The World Darts Championship

For atmosphere, the King-Komula match was probably the biggest of the tournament thus far. The Dutch contingent, along with several others by the sound of it, are still deeply pissed off with King's conduct in his first-round match. Bobby still reckons he was bang out of order. King's decision to call his detractors 'small-minded people' probably hasn't helped matters very much either.

However - Komula played the part of cult hero to perfection. Looking like Paul Calf's miserable Finnish cousin, he found himself two sets down before swinging it round in an interminable leg where King missed a string of doubles, letting him in for a finish that he hadn't imagined he'd have the opportunity to take. He was so taken aback by this that, for the first time anyone at all could remember, Jarkko Komula smiled. The hall erupted, Komula was suddenly on form, took the leg, then the set, then the set after that... but it couldn't last. King got his rhythm back just as Jarkko lost his and took the final set fairly easily.

Like it or not, King is probably the player who has the most attention now due to his controversial actions. Any match of his is going to have a fair degree of needle to it. Stubbsy and Bobby are dreaming of a Barney-King final... but King's got to get past Davies first, and he's in superb form at the moment. Then, if he does that, he'll have to get through the even-more-in-form Ted Hankey or Tony O'Shea.

The quarter-finals are thus:

Raymond van Barneveld (Ned, 1) v John Walton (Eng, 8)
Andy Fordham (Eng) v Darryl Fitton (Eng)
Ted Hankey (Eng, 2) v Tony O'Shea (Eng)
Ritchie Davies (Wal) v Mervyn King (Eng, 3)

It's hard to see Barney losing to Walton, but other than that this is wide open. Fordham and Fitton are pretty much impossible to separate at present. Hankey won more comfortably than O'Shea this evening, but he really had to work to get through the first round against Colin Monk. O'Shea was also regularly getting in treble 20, and would most likely fancy his chances against anyone. As for King and Davies - both have looked quite solid thus far, but the crowd for their match will be something else...

Last night's action - good matches I thought. Stephen 'future of darts' Bunting blew it when he had double 8 for the second set; as Bobby George might say - he's got the ability to waste, but ain't a proper darter in 'is 'ead yet.

O'Shea - Robson was a good match - both would have been worthy winners, but O'Shea progressed with excellent scoring. I like O'Shea. he falls into my 'looks like a nice guy so i'll support him strategy'. He takes over this mantle from Steve 'The' Duke.

I liked Steve a lot and he was my dark horse in Tony David stylee. I also like his celebration when getting a leg, which mirrors my own (apart from my own being rarely seen obv). His game against Davies was really interesting; all three sets went down to the odd leg in 5. Good ding-dong stuff, which also showed the ups and downs of the game. For example, Steve Duke broke to go 2-2 in the second with a great 144 checkout, and so had the darts for the decider; a wayward first dart upped the pressure and so he didn't punish. Davies had a chance to punish and took it, and so the second slipped away. The two players were very evenly matched in terms of averages and even checkouts, but the crucial difference was in timing. Davies just did what he had to do when had to do it, as opposed to doing it when he should or could have done it - ie, when getting 2-1 up in a set, he won the decider each time, but seemed sanguine about losing the 4th leg for example. Also, when he needed to pressurise Steve, he did. Steve dug out some great legs but his initial waywardness cost him and he was always playing catch up from the start, and Davies was too consistent to get rattled by Steve's dogged pursuit.

No comment on King - Komula as WBS v. OTM.

when they first showed bunter, sorry bunting last night, me and meg both said in unison "he's never bloody eighteen".

also looooooooooook:

http://www.barney.nl

They have proper magazines in Holland! Look! All you could ever need to know about Steve Coote - ever!

Co Stompe

i was trying not to think about whether that was a love bite on hankey's neck (it could be a heat spot caused by excessive nylon shirt wearing or a boil or anything).

also note that gun looks small in andy fordham's hand because he is a GIANT OF A MAN.

also also FAP here: http://www.andythevikingfordham.com/index.php?pageval=biography.php (scroll right to the bottom)

Faints

The rest as they say is history and the story of how The Whippet became The Viking.

Seriously though - given our utter and abject failure to get a trip sorted, we must do this. We could stop off at the Angerstein Arms (near Westcombe Park station) first, to see where it all began, then back onto the train to Woolwich. I am also pleased to support this FAP as it is 10 minutes from my house. Rar!

(William, give us another run-down of the events of yesterday evening if you like, I've really enjoyed them so far!)

My. GOD. Barneveld was, in a word, unbelievable. He was knocking in 180's like there was no tomorrow, almost every dart seemed to be hitting the treble twenty, he was regularly getting checkouts in triple figures and just as you thought he wouldn't get them, he did. He was throwing scoring darts almost perfectly, and hardly ever missed doubles - but the really amazing thing was that Walton was having his best game of the tournament as well. His finishing troubles from the Wagner match looked dead and buried, and he was getting the treble twenties fairly regularly - in other words, he was playing just like when he won the title in 2001. Only problem - Barney didn't let him get a dart in edgeways. His mistakes were small, but crucial - he only seemed to be able to get legs and sets when Barney gave him the opportunity, and if he missed his chance, he never got a second one. Incredible.

The prospects aren't that great for The Viking in the semi-final then - Walton's 3-dart average was better than both his and Fitton's. Then again, they went the full slog, and it was just as good as anticipated - two players near or at the top of their respective games trading back and forth, back and forth. Fordham looked sweaty, probably because he is, but he was holding his nerve. So was Fitton. The end of set eight was nailbiting. Fordham had bull for the match - threw, the tip hit the wire and glanced into outer bull. Fitton nailed double top first time out, 4-4 - had Andy blown it? no. Came back strong, and won the match with - bullseye.The amazing thing was how relaxed they both were, laughing and joking with each other between legs - like Bobby George said, "Proper darts".

If he wasn't before, Barney has to be the red-hot favourite now. You can't see Fordham stopping him, unless he's really right on top of his game, and to do that you have to finish with no margin for error. Fordham's finishing wasn't bad last night, but whether it'll be good enough to beat Barney... doubt it. Oddly enough, the one player who's been finishing that well that it might trouble Barney is the feller he beat last year, Richie Davies. Still, he has to get through tonight's "Welcome To Hell" encounter first...

referring to the eerie pictures upthread, here's two lines from OutKast's "Happy Valentine's Day" (just happened to be listening to it)

Now when arrows don't penetrate, see
Cupid grabs the pistol

maybe there aren't as many women players around, not the ones who really want to take up darts professionally (less viewers, smaller price money i'd imagine). and less players = less chance of there being someone sad enough to practice darts day in day out, which you'd have to to be any good.

I am only speculating though.

we want barney vs the power!!!

wasn't trina in the main competition a few years back? i'm sure there was a woman in the first round once...

Worried that barney might have peaked too soon...

barneveld was awesome yesterday but can he produce that kind of form for another two rounds?

Tony O'Shea 5-1 Ted Hankey
Mervyn King 5-4 Richie Davies

And in the women's competition

Francis Hoenselaar 2-1 Clare Bywaters

I missed the main highlights programme, tuning in just in time to catch the last couple of legs of Davies-King - looks like I missed an utter classic, seeing as how my heart was in my mouth for the duration of the five or six minutes I saw... really felt for the wee ginger feller, he just could not finish it off, and as such Gitto capitalised and got through. The crowd were all applauding him too, so it looks like the controversy has blown over thanks to MAGIC DARTS, or something.

The only match I saw all the way through was the women's one, which was really good - Hoenselaar seemed a bit shaky on scoring but lethal on doubles, with Bywaters the exact opposite. Very good match but the crowd wasn't into it, and the fact it was only three sets long meant it couldn't build up any momentum - a longer contest between the two could've been fantastic.

Then there was Hankey-O'Shea, which had the misfortune to start rather poorly and coincide with South Park, so I watched that instead. It was great. Turned back after the end, and I'd sort of lost interest. O'Shea-King is hard to pick therefore. Go for O'Shea, he has a better nickname (i.e. one that isn't his surname).

If O'Shea keeps hitting the doubles like he did in the last two matches then he has a good chance against King.

hope andy wins.

I didn't even see most of it due to bastard brothers, bastard washing up, bastard picking up of bastard brothers from down the bastard hill... just the last few darts. When I left it Andy was 4-2 down. I saw he was throwing for the match and leapt in the air, screamed. Brother says "uhhh" and turns over to Channel 5 for Jamie Theakston Narrates Stunt Horses or something. Not now he fucking doesn't. Turn over in time to see Barney fuck his double up, and The Viking NAIL the double 2. And I just stood there shivering while turns back to people in flames suits in Spawn or something. I'm still all a-quiver now too... have to watch it tonight, no bloody question.

Also - It was Mervyn King was "bang out of order." I like Stubbsy.

Also - who was it won Walk Of The Week? It had to be The Duke, surely...

On the subject of commentary - it's difficult to think of many analysts on British terrestrial that are as good as Part. Today, though, Tony Green came into his own during the O'Shea-King match. He was really, really feeling for O'Shea, as was everyone in the room. "Come on Tony. Don't give it away." Looking back on it, it's perfect. O'Shea's game was just falling apart in front of everyone, the form he had earlier in the week all gone. There was hardly any atmosphere in the match, it seemed that easy for King. and in that one line, Tony Green just got it absolutely spot on.

And that's why darts is different to the other sports. They do all know each other. It's not snooker, because the darts players come off as people, as opposed to Mark Williams. It also doesn't feature half-hour long sessions of nestle-the-ball-behind-the-brown. It certainly isn't bowls, with all it's "We're modern now, the players wear teal and turquoise." Plus which most of the bowls players seem to be boring sods. In no other sport do you see Ray Stubbs being really enthusiastic about Tom Jones, or being mobbed by Andy Fordham fans. In no other sport would they dare conduct analysis from the lounge bar of the venue. In no other sport would you get Steve Duke, this man who emigrated from Manchester to Australia in 1969 and still hasn't lost the accent, dancing to "I Can't Get No Satisfaction". In no other sport could you get Andy Fordham, though admittedly he does bear something of a resemblance to a fatter, hairier Mick Foley (Mankind-era). In no other sport is there such obvious camaraderie and respect between all the players. It's... darts, magic, magic darts. And one week just ain't enough.

(yeah i know extreme pain in the arms blah blah)

I'd rather not if it's all the same

But yesterday was not the best day for NTL to go tits up, and it's still down :o(