The 2000 Darts Competition
Daniel Gatley Duplo Arena, 29th January
The competition started at around 9 pm, and all seven of us (Lee Foxall, Simon Smith, Joshua Aghanian, Stephen Bartlett, Daniel Gatley, Christopher Speak and Danny Harper) knew that we were in for a long battle.
We decided to have a league format, as then we would play each other once, and therefore be able to determine the true champion. Amazingly, we managed to keep some impressive statistics, such as a three-dart average for each player.
After a few hours, Stephen Bartlett and Danny Harper were battling for pride at the foot of the table, whilst Daniel Gatley and Simon Smith were lingering mid-table. The battle for the league title was won, rather surprisingly, by Lee Foxall. The tussle for the play-off against Lee was between Josh and Chris. Josh was triumphant and went through for a clash against the 'big man'.
As shown above, the game started sportingly enough, but Lee's violent army of fans gave Josh a harsh reception, as many bottles were thrown. After the riot squad stepped in with tear gas, the game finally got underway. It was a tentative start by both athletes, as each turn struggled to get above thirty.
Josh gradually became more confident and showed more composure than Lee. A significant lead began to appear, and Lee began to crack. A few minutes later, they were both on their final shots. As we decided that you do not need a double-finish (as it would have took ages), Josh required a 16. He got it, and was crowned the undisputed champion of Daniel Gatley sleepovers.
At around 2.30 am, the cup started. This format was a chance for crapper players to battle it out with each other, and to see who gets the chance to meet the opponents of whom did better in the league. Simon managed to get through to the final, after 5 straight wins, and beat Josh, both physically and mentally.