim Penman & Azza Hammond winning 2-1 vs Delboy Palmer & Kev Hackett with Penman hitting a 180.

But that was about a good as it got for the Archer, Andy Howell & Gary Mills beat Tony Knott & Baz Robinson 2-0 for the Bull A, With Gary Mills showing some of the form that made him Dover singles champion a couple of years ago. Mills then beat Bent 2-1, with the Bull man hitting his second 180 of the night after his one in the pairs. Bent also hit his 8th 180 of the season to lead the 180`s chart.

Ben Tester & Howell then both won there singles 2-0 vs Robinson & Hammond respectively. Penman pulled one back for the Archer beating Palmer 2-1 with Delboy hitting maximum on the 19`s, Before Hackett bettered Morgan 2-0 to give victory to the Bull. In the final singles match Lee `Pathetic ` Ware beat Knott 2-1.

Richie Buckle singles win over Colin Hopkins gave the Hairy Bull a 5-4 win over the Wheelwrights A. Other singles winners for the Hairy were the Venes Brothers and Martin Pepe. Wheelies Karl Gear hit a 180.

Relegated Bull B gave the Three cups A a scare with some solid scoring on the 19`s to take the game to the final match before `Merlin` Andy Swann gave the Cups victory, beating Dave Green 2-0. Stabber Blythe had a nice 116 checkout and Geoff Peacock hit a 180 both for the Cups.

After flirting with relegation for much of the season the Diamonds 6-3 win over the Malvern Movers should have secured Div 1 darts for last seasons champions for another season. Diamonds Brian Pearce hitting two 180`s on the night.

Division 2 leaders Oast Cottage bounced back from last weeks defeat to beat bottom of the table the Falstaff 6-3. Victory this week against DSAA B will give the Shepherdswell side the Div 2 title.

Real Diamonds hopes of bouncing straight back to the top league took a dent by losing 6-3 to DSAA B. The sea angling boys were on top form on the night with Coleman & Belsey both hitting 180`s and Pitcher hitting the highest finish of the night checking out 149.

Crown & Sceptre B beat the Archer Arrows 5-4 and the Hope Inn had a 6-3 victory over the Sportsman A.

Bull E Lloyd Clubb & Allan Humphries both hit 180`s in there 7-2 win over the Wheelies B.

Division 3 is starting to look very tight at the top after leaders Boars Head C lost 5-4 against third place Phoenix A. Phoenix`s Barry Knott hit a 180 and Kev Thorp a 171. This week Boars Head C play there final game of the season vs second place Admiral Harvey A.

Pete Phillips Harvey A side had 6-3 win over Boars Head B.

Boars Head A beat Wheelwrights C 7-2 & Boars Head Utd beat relegation rivals Admiral Harvey B 5-4.

Div 4 leaders Three Cups B beat second placed Crown & Sceptre A to gain promotion to the 3rd tier. Victory this week vs Sportsman B will also give The Cups Lads & Lasses the Div 4 title.

St Pauls beat the the Carriers 6-3 & DSAA A won 5-4 at the Priory Hotel. The Golden Lion B beat Cherry Tree 6-3 in a game which was described as finishing in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Paul Turner is back off holiday this week so all results are to be texted to him again.

Some date reminders for you all,

Blind Pairs @ the Archer 20th August

Divisional Singles @ the Whitfield club 27th August

A2Z Travel & Heritage Transport team KO`s start on 3rd September, the draw for the team KO`s will be made at the blind pairs.

Presentation & Pro night with Steve Beaton & Andy Hamilton @ Bluebirds 24th September.

Winter league registration night @ the Park Inn 4th October

The 3rd Annual Dover Open @the Whitfield club 6th November.

Information on all the above dates can be found on www.doverdarts.co.uk

Morgo

23rd July 2010

Kev Green was the star performer in the latest round of matches in the Dover Friday Night Invitation Dart League. Big Kev hit the top finish of 170 (2 x treble 20 & bullseye) in the Diamonds 6-3 defeat against The Three Cups. That checkout came in the pairs and then Greeny followed that up with a 180 in his singles victory over Tel Bertram. Paul `Shakin Stevens` Martin also hit a 180 for the Diamond. But singles wins for Steve Terry, Luke `The Stabber` Blythe, Andy Swann and Stu Haynes gave the Cups victory.

With Division 1 leaders Bull A having the night off, second place Hairy Bull were hoping to gain some ground at the top in there game up at the Malvern. But Paul Perkins side proved to strong for the Hairy with Mark Clayton beating Martin Pepe in the final leg of the match to give the Malvern Movers a 5-4 win. Hairys Richie Buckle & Wayne Venes hit 12 & 13 dart legs respectively in there singles matches.

Third place The Archer continued there recent good form with a 6-3 victory Vs Bull B. Archers Jim Penman was in good finishing form with a 154 checkout in the pairs with his better half Bet and then followed that up with a 126 finish in his singles win over Barry Bullock. Chris Bent hit his seventh 180 of the season for the Whitfield boys. Defeat for the Bull B means that they will be back playing in Division 2 next season after two seasons in the top league.

Phoenix Rangers moved a step closer to joining the Bull B in Div 2 next season with a 6-3 lose against the Wheelwrights A. Rangers Paul Swinerd some how managed to bust 159 in his singles match(oops).

The top two in the second division came together with second place the Real Diamond coming out on top with a 5-4 win over previously undefeated but already promoted Oast Cottage. Kev Downs won the all important 5th game for Real . Diamonds Dave Wallace also hit two 180`s during the match.

The only team that can stop the Real Diamond getting promoted are the Crown & Sceptre B, who had a 5-4 win Vs the Hope Inn. Crowns Paul Biles hit his third 180 of the campaign.

Archer Arrows Mick Cock hit a 180 in his sides 7-2 win over Wheelwrights B. Bull E also won 7-2 over DSAA B with the Angling clubs Zach Pilcher hitting a 180.

Sue Raines was the Heroine for the Falstaff, Sportsman A took a 4-1 lead before the Falstaff hit back to win 5-4 with Sue winning the last game.

Into Div 3 & leaders Boars Head C won 6-3 Vs Harvey B with the `Moose` Colin Caley hitting a 180.

Admiral Harvey A lead the chasing pack with a 7-2 win over the Golden Lion A. Phoenix A moved into 3rd place by thrashing Boars Head B 8-1. And the weekly Boars Head Derby match was won by the A side who defeated Utd 6-3.

Division four leaders Three Cups B had a 9-0 walk over Vs Golden Lion B. Second place Crown & Sceptre A beat Sportsman B 5-4. The Carriers bettered the Cherry Tree 6-3. And Mark Thompson of the St Pauls Club hit a 180 in his sides 7-2 lose to DSAA A.

Three Dover League players made there way to Braintree on Saturday for the British Darts Classic. Phoenix Rangers Colin Townley failed to get past the first round, But team-mate Mel Beckett & Hairy Bull youngster Lewis Venes did win there opening games before losing in the second round. With Lewis losing to former World Matchplay champion Peter Evison.

Morgo

16th July 2010

The Phoenix Rangers picked up their second win in as many weeks in division one of the Dover Invitation Darts League, with a cracking 6-3 win against the Hairy Bull.

The Hairy have been on championship pace for much of the season, so most people would have been predicting a Hairy win. The Phoenix were leading 2-1 after the pairs and stretched that lead to 3-1 thanks to a Dave Dixon win against Callum Crutchfield.

Wayne Venes pulled won back for the Hairy beating Jim Fenton, this was followed by a 2-0 win for Paul “Squiddy” Swinerd to make the score 4-2 to the Phoenix.

An in form Ritchie Buckle pulled one back for the Hairy, beating Colin Townley 2-1 before Martin Miller won the all important fifth game of the match to seal victory for the Phoenix against the Hairy skipper Dave Gealer.

The best was saved to last though, Mel Beckett of the phoenix beat Steve Clark in just fifteen and thirteen darts, for those statisticians out there this was a 107.35 three darts average. Cracking darts!!

The game also included five 180’s, Ritchie Buckle hitting two whilst Mel Becket, Dave Gealer and Steve Clark notched one each.

The Hairy have played the bottom three sides in the last three weeks, recording just the one win against the Bull B. Defeats against the Diamond and the Phoenix have seriously hit their chances of winning the title this season.

The Bull A are now in the driving seat for the title. There were no slip ups for them this week as they brushed aside the Diamond 7-2. Andy Howell hit a 180 during the match, whilst the Diamond will be ruing those missed doubles once again.

The Archer have moved up to third spot in the table after a 6-3 win against the Malvern Movers. They raced to a 5-2 lead with Tony Knott beating Paul Perkins in the seventh game to seal victory. Knotty also hit a 180 in this game.

Tony Selby also hit a maximum in the match and Chris Bent checked out on 118.

The Three Cups bounced back from last weeks defeat to beat the league form side, the Wheelwrights. The Wheelies were on a seven game unbeaten run. Steve Terry was the star man on the night for the Cups, hitting a 180 and checking out on 110 in his singles win against Lee Dawkins.

Last week I asked the question, who is unbeaten this season along with Paul Martin. Lee Ware of the Bull A, Ritchie Buckle of the Hairy Bull and Jim Penman of the Archer also have their 100% records in tack with just four games left of the league campaign.

The Falstaff picked up their second win of the season in division two with a surprising 5-4 win against the Archer Arrows. They do still have an outside chance of survival this season, but will need to pick three more wins during the next month.

The Oast Cottage beat the Crown & Sceptre 5-4 to stay comfortable at the top of the table, and this coming week they play the Real Diamonds, their closest rivals. The Crowns Paul Biles hit his second 180 of the season during this match.

The Diamonds prepared for their top of the table clash with a 5-4 win against the Sportsman A and the Hope Inn sneaked a 5-4 victory against the Bull E winning the last game of the night.

The DSAA B recorded their third win in a row with a 6-3 score line against the Wheelwrights B, this result completed the double against the Wheelies this season.

Division Three is still very tight at the top. Current leaders the Boars Head C are definite favourites at the moment, sitting four points clear of the Admiral Harvey A. The Harvey do have a game in hand though. This week the Boars Head C beat their stable mated, the Boars Head A 6-3.

The Boars Head B are one of the inform sides, and this week they made it six wins on the bounce in their 8-1 victory against the Boars Head United. Roy Marsh checked on 48 rather cheekily, hitting double 16 and then double 8. Roy has promised it wasn’t a fluke and will try it again this week.

The Golden Lion A won 6-3 against the relegated Wheelwrights C and the Admiral Harvey A won the bragging rights against the Admiral Harvey B, with a tight 5-4 win.

The Crown & Sceptre A beat the Priory Hotel 5-4 in division four, a result which effectively ends the Priory’s chances of winning the league, however they are still within a shout of runners up spot.

The Three Cups B are sitting second at the moment, a 6-3 win against the Cherry Tree ensured that they stay on the tails of the Crown.

The unpredictable DSAA A beat the Golden Lion 6-3, and the St Pauls Club won by the same margin against the Sportsman.

For the next two weeks I am away on holiday, so all text message results should be sent to Gareth Morgan on 07799 120 523 in my absence.

A reminder to all teams that at the end of the league campaign this summer we do have the pro night and we start the team knockouts. The team knockouts have been restructured this season, as agreed at the AGM. The A2Z travel team knockout will be for division one and two sides only, whilst the Heritage International Transport team knockout will be for division three and four teams only. The draw for these knockouts will be made on Friday 20^th August before the blind pairs at the Archer.

Due to the restructure of the annual pro events and the team knockouts the 180’s and highest finishes will run for the league campaign only. The main reason being that the winners will still have the opportunity to receive their awards from the professional darts players at the presentation night.

Paul Turner

9th July 2010

The Hairy Bull and the Bull A both bounced back from their defeats last week with impressive wins.

The Hairy rolled over the Bull B with a thumping good 9-0 victory; however Baz Robertson of the Bull B was oh so close to taking the scalp of Ritchie Buckle in his singles, winning the first leg only for Buck to turn the game around. If the Bull B lose this coming Friday they will be relegated to division two.

The Bull A’s win was against the Malvern Movers was a little closer but they did run out 6-3 winners. Gordon Speakman and Kevan Hackett both hit 180s in the match. The last week of the league campaign interestingly has the Bull A taking on the Hairy Bull, which looks likely to be the season decider.

Division one is really unpredictable this season as last week the Phoenix lost against the Bull B and the Three Cups beat the Bull A, two surprising results. So to carry on with the unpredictability, the Phoenix beat the Three Cups this week 7-2. I doubt anybody would have predicted that result!

A very tight game between the Diamond and the Archer was sneaked by the Archer. The Diamond were leading 2-1 and 4-3, however an inform Baz Robinson beat Brian Pearce 2-1 and Chris Bent beat Tony Brown by the same margin to claim a 5-4 victory for the Archer, in a good old ding dong game of darts. Paul Martin hit his first 180 of the season and remains unbeaten in his singles for the Diamond.

Any other players that have gone this far in the season without losing let me know.

The Oast Cottage and the Real Diamonds meet this Friday, in a match that will either see the Oast virtually secure the title or the Diamond keeping the outside chance of a title winning season alive.

This week the Oast cottage made it thirteen wins on the bounce with a 6-3 win against the Archer Arrows and the Real Diamonds beat the Bull E 5-4. Jim Yarwood won the all important last game of the match with a 2-1 win against Mark “Forrest” Culley.

The Crown & Sceptre B will be hoping for an Oast win, as they still have hope of achieving the runners up spot. They play the Diamond in the last game of the season, which could decide their fate. This week they Falstaff 5-4.

The DSAA B won 7-2 against the Hope Inn and the Sportsman A picked up a 6-3 win against the Wheelwrights.

In division three the Boars Head C have a two point lead over the Phoenix A. This week they beat the unpredictable Golden Lion A 5-4 whilst the Phoenix made short work of the Wheelwrights C winning 8-1. The Wheelwrights are the first side in all the divisions that are officially relegated.

The Admiral Harvey A beat the Boars Head United 8-1 and they stay third in the table just in front of the Boars Head B who won 7-2 against the Harvey B.

In division three the Three Cups beat the DSAA A 5-4. Dimmi Godden won the all important final game of the night against Tony Whit to win the match.

Three Cups look like one of the favourites for promotion this season along with the Crown & Sceptre A who this week beat the Golden Lion A 8-1. The Priory Hotel are hot on the heels of the two leaders and they picked up a 7-2 win against the Cherry Tree.

There is probably one more side with a real chance of promotion to division three, the Carriers Arms. They beat the Sportsman 5-4 and sit in fourth place on level points with the Priory.

The league recently announced that the pro nights will now switch to the summer league campaign due to the increasing difficulty to book players around April and May. World Number 22 and former BDO World Champion Steve “The Adonis” Beaton will be in attendance with the current world ranked number 11 Andy “The Hammer” Hamilton.

The event will be on Friday 24th September at Bluebirds and once again pairs and singles events will be held to win the chance to play the pros. The two pros will also be playing a best of 7 leg match against each other.

Players of the league can win the chance to play the pros by entering blind pairs on the 20^th August at the Archer and the divisional singles on the 27^th August at the Whitfield Club. More details are available at www.doverdarts.co.uk

Paul Turner

2nd July 2010

The top two sides in division one of the Dover Invitation Darts League both suffered 5-4 defeats this week, which gives the chasing pack hope that they muscle in on the title chase.

Amazingly there is just four points separating the top five sides with both the Malvern and the Three Cups having games in hand, so it should be an exciting run in.

The Bull A were 2-0 down in the pairs before they made a comeback to lead the Three Cups 4-2. However the Cups battled on and won the last three singles of the night with Andy Swan beating Gordon Speakman, Luke Blythe beating Kevan Hackett and finally Steve Terry beating Del Palmer.

Del Boy took the first leg checking out on 112, lovely jubbly!, only for Steve to take the final two legs of the match checking out on 86 to claim victory for the Cups. Lee Ware hit two 180’s in the match for the Bull and if it wasn’t for bounces outs he might have had four.

The Hairy Bull went 3-0 down in the pairs against the Diamond, and then went on to win the next four games to lead 4-3. Paul Martin stopped the rot for the Diamond beating Steve Clark 2-0 and finally Gareth Speakman beat Steve “Olly” Olver 2-0 in the final singles game of the match.

This match was littered with big scoring, 180’s were recorded by Wayne Venes, Lewes Venes who hit two and Tony Brown. That was the third 180 in as many weeks for Tony and the sixth in five weeks for Wayne. Cracking darts!!

In a week when the two inform Bull sides lost, would you believe it the previously undefeated Bull B picked up their first win of the season. They best the Phoenix Rangers 6-3 and a special mention to two of out elder players, Billy “Dinga” Bell and Barry Robertson who won their third pairs on the bounce.

In the final game from division one the Wheelwrights Arms extended their excellent run of form with a 6-3 win against the Archer. This was another game with plenty of trebles being hit. Maximum scores were hit by Chris Bent and Gareth Morgan of the Archer and John Hughes and Karl Gear of the Wheelwrights A.

Still with the only unbeaten winning record in all of the league is the Oast Cottage in division two. This week they beat the Hope Inn 6-3 and remain four points clear of their closest rivals the Real Diamonds. The Diamonds won 7-2 against the Archer Arrows with Ady Freimanis hitting a 180 for the Arrows.

The Crown & Sceptre B have jumped up to third in the table after their 5-4 win against the Wheelwrights B, and now have an outside chance of taking the second promotion spot.

The DSAA B ended to two game losing run with a 6-3 win against the Sportsman B. Mark Comley of the Sportsman hit a 180 in his side defeat which leaves them ever so close to the relegation zone.

The Bull E are another side that have picked up their second win in as many weeks with a 6-3 win against the Falstaff.

The Boars Head C beat the Wheelwrights C 6-3; Don Morton of the Boars Head C won the all important fifth game with a nice 104 out shot.

The Phoenix A moved up to second spot in the table after their 5-4 win against the Boars Head United and the Golden lion A’s 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Boars Head B.

The Admiral Harvey A’s 6-3 win against the Boars Head A moved them up to third in the table, with four points splitting the top six sides in the division.

The Three Cups B have moved to the top of the division four after they beat the Priory Hotel 5-4 and the in form Carriers beat the beat the Crown & Sceptre A 6-3.

The Sportsman B picked up just their second win of the season when they beat the DSAA A 6-3 and finally the St Pauls Club beat the Cherry Tree 8-1.

Paul Turner

25th June 2010

The Oast Cottage look unstoppable in their quest for the title in the Dover Invitation Darts League Division two, as they continue their 100% unbeaten run this season.

This week they played the Sportsman A and ran out 7-2 winners to maintain their four point lead over the Real Diamonds. Kevin Elliot and Paul James checked out on 108 and 106 respectively and Mick Mendham recorded his first 180 of the season for the Cottagers.

The Diamonds won 6-3 against the Hope Inn and look set for a return to division one with runners up spot. They are currently four points clear of the third placed Archer Arrows who some what surprisingly lost 8-1 to the Bull E.

Kev Burns of the Diamonds hit a great 15 darts leg and also checked out on 103 in his singles and Alan Humphries hit a 180 for the Bull E.

At last after eleven attempts the Falstaff have picked up their first win of the season, a 7-2 victory against the Wheelwrights B.

Darren Hyder of the Crown & Sceptre B checked out on 136 in his sides 7-2 win against the DSAA. The Crown have an outside chance of completing three promotions in as many seasons, but they do need the Diamonds to slip up and for their own good form to continue. That was the Crowns fifth win on the bounce.

In division one the Hairy Bull completed the league double over the Archer. The Hairy were leading 2-1 after the pairs and an in form Wayne Venes extended that to 3-1. The Archer then turned the game in their favour as they won the next three singles to lead the match 4-3. However, Steve Clark and Ritchie Buckle won their singles matches to claim victory for the Hairy.

Wayne Venes hit two 180’s in the match and his team mate Martin Pepe recorded his first of the season.

The Bull A won 8-1 against the Bull B. Andy Howell continued with his own super form hitting two 180’s to move him joint top of the current leader board with Mel Beckett of the Phoenix Rangers on six. John Petts of the Bull B also hit a 180.

The Diamond completed the double over the Phoenix Crusaders, with both wins by a 5-4 margin. Tony Brown hit his second 180 in as many weeks for the Diamond as they stretch four points clear of the Crusaders who are currently in the second relegation place.

The Wheelwrights A continued their super form with a 7-2 win against the Malvern Movers. Colin Hopkins of the Wheelies hit a maximum and Dean Miller of the Movers checked out 150.

The current highest finish leader is Barry Bullock who checked out on 161 against the Hairy Bull.

In division three, the most unpredictable league campaign I can remember, the Boars Head C bounced back from last weeks defeat to beat the Boars Head United 6-3. They now have a two point lead at the top of the table as the Golden Lion A slipped up losing 6-3 against the Admiral Harvey B.

The Boars Head B won 8-1 against the Wheelwrights C with Roy Marsh being the only player that lost for the Boars Head. In the final game from the division the Phoenix A won 7-2 against the Boars Head A.

The DSAA A probably picked up the surprise result of the night in division four. They beat current leaders the Crown & Sceptre A 5-4. Stu “Hot Pot” Goldsmith checked out on 103 for the Crown in the match.

The Three Cups B have been in cracking form of late but this week they lost 5-4 against the St Pauls Club. St Pauls must be their bogey side as they completed the double on the high flying cups side.

The Priory Hotel won 5-4 against the Sportsman and jumped back up to second place whilst the Carriers Arms won 8-1 against the Golden Lion B. There are just two points splitting the top six sides in division four at the moment so there is plenty to play for over the next seven weeks.

Paul Turner

18th June 2010

This week it was the start of the reverse fixtures in the Dover Invitation Darts League, with teams having the opportunity to complete the double over their opponents, or to gain revenge for the defeat earlier in the year.

The fixtures coincided with England’s match against Algeria, however unlike Rooney and co some performances were a lot more impressive.

Well start with the Wheelwrights A, who are in their first season in the top flight and to be honest they are now showing the form that would not only see them in the top half of the table, but also pushing for the title.

This week they beat the current leaders 5-4 with skipper Dave Owen hitting two 180’s in the victory. The tight match went to the final game of the night with Phil Procter victorious for the Wheelies. Ben Tester of the Bull also hit a maximum in the match.

Its got tight at the top of the table, with the Hairy Bull tied with the Bull A on 12 points after their 5-4 victory against the Three Cups. Luke Blythe of the Cups hit a maximum in his singles match against Ritchie Buckle, however Buckle took out an impressive 80 checkout hitting the double 20 twice.

The Malvern Movers will be having those if only thoughts this week. They lost against the Phoenix Rangers 6-3, a result that sees the Malvern move down to third in the table, just two points behind the leaders.

Mick Law of the Phoenix hit a maximum as the Rangers cam from 2-1 down after the pairs to win five of their singles. The only winner for the Malvern in the singles was Peter “Tucker” Fry.

The Diamond beat the Bull B 7-2 with Tony Brown hitting a 180 for the hosts and Alan Francombe doing the same for the Bull. Dave Green was the only singles winner for the Bull side, beating Garth Speakman.

Kevin Green sparkled for the Diamond, checking out on 143 in his singles victory.

Alan Francombe of the Bull B did point out to me that in one of my recent reports that I was wrong when stating that the Bull A were the last side in the top division one to lose their 100% record, the Bull B still have a 100% record in tact, played 9 lost 9.

In division two the Oast Cottage did keep up their 100% record as they beat the Bull E 6-3. Their closest rivals the Real Diamonds are fighting hard to stay in touch with the leaders and this week they beat the Falstaff (nee Eagle) 7-2. Colin Habbershaw checked out on 112 for the Diamonds.

The Archer Arrows continued with their cracking form this season by beating the DSAA B 6-3, they currently sit third in the table.

Darren Hyder of the Crown & Sceptre checked out 120 by hitting shanghai on the twenties in his side 5-4 victory against the Sportsman A and finally the Wheelwrights B won by the same margin against the Hope Inn.

Division three is as tight as it can get with just two points separating the top five in the division. The Boars Head B beat the current leaders the Boars Head C 7-2 this week whilst the Admiral Harvey A won by the same margin against the Wheelwrights C.

The Three Cups B ended the ended the great run of the Carriers Arms by winning 5-4. This result puts them on level points with the Crown & Sceptre, however the Crown do have a game in hand.

The DSAA A completed the double over the Cherry Tree with a 5-4 victory and the Priory Hotel romped to an 8-1 victory against the St Pauls Club.

Paul Turner

11th June 2010

We have reached the half way stage of the Dover Invitation Darts League summer campaign and this is normally around the time that you see who will really be pushing for promotion and who will fighting the relegation battle.

As usual the Bull A are one of the top sides in division one, and this season one of their closest rivals are the stable mates the Hairy Bull. The played each other this week in a high scoring tight game with the Bull A winning 6-3.

Game of the night has to be Andy Howell for against Wayne Venes, with Howell of the Bull A winning 2-0. Andy completed the first leg in 12 darts and the second leg in 15 which gave him a 111 three dart average. Both hit 180 in this game and Andy also checked out on 136. Cracking darts from both players!!

Ritchie Buckle (Hairy) and Lee Ware (Bull A) both also hit 180’s in the match.

The Wheelwrights A made it four wins on the bounce. After losing their first four games the side have now settled in to division and will be hoping to push into the top half of the table in the second half of the season. This week they beat the Bull B 7-2.

The Malvern Movers moved up to second on the table with a 5-4 win against the Three Cups. This win ended the Cups five game unbeaten run.

Mark Clayton and Peter “Tucker” Fry both hit 180’s for the Malvern and their team mate Tony Selby hit a 15 dart leg and a 116 finish. Andy Swan of the Cups also completed a leg in just 15 darts.

The Archer sit fourth in the table after a 7-2 win against the Phoenix Crusaders. Chris Bent of the Archer hit two 180’s whilst Mel Beckett of the Phoenix hit his sixth of the season. Beckett also checked out on 153 whilst his team mate Colin Townley checked out on 110.

In division two the Oast Cottage are winning convincingly every week. This week they won 8-1 against the Wheelwrights B, with A Boxell of the Oast hitting his first 180 of the season.

Their closest rivals so far this season have been the Real Diamonds. However they slipped up this week losing 5-4 against the Crown & Sceptre B. Paul Niles of the Crown hit a maximum in the victory that moved the Crown up to fourth in the table with a real chance of pushing for the runners up spot in the league.

The DSAA B bounced back from two rather heavy defeats by beating the Eagle 7-2 and the Archer Arrows won by the same margin against the Hope Inn.

In the final from the division the Bull E beat the Sportsman A 6-3.

In division three the Boars Head C and the Boars Head A are joint top of the table despite the Boars Head S losing this week 5-4 in their local derby match against the Boars Head B.

The Golden Lion A lost for the second week on the bounce 5-4, with this weeks defeat at the hands of the Boars Head United.

Both of the Admiral Harvey sides won 7-2, with the A side beating the Phoenix A and the B side winning against the Wheelwrights C.

Simon Fletcher of the Wheelwrights C hit a 180 and his team mate Ben Baldwin checked out on 114.

In division four the current leaders the Crown & Sceptre A beat the St Pauls 6-3, whilst the Priory Hotel ended the Golden Lions recent good form with an impressive 8-1 victory.

The Carriers Arms beat the DSAA A 6-3 to stretch their winning run to five games and the Sportsman B beat the Cherry tree 6-3.

The 2010 Dover Open details have been finalised. The Open will take place on the 6^th November 2010 at the Whitfield Club. We are pleased to announce that the Prize Fund this year will be £500 winner, Runner Up £250, Semi Finalists £50 and Quarter Finalists £25.

We are also please to announce that this year prize funds will also be guaranteed for Women’s and Youth Competitions.

The Ladies competition is to be sponsored by national darts magazine “Darts World” with a guaranteed first prize of £100.

The youth competition is sponsored by S&P Brisley and again the guaranteed first prize is £100.

All together guaranteed prize fund for all competitions is £1150, and to make things even better the entrance fee is staying at one of the lowest in the region. The main open will be £6 to enter whilst the women’s and youth is just £3.

For more details go to www.doverdarts.co.uk

4th June 2010

The Bull A bounced back from their 6-3 defeat against the Archer last week with a thumping 9-0 victory against the Phoenix Rangers. Andy Howell was the star performer for the Bull hitting two 180’s in the match. They were also in the same leg of pairs with his partner Gordon Speakman.

However, the Archer did continue with their good form after losing to the hands of Three Cups, who of late have hit some real form. That’s was their fifth victory on the bounce. The game of the night was from Jim Penman and Steve Terry with the three legs e=being finished in 14, 15 and 16 darts. Jim Penman came out on top!

Ray Bourne checked out on 133 for the Cups and Luke Blythe beat Tony Knott in the all important final deciding game of the night.

Malvern Movers are sitting third in the table after their 6-3 win against the Bull B. Alan Francombe of the Bull hit a maximum in the match, his second of the season. Man of the match on the night was Mark “The Modest” Clayton, as his text message result confirmed he was “Brill”.

Another team on the move up the table is the Wheelwrights A, who have recorded three wins on the bounce. This week they beat the Diamond 7-2. Brian Pearce and Paul Turner both hit maximums in the match and Turner also checked out on 118.

Division two and the Oast Cottage are flying. They beat the DSAA B 9-0 to remain top of the table in front of the Real Diamonds. Real are staying in touch with good darts themselves, with a 6-3 win this week against the Wheelwrights C. Steve “Ginge” Habbershaw checked out on 114 for the Diamonds.

Probably the surprise package in division two this season is the Archer Arrows. They recorded their fifth win of the season with a 5-4 win against the Sportsman. They currently sit third in the table.

The Crown & Sceptre beat the Bull E 5-4 and finally the Hope Inn beat the Eagle 6-3.

Division three is a tight affair at the top of the table. None of the sides are putting a real good run together to stretch a lead and we have four teams within two points of each other.

The current leaders are the Boars Head C who beat the Admiral Harvey A 7-2. Craig “Big Man” Morton checked out on 118 for the new table toppers.

The Golden Lion A were top of the table, but this week they lost to against the Boars Head A 6-3. That’s four wins on the bounce for the Boars Head.

A good night all round for the Boars Head as all three sides that played on the night picked up victories. The Boars Head United the last of the three with a 6-3 win against the Wheelwrights C.

The final game from division three saw the Phoenix A beat the Admiral Harvey B 5-4.

The Crown & Sceptre A in division four beat the Cherry Tree 7-2 to stay top of the table and the Three Cups B are sitting second after their 6-3 win against the Sportsman.

It’s a bit of a toss up this season who is the most improved side in division four. The Three Cups or the Golden Lion B. The Lion picked up a 7-2 win this week against the St Pauls club to move up to third in table with a game in hand over the Cups.

The Carriers are on a roll as well, winning 7-2 against the Priory Hotel.

We are also please to announce that this year prize funds will also be guaranteed for Women’s and Youth Competitions.

The Ladies competition is to be sponsored by national darts magazine “Darts World” with a guaranteed first prize of £100.

The youth competition is sponsored by S&P Brisley and again the guaranteed first prize is £100.

For more details go to www.doverdarts.co.uk

Paul Turner

28th May 2010

There was just two sides in division one of the Dover Invitation Darts League with 100% records, and surprisingly they both lost those records in the latest round of matches.

The Bull A hosted the Archer in a game that was full of 180’s and big finishes. The Archer took lead 2-1 after the pairs, with Bull skipper Ash Battie hitting a maximum for the third time this season.

Kieran Dodd then beat Kevan Hackett to extend the Archers lead to 3-1. Kevan Hackett also hit a 180. Chris Bent stretched that lead to 4-1 by beating Gordon Speakman 2-0, Chris also hit his third maximum of the season.

Gary Mills pulled a leg back for the Bull by beating Gary Biggs 2-0, however, Archer captain Gareth Morgan won the all important fifth game beating Del Palmer 2-1.

Ash Battie capped off a good personal night by checking out on 156 in his singles victory against Jason “Penfold” Davey. The final score was 6-3 with Baz “Monk” Robinson beating Ben Tester 2-1.

The Hairy Bull lost by the same margin against the Wheelwrights. The Wheelies had an indifferent start to the season, but have late they have turned a corner. They were 2-1 down after the pairs but went on to win five of the six singles. The only winner in the singles for the Hairy was Ritchie Buckle. Lee Dawkins of the Wheelwrights hit a maximum in the match.

The Malvern came from 4-2 down to beat the Diamond. Gareth Speakman hit his first 180 of the season for the Diamond in his 2-0 victory against Tony Selby. Jeff Such won the all important fifth game for the Malvern.

The Three Cups beat the Bull B 6-3, highlights of this match included Billy “Dinga” Bell hitting a maximum on the 19’s and Luke Blythe checking out on 134.

With all the 100% records gone in division one, there is only one side left within all the divisions still boasting that unbeaten run, the Oast Cottage.

This week they beat the winless Eagles 7-2 to remain top of the tree ahead of the Real Diamonds. This week Real beat the DSAA B 8-1, or 8- Steve “Ginge” Habbershaw. Steve lost 2-0 against Steph Cornish.

Darren Hyder hit his second 180 of the season for the Crown & Sceptre B in his sides 5-4 win against the Archer Arrows and the Bull E beat the Wheelwrights B 7-2.

The Boars Head C came from 4-2 down to beat the Phoenix A 5-4. Craig, Donna and Don Morton all won their singles to turn the game around.

Great day for the Admiral Harvey as both sides won. The A side beat the Boars Head B 6-3, with Ricky Edwards hitting a 180 and the B side won 5-4 against the Boars Head United with Doug Isacs also hitting the lipstick three times.

In the final game from the division the Boars Head A beat the Wheelwrights C 6-3. The Boars Head A side are one of three sides sitting on ten points, along with the Golden Lion A and the Boars Head C.

Every season we have a surprise team emerge from nowhere, and this season is no different. The Three Cups are sitting second in division four, after beating the previously undefeated Crown & Sceptre A 6-3. A special mention this week for Kerry Burdett of the Crown; who in her singles checked out on 100 and 85.

Another side that are having a good season is the Golden Lion B. They won for the fifth time this season, beating the Cherry Tree 5-4 and the Priory Hotel won 8-1 against the DSAA A.

And finally the St Pauls Club lost 6-3 against the King Edward. The Edward side are now playing from the Carriers Arms.

Paul Turner

21st MAY 2010

The Hairy Bull maintained their 100% record at the top of division 1 with a 5-4 victory over the Malvern Movers. `Michelin Man` Callum Crutchfield hit a 14 dart leg to defeat Paul Perkins in the final game to give the Hairys the win. Richie Buckle 2, Dean Marsh and Steve Clarke all hit 180`s for the leaders, with Malverns Richard Wood having a tidy 104 finish. Hairy Bull are away to Wheelwrights A this week.

The other unbeaten side in Div 1, Bull A had a bye this week but play the Archer this coming week.

Last seasons champions the Diamond are finding this season a bit tougher after falling to their 4th defeat in six games. The Three cups A inflicting a 7-2 defeat on the Heathfield Ave side.

The Bull B who are yet win to this season lost 7-2 to the inconsistent Archer who were 7-0 up at one stage. Chris `Brenty` Bent hit his second 180 of the season for the Whitfield boys.

Wheelwrights A won their first ever game in the top flight by beating fellow promoted side Phoenix Rangers 6-3. Rangers Mel Beckett hit his 5th 180 of the season.

The top two in div 2 met with one 100% record due to fall. Shepherdswell`s finest the Oast House came out on top winning 6-3 over Colin Habbershaw`s Real Diamond side.
Bob Clarke of the Archer Arrows hit a 112 checkout to give his side victory over Wheelwrights B 5-4. DSAA B defeated Bull E 5-4, Sportsman A beat bottom side King Edward Eagles 6-3. Fred Hall`s Hope Inn gained their 2nd win of the season, 6-3 over Crown & Sceptre B with every game going the 3 legs. One results missing from last week was Wheelwrights B 4-5 DSAA B.

Into division 3 & leaders Golden Lion A beat Pumpkin Pete`s unbeaten Admiral Harvey A side 5-4. 2nd place Boars Head C won 5-4 vs. the Harveys B side with `Sniper` Dave Graham hitting a 180. Third place Phoenix A won 5-4 at the Boars Head B. And in the weekly Boars Head derby match the A side came out on top 5-4 vs. United.

Div 4 early season pacesetters the Crown & Sceptre A remain unbeaten with a 5-4 victory at Sportsman B. Dimmi Godden hit a 180 for the Three Cups B in a 5-4 win against Golden Lion B, in the battle at the bottom King Edward came out on top vs. Cherry Tree 6-3. And finally DSAA A beat St Pauls club 7-2

Morgo

14th May 2010

The Bull A are sitting top of the Dover Invitation Dart League division one after a 6-3 victory against the Diamond.

The Bull were leading 2-1 after the pairs and stretched that lead to 3-1 when Gordon Speakman beat Tony Brown. The Diamond rallied back to 3-3 thanks to victories from Paul Martin and Brian Pearce against Kevan Hackett and Andy Howell.

However, the Bull then went on to win the last three singles with Lee Ware, Gary Mills and Ash Battie all victorious.

Their closest rivals at the moment are the Hairy Bull, who are the only other side in the league with 100% record. This week they beat the Phoenix Rangers 5-4. Steve Clark hit a 180, Steve “Olly” Lover checked out on 109 and Martin Pepe checked out 103 all for the inform Hairy.

The Wheelwrights A won the second division at a canter, however they have yet to record a victory in division one. A 6-3 defeat to the hands of the Three Cups this week included a 180 for the Cups star man of the night Andy Swan. James Warr and Ray Bourne hit a great 15 dart leg of pairs.

The Malvern Movers recorded a comfortable 6-3 win against the Archer. 2-1 up after the pairs Paul Perkins, Mark Clayton and Richard Wood all won their singles to reach the all important five game mark.

In division two the Real Diamonds won 9-0 for the second time this season. The Sportsman were on the receiving end this week, and Kev Burns hit his first 180 of the campaign for the early pace setters.

Next week they play the only other undefeated side the Oast Cottage. Its not a Europa Cup final for the “Cottagers”, however even at this early stage of the season the winners will believe they have a real chance of winning the title. This week they beat the Crown & Sceptre B 5-4 with Landlord Kevin Elliot hitting a 180.

Bob Dryden of the Bull E hit a 180 in his sides 8-1 romp against the Hope Inn. Surprisingly this was just the second win of the season for the Bull.

The Archer Arrows bounced back after their two recent defeats with a 7-2 win against the King Edward Eagles. The Archer boys have started the season well, they may have lost two games but they were against the two unbeaten sides in the league.

The King Edward Eagles have moved to the Eagle now that the King Edward has closed.

Division three and the Admiral Harvey A side won their derby match against the B team 7-2 to remain undefeated.

Dave Whiting of the Golden Lion A hit a 180 in their 7-2 win against the Wheelwrights C, a result that combined with the Boars Head C’s defeat against the Boars Head A puts them top of the tree.

The Boars Head A match was won all on the final game with Neil Roberts beating Don Morton to clinch the match.

In the weekly Boars Head derby match, the Boars Head B beat the Boars Head United 5-4. That’s four defeats in a row for United. Mike Barnes hit a 180 for the “B” team.

Sarah Angus of the Golden Lion B hit a 180 in their 5-4 win against the DSAA B. The Lion B side won just the three games in the winter league, but they have started the summer campaign in good form winning three of their four games to date. Cracking darts Sarah!!!

The early leaders of the fourth division are the Crown & Sceptre A. They beat the Priory Hotel 6-3 and remain the only side undefeated in the division.

The St Pauls club beat the Sportsman B 6-3 and finally the Three Cups B beat the Cherry Tree 8-1.

Paul Turner

7th May 2010

In the latest round of fixtures in the Dover Invitation Darts League we have some of the usual suspects picking up wins along with some new challengers for high finishes emerging.

The Bull A picked up their four win on the bounce with a 6-3 win against the Malvern Movers. Lee Ware was the star man for the Bull, not only did he hot a 180 in his match he also hit a great 13 dart leg. Malvern skipper Paul Perkins hit two maximums on the night and Mark Clayton hit his second of the season as well.

Ritchie Buckle hit his first 180 of the season in the Hairy Bulls 6-3 win against the Bull B. The Hairy are the only other side in the division one to remain unbeaten and will be hoping they can keep this early season form up and put in a title push this year.

Special note this week to Barry Bullock of the Bull B who checked out on 161 during this match, the highest finish so far this season and beats Ritchie Buckles 160 from the first game of the season.

The Archer game from 4-2 down to win their match 5-4 against the Diamond. Paul “Mongo” Taylor, Tony Knott and Jim Penman won the last three games of the night. Brian Pearce checked out on 102 for the Diamond and Chris Bent hit a 180 for the Archer.

The Archer were not the only side who made a comeback on the night. The Three Cups were 2-1 but went on two win five of the six singles to win the match 6-3 against the Phoenix Rangers. Mel Beckett hit his fourth 180 of the season in the match, however he did lose 2-0 against Ray Bourne.

In division two there are two sides that have 100% records, the Real Diamonds and the Oast Cottage.

Real picked up a 6-3 win against the Bull E whilst the Oast Cottage beat the Archer Arrows 5-4. Billy Roberts was on fine scoring form hitting two 180’s in his singles, however he lost the game 2-0.

The DSAA B the Hope Inn 7-2 and the Sportsman A beat the Wheelwrights B 6-3. Ryan Sart hit a 180 for the Wheelies. In the final game from division two the Crown & Sceptre beat the King Edward Eagles 5-4 to bounce back from two consecutive defeats.

Division three the Golden Lion A were 4-1 down against the unbeaten Boars Head C only to turn the game around and win 5-4. Mark Bax and Dave Cassell won the last two matches for the Lion.

The Phoenix A beat the Wheelwrights 7-2 and the Admiral Harvey A beat the Boars Head United 6-3. It wasn’t a good day for the Boars Head as all three teams that played that night lost, the final game from the division went 5-4 to the Harvey B against the Boars Head B.

In division four the Crown & Sceptre A made it three wins out of three this week with an 8-1 victory against the Golden Lion B. Stuart Goldsmith checked out on 101 for the Crown.

The DSAA A made it two wins on the bounce with a 7-2 victory against the Three Cups.

And finally, the Priory Hotel beat the Cherry Tree 5-4. The corresponding fixture last season went on favour of the Cherry Tree which ultimately ended the Priory’s hopes of promotion.

Paul Turner

PRO NIGHT

Terry “The Bull” Jenkins made the eagerly awaited appearance for the Dover Invitation Darts League winter presentation night at Bluebirds on Saturday, with over 175 people in attendance on the night.

Terry is the current number five in the world and a finalist in no less than seven PDC major finals, and he has definitely picked up a few more fans from Dover.

He played 16 local players in an exhibition of darts which included playing on his knees, standing on a chair, playing with his opponent’s darts, wearing his opponent’s glasses, playing on just the outer and inner bullseye and in some cases a combination of these handicaps.

Terry set the tone early beating Jim Yarwood of the Real Diamonds checking out on 80 with two darts hitting double top, double top.

Another highlight of the evening was a 144 checkout, Terry went, treble 18, double top and bullseye.

It wasn’t all about “The Bull” though. Andy Howell of the Bull A hit a 180 in his match, however, Terry did come back to beat him.

Darren Hyder of the Crown & Sceptre B and Mark Clayton of the Malvern were the only two players on the night to beat him which brought a huge cheer from the big crowd.

Terry was gent all night, signing autographs and posing for and endless amount of photographs.

The league recently announced that the pro nights will now switch to the summer league campaign due to the increasing difficulty to book players around April and May.

The committee are pleased to announce the summer presentation will include two current top PDC players. World Number 22 and former BDO World Champion Steve “The Adonis” Beaton will be in attendance with the current world ranked number 11 Andy “The Hammer” Hamilton.

The event will be on Friday 24^th September at Bluebirds and once again pairs and singles events will be held to win the chance to play the pros. The two pros will also be playing a best of 7 leg match against each other.

PAUL TURNER

23rd April 2010

The Hairy Bull continued with their excellent start to the summer season in the Dover Invitation Darts League with a 6-3 win against the winter champions, the Diamond.

The Hairy were leading 2-1 after the pairs and then when on a great run of winning the first four singles. Wayne Venes, Ritchie Buckle, Callum Crutchfield won the first three before Steve Clark bashed his brother George Clark 2-0.

The only winners for the Diamond were Paul Martin and Tony Brown in the singles and Paul Turner and Paul Martin beating Ritchie Buckle and Wayne Venes in the pairs.

The Bull A beat the Three Cups 6-3, Andy Howell of the Bull hitting a 180 in the match. Not all good news for the Bull teams though, as the Bull B lost 6-3 against the Phoenix Rangers. This was the first victory for the Phoenix Rangers since their return to the top division.

In the final game from the top flight the Archer beat the Wheelwrights 7-2. Darren Chapple and Jim Penman of the Archer were both in great finishing form hitting 104 and 115 respectively.

Division two and just the two sides still have 100% starts to the season. The Real Diamonds are one of those sides; however this weeks match against the Archer Arrows was a close call, with Dan Wallace winning the final game 2-1 against Mick Cock to claim victory. Mick also hit a 180 in the final game of the night.

The other undefeated side is the Oast Cottage. This week they recorded a 6-3 victory against the Hope Inn to place them second in the table.

Lloyd Clubb of the Bull E checked out on 111 in his sides 8-1 victory against the King Edward Eagles. The Eagles are the only side in the division not to pick up a win to date.

The Sportsman A picked up their first win since their return to division two with a 5-4 victory against the DSAA B and the Crown & Sceptre B suffered their second 5-4 defeat on the trot, this time it was against the Wheelwrights B. Darren Hyder of the Crown did record his first 180 of the season.

Division three early leaders are the Boars Head C who have won all three of their games to date. They won 6-3 this week against the Wheelwrights C, who in stark contract to their opponents have lost their first three games.

The Boars Head A had won their first two games of the season, but this week they fell at the hands of the Admiral Harvey A 6-3. The Golden Lion A’s Dave Cassell hit a 180 in his sides 6-3 win against the Boars Head B.

In the final game from division thee the Phoenix A beat the Boars Head United 7-2.

The Crown & Sceptre A beat the King Edward 6-3 in division four with Stu “Hot Pot” Goldsmith in cracking form on his debut for the Crown. The St Pauls made it two wins on the bounce with a 5-4 victory against the Cherry Tree and the Three Cups beat the previously unbeaten Priory Hotel 6-3.

Kay Champion of the DSAA A won the final match of the night to record a 5-4 victory for the Anglers against the Sportsman.

A reminder to all players there are no fixtures on Friday 30^th April as it is the Terry Jenkins Exhibition and Presentation Night for the winter league on Saturday 1^st May at Bluebirds. More details on all the players that will be playing Terry are available on the website www.doverdarts.co.uk. Entrance into the night is £5, unless you have a valid ticket from the qualifying knockouts.

Everybody is welcome, so come along and watch the current world number 5 take on local players.

Paul Turner

16th April 2010

We start the round up of this week’s action in the Dover Invitation Darts League in division two.

The Real Diamonds are the early pace setters, winning for the second on win on the trot with a 6-3 score line against the Hope Inn. The Real will face the Archer Arrows next week who have also started the season with two wins.

The Arrows beat the Bull E 5-4 this week, with Mike Mcauley in top form on his debut appearance for the Archer.

The Cottage also made it two wins out of two recording their second 7-2 victory, with this weeks coming against the Sportsman A. The Sportsman were relegated from division one in the winter and are struggling to find that winning form, losing both of their first two matches so far.

The Wheelwrights B bounced back after last weeks defeat against the Hope with a win 6-3 against the Kind Edward Eagles. In the final game from the division the DSAA B beat the Crown & Sceptre B 5-4. Stef Cornish beat Trevor Hyder in the final game of the night to seal victory for the Anglers. Stef also hit a 180 in the match.

Division one and the Bull A recorded a 9-0 victory against the Bull B. Skipper Ash Battie hit two 180s on the night.

Mel Beckett of the Phoenix Rangers hit his third 180 in two weeks in his sides 5-4 defeat against the Diamond.

The Hairy Bulls good start to the season continued with a 6-3 victory against the Archer. The Hairy will play the Diamond next week whilst the Bull A will meet the Three Cups.

In division three the Boars Head C have set the early pace along with the Boars Head A. Both have picked up two wins in the opening two weeks of the season. This week the C side beat the Boars Head United 6-3 whilst the A side beat the Phoenix A 5-4.

The Golden Lion A beat the Admiral Harvey B 7-2, Ade Medhurst of the Harvey checked out on 107.

The Wheelwrights C hosted the Boars Head B but suffered defeat for the second time in as many weeks, narrowly missing out on the points losing 5-4.

The Golden Lion B picked up just the three wins in the winter campaign but have recorded two already this season. This week they beat the King Edward 5-4.

The Priory Hotel have also started with two wins. A 6-3 win against the Sportsman B has placed them at the top of the table. R Ebison of the Priory recorded a 180 on the night.

Next week the Priory will host the Three Cups B. The Cups lost 7-2 against the St Pauls club this week 7-2. A special mention for John Cole this week who checked out on 102 for the Cups.

Paul Turner

9th April 2010

After the shortest of breaks the Dover Invitation Darts League summer campaign started with 37 teams toeing the oche.

All the teams promoted and relegated in the winter league take on the new challenges, but how did they all fair.

The Wheelwrights A romped to a division two title last time around and started life in division one with a home tie against the Bull A. The Bull have shown top two form, for as long as I can remember and certainly started as they mean to go on by racing to a 4-0 lead. The eventual score was 7-2 to the Bull, with Gary Mills (Bull) and John Hughes (Wheelwrights) both hitting 180’s.

The second promoted side was the Phoenix Rangers, who have also been on a recruitment drive. New boy Mel Beckett hit two 180’s for the Rangers, however they lost the game 6-3 against the Malvern Movers. Mark Clayton hit a 180 and Dennis Painter hit a 171 for the Malvern who were 2-1 down after the pairs. Singles wins for Painter, Peter “Tucker” Fry, Tony Selby, Paul Perkins and Richard Wood all recording singles victories.

The winter campaign champions the Diamond started with an 8-1 win against the Bull B. Brian Pearce was in cracking form all night and hit a 180 in his singles victory. Paul Turner and Paul Martin hit a 12 dart leg in the pairs with a 121, 140, 125 and a 115 checkout.

In the final game from division one the Hairy Bull beat the Three Cups A 6-3. Wayne Venes hitting a 180 on his debut for the Hairy and Ritchie Buckle set a early bench mark for the highest finish with a 160. Luke Blythe of the Cups hit a 15 dart leg in the singles, 100, 100, 100, 100 and a 101 checkout.

Division two and the newly promoted Crown & Sceptre beat the Sportsman who were relegated from division one. The final score was 5-4 and Darren Hyder checked out on 139.

The Hope Inn were promoted along with the Crown and they also started with a win, beating the Wheelwrights B 6-3.

The Real Diamonds have bounced straight back from their division one relegation with a cracking win against the King Edward Eagles. They won 18 legs of darts and recorded a 9-0 victory.

Ady Friemans of the Archer Arrows checked out on 118 in his side 6-3 win against the DSAA B. The Oast Cottage won 7-2 against the Bull E.

Division three new boys the Admiral Harvey B lost to the Boars Head A 6-3, whilst their pub stable mates, the Harvey A picked up a 6-3 win against the Wheelwrights C.

The Golden Lion A bumped down to division three for this campaign and have not started how they would have hoped, losing 5-4 against the Phoenix A.

There will derby matches galore in division three this season, with four teams all playing from the Boars Head. In the first of the season the Boars Head C won 7-2 against the Boars Head B.

The Sportsman B were relegated to division four and started the new campaign with a 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Golden Lion A. The Three Cups B also started with a win, recording a 5-4 victory against the King Edward.

The Priory Hotel narrowly missed out on promotion in the winter and started the new season with a 5-4 win against the St Pauls, and finally the DSAA A won 6-3 against the Cherry Tree.

The summer league in the past has always been a cash prize league, however as the exhibitions with a pro are being moved to the summer seasons so will the prizes starting this season. Therefore, this summer trophies will be awarded to all winners and runners up. The winter season will now be a cash prize league. The sole purpose for making this change is so that the professional dart player will continue to present the trophies.

Paul Turner