You may have noticed that DW contributors don’t only talk (or write) the talk but they often ‘Walk the Oche’ as well. The latest in 2024 was our Choose Your Weapons analyst Joe Reid who felt his game had developed enough for him to try out the ADC’s Winmau Championship Tour.
Here is Joe’s fully detailed description of a weekend at the ADC:
Having enjoyed recent success locally in competitions, and feeling confident about my own ability, I decided to to venture into the ADC Winmau Tour, with the aim of using the final four events at Broadmoor Farm, Aylesbury, as an opportunity to familiarise myself with the way these tournaments work. I had a primary and secondary goal in mind.
Firstly, I wanted to feel comfortable in this environment. Results didn’t matter to me, I just wanted to be able to play ‘my game’. My secondary goal was to try pick up some money, which meant making the last 32 in one of the events.
Event 13
For the first event, I really didn’t know what to expect. My opponent was an unknown to me, which helped settle me somewhat, while simultaneously adding a level of apprehension.
I started off steady, working my way down to a finish and taking out 68 with no fuss, to put myself one leg up. The second and third legs continued in similar fashion – I was three legs up, and was yet to miss a dart at the outer ring.
My opponent rallied somewhat in the fourth leg, taking out a slightly unorthodox 73 checkout (S19, D11, D16) to pull a leg back. In my mind, it was simply delaying the inevitable. I accepted his guilt-filled apology for the ‘unique’ checkout route, and we both joked about it. “Whatever works, mate” I believe I said in reply.
Head back on, I fired in a 180 to re-establish my dominance over the match. I backed this up with a score of 81, and then two consecutive scores of 96, to leave myself on 48 after 12 darts. While on Darts Atlas it claims I took it out in two, I’m convinced it went in three. Nevertheless, a win in my first game and a tidy performance to boot.
The next round would prove more of a challenge, as I was drawn to play former PDC Tour Card holder Bradley Brooks, who’d come though a tough battle in the previous round.
I started off well, wiring the bull from 126 for an early break of throw before Brooks found D20 at the sixth time of asking to establish an early lead.
This lead was short lived, as I went out in 14 in the following leg, with a very strong opening 6 darts, including my second 180 of the day. I had a dart at D18 from 116 for a 12 darter, but it’s all about getting the leg on the board.
Four consecutive ton-plus scores allowed Brooks a comfortable third leg, and squandered darts at double from myself were capitalised on with a fantastic 114 checkout to double Brooks’ advantage in the fourth leg. A 15 darter was enough for Bradley to seal the 4-1 win over myself, with an 88 average to my own 79.
Event 14
Event 14 saw me face my second former-PDC opponent of the day – Kai Fan Leung. Going into it, I genuinely felt really confident. It felt a winnable game for me, and I truly believed it was a game I could win.
Despite losing the bull, I was able to break in 16 darts to establish a one leg lead. Leung then denied me a shot at 88 to double my lead, and found Double 8 with his last dart in hand to level the game.
A third consecutive break, and third consecutive six-visit leg put me back ahead, before finally holding my throw to go within one leg of the match. A slightly unorthodox finish, knowing I had six darts at 60, I elected to go for the Treble 12 for a shot at Double 12. I missed the treble, and tidied up with a Single 8, and an unobstructed dart at D20.
Missed doubles from Leung gifted me a chance for the match. A poor dart at D20 from 112 wasn’t punished, and I was left with 40 for the match. The first dart was thrown badly, yet landed just below the Double 20. The second and third darts were well thrown at Double 10, they just clipped the wire. Leung punished on Double 3, and never looked back.
My trebles deserted me at this point, and Leung broke throw in the sixth leg to level the match. Despite kicking on towards the end of the last leg, it wasn’t enough, and Leung saw out a 17 dart hold of throw to complete the comeback.
Event 15
The first event of the final day saw me face talented Development Tour player Myles Avory in the L128. I started off the game strong, leaving 160 after 12 darts. Given I’d taken it out for the win in a league game the Tuesday before, I felt it had a chance of going. The first Treble 20 was perfect, and the second dart found its mark as well. The third fell just short of the double.
Wired darts at Double 10 and Double 5 saw Myles gifted a chance, which he took to lead early on.
The second leg was similar – good scoring, yet a wired dart at the Bull from 130 was once again punished by Myles, and he doubled his lead.
I won’t lie, at this point I felt my head drop – it seemed one of those games nothing would go in. We’ve all been there. Some very scrappy attempts at the outer ring in the third leg did nothing to kick me into gear, and by the fourth leg, I was truly dead and buried. Avory wired the Bull for a 170 to seal the whitewas win, before tidying up the 25 to take the victory. Certainly the low point of the weekend for me, in a game I felt the scoreline could’ve been flipped around.
Every cloud has its silver lining, however, as I was able to chalk the first round game for Dan Hands, a player I’d previously never heard of, who went on to win the event – definitely one to keep an eye on for the future!
Event 16
With my head perhaps not in the best possible state after the disappointment of Event 15, I was hoping for a straightforward draw for the final event of the year, to regain some confidence and kick on into the money-paying positions… alas, it could not have been further from the case.
I was drawn to play the winner of the No. 1 ranked player Adam Mould, and the No. 3 ranked player Andy Boulton. As far as draws go, this is about as brutal as it gets.
I was secretly hoping to play Boulton, and my wish was granted, as he dispatched Mould with ease in the L256.
As I got to the practice board, I noticed one thing – my arm just felt completely foreign. My grip felt wrong, my throw felt wrong… nothing seemed right. Before I knew it, we were throwing for bull.
The first leg was brutal from Andy. Leaving me back in the 300’s, he took out 66 for a 15 dart hold of throw, and I feared a second consecutive 4-0 loss was on the cards.
Nevertheless, I dug in and tried to focus on just playing my own game.
A 134 to start off left me on 367, and a 95 to follow left 272. 130 followed, utilising the bull with my last dart in order to guarantee a finsh, leaving 142. I usually go for 17’s from 142, however I opted to just play for a straight ton, as Andy wasn’t on a finish. I scored 94 to leave 48, having had to switch to the 18’s with my last dart due to the 20’s being blocked.
A well timed 180 from ‘X-Factor’ piled on the pressure, yet I held my nerve and found the 48 in two, to pull the game back to 1-1.
In a way, the game had many parallels to my game in Event 13 against Bradley Brooks. Boulton ran away with the next two legs, and despite offering me opportunities in the last leg, held out to win 4-1, and end my hopes of earning something back from this weekend.
Overall
Looking back, I was more than happy with how I played over the weekend. Over the five games played, I faced three players of ‘professional’ standard, and one of the top ranked players on the PDC Development Tour. Of the ‘professionals’, I ended with an overall score of 12-5, which I’ll take given my inexperience against players of that caliber. I’ve beaten former Tour Card holders in the past, but in events like this, it feels completely different.
The fact I was creating chances is, to me, a huge positive. It’s now about putting myself in those situations more often, so that taking those chances just feels second nature.
On to the next one!
—–ENDS—–
Words: Joe Reid
Images: ADC
