Sunday’s action at Bradmoor Farm began with the crowning of yet another precocious young darts talent in Lewis Cook, witnessed a major name in women’s darts, Gemma Hayter, grab a WADC crown and admired a resilient and impressive tournament darts debut from Mark Stafford.
It is merely the latest chapter in an ever-growing line of teenage title winners, with the Essex-based 16-year-old brushing aside the disappointment of narrowly missing out in the previous event to go one step further this time and claim the glory.
For Cook, it proved a long slog which began all the way back in the last 256. After negotiating that hurdle, he then saw off recent MODUS Super Series runner-up Steve West, who must have headed straight to Bradmoor Farm from Portsmouth on Saturday night only to fall at the second hurdle. A frustrating turnaround for him.
Before long, the youngster Cook found himself at the business end of the tournament, first defeating Harrison Leigh in the quarter-finals before reaching the final courtesy of a 5-2 victory over Josh McCarthy.
Then, to get his hands on the £1,000 winner’s cheque, he overcame Mark Stafford by that very same scoreline.
Event two of the day went to another first-time champion this season, Chas Barstow, who once again left Mark Stafford occupying the unwanted bridesmaid position.
Credit should be given to Hastings man Stafford. These events are.gruelling and tonreach back to back finals is usually the preserve of the experienced ans the bigger names. Yet, Mark was on his first real darts journey!
After dropping just four legs on his route to the quarter-finals, Barstow continued the theme of 5-2 victories, defeating both Robbie Martin and Michael Wiles before producing the same scoreline against Stafford to secure the title.
Two-time PDC Women’s Series winner Gemma Hayter (pictured) claimed the honours in the opening WADC event of Sunday’s double-header.
The Eastleigh thrower was another player giving very little away, arriving at the semi-finals having conceded just a couple of legs across four matches, including a whitewash victory over Maggie Sutton in the quarter-finals.
Hayter then overcame Jade Gofford before producing a spirited comeback in the final, rallying from a 3-1 deficit to edge Jo Locke in a deciding leg thriller.Defeated semi-finalist 24 hours earlier, Louise Pearson then stormed to victory in the final WADC event of the weekend, cruising to an emphatic 5-0 whitewash win over Eve Watson.
It had been a relatively straightforward route for Pearson until Jo Locke pushed her all the way in the semi-finals. But in the final itself, it was entirely one-way traffic as she strolled to victory and rounded off the weekend in style.
Across both the ADC and WADC events, the weekend once again highlighted the remarkable blend of emerging teenage talent and experienced campaigners currently thriving on the circuit.
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From Lewis Cook’s breakthrough triumph to established names such as Gemma Hayter and Louise Pearson continuing to deliver, Bradmoor Farm provided another reminder of just how competitive and unpredictable the system has become.
ADC WINMAU CHAMPIONSHIP DARTS SOUTH – EVENT 7
Bradmoor Farm, Aylesbury, England (Sun 10 May)
Quarter-Finals
Mark Stafford 5-4 Zac Griffiths
Sean Holley 5-2 Luke Stallwood
Lewis Cook 5-2 Harrison Leigh
Josh McCarthy 5-3 Adrian Gray
Semi-Finals
Mark Stafford 5-0 Sean Holley
Lewis Cook 5-2 Josh McCarthy
Final
Lewis Cook 5-2 Mark Stafford
ADC WINMAU CHAMPIONSHIP SOUTH – EVENT 8
Bradmoor Farm, Aylesbury, England (Sun 10 May)
Quarter-Finals
Jack Main 5-4 Grant Brown
Mark Stafford 5-3 Shaun Fox
Chas Barstow 5-2 Robbie Martin
Michael Wiles 5-vs Sam Spivey
Semi-Finals
Mark Stafford 5-3 Jack Main
Chas Barstow 5-2 Michael Wiles
Final
Chas Barstow 5-2 Mark Stafford
WADC WINMAU CHAMPIONSHIP SOUTH – EVENT 3
Bradmoor Farm, Aylesbury, England (Sun 10 May)
Quarter-Finals
Jade Gofford 5-1 Vickie Louise
Gemma Hayter 5-0 Maggie Sutton
Trina Gulliver 5-2 Deta Hedman
Jo Locke 5-2 Vicky Pruim
Semi-Finals
Gemma Hayter 5-2 Jade Gofford
Jo Locke 5-4 Trina Gulliver
Final
Gemma Hayter 5-4 Jo Locke
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WADC WINMAU CHAMPIONSHIP SOUTH – EVENT 4
Bradmoor Farm, Aylesbury, England (Sun 10 May)
Quarter-Finals
Louise Pearson 5-2 Sophie Hadley
Jo Locke 5-2 Lauren Bloomfield
Eve Watson 5-2 Gemma Hayter
Vicky Pruim 5-vs Jade Gofford
Semi-Finals
Louise Pearson 5-4 Jo Locke
Eve Watson 5-2 Vicky Pruim
Final
Louise Pearson 5-0 Eve Watson
For Players intrigued, a visit to www.dartscircuit.com offers the gateway. Register attend one of the hundreds of affiliated venues and immerse yourself. The trajectory from local league hopeful to recognised contender often begins in these modest yet indispensable arenas.
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Images: ADC
