2011 Winmau World Masters Blog
This is a summary story written from a blog for the Greenville Premier Dart Association website at greenvilledarts.com.
After days of watching the Weather Channel, tracking the progress of Hurricane Irene, we finally got on our United Airlines flight out of Greenville right on time.
We flew into Washington only hours after the airport reopened and had one of the bumpiest landings I have ever experienced due to some strong winds still in the area.
After grabbing some food, we caught our flight to London, again right on time. It was a pretty smooth flight with the exception of a rough patch about halfway over the ocean. I don’t believe I have ever heard a plane’s captain come over the speaker and say, “ Everyone, get back to your seats, NOW! “
We arrived in London about 6 AM, went through customs and rode the underground to the hotel in the northern area of London called Camden. We were given the wrong information about which stop to take and ended up pulling our luggage for about 15 blocks to the hotel. It was a pretty area with cafes, shops and canals, but we were in no mood for sightseeing given our lack of sleep.
When we arrived, we were about to catch a quick nap before walking down to an area where a street festival was taking place and eating some fish and chips. After returning to the hotel, we had a couple pints before turning in for a long night’s sleep.
We were able to get some good rest Monday night and slept to noon. The long night’s sleep was very much needed to revive us from jet lag and try to get used to the time difference of 5 hours. We went out for lunch, a little shopping and sightseeing before finding a quaint little pub, the Grafton Arms, to get Sandy some practice. We threw for about 3 hours and were befriended by some local chaps who promised to watch ESPN this weekend and hopefully see Sandy play.
The Winmau Masters will be televised in Europe and on ESPN3.com in America. Supposedly, it will be shown on ESPN back home at a later date.
After darts, we enjoyed dinner at an outstanding Italian restaurant in the Primrose Hill area and then for a beer at a local pub called “ The Washington”. We closed the place down and the owner came over to chat with us about darts. He apparently follows the sport closely and told us his favorite women player was Trina Gulliver. He wished her good luck and we returned to the hotel. The brackets for the event were finally posted on Tuesday and Sandy’s first match on will be at 11:40 Thursday morning against Scotland’s Kate Smith. We were not able to find brackets for Friday’s Lakeside qualifier yet.
Our day started early as we got up and packed to go catch a train to Hull. We rode the underground to London’s Kings Cross station, which is a major train depot. From there we caught a very modern train and traveled 2 ½ hours through the beautiful English countryside.
On board we met a very helpful chap named Paul who is a train manager living in Hull. He gave us quite a bit of useful information about the city, and some of the local attractions and restaurants. Hull is an industrial seaport located in the northeastern part of England on the North Sea.
After arriving we met up with some of the ADO players and walked down to the venue which was still being set up for the event, so we were not able to go in and look around. Sandy and I found a pub near the arena called “ The Whittington and Cat” where we played darts with four youth players from Denmark and their manager. Anyone who has been around Sandy at American tournaments knows that she enjoys helping the youngsters and many of them seem to be drawn to her as well. It was no different here as she taught them how to play Cricket and 121. She is an ex-teacher and even though she sells liquor now, those skills are still inside her. While there, the defending Ladies Champion Julie Gore of Wales came in for a drink with her husband.
From there we spotted a fish and chips shop and ate dinner. This food was much better than the fish we had in London and generally it is better on the coast in the United Kingdom.
After a quick power nap we went down to the hotel bar and found several of the American players and some of the Canadian players we know. We drank and few pints and listened to the travel issues they had with the storm. Many missed flights or had delays and we were told two players were not able to come because New York airports were so backed up.
We threw some darts on the boards the hotel set up for us and retired about midnight to get some rest for the big day on Thursday.
Happy Birthday to me, my 3rd celebrated in the UK and one I will remember for the rest of my life. The day started early as players began checking in at 8:00 AM for a 10:00 AM start to the 2011 Winmau World Masters.
After registration and some practice we grabbed some breakfast before Sandy’s first match, which was at 11:40 AM at the Hull Arena, which is an ice hockey and skating rink. The ice was thawed and the event was played on a plywood floor. That’s right, I said a plywood floor. It didn’t seem to phase her one bit.
Her first match was against Scotland’s Kate Smith which she quickly beat 4-0 on a 20, 21 and two 18 dart games. She never missed a double until the last leg. This was followed by a 2-hour wait, which gave me a chance to catch up with Russia’s Anastasia Dobromyslovia, whom we met at her last Winmau Masters in 2008.
Sandy’s next match was against the tough Inge Van Genechten from Belguim. Sandy lost the first leg before winning 3 straight on her way to a 4-2 victory. She was hitting big shots on 19 and was in a very good zone. In the third round she faced the 2nd seeded player in her bracket, Scotland’s Francis Lawson. Sandy won handily 4-1 and advanced to the bracket 7 final against the 7th overall seed in the event, England’s Lorraine Farlam, who was the bracket’s top seed.
Sandy again started strong and built a 3-0 lead, blistering 19’s along the way and hitting key doubles. She continued to play strong darts but Lorraine started to heat up tossing a 13 darter in the next leg. The very determined English woman showed the courage of a champion and won the next 2 legs to even the match 3-3. In the decisive leg, Lorraine built a small lead coming down the board and reached the double first. Sandy had one last chance with 84 left but was unable to convert, missing double bull on her last dart. Lorraine hit double 20 on her third dart and won 4-3 in front of a crowd of international players and BDO officials.
Sandy was disappointed but she soon got over it, happy with her outstanding performance on the day. I can’t remember a leg over 24 darts. She went 15-9 on the day and finished Top 16, missing the money round and a chance at the defending champion by one dart. She had the highest finish of any American player. As always, I was so proud of her as were her teammates who constantly supported her through the day. She threw world class darts and went further than any of the American players. Special thanks to Kyle Gaulthier, his mother Angela, Christina Medina-Cummings, Jim Widmayer, Gordon Dixon and Marliese Kiel.
After finishing we hung around to watch Jim win his bracket and advance to Friday’s ESPN coverage, congrats to Jim on an awesome performance. We returned to the room to rest a bit before dinner. Friday is another day and at 11:00 AM she plays her 1st match in the Lakeside qualifier against England’s Krystal Gibbins.
The alarm came way too early today as the events of Thursday left us exhausted and neither of us got much sleep last night. Yet there we were at 8:00 AM for registration, some light practice before Sandy’s first match at 11:00 against England’s Krystal Gibbins.
Feeling the effects of the long day, Sandy wasn’t as sharp today for the Lakeside qualifier yet she found a way to survive her first match, winning 3-1. A 2-hour wait did nothing to help her energy level for the next match against England’s Debbie Shagwell but she played better advancing with a 3-0 victory. Her third round match was against the talented Swedish player Maud Jansson and Sandy won the first leg. Maud won the next two games before Sandy evened the match 2-2. The last leg was close but Sandy missed her out and Maud took out the first double she saw.
We were tired and wanted to get some rest but ESPN had finished the stage area and the youth finals were close to starting the television coverage so we stayed to watch. Scotland’s Emily Davidson won the girls championship and almost ended it in grand fashion. She had 170 to win the last leg and we were talking about how cool it would be for her to take it out. She stepped the oche and hit two triple twenties to give her the shot. Her third dart barely missed the double bull hitting the single.
After watching the boy’s finals we left to get some lunch and a quick power nap before returning to the arena to watch men’s top 24 matches. We watched Jim Widmayer play his stage match and we were right there to support him. I spoke to the cameraman and explained we were there to support him and excited about ESPN’s involvement in darts and what the future holds. He filmed us most of the time during the match and some of it ended up on the live coverage. Jim had his chances but eventually lost 3-2. After the matches ended we went back to the hotel lounge to hang out before getting to bed about 2:30 AM. I can tell you that I’m definitely ready to get some rest and return to a normal schedule when we get back.
As exciting as the darts has been this trip, it was nice to have a day where we didn’t have to be anywhere or throw any darts. Since the previous night ended so late, we slept in before setting out to explore Hull and it’s attractions.
It was a beautiful day, easily the best weather we’ve had on our trip. We walked to the edge of town, by the water and took in the local aquarium called “ The Deep”. I have always enjoyed aquariums and love the one in Charleston, but this was easily the most impressive one I have ever seen.
After that we again ate fish and chips, which are outstanding in the United Kingdom but always best in the seaside towns. We did a bit of shopping and then went the Freedom Festival in town. It is apparently festival season in the UK and this one was more fun than the one we attended in London earlier in the week. Lots of music, food, tasty beers, and arts and crafts were enjoyed by the large crowds that came to the 3-day event held at the marina just blocks away from the dart venue.
We stayed late before going back to the hotel to get packed for our trip back home.
We bid farewell to Hull and caught the 9:30 train to London. After some lunch, we headed out for an afternoon of sightseeing. The light rain soon gave way to sunshine and we took the train to Westminster, a district on the river Thames.
Right out of the station we were greeted by “ Big Ben” sounding it’s hourly bells. Sandy had never seen it before and even though I have, it was still very impressive. The area is also home to English Parliament and Westminster Abbey. From the bridge Scotland Yard and the Tower of London could also be seen along with an old friend from back home, the Goodyear Blimp.
We walked about 15 minutes up the street to visit Buckingham palace and even caught the changing of the guard, no sight of the Royal family though. The palace looked as it did 33 years ago when I was last there with one difference, the guards were carrying automatic weapons.
We finished our sightseeing in Piccadilly Circus, which I remembered as a “freak show” when I was there in the 1970’s. Even though they have cleaned the area up a bit, it was still a unique place and we witnessed four lads perform a break dancing exhibition by the famous fountain there. They were quite talented and the crowd gathered was very much entertained. We did a little more shopping before heading to the airport and the long wait before our early flight home the next morning.
After days of watching the Weather Channel, tracking the progress of Hurricane Irene, we finally got on our United Airlines flight out of Greenville right on time.
We flew into Washington only hours after the airport reopened and had one of the bumpiest landings I have ever experienced due to some strong winds still in the area.
After grabbing some food, we caught our flight to London, again right on time. It was a pretty smooth flight with the exception of a rough patch about halfway over the ocean. I don’t believe I have ever heard a plane’s captain come over the speaker and say, “ Everyone, get back to your seats, NOW! “
We arrived in London about 6 AM, went through customs and rode the underground to the hotel in the northern area of London called Camden. We were given the wrong information about which stop to take and ended up pulling our luggage for about 15 blocks to the hotel. It was a pretty area with cafes, shops and canals, but we were in no mood for sightseeing given our lack of sleep.
When we arrived, we were about to catch a quick nap before walking down to an area where a street festival was taking place and eating some fish and chips. After returning to the hotel, we had a couple pints before turning in for a long night’s sleep.
We were able to get some good rest Monday night and slept to noon. The long night’s sleep was very much needed to revive us from jet lag and try to get used to the time difference of 5 hours. We went out for lunch, a little shopping and sightseeing before finding a quaint little pub, the Grafton Arms, to get Sandy some practice. We threw for about 3 hours and were befriended by some local chaps who promised to watch ESPN this weekend and hopefully see Sandy play.
The Winmau Masters will be televised in Europe and on ESPN3.com in America. Supposedly, it will be shown on ESPN back home at a later date.
After darts, we enjoyed dinner at an outstanding Italian restaurant in the Primrose Hill area and then for a beer at a local pub called “ The Washington”. We closed the place down and the owner came over to chat with us about darts. He apparently follows the sport closely and told us his favorite women player was Trina Gulliver. He wished her good luck and we returned to the hotel. The brackets for the event were finally posted on Tuesday and Sandy’s first match on will be at 11:40 Thursday morning against Scotland’s Kate Smith. We were not able to find brackets for Friday’s Lakeside qualifier yet.
Our day started early as we got up and packed to go catch a train to Hull. We rode the underground to London’s Kings Cross station, which is a major train depot. From there we caught a very modern train and traveled 2 ½ hours through the beautiful English countryside.
On board we met a very helpful chap named Paul who is a train manager living in Hull. He gave us quite a bit of useful information about the city, and some of the local attractions and restaurants. Hull is an industrial seaport located in the northeastern part of England on the North Sea.
After arriving we met up with some of the ADO players and walked down to the venue which was still being set up for the event, so we were not able to go in and look around. Sandy and I found a pub near the arena called “ The Whittington and Cat” where we played darts with four youth players from Denmark and their manager. Anyone who has been around Sandy at American tournaments knows that she enjoys helping the youngsters and many of them seem to be drawn to her as well. It was no different here as she taught them how to play Cricket and 121. She is an ex-teacher and even though she sells liquor now, those skills are still inside her. While there, the defending Ladies Champion Julie Gore of Wales came in for a drink with her husband.
From there we spotted a fish and chips shop and ate dinner. This food was much better than the fish we had in London and generally it is better on the coast in the United Kingdom.
After a quick power nap we went down to the hotel bar and found several of the American players and some of the Canadian players we know. We drank and few pints and listened to the travel issues they had with the storm. Many missed flights or had delays and we were told two players were not able to come because New York airports were so backed up.
We threw some darts on the boards the hotel set up for us and retired about midnight to get some rest for the big day on Thursday.
Happy Birthday to me, my 3rd celebrated in the UK and one I will remember for the rest of my life. The day started early as players began checking in at 8:00 AM for a 10:00 AM start to the 2011 Winmau World Masters.
After registration and some practice we grabbed some breakfast before Sandy’s first match, which was at 11:40 AM at the Hull Arena, which is an ice hockey and skating rink. The ice was thawed and the event was played on a plywood floor. That’s right, I said a plywood floor. It didn’t seem to phase her one bit.
Her first match was against Scotland’s Kate Smith which she quickly beat 4-0 on a 20, 21 and two 18 dart games. She never missed a double until the last leg. This was followed by a 2-hour wait, which gave me a chance to catch up with Russia’s Anastasia Dobromyslovia, whom we met at her last Winmau Masters in 2008.
Sandy’s next match was against the tough Inge Van Genechten from Belguim. Sandy lost the first leg before winning 3 straight on her way to a 4-2 victory. She was hitting big shots on 19 and was in a very good zone. In the third round she faced the 2nd seeded player in her bracket, Scotland’s Francis Lawson. Sandy won handily 4-1 and advanced to the bracket 7 final against the 7th overall seed in the event, England’s Lorraine Farlam, who was the bracket’s top seed.
Sandy again started strong and built a 3-0 lead, blistering 19’s along the way and hitting key doubles. She continued to play strong darts but Lorraine started to heat up tossing a 13 darter in the next leg. The very determined English woman showed the courage of a champion and won the next 2 legs to even the match 3-3. In the decisive leg, Lorraine built a small lead coming down the board and reached the double first. Sandy had one last chance with 84 left but was unable to convert, missing double bull on her last dart. Lorraine hit double 20 on her third dart and won 4-3 in front of a crowd of international players and BDO officials.
Sandy was disappointed but she soon got over it, happy with her outstanding performance on the day. I can’t remember a leg over 24 darts. She went 15-9 on the day and finished Top 16, missing the money round and a chance at the defending champion by one dart. She had the highest finish of any American player. As always, I was so proud of her as were her teammates who constantly supported her through the day. She threw world class darts and went further than any of the American players. Special thanks to Kyle Gaulthier, his mother Angela, Christina Medina-Cummings, Jim Widmayer, Gordon Dixon and Marliese Kiel.
After finishing we hung around to watch Jim win his bracket and advance to Friday’s ESPN coverage, congrats to Jim on an awesome performance. We returned to the room to rest a bit before dinner. Friday is another day and at 11:00 AM she plays her 1st match in the Lakeside qualifier against England’s Krystal Gibbins.
The alarm came way too early today as the events of Thursday left us exhausted and neither of us got much sleep last night. Yet there we were at 8:00 AM for registration, some light practice before Sandy’s first match at 11:00 against England’s Krystal Gibbins.
Feeling the effects of the long day, Sandy wasn’t as sharp today for the Lakeside qualifier yet she found a way to survive her first match, winning 3-1. A 2-hour wait did nothing to help her energy level for the next match against England’s Debbie Shagwell but she played better advancing with a 3-0 victory. Her third round match was against the talented Swedish player Maud Jansson and Sandy won the first leg. Maud won the next two games before Sandy evened the match 2-2. The last leg was close but Sandy missed her out and Maud took out the first double she saw.
We were tired and wanted to get some rest but ESPN had finished the stage area and the youth finals were close to starting the television coverage so we stayed to watch. Scotland’s Emily Davidson won the girls championship and almost ended it in grand fashion. She had 170 to win the last leg and we were talking about how cool it would be for her to take it out. She stepped the oche and hit two triple twenties to give her the shot. Her third dart barely missed the double bull hitting the single.
After watching the boy’s finals we left to get some lunch and a quick power nap before returning to the arena to watch men’s top 24 matches. We watched Jim Widmayer play his stage match and we were right there to support him. I spoke to the cameraman and explained we were there to support him and excited about ESPN’s involvement in darts and what the future holds. He filmed us most of the time during the match and some of it ended up on the live coverage. Jim had his chances but eventually lost 3-2. After the matches ended we went back to the hotel lounge to hang out before getting to bed about 2:30 AM. I can tell you that I’m definitely ready to get some rest and return to a normal schedule when we get back.
As exciting as the darts has been this trip, it was nice to have a day where we didn’t have to be anywhere or throw any darts. Since the previous night ended so late, we slept in before setting out to explore Hull and it’s attractions.
It was a beautiful day, easily the best weather we’ve had on our trip. We walked to the edge of town, by the water and took in the local aquarium called “ The Deep”. I have always enjoyed aquariums and love the one in Charleston, but this was easily the most impressive one I have ever seen.
After that we again ate fish and chips, which are outstanding in the United Kingdom but always best in the seaside towns. We did a bit of shopping and then went the Freedom Festival in town. It is apparently festival season in the UK and this one was more fun than the one we attended in London earlier in the week. Lots of music, food, tasty beers, and arts and crafts were enjoyed by the large crowds that came to the 3-day event held at the marina just blocks away from the dart venue.
We stayed late before going back to the hotel to get packed for our trip back home.
We bid farewell to Hull and caught the 9:30 train to London. After some lunch, we headed out for an afternoon of sightseeing. The light rain soon gave way to sunshine and we took the train to Westminster, a district on the river Thames.
Right out of the station we were greeted by “ Big Ben” sounding it’s hourly bells. Sandy had never seen it before and even though I have, it was still very impressive. The area is also home to English Parliament and Westminster Abbey. From the bridge Scotland Yard and the Tower of London could also be seen along with an old friend from back home, the Goodyear Blimp.
We walked about 15 minutes up the street to visit Buckingham palace and even caught the changing of the guard, no sight of the Royal family though. The palace looked as it did 33 years ago when I was last there with one difference, the guards were carrying automatic weapons.
We finished our sightseeing in Piccadilly Circus, which I remembered as a “freak show” when I was there in the 1970’s. Even though they have cleaned the area up a bit, it was still a unique place and we witnessed four lads perform a break dancing exhibition by the famous fountain there. They were quite talented and the crowd gathered was very much entertained. We did a little more shopping before heading to the airport and the long wait before our early flight home the next morning.