World Masters Report
After the elation and despair of the Lakeside playoffs, it was time to move into the World Masters itself.
In addition to the adults, we were joined by our two youth players, Miles Gallagher and Tyler Meares, and both were pitched against opponents
from Wales. Like their other national sports of rugby and choir singing, darts is something at which the Welsh tend to excel, and excel they
did in the youth events. I was unable to watch either match, but it appears that Alannah Waters was quickly into her stride against Tyler,
opening with a brisk 13-darter. The rest of the match wasn't quite as spectacular, but Alannah was soon into the next round, and sadly, Miles
suffered a similar fate against Kurt Parry, who went on to reach the quarter-finals.
Not exactly the best start to their international careers, but our kids are both young enough - and good enough - to come back for more. I
didn't have a chance to talk to Miles, but I know that Tyler is ultra-determined to qualify again in 2011.
Unable to build on Thursday's performances, Debbie Ivey and Andrea Taylor were also first-match casualties. Debbie lost to Kate Dando, while
Swede Grethel Glaso ended Andrea's tournament. Kim Leduc then completed an unwanted hat-trick of first-round losers, going down to Sharon Prins
(Netherlands). Kim was very nervous coming into the event, but I was still pleased with what I saw, and like Tyler and Miles, Kim is good enough
(and young enough!) to be back.
Brenda Roush and Cali West were drawn together in Group 3. However, Julie Gore was also in Group 3, which is all you need to know! Cali eased
through her first two encounters, only to lose to Julie in the group semi-final. One round later, Brenda was gone. For those who aren't aware,
Julie Gore went on to win the title, so at least it took the winner to dispose of our ladies! Of course, had Cali beaten her, we would have been
guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals, so it was clearly all Cali's fault!
Three of our men (Chuck Pankow, Tom Sawyer, and Ryan Barnette) suffered first-round defeats. Ryan came so close to clinching victory, wiring a
136 out in the tie-breaker against young Joe Murnan. Sadly, he didn't get another shot. Tom was a little disappointed with the way he played
against Martin Phillips, but I do feel that he is being a little hard on himself. Failing to win a match either day was obviously a disappointment,
but Tom certainly didn't play badly, and all he really needed was some slightly easier draws. Chuck really wasn't happy with the way he played
against Vincent van der Meer, but he'll be back. Remember that he has a lifetime invitation to the Masters as an Americas Cup Singles Champion.
Jim Widmayer had a tough opener against Finn Petri Korte (who just missed out on Lakeside qualification the previous day), but came through in
great style. Jimmy then experienced the unusual sensation of having a second-round bye, before losing to the redoubtable Brian Woods. He played
great, and had "Pecker" on the ropes, but couldn't quite finish him off. Wid's fellow New Yorker, Jerry Van Loan, also had a difficult bracket,
but emerged from his clashes with Stig Jorgensen, Paul Knighton, and Ewan Hyslop, having dropped just a solitary set. Against Belgium's John
Jennis, whom he had beaten the day before, the doubles were to prove elusive, and Jerry was out.
That leaves just the two large and bearded Europeans decked out in ADO shirts, Dieter Schutsch and yours truly. I wasn't really looking forward
to the prospect of battling it out with World #19 Ross Smith right off the bat, but as it turned out, I scored well and finished well, and took
the match in straight sets. It didn't get any easier as I was then up against top Dutchman Rick Hofstra. It wasn't pretty, but I managed to scrape
through by a score of 3-1, much to my opponent's disgust.
Next came Scotsman John Henderson. After losing the first leg, I opened up 100, 135, 180 - but couldn't hit the double. One set and one leg down,
I opened up 100, 140, 100, 137 - but couldn't hit the double. I finally got on the board with a nice 146 check, and soon captured the set. I also
took the first leg of the fourth set, and was hopeful of taking it all the way, but "Hendo" made sure I didn't with a nicely-timed finish from
106.
Meanwhile, Dieter was working his way through group 15. After seeing off Poland's Marcin Koziarek, Dieter launched an attack on those north of the
border, picking up wins against Canadians Marcel Simard and Sean Smyth. This put our "eating-machine" just two matches from a place on stage.
Dieter's next opponent was England's Alan Norris, and what a match this was. Full of high-quality darts and high emotion, it went all the way
as Mr Schutsch stuck in some brilliant finishes on the bull. Problem was, they all meant nothing as Alan took the tie-breaker, and the American
challenge was over.
Despite the results, everyone really played their part, and we should all be proud of our achievements. The overall quality of play - particularly
under extreme pressure - was as good as I've ever seen from us as a group, and it can only lead to greater things. Next year's World Masters would
be a great time to prove that.