POST completion of the second season of the Barry Darts Singles League (BDSL) http://barrysinglesdartsleague.webs.com/, 70 plus Welsh capped Wayne Warren was invited to put on an exhibition for all the single league darters at the Barry Island Sports and Social Club on September 9.

As afore mentioned Wayne has been capped 70 plus times by Wales and is the current holder of the prestigious British Darts Organisations (BDO) Gold Cup Singles title, double Lakeside World Darts Championship qualifier and the winner of countless BDO tournament around the UK.

The format of the night was 8 darters would play the best of 5 legs of 501 against Wayne, those to play were Matt Stanger, Joel Sheppard, Richie Williams, mark Driscoll, Jon Hurn, Alan Oliver, Richie Boucher and Matt Bester.

First up was Matt Stanger, qualified for the finals night of the BDSL finishing 2nd in the league format. Expectation was if Wayne was going to get beaten or even challenged then playing him early would be the best opportunity. It certainly looked that way with Matt starting well and Wayne not so, but 2 missed darts at a double cost Matt the first leg with Wayne sneaking it. Wayne then moved up a gear and slotted in his first 180 of the night on route to the second leg in 15 darts and then proceeded to win the 3rd and beat Matt 3-0.

Second match saw Joel Sheppard take the oche, Joel had the highest outshot of the BDSL with a 158 last season. It didn’t quite happen for Joel, try as he may the scores just didn’t happen while Wayne was now finding his true Welsh form and quite easily won in legs of 19,18 and 16 and hitting his 2nd 180 on route to a 3-0 victory.

Third match had Richie Williams as the opponent; Richie qualified for the finals night of the BDSL finishing just outside the top 4. Richie started well first leg and caught Wayne a little of guard and managed to take out 95 to win the 1st leg and be the first to take a leg, let alone a match, of Wayne. This obviously annoyed Wayne who proceeded to win the next two legs hitting a 180 in each and easily winning the third in 15 darts with an exhibition double 3, double 6 finish. Result 3-1.

Fourth match saw Mark Driscoll try his luck; Mark was mightily close to qualifying for the finals night of the BDSL and can be a prolific scorer. Marks first throw saw him hit a 180 which Wayne took as a sign of a good player and upped him game to yet another gear and throw his second best match of the night, while Mark could not maintain his form and lost 3-0 with Wayne winning in 16, 15 and 16 darts.

Fifth match saw Jon Hurn take to the oche, Jon qualified for the BDSL finals night and unluckily lost in a play off to finish just outside the top 4. Wayne was now on full flow and produced his best leg of the night in the first leg winning in 11 darts (136a throw average) with the aid a another 180, he then went 2-0 up with an excellent 146 finish (Treble 20, treble 18, double 16). Jon replied in excellent fashion and won the 3rd leg to make it 2-1. Wayne took that leg loss on the chin and produced some great darts hitting 4 100 plus scores to win the fourth and match 3-1.

Sixth match saw Alan Oliver attempt to beat Wayne, Alan performed well in the BDSL to finish mid table and just outside qualification for the finals night. Alan ran Wayne close in 2 of the 3 legs and having darts at a double in the 3rd leg with the aid of a 180, but Wayne proved too much and won 3-0 with a 180 in the second leg.

Seventh match saw Richie Boucher take to the oche. Shy retiring Richie is well known to the Barry darting community and is the current champion of the BDSL. Richie produced the highest average of all the Barry darters against Wayne, but Wayne knew this was one game where he needed to play to a high standard and won 3-0 with legs of 15, 16 and 15 for an average nearing 98 a throw with his customary 180 in the 3rd leg and a majestic 131 check out to win the 1st.

Last match of the night saw Matt Bester try and be the only person to beat Wayne. Matt finished 2nd on the BDSL and almost knocked out Wayne in the BDO Gold Cup county qualification tournament a few months ago. Unfortunately for Matt he started slowly and easily let Wayne take the 1st leg. Matt upped him game in the 2nd and 3rd legs hitting a 180 in the second but Wayne had the upperfoot throughout and won 3-0 with another 180 in the second.

Match stats for the night

Match 1

Darter Legs Won Average

Matt Stanger 0 69.9

Wayne Warren 3 83.4

Match 2

Joel Sheppard 0 53.4

Wayne Warren 3 84.9

Match 3

Richie Williams 1 63.2

Wayne Warren 3 78.4

Match 4

Mark Driscoll 0 57.3

Wayne Warren 3 95.7

Match 5

Jon Hurn 1 72.3

Wayne Warren 3 89.7

Match 6

Alan Oliver 0 69.3

Wayne Warren 3 83.4

Match 7

Richie Boucher 0 76.5

Wayne Warren 3 97.8

Match 8

Matt Stanger 0 73.2

Wayne Warren 3 86.7

The third season of the BDSL will be starting soon; this takes place every Tuesday at the Barry Island Sports and Social Club. If you’re interested in participating please contact Matt Stanger via email on mattstan.ms@googlemail.com or phone 07970755809.