Day 1 of the big Lakeside tournament got off to a brilliant start today.
Differences between Lakeside and the Ally Pally
If you come to this tournament after watching the PDC championship at the Ally Pally, you'll notice a major difference in the atmosphere. It is a lot calmer, more of a dinner entertainment atmosphere rather than somewhere between a pub and a football/soccer match. I've heard the referee in previous years make a fuss when the crowd was too noisy/disruptive at Lakeside - whereas in the PDC, they don't care unless you're throwing beer at the players. Despite the quieter crowd, it has a much more intimate feel as the players very calmly take to the stage greeting well-wishers as they walk. Costumes in the crowd are still a fun feature. Today, I saw a group of Wally/Waldo characters and a bunch all dressed as Teletubbies' Laa-Laa.
(source - Wikipedia - Jens-Dirk Sommer)
Today's afternoon session (1pm GMT)
The afternoon session comprised of four matches.
Match 1 - Mark McGeeney vs Derk Telnekes - Round 1
Derk Telnekes, from the Netherlands entered the tournament ranked #19 in the BDO. He fought well, taking the second set, but the number 1 seed, Mark "The Gladiator" McGeeney from Stockport, Cheshire, England played as well as his rank would have suggested and pulled away quickly after the first break.
Mark McGeeney won 3 sets to 1 with a three-dart average of 87.73.
For more information, see the full write-up on the BDO page.
Match 2 - Jim Widmayer vs Nigel Heydon - Preliminary Round
Jim "Captain America" Widmayer entered this tournament as the qualifier from the USA (Northbrook, Illinois). He fought valiantly, but succumbed in the final set to Nigel "The Undertaker" Heydon from Leamington Spa, England. (He is an undertaker by trade, btw.)
Nigel Heydon won this match 3 sets to 2 with a 3-dart average of 88.60.
For more information, see the full write-up on the BDO page.
Nigel returns tomorrow to play Richard Veenstra in the first round.
Match 3 - Mikuru Suzuki vs Lisa Ashton - First Round
Yes! The BDO World Championship includes the ladies!!!
Lisa "The Lancashire Rose" Ashton from Bolton, England, came in as the BDO #1 (and no. 2 seed) and the reigning champion of this tournament. Today, however, she wasn't in perfect form and Japanese Qualifier Mikuru "Miracle" Suzuki (previously ranked #93) had a wonderful match, charming the crowds with her sweet temperament and vibrant personality at the same time. Lisa struggled the entire way, which was a shame.
Mikuru Suzuki won 2 sets to 0 with a three-dart average of 79.83.
For more information, see the full write-up on the BDO page.
Match 4 - Conan Whitehead vs Martin Phillips - First Round
Martin "The Welsh Legend" Phillips, from Dolgellau, Wales, came into this tournament as the 16th seed.
Conan "The Barbarian" Whitehead, from Gillingham, Kent, England, was ranked #21 in the BDO at the beginning of the tournament. This was an amazing match from the word go. They ran neck and neck, and in the end, it was the fifth set taken into extra legs before the final set was won 4 legs to 2 - in favor of Whitehead.
Conan Whitehead won this match 3 sets to 2 with a three-dart average of 83.34.
For more information, see the full write-up on the BDO page.
He will take on Mark McGeeney in the second round.
Today's evening session (7pm GMT)
Match 5 - Paul Hogan vs Wes Newton - Preliminary Round
Wes "The Warrior" Newton from Fleetwood, England, came into this tournament ranked #27 in the BDO.
Paul "Crocodile Dundee" Hogan from Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, came in as a regional qualifier, ranked #41.
Newton struggled to get going in this match - a fact that Hogan capitalized on in a cracking game of darts from his end.
In the end it was Paul Hogan who won 3 sets to 1 with a three-dart average of 88.09.
For more information, see the full write-up on the BDO page
Paul returns on Monday to play Willem Mandigers in the first round.
Match 6 - Sharon Prins vs Roz Bulmer - First Round
Sharon "Racing Angel" Prins from the Netherlands entered this tournament as the no. 7 seed.
Roz Bulmer from England came in as the BDO #12. She is (from what the commentators said) suffering from breast cancer - we wish her a speedy and permanent recovery!
Prins came into this match blistering. She scored a 156 checkout - the highest of the tournament thus far and the second highest in BDO Women's World Championship history.
In the end, Sharon Prins stole this match 2 sets to nil.
For more information, see the full write-up on the BDO page
She will take on Mikuru Suzuki in the women's quarterfinal on January 11.
Match 7 - Justin Thompson vs Mal Cuming - Preliminary round
Both players this time were from Victoria in Australia.
Justin "Thommo" Thompson came in as the BDO #26 while Mal "The Bull" Cuming came as the regional qualifier.
Justin has been here before, which gave him a distinct advantage while Mal never quite got started.
Justin Thompson took this match, 3 sets to nil with a three-dart average of 91.17, the highest of the day.
For more information, see the full write-up on the BDO page
He comes back on Monday to play Michael Unterbuchner in a first round match.
Match 8 - Wesley Harms vs Tony O'shea - First round
Wesley "Sparky" Harms from the Netherlands came in as the no. 4 seed.
Tony "Silverback" O'Shea from Stockport, England, came in as the BDO no. 20, but with heaps of experience on the Lakeside stage.
O'shea worked hard, even landing a beautiful Shanghai (triple 20, single 20, double 20) one leg. Still, Harms managed to crawl past the finish line first.
Wesley Harms won 3 sets to 2 with a three-dart average of 87.89.
For more information, see the full write-up on the BDO page
All of the men's first round winners come back for the second round which starts on the 9th of January.
My Match-of-the-day
This was definitely the Suzuki/Ashton match. No one expected this little powerhouse to come out fighting the way she did. She won herself a permanent place in many hearts today. Even if she does not win another game at Lakeside this year, she's worth paying attention to - I'm sure she'll be back!
To know more about playing the game of darts, please check out my post: Let's Play Darts!!!
Crossposted at Steemit, Whaleshares, WeKu
Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
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also on: Whaleshares, WeKu
