Over the weekend on two opposite sides of Australia more event winners were crowned in the Winmau DPA 2021 Satellite series.
In NSW on Saturday the round of 16 saw Mitchell Clegg survive a last leg decider against Stefan Cubrilovic with Alex Clark also progressing the same way, overcoming Team Danger’s Andrew Eagers. At the other end of the scale Joel Hund defeated Simon Farrell 4-0. In between Darren Lane (over Russell Northey), Shane Wolters (over Brendan Porter) and Justin Frey (against Mark Wortley) all won 4-2, whilst Peter Wilmott (against Mike Bonser) and Dave Marland (over Danny Watson) won 4-1.
Marland then put on a great performance in the next round, dismissing his opponent, Peter Wilmott in 75 darts. Mitchell Clegg also demonstrated his threat on the day by moving through with an almost just as impressive 4-1 win over Darren Lane. Alex Clark was the man who would face that challenge next as he defeated Shane Walter 4-2. Marland would face the ever improving Joel Hynd, who defeated Justin Frey 4-2 in his quarter final.
In the first semi final Clegg opened with a 15 dart leg against the throw, including the final two visits of 134 and 100. He then held throw before Clark got on the board with a hold of his own. Clegg then took a 3-1 lead on his own throw thanks to visits of 125, 140, 100 and 100 before a 36 check out saw him complete the leg in 13 darts. He then opened with two 100 visits from his three against the throw before completing the leg in 18 darts and moving into the final.
The other semi final was much closer. Joel Hynd opened the match by holding throw in 18 darts. He then had an outside shot at a 99 check out against the Dave Marland throw but left 60. With last dart in hand Marland held onto his throw, but the first two legs would not have given him much confidence about the outcome of the match. Hynd then held his own throw much more comfortably before spurning more chances to break Marland, including not finishing a 59 target in three visits. Marland missed his chances as well but given enough opportunity he was able to take the leg and move the match back to par. Hynd held his next throw comfortably in 16 darts before Marland finally held his own throw comfortably. It would have been the first leg he felt a little better and it would also prove to be pivotal. In the deciding leg a 140 gave Hynd a good lead but three consecutive visits in the 40s by Hynd gave Marland a window of opportunity to get back into the leg and a double twenty with his 19th dart moved Marland into his fifth final of the five Satellite events he has been a part of in 2021.
The final saw Marland start much better than he had in the previous round but he still gave his opponent a shot at the leg anyway, Clegg leaving 32 as he tried to check out 68. Marland held throw and then broke the Clegg throw in 18 darts. A 17 dart hold of throw then moved Marland only two legs away from a very comprehensive win. Clegg was not to let that happen, though, and he held throw in 19 darts before breaking the Marland throw in just 15, including an impressive 121 check out. He then failed to hit double 14 on three occasions to move the score back to 3-3 and Marland instead moved to a 4-2 lead. Marland then opened the next leg with 100, 140 and 100 visits before an 89 left him requiring 72. Despite only getting 52 on his next visit, and despite a 140 visit leaving Clegg on 124, Marland was able to refocus and threw his final dart to score double ten and secure yet another event final win.
On the other side of the country another player who had been a big part of the Satellite Series, Tim Pusey, was charging towards another event win only to fall at the final hurdle. He survived a final leg decider against Michael Beswick in the quarter finals. Michael Andre also got through in the same manner over Bailey Marsh to set up their semi final clash. Brenton Lloyd then demonstrated his class by holding his nerve in another final leg decider over Koha Kokiri. He would take on Ricky Pickett in the other semi final as Pickett progressed past Blake Hatchett four legs to one in their quarter final match.
Pusey broke Andre in the opening leg of their semi final in 14 darts before holding throw in 18. He then failed to convert a 76 check out before Andre secured his first leg. Pusey was able to hold throw in leg four before Andre set up a chance at a nine dart leg. Two perfect visits were recorded but Andre needed another 7 darts to clean up the leg and thus missed the shot at perfection. Pusey then held throw in 17 darts (despite missing out on a 110 checkout) in the following leg and made yet another final.
His opponent would be Lloyd as he moved past Pickett, 4-2, in their semi final. Both players held throw for their opening two games before Pickett missed a 16 check out chance in leg five and had to watch as his opponent held his throw on his next visit. At 2-3 Pickett had to do what he had done with 19 and 17 darts previously in the match and hold throw. A 180 visit from his opponent early in the match meant he was scrambling though. Requiring 64 and with his opponent requiring 248 things looked good for Lloyd. However three visits later each and Pickett needed 52 with Lloyd requiring 16. Pickett only scored 42 and then watched as Lloyd got the double eight required with his next dart in hand to take the match.
So Brenton Lloyd and Tim Pusey faced off in the final. Pusey put down an early standard throwing a 15 dart leg to hold throw. Lloyd then opened his throw with 134, 100 and 180 visits and eventually took the leg in 16 darts. Pusey needed one extra dart to move 2-1 ahead, despite Lloyd securing visits of 180 and 140 through the leg. Lloyd then threw 135 and 134 in the next leg, and despite inconsistent scoring in between, moved the match back into parity at 2-2. Pusey opened with a 125 and followed up three visits later with a 177 in the fifth leg and was soon back in front. He then secured a break with a second successive 18 dart leg (in fact the third in a row between both players.) At 4-2 Pusey was only a leg away but despite two ton visits his consistency left him as both players missed chance after chance in the next leg. Pusey missed the bull and then failed to convert the 25 in his next visit to sit on 16 as Lloyd finally secured the break, converting the required 7 with last dart in hand. Things returned to normal in this classy match as Lloyd opened with a maximum, and Pusey responded with a ton before Lloyd hit the same. In 17 Lloyd darts the match was going to a decider, with only one leg needing more than 18 darts from one player to win it to that point. In the ninth and final leg Pusey had the throw but his big scoring disappeared and in six visits he failed to hit a big treble. Lloyd had inconsistent throwing of his own but an opening of 100 and a 140 visit to leave 38 was enough to leave him in prime position and on his seventh visit to the oche he had stopped the Pusey express and won the match 5-4, and thus was crowned the Saturday event winner.
In Perth on Sunday the quarter finals saw Michael Andre pip Loz Ryder at the post with a 4-3 victory over the man who had eliminated the previous day finalist, Tim Pusey, in the round of 16. Also through in a tight affair was Bailey Marsh who held throw in the final leg to get past Blake Hatchett. In the bottom of the draw Koha Kokiri whitewashed the previous day’s winner Brenton Lloyd, and former Australian representative darts player Joe Comito defeated Peter Sutton in the same manner.
That semi final saw Kokiri break Comito’s initial throw in 16 darts. He then held in 19 darts before comfortably breaking the Comito throw once more (despite busting 16 after coming that close when trying to check out 138.) Comito responded by breaking the throw of Kokiri with a 16 dart leg of his own but the comeback was dashed with Kokiri breaking the throw for the third leg in succession thanks to visits of 140, 180 and 140 before a 41 check out with two darts, thus giving Kokiri an 11 dart leg.
The second semi final saw Bailey Marsh hold throw before breaking Andre’s throw to go to an early 2-0 lead. Marsh then lined up at the oche having watched Andre bust a chance at 40 but Marsh busted himself on that visit and paid the price as Andre did not make the same mistake twice. Andre then returned the match to an even affair by holding throw. He then missed the bull for a third straight leg win and Marsh collected the required 40 to lead 3-2. Andre then held throw to move the match into a decider. Marsh threw the first dart of the leg but 17 darts from Andre later it was he that took out the leg and moved into the final.
Kokiri opened the final by holding throw comfortably in 18 darts. He then broke his opponent’s throw in one dart less. Andre sat on tops in the third leg but could only watch as Kokiri secured 20 for a three leg lead. Andre then opened with a maximum in the fourth leg and despite the same from his opponent two visits later was able to check out 76 with his opponent not even on a check out to win his first leg. Both players then held throw in 19 and 18 darts before a remarkable seventh leg where Kokiri opened with a 97 which was met with an 85 from Andre. On his third visit Andre hit 140 which Kokiri matched immediately. After a poor visit from Andre, Kokiri doubled down on his previous effort by securing a 128 to leave him requiring just 16. Having survived the previous visit Andre was too far away to do anything but put pressure on the throw. He did that in spades as he hit a 171 to leave just 24. Kokiri demonstrated all the experience he has by securing the double eight required for the match and another 2021 event win for him in one dart, his 16th of the leg. The final score reading 5-2 to Kokiri.
In NSW on Sunday it was Mitchell Clegg who would go one step further than the previous day by overcoming another regular NSW finalist in Justin Frey. In the round of 16 Clegg had a comfortable 4-1 win over Mark Taafe whilst Tyrell Coppini defeated Joel Hynd 4-2. Dave Marland put out Brad Johnson 4-0 whilst that top section of the draw was completed as Peter Wilmott set up a rematch against Marland with a 4-1 win over David Boyle. In the bottom half Alex Clark continued his good form with a 4-1 win over Simon Farrell and a great run for Luke Hudson saw him defeat Pokotea Munokoa in the deciding leg. Scott Johnson dismissed Terrance Insley 4-1 whilst Frey eliminated David Cairns 4-0.
Frey then took out Scott Johnson almost as comprehensively with a 4-1 win whilst Clark set the line up for the second semi final by defeating Luke Hudson by the same scoreline. Mitchell Clegg defeated Coppini, also by the same scoreline, in the top half as Peter Wilmott did something no one had done in the elimination section of the Satellite series this year when he defeated Dave Marland 4-2. For Wilmott it was also revenge for his loss at the same stage the day before, as he turned a 1-2 deficit into the win. For Wilmott it proved difficult to back up that performance in the semi final and he fell 4-0 to Clegg in the first semi final. The other semi proved nowhere near as one way. Frey had opened the match by taking an early two nil lead but an 18 dart break of throw in the third leg and Frey missing the chance to take out double 12 in three darts in the fourth saw Clark draw level in the match. Frey then saw his throw broken again in the fifth leg for Clark to take the lead for the first time. He then burnt match darts as Frey eventually held his nerve to break back in the sixth game and take the match into a deciding leg. Clark made his way to requiring tops for the match after Frey took six darts to move from 24 to 4. Frey was able to throw the double two required to win as Clark stood behind him ready to pounce.
The final saw Frey miss his chance at 36 to take the opening leg and Clegg finally took the leg after also missing multiple check out chances himself. Clegg then threw some big scores (including 135, 100 and 140) to secure an 18 dart break of throw. This was consolidated with Clegg holding throw in leg three to take a 3-0 lead. Frey then held throw in 19 darts before Clegg did the same in 16. At 4-1 and on throw Frey could only open with 41 and whilst Clegg did not take advantage straight away a second visit maximum score gave him a huge lead that he kept through the rest of leg, finally checking out 52 to win the match and the Sunday event at the Warilla Bowls and Recreation Club in NSW.
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