A trip to White Rose Club for the 4th event of the season as 118 players entered the draw, half way towards the first of 3 Grand Finals this year in the revised format as the race for places hots up.
ROUND 1
Steve Richardson 3-0 Ian Falkingham Craig Fisher 3-0 Daz Holdsworth Robert Turpin 3-0 Jordan Fisher Steve Blower 3-1 Johnny Gardner Lyndon Baxter 3-0 Rich Winpenny Reece Robinson 3-0 Maison Wilson Toni Lee Bowstead 3-1 Pete Neary Martin Spurr 3-0 Arron Holdstock Arthur Sweeting 3-0 Lance Milburn Matt Padgett 3-0 Ian Holmes Giffy Khaosoi 3-1 Brendan Plane Sean Mahoney 3-0 Ash Thorpe Ronnie Roberts 3-0 Keaton Haddock Dennis Timmins 3-0 Jason Stockings George Cook 3-0 Lee Barber Kris Namnieks 3-1 Matt Poulter Steve Booth 3-2 Tom Gurran Jordan Coltaite 3-1 Kate Livermore Ian Ward 3-0 Simon Hopkins Darrel Bainbridge 3-2 Bryan Harrison John Clifford 3-2 Trevor Tye Lee Bugden 3-0 Cameron West Adam Frier 3-1 Mandy Mc'Kenzie Kevin Gray 3-2 James Storey Louise Simmonds 3-1 Peter Baker Laura Tye 3-2 Mark Hanslip Brendan Marren 3-1 Rick Waite Andy Ward 3-2 Steve O'Donnell Jaron Esteve 3-0 Josh Clough Derek Lumley 3-0 Sam Loader Jonathan Hewitt 3-0 Kai Haddock Richard Yates 3-2 Matt Creen Steve Hattersley 3-2 Tom Lishman Gary Driscoll 3-0 Karl Nixon Arron Wike 3-0 Andy Mc'Govern Josh Loader 3-1 Sam Hastings Steve Fowler 3-1 James Neal Danny Dutson 3-2 Pete Riley Mark Pigott 3-0 Lewis Pride Rob Scholes 3-0 Leah Wiltshire Antony Moss 3-2 Lynne Horne Rob Sharp 3-1 Tom Vessey Neil Sidebottom 3-0 Jamie Branton Cam Hinchcliffe 3-0 Michael Storey Terry Temple 3-0 Tracey Gledhill Kieron Evans 3-1 Dave Peasgood Mark Marshall 3-2 Mally Welsh Tom Neal 3-2 Dan Quail Robin Towler 3-2 Alex Pride Bobby Burdess 3-1 Jack Bassinder Sean Moyles 3-1 Jordan Rickett Josh Scales 3-0 Colin Burkett Tommy Walsh 3-0 Naomi Haddock
An early surprise in the opening batch of games as red hot Teesider Johnny Gardner fell at the first hurdle this week as Gipton’s Steve Blower fresh out of the barbers inflicted a 3-1 defeat on him, the St Albans SL star another young quick player with a bright future in the game and looking to start fulfilling his potential at BDP this year. Back from Brazil for 6 months is Former Yorkshire County star Richard Yates, originally from Harrogate and nicknamed ‘Rowdy’ he is a real character who is never short of a few classic put downs or funny stories, he can still throw darts too after a fine 116 finish helped him beat Matt Green 3-2 although he did look like throwing the game away from 2-0 up with Matt missing a dart at the end to win it. Another top Harrogate player Alex Pride saved the game with a brilliant 155 checkout but to no avail in the end as he was beaten 3-2 by another excellent Robin Towler performance, the Skipton player putting in the practice this year and reaping the rewards with some fine results so far this season. A nerve-racking finale on Board 3 as Bryan Harrison put half a dozen attempts for the match on the wire of Double 10, the Kippax lefthander bobbing and weaving like champion boxer a couple of times to try and find a way around his first 2 darts on 2 visits which totally blocked the bed for him and it was Darrel Bainbridge who finally landed the winning dart to put a philosophical Bryan out of his misery. Probably the biggest shock of the round produced by Martin Spurr who plays his home SL games for struggling Div 3 side Boot and Shoe barely a mile from the venue in nearby Gawthorpe and pulling off a sensational result which included a 154 finish in leg 2 to take out top player and former winner here Arron Holdstock 3-0.
ROUND 2
Craig Fisher 3-1 Steve Richardson Robert Turpin 3-0 Mark Leonard Steve Blower 3-2 Lyndon Baxter Reece Robinson 3-0 Michelle Binns Martin Spurr 3-0 Toni Lee Bowstead Matt Padgett 3-1 Arthur Sweeting Sean Mahoney 3-2 Giffy Khaosoi Dennis Timmins 3-2 Ronnie Roberts Kris Namnieks 3-2 George Cook Steve Booth 3-2 Jordan Coltaite Darrel Bainbridge 3-2 Neil Ward Tom Sykes 3-0 John Clifford Lee Bugden 3-1 Adam Frier Kevin Gray 3-0 Louise Simmonds Brendan Marren 3-0 Laura Tye Andy Ward 3-1 David Plane Jaron Esteve 3-1 Derek Lumley Jonathan Hewitt 3-0 Richard Yates Steve Hattersley 3-2 Dave Wilson Arron Wike 3-0 Gary Driscoll Trevor Holtby 3-0 Josh Loader Mick Wiltshire 3-1 Steve Fowler Mark Pigott 3-1 Danny Dutson Curtis Turner 3-0 Adam Binns Dale Everett 3-0 Ray Long Rob Scholes 3-2 Antony Moss Rob Sharp 3-2 Neil Sidebottom Terry Temple 3-1 Cam Hinchcliffe Kieron Evans 3-2 Mark Marshall Tom Neal 3-2 Robin Towler Sean Moyles 3-0 Bobby Burdess Josh Scales 3-1 Tommy Walsh
Rob Sharp finally back to winning ways as he clocked up his second victory of the day after beating Tom Vessey and now Neil Sidebottom, relief for the Beeston player as he finally ended a BDP losing streak that stretched back to the back end of the 2013 season. A rare foray into Round 3 too for Rothwell’s Robert Turpin also with a couple of wins under his belt after beating Jordan Fisher and Mark Leonard convincingly. Giffy Khaosoi continues to frighten the life out of the men with Goole’s Sean Mahoney the latest to be put through the wringer before edging through 3-2 in a nailbiter. The Thailand lady not quite so good at marking though as Curtis Turner stepped into the breach to rescue the situation as Jaz Esteve overcame a plucky Derek Lumley who made a game of it despite suffering pain from a badly bruised shoulder sustained at work earlier. Tight games downstairs on the boards as local star Dennis Timmins survived match darts against talented Huddersfield youngster Ronnie Roberts while on Board 5 Steve Blower took out 96 to win another 3-2 thriller against Lyndon Baxter.
ROUND 3
Craig Fisher 3-0 Robert Turpin Reece Robinson 3-2 Steve Blower Matt Padgett 3-0 Martin Spurr Dennis Timmins 3-2 Sean Mahoney Steve Booth 3-2 Kris Namnieks Tom Sykes 3-2 Darrel Bainbridge Lee Bugden 3-0 Kevin Gray Brendan Marren 3-0 Andy Ward Jonathan Hewitt 3-2 Jaron Esteve Steve Hattersley 3-2 Arron Wike Trevor Holby 3-0 Mick Wiltshire Curtis Turner 3-0 Mark Pigott Dale Everett 3-1 Rob Scholes Terry Temple 3-0 Rob Sharp Kieron Evans 3-1 Tom Neal Josh Scales 3-1 Sean Moyles
A huge match up on Board 1 as E/W Ardsley SL star players Jonathan Hewitt and Jaz Esteve clashed in a rerun of the 2014 Grand Final, the match totally lived up to the billing as both players went toe to toe on the scoring and taking out amazing finishes under pressure, firstly Jaz hitting 2 Double Tops after a Single 20 on 100 finish to go 2-1 up, incredible the amount of times he pulls those Double Double shots off in games, then Jonathan hitting a Bull finish at the end of a 88 finish to stay in the game before firing in a 180 in the decider to set up a 14 dart clincher against the throw to end a great game. Steve Booth yet another player doing well today after a miserable 2014 season, the Wakefield player back on track and into the Last 16 after a 3-2 win over Kris Namnieks. Revenge for Kieron Evans as he fired in a 135 finish to help him beat Tom Neal 3-1 after losing narrowly 3-4 to the Drighlington man recently at Townville. Another Wakefield star putting a run together is Josh Scales who beat home White Rose SL player Sean Moyles 3-1. Meanwhile big players Marren, Fisher, Temple, Padgett and Robinson all in the mix too at this stage as were Yorkshire County youngsters Curtis Turner and Tom Sykes.
ROUND 4
Craig Fisher 4-2 Reece Robinson Dennis Timmins 4-2 Matt Padgett Tom Sykes 4-0 Steve Booth Brendan Marren 4-1 Lee Bugden Jonathan Hewitt 4-0 Steve Hattersley Trevor Holtby 4-3 Curtis Turner Terry Temple 4-1 Dale Everett Kieron Evans 4-1 Josh Scales
A couple of contentious issues after an eventful Last 16, firstly Jonathan Hewitt throwing the best darts out of any of the contenders today had to withdraw from the competition after hammering Steve Hattersley 4-0 with a mid 90’s average, always a grey area this one and there could be 50 reasons for a withdrawal but a date at the Cinema is definitely shady to say the least, the Harehills ace feeling the sensible move would be to forfeit the competition and a potential £200 rather than face the wrath of standing up fiancée Carla Medina. Some would say ‘Should he have entered the competition in the first place knowing he couldn’t see it through’ which would be a fair point but the new format this season means players can ill afford to miss tournaments and drop valuable ranking points in the short races to the Grand Final competitions so he was in a no win situation basically so got to put it down to just one of those things but should be at least a couple of years before the sequel is out so shouldn’t happen again for for a while. The other major talking point regarding the attitude of a player whilst marking the following match after being defeated and was frankly disinterested before eventually stepping aside to be replaced by another marker with both participating players angry at the lack of respect shown towards them. If for any reason a losing player cannot focus on his marking duties then pay the fee at the desk and someone in the right frame of mind can do it rather than go through the motions and spoil an important game would be the message in future. On the playing front Craig Fisher back at the business end after a couple of early defeats lately after beating Reece Robinson 4-2. Another fine run today for Dale Everett to keep up the momentum from the last comp but finding a returning Terry Temple too strong with 1-4 defeat. Tom Sykes back in amongst it too after seeing off Steve Booth 4-0 and tall Flockton ace Kieron Evans joined him in the Last 8 after a 4-1 victory over Josh Scales which was the same scoreline for Brendan Marren as he took out Lee Bugden.
QUARTER FINAL
Dennis Timmins 4-3 Craig Fisher Brendan Marren 4-2 Tom Sykes Trevor Holtby w/o Jonathan Hewitt Terry Temple 4-0 Kieron Evans
Local star Dennis Timmins who plays his SL darts at the venue having another great tournament just like he did last year when reaching the Semi’s here, he makes the same stage again but only after surviving a furious Craig Fisher fightback, the Barnsley ace clawing it back to 3-3 from 0-3 down but losing out in the end to the Ossett veteran. Tom Sykes had his chances against Brendan Marren but couldn’t take them and was a little disappointed to lose out 2-4. Terry Temple back in BDP action and quietly going about his business with a 4-0 win over Kezza Evans while Hull’s Trevor Holtby had a free passage through to the Semi after the withdrawal of Jonathan Hewitt.
SEMI FINAL 1
Terry Temple ( 26.77 ) 5-4 ( 24.26 ) Trevor Holtby
York PDC star Terry Temple looked to be coasting through to the Final after firing in a brilliant 124 finish for a 15 darter to go 4-1 up but ended up in a real dogfight as Trevor Holtby refused to roll over and fought back with some cracking darts to level the match at 4-4. At this stage Terry ruing the 6 missed darts he had earlier to wrap up a 5-1 win as Trevor was given a lifeline back into the match with a 27 darter after missing 8 darts at the doubles himself. That leg seemed to galvanize Trevor as he threw a great 13 darter in the next leg to break the throw and trail 3-4. Terry was now in a real battle after again missing his chance to close out the game with 3 darts at Tops but he was scoring superbly to give himself the chances and in leg 8 he hit a 100,140,100 salvo to give himself another shot this time at 56 but yet again the chance went begging and Trevor took his opportunity to level up at 4-4 and in with a real chance of pulling off an unlikely win. The advantage though was still with Terry as he had the darts in the final leg and he kept his nose in front all the way and just missed a 120 checkout but no real concern with Trevor back on 191 but like the rest match Terry just couldn’t seem to shake Trevor off and the Hull ace stuck in a 134 shot to suddenly apply massive pressure to Terry’s finish. Almost a carbon copy of Bryan Harrison earlier as his first 2 darts at Double 10 covered most of the bed forcing him to move across the oche to find an angle with the odds on success looking increasingly slim with every movement but like top players do he managed to pull a brilliant shot out of the bag to finally get over the line. Really hard work for Terry in the end as he hit winning legs in 21,16,17,15 and 21 darts with heavy scores 1 x 180, 14 x 100 pluses and 9 x 90’s efforts, while Trevor can hold his head high after a gutsy and courageous effort and took his legs in 18,27,13 and 21 darts and hit 1 x 180, 13 x 100 pluses and 4 x 90’s scores.
SEMI FINAL 2
Brendan Marren ( 24.08 ) 5-0 ( 19.30 ) Dennis Timmins
After performing so well all afternoon to beat a string of top players the Semi Final proved to be one match too many for 60 year old Dennis Timmins and he just had nothing left in the tank, his draining Quarter Final victory over Craig Fisher seemingly taking its toll in the end as Brendan Marren ran out a very comfortable winner without ever hitting top gear. As much as the crowd tried to rouse Dennis he couldn’t respond apart from a few isolated big scores and a 101 attempt at a finish was the closest he got to winning a leg as Brendan won all 5 in legs of 24,22,17,21 and 20 darts, far from his best but maybe holding something back for the Final as he hit 12 x 100 pluses and a 95 score. Dennis tried but it just didn’t happen for him as he could only muster 4 x 100 pluses and a 96 score but rather than focus on this game we should remember his thrilling wins over Ronnie Roberts, Sean Mahoney, Matt Padgett and in particular Craig Fisher in the QF. As for Brendan yet another final appearance and a reunion with old foe Terry Temple to look forward to.
FINAL
Terry Temple ( 22.85 ) 5-4 ( 23.74 ) Brendan Marren
York star Terry Temple has won many BDP Titles but this would probably be the least convincing of the lot as he somehow managed to win a game he scarcely deserved after being out played by Brendan Marren virtually throughout. Only Terry will know how he won and only Brendan will know how he lost having missed 25 darts in total to take the match from a 4-1 winning position. No wonder the Keighley ace looked shell shocked at the end when Terry almost apologetically landed the Double 16 to clinch the win. No hint of the problems to come for Brendan as he sailed into a 4-1 lead with legs coming in 19,18,21 and 17 darts against an out of sorts Terry who landed a 120 finish to reply with a 18 darter but that was really all he did in 5 legs as he stared down the barrel. The seeds of doubt started to creep in for Brendan after missing 8 darts to close out a 5-1 win, more misses followed in every leg with the attempts looking increasingly desperate as the double eluded him and the darts started to land at angles rather than straight as the pressure mounted. Amazingly Terry was able to claw back the deficit without ever finding his real form by taking follow up legs in 23,24 and 25 darts to take this bizarre game to a decider which just compounded the misery for Brendan as he missed a Bull shot on 122 and then the follow up 25 shot with Terry ending the nightmare for him with a 19 darter. The stats on the scoring tells the dominance as Brendan hit 14 x 100 pluses and 4 x 90’s compared to Terry’s 6 x 100 pluses which included a 180 in leg 7 although he did land 10 efforts in the 90’s but also many low scores which normally would have contributed to his downfall but today fortune smiled on him and he will take the win knowing that over time luck balances itself out and he will have himself been on the receiving end a few times.
SUMMARY
Victory on his return for Terry Temple on a very eventful day with one thing and another. The Semi’s and Final this time didn’t match the games leading up to them which sometimes happens after a long day although most wouldn’t back against another Temple v Marren Final further down the line with 30 plus averages next time such is their quality.
