It was a dramatic end to Group B action down on the south coast, but we now have our six finalists who will battle it out this evening for MODUS Super Series honours.
Shane McGuirk began the evening well placed with six points from the opening round of fixtures and quickly extended that to eight with a narrow 4-3 win over Carl Wilson. Shortly after, however, the reigning WDF World Champion was edged out in a last-leg decider by Lee Cocks. Unperturbed, the Irishman responded impressively, cruising past Scott Campbell without conceding a leg, which all but confirmed his progression – a point he underlined by repeating the result against Sam Spivey.
The two remaining qualification spots were contested in a frantic tussle between Wilson, Campbell, and Cocks – a game of musical chairs that ultimately left the latter standing when the music stopped. Kent’s Carl Wilson held the advantage in terms of leg difference, which was always likely to prove decisive if the trio finished level on points. After losing his first two matches, a 4-1 victory for Wilson over Spivey just before midnight revived his campaign and, in the process, severely dented the hopes of his compatriots.
With four matches left, any of the remaining players could still sneak into the top three – though Spivey needed a darting miracle and a perfect storm of favourable outcomes elsewhere.
In the first of those fixtures, McGuirk breezed past Campbell 4-0 to leave the Scot hanging on by a thread. Wilson then followed suit, blanking Lee Cocks in a result that didn’t help Campbell’s cause – but secured things for himself.
‘The Arrow’ then made it three wins from four with another dominant performance, handing Spivey a second straight 4-0 defeat and consigning the 29-year-old to the bottom of the table.
That set up a straight shoot-out for the final qualifying place between Campbell and Cocks. The maths was simple: Campbell had to win and limit his opponent to no more than one leg. And that’s exactly what he delivered, taking a 4-1 win and stamping his ticket for finals night.
Group One this evening will consist of Carl Wilson, Jamai van den Herik, and Kurt Perry, while the other trio includes David Sharp, Scott Campbell, and Shane McGuirk.
The action kicks off at 7:45pm, with Van den Herik vs. Kurt Perry getting things underway.
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Images: Chris Sargeant/WDF
