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HomeNewsSportKnockout darts! QE2 trio Wadsworth, Prior and Ragless crowned trebles champions

Knockout darts! QE2 trio Wadsworth, Prior and Ragless crowned trebles champions

QE2 trio Wayne Wadsworth, Cliff Prior and Richard Ragless have been crowned Bognor Tuesday Double-In, Double-Out division one trebles knockout champions after seeing off the challenge from a Legends team.

The action unfolded at the Newtown Social Club with nine teams take part, the same as last year. The only preliminary match saw both teams from the Friary Arms fight it out, but the winners lost in the next round. The first round saw some close games, but ultimately the better players won through.

The first semi-final saw Wadsworth, Prior and Richard Ragless take on Micky Rowland, Andy Whiteley and Dave Juniper (the Legends). A close match saw all the players hit some good scores, but the QE2 trio hit the double in the third leg to take the spot in the final.

The second semi-final saw Gary Blackwood, Darren Rich and Ben Marley (the Legends) against Lee Chapman, Nick Green and Phil Hayers (Neptune). The Neptune team hit some good scores, but the higher ranked team from the Legends pulled out the darts to take the second place in the final.

The division one final saw Marley win the bullseye, but both he and Ragless hit the double with the first throw. Blackwood hit a ton and 120 and Rich hit 123, but Ragless hit two tons and Prior hit a ton and 137. Marley missed double 16 for the leg, but Ragless only needed one dart for double 19 and the leg.

Leg two saw Ragless start with a ton, but Marley follow with a 102 in-shot. Prior hit a 140, followed by 121 from Blackwood, but the QE2 team were closer to their double, giving Wadsworth the first chance which he took, with double eight for the second leg. Leg three also saw both teams start straight away.

Blackwood hit a 180 on his first throw, but Prior just missed out on his own maximum after a bounce out. Some heavy scoring from his team mates gave Rich a chance, and he took out 70 in three darts for the third leg. Leg four saw a 105 in-shot from Ragless, followed by a ton and 123, while Prior also hit a ton.

The Legends trio also hit some good scores, with a ton from Rich, but they were still behind their opponents. Wadsworth left a finish for Prior, but he couldn’t take it out, leaving it for Ragless, who took all three darts, eventually getting double seven for the leg and the 3-1 win to take the title.

Gary English Rob Palmer Andy CooperDivision two saw 13 teams step up to the oche, matching the divisional record from nine years ago. The first round saw one game hold the knockout back for a while as Paula Duckett and Anji Evans (Richmond Arms) teamed up with division one player Karl Wingate (Newtown Raiders) to make a team, but they eventually won after being stuck on double one for a while.

The first semi-final saw Steve Middleton, Dan Middleton and Lee Passey (BRSA) take on Rob Palmer, Gary English and Andy Cooper (Cabin Cruisers). Despite taking out three of the top team in division two during round two, and Dan Middleton hitting a 180 in this match, the BRSA trio couldn’t match the force of the Cabin team on the night.

The second semi-final saw Rob Misselbrook, Pat O’Hara & Mark Sheppard (Hunston Club) against Keith Robinson, Alex Norgett and Lee Hellyer (Chi Snooker Club). The Hunston trio gave it all they had, but Robinson, Norgett and Hellyer finished first, taking the second final place.

The division two final started with Robinson winning the bullseye, but despite getting the in-shot on his throw, the Chi Snooker team ended up behind as Palmer hit a 160 in-shot for his team. Robinson however hit a 122 on his next throw, followed by 82 from Norgett and 100 from Hellyer, putting them into the lead.

Palmer, English and Cooper then fought back with two tons and an 81 between them. Palmer then missed double top for the leg, but Norgett could only leave 16 for his team. English also missed double top, and Hellyer missed double eight. Cooper hit double one but couldn’t finish the leg, but Robinson bust his score.

This gave Palmer another chance, which he took, hitting double 19 to take the first leg. Palmer started off the second leg with 80, but the Chi Snooker team missed two throws. Although the Chi Snooker team hit steady scores once they were in, a few larger scores from the Cabin trio gave them the first chance at the leg, which Cooper took out, hitting double top with the first dart.

The third leg saw both teams start straight away, with a ton coming from Hellyer, and a ton and a 140 from Cooper. With 48 left, Norgett took all three darts to take the third leg. Again both teams start straight away in leg four, and the Chi Snooker team didn’t hit a score under 60, with a ton from Norgett, and a ton and 140 from Robinson.

But they missed double top and then double 10 to win the leg, giving Palmer and English who also hit tons, a chance, and with 55 left, English hit the double, to take the game 3-1, and the division two title.

Carl Eldridge
Carl Eldridge
Carl Eldridge is a hugely experienced journalist who has worked on local and national newspapers, magazines and written for websites over the past 30 years. He lives in Bognor Regis with his wife and son.