Midlands Regional Final
Leicester Rileys, Sunday 2nd December 2012
Our final regional final of the inaugural season of Redtooth Darts got under way at 3pm on Sunday after the many pub champions present on the day were presented with their certificates and champions’ trophies.
The five groups got under way with the top three players going through to the last 16, to be joined by one more ‘best placed loser’ on the day.
The group stage lasted longer than anticipated with some very tight matches keeping the crowd enthralled. Three from each group emerged, though, and the one ‘lucky loser’ Scott Rollings (after losing 3 out of 4 of his group matches and scraping through with a -2 leg difference).
Scott, from the Three Crowns and Sugar Loaf in Kidderminster, failed to keep his emotions in check as his name was announced and this adrenaline was to prove a terrific weapon for the rest of the day. Scott’s momentum continued in the last 16 as he whitewashed Rileys Coventry’s Ian Shaw 3-0. The quarter final was significantly tighter as he scraped by Rileys Northampton’s Neil Culley 3-2, recording a maximum 180 en route to victory. From here, nothing could stop Scott getting to the final, not even The Gate Inn Tamworth’s Mark Mcloughlin who put up a brave fight in the semi-final.
Scott was to be joined in the final by The Cleveland Arms’ (Wolverhampton) Shane Yeomans who fought off Rileys Leicester’s Gary Wilson in his semi-final. The final was a tight affair, going down to the final leg. It always seemed like Scott’s day from the moment he scraped into the last 16 on leg difference; thereafter, there was not a more deserving winner, Scott showed flashes of brilliance on the day and will be a force to be reckoned with in Leeds if he keeps his concentration.
All eight quarter finalists booked their place in Leeds. Bring it on!
