Board 10 - unusually only 2 players I'd marked for before in Stephen and Griffiths.
Gary Anderson (15) 6-2 Paul Barham - at 2-1 Ando had won both his legs on D1, but found some rhythm and was too good for Paul.
Keith Stephen 6-3 Stephen Hardy - reasonably straightforward win for K'Jer the more consistent of the scorers.
Shaun Griffiths 6-5 Steve Beaton (18) - Griffiths led 4-2 when Beaton showed his class with 3 silky legs. Then missed the big number in leg 10 to let Griffiths check and the same error cost him leg 11.
Wayne Atwood 6-4 Simon Burt - Simon must have averaged between 40 and 50 for the first four legs before winning 4 of the next 5 but the damage was done at 4-0 down.
Gary Anderson 6-2 Keith Stephen - Ando slowing his throw down and really starting to punish the red bit with a string of 140s.
Wayne Atwood 6-3 Shaun Griffiths - Griffiths not as good as his first round and Atwood's consistent scoring saw him through.
Board final
Gary Anderson 6-1 Wayne Atwood - Ando really shows up for this one, winning his legs in 12, 15, 15, 15, 15 and 13 and scoring 412 in four visits in the leg he lost. Average 106.81. 'Nuff said.
No last 16 game but then marked this Q/Final
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Gary Anderson - Only seven darts at doubles (double top hit in all 6 legs by MVG, taking 2 darts to do it in leg 6!)
Mike averaged 103 to Gary's 98. 6-0 was flattering as Gary missed a few darts at doubles but it was the right result of a high quality game. MVG went on to win the event and was a class act on the oche all day.
Adjourned to the Ramada for the night and even cadged a fag off Maishy at the hotel!!
Sunday
Got to the Metrodome just before 10am after an early night and was definitely in a spritelier state than some of the competitors although the markers seemed in (relatively) good nick compared to previous events!!
Board 3 and today only 1 player not previously marked for in Andy Relf
Ian White (8) Bye
Steve Hine 6-3 Denis Ovens - Denis not at his best and Steve scored the more heavily and finished consistently.
Peter Wright (25) 6-4 Andy Jenkins - another victory for consistency
Mark Frost 6-1 Andy Relf - Andy not at the races and some very good scoring from Frosty in patches.
Steve Hine 6-4 Ian White - too many 1's and 5's from Ian, unusual for him at the moment. Punished by very good scoring and finishing from Hine.
Peter Wright 6-0 Mark Frost - Frosty is an enigma. Keeps throwing darts away in frustration in legs in which he is still competing and scoring well in. Gets way too cross with himself. Gave up in virtually every leg and Snakebite said "thank you" the obvious way by taking the legs.
Board final
Steve Hine 6-3 Peter Wright - good scoring from both players but Hine's sharp finishing gave him the edge.
Then to board 11 for a moved board semi-final (from 10)
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Ian Moss - gulf in class between the two players that was reflected in the scoreline. Far better scoring and finishing from The Hammer.
Board final
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Liam Kelly - Kelly opened with a 121 kill for a 12-darter but it was one way traffic after that. The Hammer hitting lots of ton+ shots and ruthless on the doubles.
No last 16 game but then a Quarter-Final
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Prakash Jiwa - Both players averaged about 93 in this one. 1st 8 legs on throw before MVG broke for 5-4. Immediate break-back from Prakash who started the decider with a 140. But a slack 2nd visit from Jiwa was punished by a maximum from Mike who broke again in 13 darts to win the game.
Semi-final
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Michael van Gerwen - best game I have marked yet on the ProTour. Andy went 3-0 up in 12, 12 and 12 but Mike was on his coat-tails in every leg! Mike pulled one back but a third 100+ finish from The Hammer took him to 5-1. 7th leg and MVG hits 180, 180, T20, T19 before wiring D12 on the outside eventually finishing in 11 (I was sure he was going to hit it!!). Andy scores heavily again in the 8th and kills 87 for a 107.03 average to MVG's 103. A match of the highest quality that was a pleasure to mark!
Stayed to watch the final but Andy ran out of steam at 4-3 up and his scoring fell away - Whitlock did what he'd done all day and clatter in trebles and finishes and averaged just over 100 in the final to Andy's 87.
I have to say that all the players were pleasant and polite all weekend. Steve Hine was particularly complimentary about the marking scheme and mentioned how glad he is that we're getting some payment and that the £5 is well worth paying for the job we do and what it means for them not to have to mark. A gent.
Great weekend, great company, great darts (152 legs - 68 Saturday and 84 on Sunday). Looking forward to the next ones "oop North" already!
Edit: My board on Sunday really did finish early. Completely forgot that I'd done the Hamilton/Moss game in round 2 on Board 10 - article now amended accordingly, including the number of legs!
