Toeing the Oche'

During the down time some of the lads of the PDC headed to Australia for a Super Four’s match against five teams from Australia, one from New Zealand and a DPA team. The PDC’s team was anchored by world match play runner up Terry Jenkins along with Robert Thorton, Denis Ovens and Marc Webster. The four’s were followed the next day by the Australian Players Open Championship with a prize fund of £5,000. All the events in the “Land of Toss a Shrimp on the Barbie” took place at the Coogee Hotel in Sydney.

The next stop is North America where players can fatten their bank accounts. First up is the Canadian Players Championship in Ontario where the usual £22,000 is waiting the field as well as Players Championship points. Then like Sherman during the Civil War the PDC will descend on Atlanta Georgia (possibility to burn and pillage) for a pair of events that posts £72,000 in a Players Championship followed by the PDC US Open.

SUPER FOUR’S…SYDNEY

Trash talking is fun in any sport. It’s even more fun when trash talks morphs into a win.

Leading up to the Super Four’s held in Sydney the town, not the Sydney Arms a former great dart pub in the London suburbs that spawned many great players. Aussia Paul Nicholson said “Bring it on” to the four PDC “toss tungsten” who had made the trip across the bounding main. He added, “is there anything more satisfying than seeing the POMS get beaten by Australia at the game they invented.” The Old Dart Coach would concur as he was associated with the American World Cup team that beat the POMS on stage in Brisbane’s Old Town hall 9-0. On that occasion the Aussie crowd cheers loudly for the POMS. Guess better a POM than a “bloody Yank”. Go figure.

PDC’s Terry Jenkins shot back, “We’ve got The Ashes Series Cricket on now in England and like the cricketers I love to whack the Aussies.” Through round robin play the PDC lads were sailing with the wind at their backs by winning matches with a combined score of 70- 7. The runner up, the land of a million sheep and a prom date always available, New Zealand was second at 46-31. The final match of the round robin had the PDC spanking the Kiwi’s 10- 1. New Zealand may have still been feeling the effects of the 10-1 loss as they were upset by Queensland in the semi’s 6-1. As expected the PDC got to the final with an easy 6-3 win over New South Wales.

THE FINALS

The PDC and Queensland split the opening double’s matches for a level one. Terry Jenkins and Marc Wenster took two singles to give the PDC a 3-1 lead in the race to 6. Then the roof caved in on the PDC. Rob Modra won two singles so when both Shane Whitlock and Shane Tichowitsch each won the lads from Queensland were up 5-3. Robert Thorton stayed off disaster with a win over Steve MacArthur. How ironic that Terry “like the cricketers I like to whack the Aussies” Jenkins would lose 3-0 to Shane Tichowitsch giving Queensland the Fours Title. Oh yes England also lost the Ashes.

The Australian Players championship also stayed “down under.” Paul “Bring it On” Nicholson reversed last years result, he had lost in the finals, when he beat Robert Thornton 6-1 to pick up the £5,000 check for first place. All in all was a good week for Aussie darters. Brings back the words written by American Sports Writer Art Spandler when the last English player went out of Wimbleton some years ago. “The English are great at inventing games they just seem to have trouble playing them.”