World Darts

The Part versus Shepherd encounter was an absolute belter. I knew the sheet metal chopper from Ramsgate had the talent to make a game of it, but that Part’s experience and coolness and great counting would triumph in the end. At 4-0 in sets, with Kirk having a nightmare on the sixty scoring – stabbing darts all over the place – I feared a whitewash.  But the aggressive new star hit a groove and made our final a genuine contest.

In the latter stages Kirk went wildly off balance as he tried to plunder the 60 – he ended with a magnificent 33 180s in the tourney – but Party stuck to his guns and hit a 117 average in set eight. That is killer consistency plus superb accuracy.

Part set off at Ally Pally with a 99 average in game one.  His victory was under-pinned by superb style, no need of stacking as he lays darts clear into the 60 and the best counting brain since Brissy. You cannot stress the latter factor too much. Darth Maple could have been a business entrepreneur running an on-line betting set-up – but he loves the edgy, hustler code and the manic lure of the oche.

A totally worthy champ…

INSPIRATION – OR WHAT?

The final set Dave Lanning and me off on a mad run of puns, verbal pictures and sheer doggerel. Dave has been doing this patter on speedway and arrers since 1968 and has set amazing standards of free-style chat. He could pun for Punland.

First, Dave asked: ‘Can the panel beater become a world beater?’

Then I let rip after being told that Shep had been doing his own laundry: ‘While Shepherd washed his socks by night…’ Might just be my best daft line ever!

The crowd were magnificent with their placard messages and the best of the final was ‘The boss will kill me for being here – I’ll get my P45.’ I whipped in ‘Correction. That’s P15, Double 15.’ Darts mania hits the brains of elderly commentators summat rotten.

COURAGE QUICKIES

• We have proved in the past three weeks that the Ally Pally is the spiritual home of darts. And how about these stats to prove that nothing changes? At the 1972 News of the World Grand Finals the fans supped 800 gallon cans of bitter, 15,600 cans of light ale and 3,600 cans of brown ale. Good going certainly.  And over the 12 days of this tournament the total was 350,000 pints of beer and lager. Thirsty work cheering on the tungsten tornados.
• National press column inches were massive. From the Mirror to the Times the scribes did us proud with the Young Shep story being a latter day Tiny Tim saga. What would Charlie Dickens have made of the Great Expectations that have been fulfilled on top of historic Muswell Hill ?