On numerous occasions in recent months, mention has been made in this space about the asinine idea it was for the GAA to run off their All Ireland Finals in July.
Reasons for said feelings have been well picked apart already but, from a very personal perspective, it has left a large chunk of the year with nothing to fill it at the minute.
At times like this, it can very much be a case of any port in a storm. One of the strangest manifestations of same occurrs when darts ends up being compulsive viewing in the height of summer.
Tungsten tossing is very much associated with whiling away the long wintry evenings. Something which, like many other facets of life, poignantly layered. For, in the last few years of his life, the bossman loved nothing more than sit down on a winter’s night and watch the precise pegging.
If you ever wondered are certain things which happen in different parts of life connected, consider the following. As the World Matchplay Darts was getting underway at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, undoubtedly the most difficult part of ‘moving on’ after da’s passing was just being put in motion.
Now, at this point it will be openly admitted that one is in absolutely no condition to even begin processing all of what that entails, but suffice to say, the darts has been an absolute life saver.
As for the actual action on the oche, viewers have been left wondering were things at the top of the sport changing or staying the same?
This corner will admit that, outside of the World Championships, the Matchplay is my absolute favourite tournament in the sport. Principal reason being the longer format over which it is played.
Naturally, because it lends itself to great scoring and a barrage of 180s. Of course, all the top players are ptare soome among the elite who are even more deadly at the triple treble top than others.
At the minute, Dimitri Van Den Bergh, Gerwyn Price, Dirk Van Duijvenbode and Michael Smith must rank among the most potent in that particular statistical category.
You’ll notice the name of Michael Van Gerwen wasn’t included in the above colation. Simply as there has been a train of thought doing the rounds on the darts circuit of late that there has been some diminishment in the output levels of the Green Machine.
However, such an appraisal would be taken issue with for two reasons. Firstly because that reasoning wouldn’t take into account that the player has been hampered by and had surgery for Carpul Tunnel Syndrome in recent months.
More fundamentally, though, it wouldn’t acknowledge the various other players who have now established themselves as big hitters – literally and figuratively – in the game.
So far this week in Blackpool, the two above factors blended perfectly. As in, Van Gerwen’s form definitely picking up on his return from the injury and those who had made the best hay while he had been even slightly out of form continuing to do so even though he had obviously been going up through the gears again.
Prior to the commencement of the week’s competition in the seaside town, Peter Wright had been demonstrably illustrating just why he is the current holder of the Sid Waddell Trophy. However, as can often happen, it seemed the longer format – combined with his usual trifling with his darts – seemed to catch Snakebite out.
When the quarter final pairings became known, undoubtedly the one this corner salivated most at the prospect of was the Dutch derby between Danny Noppert and Dirk Van Duijvenbode. The latter is a particular favourite of yours truly, mostly due to the similarly rapid manner to Van Gerwen in which he throws his darts.
Having disposed of Smith in an earlier round, Van Duijvenbode was quickest off the blocks but, given the adrenaline DVD operates with, it was always quite likely he might run out of gas. And, in a such a scenario, the slow and steady approach of his compatriot was what eventually won the day.
As good as the man who has re-branded himself ‘The Freeze’ might have quite the job on his hands to melt ‘The Iceman’.
Fág freagra