| Darts 2005 report |
HOME!!! Despite some late withdrawals, Walsh Road saw a healthy field of 15 competitors for the Darts 2005 event on March 25. And it was a fantastic event that these men produced!! Here follows the full report. VETERAN HENRY DISHES OUT THE TRUTH Tom Henry 2 - 1 Dave Doheny Veteran Darts star Tom Henry reached the quarter finals for the first time since his 97 title win with this hard fought victory over the enigmatic Dave Doheny. Henry dominated the opening leg and posted up some impressive scores which challenged the scorekeepers to "do the math". However it was Doheny who snuck in with a neat double 1 finish while Henry was floundering on the double. Henry again piled ahead in the second but the leg went down to a shootout and despite Doheny's impressive 102 total, Henry had rammed home 108 to draw level. The third, despite being low quality was gripping stuff as the two men mauled their way down to a deciding shootout. Henry hit the minimum required to advance to the quarters by a single point. HALL FOILS HANRATTY RETURN Gregor Hall 2 - 1 Dick Hanratty Popular darts legend Dick Hanratty availed of a wildcard entry at the last minute and gave his best ever performance pushing the fancied Scot all the way. Hall kept ahead of Hanratty in the first before both men timed out on their doubles, but it was Hanratty's fine 111 that gave him the first leg. In the second, the pace was upped and Hall checked out on a tidy double 10. In the decider, Hanratty, free from the shackles of his awful clashes with Pa Ryan at the turn of the century stormed ahead and looked like forcing a massive upset until Hall calmly reduced the deficit and checked out on a tricky 5. MALABAR MAULS CONROY Ciaran Bryan 2 - 1 Barry Conroy Two giants of the oche squared up for an intruiging clash. Much talk was made of Conroy's alleged pre tournament form but in a gritty first leg, it was the Bear that checked out first with a tight double 1. In leg two however, it was Conroy who lifted the pace and hit some conistent scores to check out on double one with Malabar trailing well behind. However Conroy's finishing form deserted him in the deciding leg as despite pulling over 150 ahead, failing to get the double 3 to get him through and it was Bryan who shot double 9 to see him through. JOHNSON SENTENCES FAY TO DEFEAT Barney Johnson 2 - 1 Brendan Fay Barney Johnson and reigning champ Brendan Fay served up a thrilling encounter for the packed arena with a high scoring match filled with great shooting. Johnson stormed ahead in the the first leg with some solid scores and checked out on double 17 on his first attempt leaving Fay speechless on 220. Fay however showed he was not letting his title go without a fight in the second and tore ahead and despite Johnson closing his lead down at the end he checked out superbly on 61. Fay kept up his momentum in the final leg to pull 95 ahead until a 80, followed by a ton from Johnson set him up for a finish. A shellshocked Fay failed to score before Johnson nailed home the double 8 to ensure the curse of the reigning champ goes on, and on. IRON CURTAIN SMASHED DOWN BY SEMIKHATOV Serguei Semikhatov 2 - 1 Neil Corcoran Serguei Semikhatov served up one of the all time greatest Darts shocks as he defeated the 2001 champ in a game encounter. Corcoran, who had missed Darts 2004 wasted little time getting back into form as he pressed ahead of Semikhatov in leg one nailing a double 9 to put him in control. Semikhatov however refused to give up as the giant Russian battled on attempting to gain his first ever darts win. A dour second leg followed, with the two big men staying neck and neck and missing doubles like punch drunk fighters. A shootout ensued and Corcoran was unable to match the Russian's 97. Sergeui's blood was up now and he started to up his game further and hit some better scores. Staying ahead for all the third leg, the Russian chopped down his score and arrowed home a double 4 to give the popular Russian his first ever win prompting wild celebrations. MINISTER ON MARCH Gary Corcoran 2 - 0 Steve McGuinness Long time associate of the Marshall, Steve McGuinness made his darts debut in this round of 16 clash against the experienced minister, competing in a record ninth consecutive event. McGuinness scored better in the first leg as both players had trouble finding their feet, however it was Corcoran who checked out first on a double one, with McGuinness stuck on tops. In the second leg, Corcoran moved up a couple of gears with some consistent scores and took a double 16 check out with McGuinness on 121. BYRNE AND HENRY SERVE UP EXPLOSIVE COCKTAIL Cormac Byrne 2 - 1 James Henry Darts 2004 runner up James "The Druid" Henry came up against Cormac Byrne, a late wildcard entrant with a strong darts pedigree. Henry, a late arrival stayed slightly ahead of Byrne's strong challenge in the first leg and despite Byrne challenging strongly with some close checkout attempts, Henry managed to take the first leg on a double 1. In the second leg, the tie exploded with high scores with a 124 from Henry, and 2 100s from Byrne who took the quick leg on a double 16. In the final leg Byrne up the pace further while Henry failed to respond and checked on on double 16 with Henry on 221. RED ALERT FOR MARSHALL Denis Reilly 2 - 1 Gregor Hall An intruiging and tight quarter final tie saw the world number one and 2002 champion Reilly take on the always dangerous Gregor Hall. Reilly got out of the blocks quicker in the first and stayed ahead of the Scot before it came to checkout, and while both men had their chances, it was the Marshall who checked out first on a double one. The second leg was a better affair as Hall upped his game considerably to stay ahead throughout the leg and with the bit of breathing space he bought himself a double 8 finish. The third leg saw Hall go ahead first but miss twice on double tops before both men were stuck on double one. With a shootout looming it was the Marshall who pulled out a double 1 to roll his tanks into the semis. BYRNE OUSTS MINISTER Cormac Byrne 2 - 0 Gary Corcoran Cormac Byrne booked a semi final place with a couple of moments of genuine class against the experienced Minister. Byrne shot ahead in the first leg with some consistent 60s and a 100 and despite a late rally by Corcoran he checked out on double 17. In the second leg Byrne again gave himself a strong advantage with another 100, a 60 and a 65 but it was a brilliant 62 checkout with saw him advance to the semis with Corcoran nowhere. TRUTH HURTS FOR MALABAR BRYAN Tom Henry 2 - 0 Ciaran Bryan Old timer Tom Henry rolled back the years with a fine finishing display against the giant Bear in a tense oche battle. Henry, whittled down his score but got caught on 19 which allowed Bryan to close the gap before Henry closed down the leg with a nice double 8. The second leg saw the dangerous bear keep the pressure on Henry but it was the inaugaral King of Darts Henry who used all his experience to book a place in the semis with a double 1 checkout. SEMIKHATOV EXPELLED AFTER JOHNSON TRIAL Barney Johnson 2 - 0 Sergeui Semikhatov Sergeui Semikhatov, in the quarter finals and on a high following his epic round of 16 win, found the going tougher against the rejuvenated Barney Johnson in this interesting clash. Semikhatov never got in control of the first leg and Johnson was able to to dish out the bad news with a check out of 39 with the Russian over 100 behind. In the second leg, Johnson became bogged down in double trouble. Despite being over 200 ahead as he went for the doubles, Johnson stumbled on a number of diverse checkouts allowing Semikhatov to pile the pressure on with some checkout attempts of his own. But it was Johnson who sentenced Semikhatov to defeat with a double 1 at the death to re-appear in the semis for the first time since 2001. MARSHALL DUMPED OUT BY BYRNE Cormac Byrne 2 - 1 Denis Reilly Cormac Byrne booked a place in the finals with a tight victory over the world number one Denis Reilly. In the first both men stayed neck and neck before they struggled on the doubles. The leg looked to be heading for a shootout before Byrne shot in a double 2 to go one up. In the second leg the pace and quality improved with the Marshall taking the leg on double tops, on his first attempt this time. In the exciting decider, Byrne shot a 130 to neck ahead of the Marshall who had hit a 65 and responded with a 60. The tension amassed with a place in the final at stake and the checkout attempts starting, but it was Byrne who booked a place in the final with a double 1 leaving the Marshall's dreams of a record third final appearance on ice. TRUTH OVERRULED BY JUSTICE JOHNSON Barney Johnson 2 - 1 Tom Henry Old stager Tom Henry, a veteran of the darts scene since his inaugaral darts event victory in 1997 took on another old timer Barney Johnson, competing in his seventh consecutive event. Johnson got out of the blocks and put the pressure on Henry, who responded well as both men hit home some good scores. Johnson showed his class at checkout time hitting a great 63 to go one up. Henry refused to give up the ghost and went ahead in the second leg with some good scores, including a great 127 to set up for a finish. But Johnson hit back, and rammed home some good scores to leave both men requiring low scores. In the end it was Johnson who shot home a double 1 to set himself up with a shot at the title. BARNEY JOHNSON CROWNED 2005 KING OF DARTS Barney Johnson 3 - 2 Cormac Byrne Byrne and Johnson served up one of the great Darts finals, packed with quality and excitement. The two men stayed neck and neck in the a tense first with tight scores and tit for tat scoring a feature. Johnson, clocked a double two to take the leg before the pace was increased in the second with both men hitting 3 figures. Johnson missed a double tops allowing Byrne to come in with a double 16 to tie the match. The third leg was even better, with more conistent high scores and a mammoth 79 checkout from Byrne to leave him on the verge of victory. The fourth leg saw Johnson hit back with an all time record score of 156 to set up for a checkout, and despite Byrne coming back with 101 and 92, Johnson shot double 10 to bring the match to a deciding leg. Johnson shot ahead with a 100 and a 80, but Byrne came roaring back with a 100 of his own while Johnson burst twice on 97. With Johnson missing 6 attempts on double 11, Byrne missed a double 16 for the title. Finally Johnson returned to the oche and calmly shot home the double 11 to clinch the King of darts title sparking wild scenes in the Walsh road arena |