After Republic of Ireland, and Steve Lennon in particular, dominated day one at the ADC Winmau Championship North, day two say Scotland’s turn, as Scott Winder and Danny Trueman bagged the two titles on offer at Middlesbrough Sports Village.
Winder was first in the winners’ enclosure, as he blasted past standings leader Daniel Ayres in a sublime 5-0 success in the final of Event Seven.
The Scot overcame Dominic Mcelvenney and Kaden Mitchell, before whitewashing Oliver Mitchell to make the last 16, where he got the better of Robert Grundy, 5-2.
Winder then got past Jordan Matthews 5-3, and made the final at the expense of young Benjamin Smith in a final leg. A round earlier, Smith had fired in two 170 finishes in a 5-4 win over Jack Main.
Joining Winder in the final was the rock-solid Ayres, who had finally ended the dominance of Steve Lennon by averaging nearly 97 in a 4-2 last 32 victory over the Irishman, and he backed that up with a 99.34 average in thrashing Sam Spivey 5-1 in the last 16.
A 93.79 average accounted for Gary Hayes by the same score, and a 92.60 average made it three 5-1 wins on the spin for Ayres, as he made the final.
Winder dominated though, and finishes of 83, 126, 96 and a match-winning 66 helped him secure the first prize, and the £1,000 prize money.
Winder’s work was done, and he departed Event Eight early as he crashed out to John Purdy in round one, and it was left to Danny Trueman to pick up the first placing with a drama-filled 5-4 win against Oliver Mitchell in the final.
After seeing off John-Sebastian Wright, Graham Usher and Lewis Cook, Trueman averaged nearly 92 to make the quarter finals, winning 5-1 against Jason Watson-Smith.
He saved his and the tournament’s best for the last eight, as he clocked 109.61 in a stunning 5-1 win over Alan Winspear, before dispatching Stuart Dutton 5-3 to move into the final.
Waiting for him was Mitchell, who raced past Darryl Hughes, Ozzy Ayres and David Thomas before averaging nearly 94 to whitewash Chris Wickenden in the last 16.
He would need a final leg to get past Jamie Owens, and a 93.67 average was enough for him to make the final at the expense of Ryan Hogarth, winning 5-2 in a spicy affair.
The final was a quality affair, with Trueman out of the blocks quicker, 14 and 13-darters putting him 2-0 up before Mitchell levelled.
The pair traded legs but Mitchell would then blink, missing three match darts to allow Trueman to take out 44 to force a final leg, where ‘The Show’ found tops for a 16-darter to win it from under Mitchell’s nose.
The victory took Trueman up to seventh in the standings, with Ayres leading the way by 132 points from Steve Lennon in second place.
The Northern action resumes with the next block of events on September 5-6.
—ENDS—
