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Dancing Leonard Gates, the coolest man on the Seniors Tour, continued his domination of the darts code, claiming his 3^rd title in a row. The World Senior’s Matchplay in York is now in his possession adding to the Champion of Champions and the World Senior Masters title. After a long day comprising of the quarter, semi and final in one day, despite their best efforts, no one could lay a glove on the amiable American. Whilst his pearly white smile lights the room, when the oche is toed he is all business and nobody can match his level of scoring. Whilst the Seniors fields are now full of talent, it’s up to them to step up to the Soulger’s challenge.  

This time it was the turn of qualifier Jim McEwan who had sensationally came through the field to take his place in the final, but the rank outsider was defeated 9-6 with Leonard Gates frontrunning all the way to the line.  

Speaking afterward Jim McEwan said “I tried. Leonard was too good on the night. For a qualifier to get to a final, I’ve really enjoyed it. The night is Leonard’s and he deserves it. I’m very proud of myself.”  

The champion admitted it was a great achievement for him to have secured the hattrick and asked if the WSDT would consider a competition in his homeland “Let’s see if we can get a competition over in North America too, it’s a great experience and I hope to see it last for a long time.” Asked if he is looking to add the World Championship when it comes round to complete the set, Gates joked “I’m gonna get in the gym and work hard for that one” adding “these guys aren’t washed up, they are shooting stellar darts”  

How It happened: 

Leg 1- McEwan’s worst leg of the tournament, clear nerves. Soulger comfortable on D20. 1-0  

Leg 2- Much higher quality, both trade trebles. Gates first 180. McEwan misses Tops for a hold, Gates hits his tops for a break. 2-0  

Leg 3- Gates again off strongly, he looks as though he wants this to be one-way traffic, the smiling assassin. McEwan already starting to look frustrated. 3-0  

Leg 4- Every leg Gates starts off scoring heavily and he’s a great front runner. McEwan responds with his first 180. McEwan makes a mess of the Big Fish and Leonard pounces. 4-0  

Leg 5- Chucky needs to slow it down here, his first dart is sliding into the 1 far too often. This is a much better leg though, 117 for a break. PINS it! We may have a match after all! 4-1  

Leg 6- A word for Paul Hinks again, a herculean effort from the ref. It was tie-break galore this afternoon and hasn’t made an error all day. All whilst looking sharp as a pin. In the meantime, another max from Leonard and Jim is in trouble again. Gates busts on T16 but Jim can’t capitalise. Another break. 5-1  

Leg 7- Soulger will love to see McEwan’s body language, the head shaking has started. Gates misses 2 at double and Jim takes advantage with a break, will that make him feel better? 5-2 

Leg 8- Jim head shaking is now taking place before he throws the darts, he can’t hold throw as Leonard’s scoring is so much heavier. 6-2  

Leg 9- Chucky adds chuntering to his head shaking, his head has gone unfortunately. Gates strength is to be completely unaffected by his opponent. Mis count from Gates, but no matter, Jim is back on 298 so he can take his time. 7-2  

Leg 10- One game too many for Jim it seems, but I hope he looks back on the tournament with great pride. Another single 1 and his shoulders drop. He battles on, but likely needs a 126 to hold. He misses the bull for the check but he returns and holds his throw for the FIRST time. 7-3  

Leg 11- Jim pins a 180 and he needs it as Leonard scoring is permanently heavy. 121 for a break for the doughty Scot and he misses Bull again. Gates misses and leaves the door ajar but McEwan can’t walk through. Chances are so rare, when they come the pressure is too huge. 8-3 

Leg 12- Out of nowhere Jim bosses the leg and cruises to a hold of throw. 8-4  

Leg 13- A twitch from Gates as a D18 from McEwan steals Gates first chance of throwing for the match, all of a sudden the scores don’t read too bad. The last leg is always the hardest. 8-5 

Leg 14- Max from McEwan, his arm has released of all that tension being so close to losing. Gates can’t find a treble that came so easy to him until now. The comeback is on! 8-6  

Leg 15- Gates needs to refocus here, McEwan fancies the job suddenly. Much better early visits will calm him down, finding the lipstick again. His third visit is a max, it was just a temporary wobble it seems. Tops for the title….takes it first time. A masterclass. 9-6.  

SEMI FINALS: 

Chucky joy 

Just months after considering quitting darts altogether, Scottish qualifier Jim McEwan dumped out former world champion Neil Duff to progress to the final of the Seniors Matchplay. After failing in a number of qualifiers McEwan admitted “I’ve worked hard on the Seniors since Day 1 but I wondered what’s the point, but I enjoyed watching the tournaments so much I thought I’ll give it another go” Déjà vu must have been strong for Jim as Duffman battled back from 7-2 down to put McEwan under pressure in a repeat of their last encounter but the doughty Scotsman would not be denied. The decisive turning point was leg 13, At 7-5 Duff had won 3 in a row and had all the momentum until McEwan pinned a 4, T18, D18 when the double looked to be covered. Uncharacteristically Chucky fist pumped and that adrenaline and momentum carried him through leg 14 too for a 9-5 win. Speaking to TNT sports McEwan said “I was thinking of Lakeside last year, here we go again. I don’t usually do that sort of thing!” (celebrate). It was clear McEwan was fired up for the match from the first leg, breaking with a 130 outshot, surging into the strong lead before being pegged back.  

Gates crashes the party 

Leonard Gates continued his quest for a hattrick after a battling win over a desperately unlucky Paul Hogan. After a solid start from Hogan, Soulger clicked into gear taking 4 legs in a row including a 116 outshot. In truth, with 2 efforts at D18 Hogan could have led 4-0 but he was behind at the break. On the return Gates continued the pressure, taking leg 11 for a 7-4 lead. Hogan wasn’t ready to pack his bags though and scrapped manfully to get the game back to 7-7, fist pumping to the crowd. Just when the momentum looked to have shifted, Gates, with the confidence of a man with titles on his mantlepiece, took a clean kill in leg 15 and hit a stunning Shanghai in leg 16 to take the match and to break Hogan’s heart.  

Quarter Finals: 

Excalibur put to the sword in Classic.  

Leonard Gates posted the first ever ton plus average in a sensational Quarter Final which thrilled the York crowd on Sunday afternoon. He needed every one of these points as he finally dispatched his Canadian David Cameron in a classic. “That felt like some amazing darts from two North American competitors to show England what we can do” a visibly elated Gates admitted. When asked about obdurate Cameron refusing to be cowed by the power scoring, Soulger admitted he relies on his mindset too “I never give up, just keep shooting through”.  

The attending crowd were completely spoiled by the afternoon action as 3 out of the four quarter finals went to tie-break legs. The only one which didn’t was 16 time champion of the world Phil Taylor bowing out to Paul Hogan 8-6 in their quarter final. Taylor, yet to claim a Senior title, has been remarkably upbeat about the situation in previous iterations, perhaps now is starting to look disheartened by his lack of improvement. Yet to average 90 in the Seniors, how long does a man so used to winning continue? Hogan played reasonably well to book his place in the semis but this wasn’t the stunned surprise of other tournaments, we are now delighted to see the Power, but aren’t viewing him as a possible champion.  

Elsehwere, Jim McEwan continued to proudly fly the flag for Scotland after tournament favourite John Henderson and tournament holder Robert Thornton both were felled in Round 1. Always trailing to Kevin Painter throughout their tie, he managed to take the match into extra legs. After some profligate finishing from both, he was able to nick the match 9-7. Speaking to Ray Stubbs after the match McEwan said “We both scored really well but were guilty of messing up on the finishing. But it was my turn tonight” Turning his attention to Neil Duff in the semis he reflected “It’s revenge time after last year. I had my chances and never took them but that’s darts” 

The final quarter had yet another tie-break as Neil Duff came through 11-9 against Richie Howson. The Owl has had some great successes in his Senior career, so it will be unusual not to have him in the shake up for the title. Not this time though as tough competitor and WDF world champion Duffman battled from 4-1 down and wouldn’t be denied, finishing the match in style with a double/double on tops. “It’s a different game if I go 5-1 down” Duff admitted “I was lucky, but it was a heavyweight battle out there” Talking about the break between sessions Duff stated “It takes a lot out of you, so I might find a corner and have a lie down for an hour to get my energy levels back”  

By Jethro Bremner-Allison.

Nathan Aspinall played the game of his life in the biggest match of his life, blitzing Jonny Clayton 18-6 in a jaw dropping display which saw him winning 13 of the last 14 legs.  

After dropping to his knees, he ran off to his family for the biggest of hugs. Ever the sportsman, Jonny Clayton waited to hold his arm aloft as he reappeared on the stage. This was richly deserved and after 3 major finals lost in a row, there was no way he was letting that happen again.  

Speaking on the stage afterwards Nathan said  “The first 2 sessions, I was doing Jonny Clayton things to keep me in the game. I don’t know what it was but from leg 11 I played brilliant. I did it against Chris to be fair, I needed to speed up, I had to get rid of them quicker as that’s where my scoring is.” 

The speeding up clearly worked as he blew Jonny away from the second they returned from the break at 5-5. In leg 11, he got his first maximum and he didn’t look back. It was a scoring and doubling purple patch that only a few players who have ever walked this earth are capable of.  

Ton finishes were plentiful including a sensational big fish in leg 16. Add that to the heavy scoring, it was one way traffic. Jonny didn’t capitulate, he was still averaging in the mid 90s which wasn’t enough to even get a double chance in most legs.  

Wiping his eyes, you could hear the emotion in Nathan’s voice as he talked of the wonderful Blackpool crowd who have supported all the guys across the 9 days. “The atmosphere, the people who come to Blackpool are diehard darts fans, I can’t thank them enough”  

Clayton for his part, completely shellshocked by the defeat spoke in glowing terms about his opponent  “I came out the blocks ok but I can’t argue with that. I was beaten by the much better player. To get to a major final, I’m a proud man. I’d like to thank my family and this lot (the crowd). One day I’ll get back to this stage on finals night and hopefully that’ll be mine.” 

Reflecting on the match Aspinall talked of how he was never 100% confident and reciprocated warm feelings to the amiable Welshman. “Even when I was 15-5 up, darts and pressure can do weird things and that’s in the back of my mind. Jonny is the best guy on the tour. A gentleman, a credit to our sport and I’m just happy I beat you.  

AS IT HAPPENED:  

Leg 1: Asp leads us off with a ton. The atmosphere is electric, the fans are serenading Aspinall and he rewards them with a 110 outshot. 20/T18/D18. Sweet. 1-0 

Leg 2: Settles down in the crowd as people are desperate to watch and enjoy this match. Ferret has a look at 78 and takes it out straight away. 1-1 

Leg 3: It’s already speeding along at a great lick, this is going to be great. First miss at double from Asp, but cleans up with D10 and it’s another hold. 2-1 

Leg 4: First 180 of the match for Clayton, takes his a long way in front. Tidies up tops with Asp in the 200’s. 2-2 

Leg 5: Jonny gets a long shot 161 which fails on the bull! Messy from Aspinall as he faffs about but Ferret misses 3 at D16 with his first real chance. Asp gets D18 eventually. With throw. 3-2 

BREAK: ASPINALL 3 CLAYTON 2  

Leg 6: Clayton in control of his legs so far, but this time he misses so Asp comes in for a 108. And nails it! Scored with his first chance in the match. 4-2 

Leg 7: Clayton 25% on doubles at the moment, expect that to rise! First roof raiser, Clayton takes out a 141 with Asp sat on a double! Looks down the lens and gives us our first point. Beautiful. 4-3 

Leg 8: Ferret back in the lipstick with 2x 180’s. I bet there are plenty of punters on Asp to win the 180s but it’s 3-0. 12 darter Jonny sees out the leg, minimum of fuss. 4-4  

Leg 9: Asp 10 points behind in the averages as it stands 91 v 101. Unusual. Regardless of that it’s another 108. T19/19/D16 is great, although the single perilously close to the treble. 5-4  

Leg 10: Jonny’s turn! 101 this time to see off Asp without any drama and evens us up. As close as we hoped and expected. 5-5 

BREAK: ASPINALL 5 CLAYTON 5 

Leg 11: At last! Asp looks to the sky and ironically fist pumps, he’s hit a max in the 11^th leg! He’s been prolific this week but not tonight. Not only that, he gets an 11 darter, that’s the high point in the match so far. 6-5 

Leg 12: Asp first to a finish on Ferret’s throw and that’s not been happening. Missed the big number, but he’ll be back. D8, pins it and it’s a break. Will Clayton strike back straight away again? 7-5 

Leg 13: Clayton has a long shot pop at 161 to no avail and Asp steps in to keep the momentum. 8-5 

Leg 14: Asp is in a real purple patch here, Clayton is in big trouble. Scoring in this session is over 120 for Aspinall. 76 for a double break…gets it! 9-5  

Leg 15: Same again, Clayton groping for a longshot to save his bacon and can’t. He’s not able to create chances, this has been a blitz of a session for Aspinall. A whitewash session from nowhere.  

BREAK: ASPINALL 10 CLAYTON 5  

Leg 16: The scoring stats are both 99 now, the 10 points have evaporated. Clayton needs to regroup, 2 breaks behind. Clayton blazes one over the bar for shanghai….Asp for a BIG FISH….GETS IT. Bedlam in the Gardens. 11-5 

Leg 17: Asp acknowledges the crowd who are on their feet for him. Clayton even appreciated that big fish. Asp a mile in front on this leg too, this treble break is looking like a sprint for the line, that’s 7 on the trot. 12-5 

Leg 18: Considering Clayton is taking a trouncing here, he looks remarkably fresh and lands a max of his own. Asp replies immediately though. Tries for 81 on bull and he’s miles off in truth. Asp for 115…he’s only done it again. This is special. 13-5 

Leg 19: It’s like that water slide with the wind they do at the end of I’m a Celeb. Jonny has to get to the end of that run in the face of a tidal wave and a hurricane combined. Instead he’s blown further backwards and slides back to the start. 14-5 

Leg 20: Aspinall must be so chuffed, his best darts in the biggest match of his life. 121 for another 5-0 session…he finally misses one, wires the bull. Clayton misses again, he can’t stop the rot, he’s been traumatised. 15-5 

BREAK: ASPINALL 15 CLAYTON 5 Notes: When Asp said he wasn’t losing another final, it appears he wasn’t lying. Nobody could have stopped this onslaught.  

Leg 21: Everyone is shellshocked, crowd, families, commentators and players. How do you take 11 legs in a row off Jonny Clayton? What have we just watched? 16-5  

Leg 22: He’s done it! Double 5 and a broad grin passes Jonny’s lips. The comeback is on! 16-6 

Leg 23: Aspinall starts with a 180 just in case you thought he would have been stunned by the leg concession. He misses a dart at double but Clayton is on 163. Asp nails tops and he’s nearly there. 17-6  

Leg 24: Clayton kicks off with a 60, could Asp win it right here and now? Clayton misses 2 at tops, his mind is scrambled. Asp misses the first, closer with the second and on the wire with the 3^rd. Match darts gone! Clayton misses another 3, this is comical. Asp gets D5 on his 6^th match dart. He drops to his knees then runs off to see his family. Incredible, emotional scenes. 18-6.  

By Phil Lanning

BEAU GREAVES produced a remarkable 52 WINS in succession to reach the Ally Pally – a celebrated with a KFC!

The 18-year-old from Doncaster showed she was no chicken with an incredible run of eight consecutive Women’s Series to grab a place in the World Championship. 

Greaves dumped out former golden girl Fallon Sherrock and now joins Lisa Ashton in the showpiece event in December. 

She said: “Me and my sister just got a KFC, shower and straight to bed!

“I’ll have anything that’s cooked to be fair from KFC, I was absolutely starving. We got out the venue and chilled for a little bit. I rang my dad, talked to everyone and answered a few messages.

“It’s a massive achievement, just to win one this weekend was enough for me but I did four!

“I played really well in patches and I played really poor in patches to be fair. 

“But I’ve had the games when I know I can do it, I’ve enjoyed it. I’m buzzing, I don’t really have the words for it. 

“Now that people keep saying I’m going to Ally Pally I keep forgetting that I’ve won eight events. That in itself is a massive achievement. 

“There was a lot more pressure on Fallon. I came into the weekend with nothing to lose. 

“To miss 12 events and play only two weekends is a brilliant achievement. I also know I can do it under pressure and that’s also massive for me.

“Sort of. I think it’s like a pivotal moment when I do get there. I’ll enjoy every second of it. 

“I hope all my family can be there. I never ever thought that would happen. 

“I was just trying to be a ladies world champion. I did that. I just think it’s a bonus really. Obviously just do that for ladies darts is amazing.”

In the Women’s Series event seven final, Greaves recorded the high-ever average for a ladies player of 107.68. Remarkable considering she was suffering from dartitis just two years ago.  

She added: “I think lockdown helped me getting my throw back. I lost my throw completely. It all went downhill. 

“That’s why nowadays I talk so much about enjoyment and no pressure because if I don’t I know I could fall back into the trap and I don’t want that at all. 

“I think if I enjoy myself then my darts will flow. I might have the odd dart but that’s what you have to deal with when you have dartitis. 

“But I’ve worked so hard to get back to a standard where I can play well. 

“This is only the beginning.”