Mal Cuming qualified for the New Zealand Darts Masters in Hamilton at the Warilla Bowls and Recreation club on Sunday. 49 players lined up for the qualifiers and it was a hot field with six former PDC World Championship representatives in the field.
Those eliminated at the round of 16 stage also show the quality of the field with Stuart Coburn of Victoria, Robbie King, Dewayne Turner and James Bailey of Queensland and NSW’s Jamie Browne, Mitchell Clegg, Russell Northey and David Cairns all bowing out of the competition at this stage.
In his quarter final Koha Kokiri opened with a 100 in the opening leg on throw and later had a shot at 170. A 100 later in the leg left Pusey requiring 142 and with Koha leaving tops he had a shot at it but could not take it and two darts later he was 1-0 behind. Pusey scored 140 on his first visit on throw only for Kokiri to match it. Pusey backed his score up with visits of 99 and 100 and converted to draw back level. 140 was how Kokiri opened leg three before Pusey hit two 100’s to get back in the leg but there was nothing he could do about the 126 check out that put Kokiri back in front. In leg four Pusey opened with 140 and 180 and required 76 after four visits but a poor few visits gave Kokiri a chance to check out, and he eventually took it to lead 3-1. Two hundred visits for Pusey was not enough in leg 5 after Kokiri left 96 thanks to a 134 visit. He missed out on it at the next visit but Pusey presented him with another chance by leaving 16 and Kokiri took the 18 he required in two darts. In leg six Pusey started with 100 and 136 but a 135 mid leg put Kokiri back in the leg. Pusey left 40 after chasing 115 and got it on his next visit to move back within two legs of his opponent. Pusey then scored 140 against the throw in the seventh leg before throwing 100, 140 and missing the bull for a 121 check out but none of this was good enough as Kokiri secured 135, 136 and 137 visits and then checked out 33 with his last dart in hand to secure a 5-2 win.
Mal Cuming held throw in the first leg of his quarter final against Brandon Weening in 16 darts. In the second leg Weening opened with 96 but a maximum and 101 on visits four and five left Cuming requiring 32 for the leg. With Cuming only collecting 16 Weening had a shot at Shanghai and got it to hold throw. Cuming then opened on throw with a maximum and followed it up with a 125. Later 104 left 32 and this time he put it away with a double 16 to lead 2-1. Weening opened with 96 in the next leg but Cuming responded with a 100. A visit of 140 on visit five gave Cuming a shot at the leg and with Weening leaving tops his opponent stepped up and secured double eight to lead 3-1. Leg five saw Cuming open with two 140s and then a 131 as Weening threw three 100s in succession. Cuming missed the bull for the leg and was unable to clean up on his next visit. He did return to the oche though and cleaned it up with two more darts. Leg six saw 140 and 125 from Cuming then a maximum from Weening. Both players ended up sitting on 40 and Weening got it first to move back within two legs of his oppoennet. Cuming opened with 140 with Weening responding with 100 in leg seven but despite a 140 later in the leg Weening never got closer to his target than 120 as Cuming secured a 48 check out with last dart in hand to win the match 5-2 as well.
Joe Comito and David Platt went head to head in the third quarter final with Platt breaking his opponent’s throw in 15 darts to open the match. In response a maximum, 140 and 120 in his first four visits helped Comito take back the break straight away. Platt then made it three breaks in three legs as a 140 left him needing 36 which he got on his next visit (indeed with his next dart.) A maximum two visits from the end of the next leg helped Platt set up a 16 dart hold of throw and a 3-1 lead. Despite 140 visits from both players through the next leg it was a leg of struggle but Platt finally secured the leg to lead 4-1 and be one away from a semi final. Comito opened with a maximum in the sixth leg and followed it up three visits later with a 140 to leave 80 against the throw. 99 left Platt requiring 56 for the match but Comito secured the darts required to keep the game going. Comito opened with a 96 in the next leg before Platt hit 100 on his second visit. Comito threw 96 only for Platt to get another 100. Comito moved to 151 with another 100 visit as 95 left Platt needing 121. With Comito getting another 96 the pressure was put on the Platt throw and he left 16 trying to check out that 121. Comito then threw 55 in two darts to hold throw and move back within a leg of parity at 4-3. Platt hit maximum on throw in leg eight and then matched that effort on his third throw to leave 58. He missed out on the next visit but on his fifth visit Platt finished the match with his last dart in hand to win 5-3 with a 15 dart final leg.
In the fourth quarter final Bailey Marsh held throw comfortably in the opening leg before spurning a chance of a break against Dave Marland in the second. A 15 dart leg (including visits of 125 and 140) in the third and Marsh was 2-1 up. Despite some heavy scoring at the end of the leg Marland could not prevent Marsh from taking a 3-1 lead before Marsh secured 180s on his first and third visit to hold throw once again in 15 darts to lead 4-1. With 140s from both players mid leg the sixth went to Marsh with a 32 check out, a set that also locked Marsh in to a 5-1 win over Marland.
In their semi final Mal Cuming saw Bailey Marsh throw 100 ,100 and 136 on his way to the leg, despite Cuming visits of 180 and 114 at the back end of the leg. Cuming was comfortably ahead on throw in the second leg but was unable to convert 148. He had another shot at it after Marsh could not secure a 170 finish but missed out again before Marsh left tops. This time Cuming took his chance to draw level on throw at 1-1. Cuming then broke the marsh throw thanks to a 180 open, 140 mid round peg and a check out of 96. Marsh then opened up with a 140 in the next leg against the throw, A 140 visit on his third visit took Cuming back into the match as Marsh hit 131 in response to leave 170. 145 from Cuming was not enough as Marsh checked out 72 for the leg to tie 2-2. Cuming opened with 140 but Marsh matched it on his third visit. With Marsh unable to secure 90 Cuming hit 32 in three darts. Marsh opened with a 140 in the sixth leg chasing a break and backed it up with the same before scoring my 100 to leave 12. He secured the 72 to move the match back to parity. At 3-3 Marsh opened with 134 and 137 but had a disappointing third visit of 44 to leave 186. Marsh limped to a finish but missed three shots at double 16 along the way. Meanwhile Cuming had missed the bull for the leg and this time Marsh came back to lead the match 4-3. Cuming then opened with a maximum and backed it up with 100. A visit of 60 left him on 161, finally hitting tops a few visits later to put the match into a deciding leg. Opening visits of 100, 134 and 100 left Cuming requiring 167. Cuming was on 73 when Marsh threw a 180 to leave 58 but Cuming won it with last dart in hand. Against the throw Cuming then threw 100, 134, and 100 before securing the leg in 15 darts and finalising his position in the final. The final score was 5-4 to Mal Cuming.
The second semi final saw David Platt hold darts first against Koha Kokiri. Despite a 111 visit leaving 18 for Kokiri on throw it would not be enough for Platt not to break his opponent’s throw thanks in main to a second visit 180 and a follow up ton. Kokiri then checked out 68 to take a break back before a 15 dart leg from Platt left him 3-1 up. Platt then threw 135 to leave 69 in the next leg and with his opponent too far behind he came back and got that with last dart in hand to lead 4-1. Kokiri then comfortably held throw before Platt opened with a 140 and watched as Kokiri failed to convert 72. Platt then stepped up to secure the required 40 to win the leg, the match 5-2 and win a position in the final against Team Rebel colleague Mal Cuming.
In the final David Platt won the throw and started with a maximum. Cuming responded with 100 and 140. A ton visit then left Platt requiring 106 but he missed out and Cuming scored 105 chasing 125. Three darts later Platt had secured the leg. Cuming opened his first leg on throw with a 100 and Platt responded with a 140 and then doubled that score before hitting a maximum to leave 41. He failed to secure the leg on his next visit but took the leg with his first dart the next time around. Platt then opened with 85 on throw but visits of 100, 99 and 127 left Cuming requiring 132. 119 then left Platt on 140. Neither player secured the leg on the next visit but with Platt on tops Cuming was able to check out 68 to gain his first leg and move the match back on throw. Cuming then opened with 121 and two 100s but had three poorer visits to let Platt back into the fourth leg. 137 from Platt left him requiring 32 but Cuming hit the double 12 to finally win the leg and move the final back into parity at 2-2. Visits of 140 and 133 mid leg five moved Cuming to 170 and although he failed to get it he would return to the oche, although it was under pressure as Platt had hit 140 to leave 58. Bull missed the bull for the leg and Platt checked out to win a leg he was never in. Cuming then opened with 140 in the sixth leg but Platt matched it. 125 and 100 from Cuming was almost matched by 100 and 100 from Platt before Cuming threw 96 to leave tops and 93 left Platt needing 58. Cuming left 5 on his next visit and would not return as Platt secured the leg with last dart in hand to lead 4-2. With the walk Platt could only open with 41 but it was not punished by his opponent. Cuming got a 100 on his second visit before Platt threw 140. Cuming then threw 137 to leave 222 with a further ton leaving him needing 122. With Platt requiring 100 behind him Cuming missed the bull for the leg and then failed to put away the 25 and left 9 on his next visit. This time Platt failed to take full advantage and Cuming came back to the oche and secured the break. On throw Cuming then threw 100 which was matched by Platt. Platt then doubled up before Cuming got his second ton on his third visit to the oche. A 28 visit left Platt on an awkward 178 whilst Cuming moved to 115 on his next visit. Platt moved to 144 and then Cuming left 56. With Platt moving to 48 the 56 was under pressure but Cuming got it with last dart in hand to level the match at 4-4. Platt opened with a maximum and then backed it up with a 95 and 100 to leave 126 after nine darts in the eleventh leg. 86 then left him needing 40 for the hold of throw and although it took a couple of visits he finally got there to lead 5-4. Cuming threw 100 on throw in the next leg and backed it up with a 140. Another 140 left him needing 121, the score Platt would secure on his next visit (to move to 278.) Cuming threw 81 to leave tops. A 140 visit left Platt on 138 but Cuming checked out on his next visit to draw the tie level at five legs all. Platt then secured 135 on the opening of the next leg and got 100 on his fourth visit to leave 123 but a 138 from Cuming left 72. Platt left tops as Cuming left 20 at his next attempt. Platt missed out on holding throw on his next visit and Cuming secured the break to lead 6-5 and have the walk in the next leg for the match. Cuming opened with 100 and then two 140s to leave 121 yet again. A maximum from Platt left him needing 181. Cuming left 64 needed after 12 darts and Platt moved his score by 85 to 96. Cuming then threw the 64 for the match with his 15th dart concluding the nights affairs and locking him a position on the World Series of Darts stage in Hamilton New Zealand.
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