The MODUS Super Series Finals Night will have Scottish and Welsh representation after David Sharp and Kurt Parry (Pictured) finished first and second respectively to round off Group C. They’ll be joined by the Netherlands’ youngster, Jamai van den Herik, who has been patiently waiting to return to action since Wednesday, as well as the top trio from this evening’s Group B.
With maximum points yesterday afternoon, it was a case of razor-sharp for David, as the Scot already had one foot in Saturday’s showdown. Sharp, who enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals of the PDC Challenge Tour earlier this year, got off to a winning start – edging Kevin Lankhuizen 4–3 in the opening match. The unfortunate Belgian continued his poor run, with that result marking his sixth consecutive defeat – against a bloke, in stark contrast, making it six consecutive wins.
Sharp did eventually suffer a setback, losing 4–1 to Mark McGeeney, but quickly rediscovered his edge to dispatch Joe Bridle by the same score. It could have been a nervy end to proceedings after the tartan tungsten thrower was narrowly defeated 4-3 by Turner. However, narrowly is the operative word here – a nil next to the Scot’s name could have caused a slight panic. Leg difference was always going to play a part and fortunately, he had a nice healthy cushion in that column.
That said, had the 56-year-old Englishman won by the maximum margin, Sharp could have seen his afternoon blunted. But he didn’t – and that’s all that matters. By the time he faced Kurt Parry to round things off, it was purely to determine who finished where – both were already guaranteed a top-two spot.
Welshman Parry spent much of the session keeping a close eye on how Mr Mutts Nutts was doing. With McGeeney, Bridle, and Lankhuizen out of the race relatively early, the question became which two from three would go through.
The afternoon couldn’t have started much better for the man from Bridgend, who opened with back-to-back 4–0 wins – handy for the points tally, even handier for the leg difference. The first bagelling came against Turner, and that proved to be a crucial result. Parry carried that momentum forward, beating Lankhuizen 4–2 and confirming qualification by defeating McGeeney 4–1. Nothing could dampen the Welshman’s mood then – not even a 4–2 loss at the hands of Sharp. All of that meant when it came to Turner’s final match, he would have needed a 9–0 win to snatch second spot – tricky, considering it’s only best-of-seven.
There was a little bit of a silver lining around the cloud for Kevin Lankhuizen. Despite losing his opening six matches, the Belgian can take heart from his late recovery – even if the damage had already been done. He won three of his last four to avoid bottom spot and gained some much-needed confidence. In fact, on the day, only Kurt Parry bettered his record. What Kevin wouldn’t give for another crack at Thursday afternoon.
The final three players for Finals Night will be confirmed later this evening as Group B reaches its conclusion.
—–ENDS—–
Images: MODUS
