The SIDL League Blog

Below are the rules and format of play for the innagural SIDL World Cup of Darts Championships. If you know of any of your players who may be trying to form a team for his/her country, please forward me their e-mail address to Rick (chairman@thesidl.com) so he can send the rules to them.

If you are a player looking for other people from your country to play with, please let us know and we can give you a list of their names and e-mail addresses so you can contact them about playing.

Saigon International Darts League
World Cup of Darts
Format and Playing Rules
A)    General
1)    The entities eligible to enter teams in the World Cup of Darts shall be (1) All SIDL League members and (2) anyone else who is interested in playing.
2)    There shall be a World Cup of Darts committee which shall have the authority to adopt and amend the Format and Playing Rules of the World Cup of Darts, recommend venues to be used, and decide other matters as it shall decide to be necessary and proper for the World Cup of Darts.
a)    Each Team captain shall be a voting member of the World Cup of Darts committee.
b)    Meetings will be announced as necessary.
3)    All teams shall be entitled to host a World Cup of Darts match at their home venue.
B)    Teams and Players
1)    Each country may enter any amount of teams they would like. Each team shall be selected by the respective team captains in a manner of his/her own choosing.
2)    Each team shall consist of a minimum of four players and a maximum of six players.
3)    A player may only be registered to play for one team for the duration of the tournament. If a player is dropped by one team, he/she can NOT be registered with another team.
4)    If a team plays with less than a full team of 4 players, it shall forfeit all games in which it cannot field a full team. This is, it shall forfeit the Team Game, all doubles games in which it does not have the required two players, and all singles games in which it does not have players.
5)    The draw for the order of play between countries shall be conducted by the committee prior to the first week of matches.
6)    In the Team and Doubles events, each country shall specify the order of throw of the players, which shall not be changed during the match.
C)    Playing Format
1)    There shall be a round-robin format for the preliminary rounds and a knockout format for the final rounds.
2)    If there are 5 or fewer teams entered, all teams shall form one group for the round-robin preliminary rounds. If there are 6-10 teams entered, the teams shall be divided into 2 groups for the round-robin rounds. If there are more than 12 teams entered, the teams shall be divided into four groups for the round-robin rounds.
a)    If there are two groups for the round-robin rounds, the countries with more than one team shall be separated. In the case they have three, two will be in one and one in another. Other teams shall be selected by random draw.
b)    If there are 4 groups for the round-robin rounds, the countries with more than one team shall be separated away from each other. Other teams will be selected by random draw.
3)    In the preliminary round-robin rounds each country shall play one match against each other team in its group in the order of the draw.
4)    The order of throw for each match shall be decided by a throw for the bull. The player or team throwing nearest to the center shall throw first in the first leg and in all subsequent odd-numbered legs, and the loser shall throw first in the second leg and in all subsequent even-numbered legs.
a)    There shall be a rock/paper/scissors contest to determine the order of Bull throw, with the winning side throwing first. In teams and doubles the first listed player shall throw for the bull.
b)    A dart must remain in the board in order to count, and re-throws shall be made until a dart remains.
c)    Re-throws shall be called for if both darts are in the Bull, if both are in the “25” ring, or if the players cannot determine which is nearer the center. A re-throw in this case shall be in the reverse order of the previous throw.
d)    If the first dart is in the Bull or “25” ring, the second thrower may ask for its removal before throwing.
D)    Events
1)    In the preliminary round-robin rounds in each match between two country teams there shall be played the following games in the following order:
a)    Doubles (2)
b)    Singles (4)
c)    Doubles (2)
d)    Team Game (1)
The four doubles matches shall be best of three 501, the four singles matches shall be best of five 501, and the team game shall be 1 leg 1001.
(1)    Doubles teams shall be nominated as 1 and 2 and shall play against the other team’s 1 and 2. Doubles teams may not change during the match with the exception of bringing in a substitute. Any member of a doubles team may not play any member of the opposite doubles team more than one time.
2)    In the event of a tie for placing in the knock-out rounds the following tie-breaker rules shall apply:
a)    As far as possible, the placing shall be determined by legs difference; i.e., total legs won minus total legs lost in the preliminary round-robin games.
b)    If two teams remain tied in legs difference, then the game played between them in the preliminary round shall determine the tie.
c)    Any ties remaining shall be played off under the following tie-breaker rule:
(1)    All tied teams will play on one dartboard; the game shall be one leg of 1001Team Game.
(2)    To determine the order of throw, the teams shall draw lots.
(3)    The first team to double out shall be the winner, if a further determination is required, the remaining teams shall continue the leg until one of them has doubled out and then that team shall be the runner up, and so on until all placings have been determined.

So on my return this week I was informed that we were a tad unlucky against The Dream Team last week ,a match that saw Cyril and Campbell get their first wins. But like Max Mosley the team returned for yet another predicted beating at the hands of our Filipino friends, who have moved to pastures new at Sheridans.A little short of numbers it was good to see our own Rob Roy,  Adam,returning to the field of battle.

The triples were closely fought and both teams struggled to finish and no players looked in strong form , but the Mabuhay succeeded in taking both and our chances of an upset looked slim indeed against this second placed team. The only highlight for us was Adam proofing that it is possible to be dyslexic in Mathematics not just words ,try this one at home 48 add 1 and see what your answer is ,I am betting it will be different to Adam’s..

The doubles proofed remarkable in many ways. Jimish and JP managed a rare win as a doubles pair and an impressive 72 checkout from our resident yank in the first leg and a cool finish from Jimish in the third took the first game. Iwan and John took a very fine win over James and Willy. This week we decided to play our joker early and what a master stroke ,not only for the fact that he was relatively sober at this stage but the boy checked out in both legs at more or less the first time of trying. He puts it down to luck ,we put it down to an eagerness to get back to his beer and treat us all to some god awful karoke singing [ sorry for that my Filipino friends as your nation has a reputation as fine singers]. His darts had the elegance of a Nureyev ballet ,his singing the grace of a cat slowly screaming while submerged in a tub of custard. So remarabkly we were 3 -2 up ,but with no Kevin this week could we really pull off a surprise ? Well Pete being asked to make a babies lullaby cd was more likely.

Straight in and the opposition put two of their big guns Odie and the dependable Mario in. Luck had put JP in against Odie and despite some great scoring he had no answer to Odie and went down 2 -0 . No Cyril had meant no booster JD and coke’s were forthcoming and he sat down literally looking like ‘ The Quiet American’. Campbell too saw some excellent darts but the pocket dynamo that Mario is, just had too much for him. Adam up next like Braveheart on viagra tried his best to unsettle Vic and a right battle it was too, going to the third leg. Adam [The only man who needs to do mental arithmetic with a calculator]eventually triumphed and celebrated with the exuberance of  Jocky Wilson winning the slimmer of the year award.

Jimish on his return was as hot as a chicken vindaloo in Bradford early on against Willy and took the first leg . He raced into a lead of nearly 200 in the second leg but could just not finish ,ending up in as many wrong beds as goldilocks on grizzly bear convention . Willy could not take advantage and just when it looked like the madhouse was going to the wire Jimish managed to slip one in to take it 2-0 and give us the lead in the match.

John had patiently waited for his turn at the oche ,nursing his allergy to Sheridan’s burger buns but the wait or lack of carbo’s had put him in a semi comatose state and he fell to defeat against an impressive James.

Iwan was up last and victory would ensure we couldn’t be defeated. After his usual slow start and a leg down against Boyet, our ‘comeback kid’ quietly took the second. The third was going swimmingly till both players realized they had a captive audience and this was a vital match. The pair felt under as much pressure as a tin can at 3,000 metres deep in the Atlantic Ocean and their darts went to pot. This seemingly unending battle game to a conclusion with Iwan claiming a exhaustive win, which had seen him at various times seen him getting on his hands and knees and holding his head in despair[ which is no mean feat].

Relaxed we approached the team game and the final six did the team proud and claimed the victory to take the match 7-5.

So a most surprising win for an under strength Latin team which I believe ensured a top half finish, much to our disgust ,we just don’t do that type of thing. Thanks to our Filipino friends who accepted defeat and some drunken singing with much grace and it will be nice to play you again [ tho I believe the feeling may not be shared].

Who: All SIDL members

What: Mid season party with free amber and dark beer. Finger foods and pizza will be served.

Where: Lion Brewery - right next to the Caravelle hotel.

11C Lam Son Square, District 1

When: June 14th (Saturday from 7pm-9:30pm).

Mid season awards and good excuse to get drunk are the primary reasons for having the mid season parties. The Lion has some great beer,  and awards will not just award the top darters…It’s always a good laugh and we’re doing our best to mix it up a bit this year.

Hope to see you there……….

This match unfortunately showed that the Lovers have returned to last seasons form and luck. A full squad to pick from and Jimish felt like Lee Marvin picking his dirty dozen [well he had nine].

The triples actually saw a distinct improvement on the previous week but both results went against us and to be fair to the second threesome of Pete, Kevin and Jim T what can you do when they get a 114 checkout [well done KK]. Such was Iwan’s fury at our performance at this point he decided that his Oliver Reed on acid act was needed and tables were tossed and glasses smashed.

Some cracking darts from our first two doubles pairing as John and Cyril took down the highly fancied pair of Tom and Lars. One observation about Cyril though, we don’t quite understand exactly how all his darts end up at such weird angles on the board and to be honest I think even Hypotenuse would struggle to give us an explanation – but hey it works for him. The second pairing of Kevin [wearing some rather snazzy blue shoes that would have made Liberace proud] and Campbell played excellently with all the grit and determination of a snow plough in Antarctica. A tight match saw a 2-1 win over Guppy and Kenny. So all square and next up were JP and Jimish and honestly the way they have played the last two weeks you’d think they are involved in an Asian betting scam as they yet again chucked away a match they really should have won. Well ahead in both the legs they continually missed the double and feel to a highly suspicious 2- 0 loss.

So a recovery of sorts and we were 3-2 down. Kevin was first up for us and had an unusually slow start in his match with Guppy. The first leg was taken by Guppy with some excellent darts and Kevin was like an alligator with a toothache and stormed back with tons galore and claimed the second leg. The third leg was hard fought and maybe Kevin was thinking about his game too much and as Freud and Jung would no doubt agree you can over-psych a game of darts. Guppy took the third leg and sent Kevin to his first defeat of the season. Iwan then played some cracking darts against Lars but in the nearest thing to a public execution this side of Saudi Arabia lost 2-0, no comeback for the kid this week. JP who was frustrated at his doubles defeat strode to the board with real purpose and then had a real topsy-turvy game against Les. Some good early darts promised much but inconsistency hit him suddenly. A throw of 3 prompted Cyril to leap into action like a St Bernard after an avalanche. His tried and tested alcohol remedy for JP was needed and a big shot of JD was administered .Like last week the effects were immediate with an 85, however our suspicions about Keith watering down the spirits seemed to be confirmed as his next throws were 20, 10 and 7. He was on the precipice now, like a man with one foot in the crematorium and the other on thin ice. But that Reagan blood came to the fore, that Wild West spirit, as he clawed his way to a remarkable 2-0 win over Les. John on the other board was in fine fettle and was playing well against Tom. Taking the first leg his confidence was high however Tom hit back immediately to make it 1-1. Just like Long John Silver we were in desperate need of another leg but John narrowly failed in a brave, brave effort. It was up then to the two Jim’s to salvage the match and neither was going into their matches in any form. The view was that even Harry Houdini covered in olive oil would struggle to escape from our dire position. Jim T unfortunately could not turn his form around and fell to a quick defeat by Kenny who threw very impressively. A longer game was taking place on the other board as Jimish clung to the coat tails of Alex. A close first leg where Alex’s ability to get the double finish claimed it. The second leg was all one way traffic with Alex dominating and Jimish throwing very average darts. But somehow Jimish claimed the second leg with his first attempt at the double. The final leg showed improved darts from the Geordie boy but an inability to finish cost him and Alex claimed a deserved 2-1 victory.
Defeat assured but pride at stake we went into the team game. We played our joker Pete again and the boy didn’t let us down and kicked us off with an impressive starting score. Jimish was determined to play it tactically and throw only even scores unfortunately it was a 4’s and 8’s. The others though steered us to victory and it was nice to finish with a victory.
So an 8-4 defeat and our slippery slide down the table continues. An interesting match where if the third leg could have been won by a couple of our singles players the result could have been different but this isn’t the battle for Iwo Jima and we’ll not be committing hari kiri yet. See you all at the Underground next week where King Kev once again takes the reins of this motley bunch- good luck to him.

So well into the season we approached our game against No Star Where in an atmosphere that was a cross between the Munich Beer Festival and the Coliseum when Christians were on the menu. What was to occur no-one could say but there was drunken apprehension in the air.

The first triples team returned from their match like a squad of Tommies who have managed to claw their way back to the trenches after their first time going over the top and undoubtedly some never recovered from their shellshock as the night progressed. Simply Jim T, Pete and Iwan were blown away by the NSW first threesome. Determined to seek revenge for their comrades misery Jimish,JP and Cyril threw some impressive darts and a quick double finish by Jimish ensured that it was all square at this early stage.

The doubles proved to be disastrous to our cause as first Campbell and Iwan lost to the exuberant pairing of Stone Cold and Eng. Both returned sheepishly to the table looking as happy as a pair of penguins stuck in a microwave. Pete and Jim T looking like they had both been burning the midnight oil at both ends played accordingly and fell to a quick defeat against Malcolm and Ken. The Lovers sat in stony silence trying to avoid the disparaging looks from Tracey. The last match saw a bit more fight and after taking the first leg and being over hundred ahead JP and Jimish managed to chuck away the last doubles match 2-1. So 4 -1 down and needing the biggest comeback since Lazarus we quickly picked our 6 lambs to the slaughter for the singles.

Stone Cold always seems to save his best for us and Cyril, with no JD and cokes’ to sustain him fell to rather impressive darts from our rotund welsh chum. Such performances you only see from the very best of athletes. If only Cyril could hit triples 60 with the same frequency he gets them when going for double one he’d be world beater. ‘The comeback kid’ Iwan wasn’t so much an underdog against Ken, he was the under puppy and after a first leg defeat our hopes were low. But as we always say never write him off and he stormed back to take the second leg. Unfortunately Ken narrowly edged ahead in the third and took the match away from our leek loving welsh boyo. So all up to our cream of chicken Aussie , Campbell, to save the day for us. Some encouraging darts against Malcolm were not enough to stop him losing and giving victory to NSW. Once again he returned to rest his head on the supportive Tracey’s shoulder and dream of better days in KL. Our aim now was to try and avoid a thrashing [especially Pete who has bad memories of such things after being called to the head’s study at Eton college for crumpets and the slipper].

Up strode Jim T whose form thus far had reflected the last 3 legged horse that ran in the Melbourne Cup. His darts showed a distinct improvement though and he had his chances against Eng, but fair do’s to Eng he finished very well. The last two singles paired up the players from the last doubles game which had been extremely tight, so we knew we should have a couple of cracking matches and we weren’t let down. Steve K and Jimish were old adversaries from the past and quite frankly you can eat your heart out Mr. Shakespeare as we had drama with a capital D from these two. Jimish took the first leg and was storming away in the second but our genial Irishman doesn’t know the word capitulation [no honestly he doesn’t] and fought back from a seemingly hopeless position to take the game into the third leg. The third leg was extremely close with Jimish just nicking victory after continuingly busting in the 90’s and 50’s. Respectability was gained back to a degree but we still craved for a JP victory against Deano. Now JP is as predictable as a wasp on speed and you never know what you are going to get. Thankfully a cracking game of darts ended with a 2- 0 win for the suspected lovechild of Ronald Reagan.

So 8 -3 and though the boys were a little downhearted we approached the team game relaxed. We again called Pete off the bench and yet again the cunning move failed as all those around him fell into mediocrity and we slumped to defeat. So our heaviest defeat of the season but we shared in NSW’s joy, knowing we live to fight another day ,stronger and wiser for the experience.[ Well apart from Pete who will put it down to another drunken escapade that may or may not have really happened – I would love to live in his world for just one day]

Da Vinci v Alayah.
Alayah traveled to Da Vincis in good heart, but missing 4 regulars, 3 on work duty all over Asia and Kimchi still in hospital recovering from a back operation, ) get well soon mate).

You may have read the Brettsers version of this match and on reflection a fair report….

With Captain Paddy in Hong Kong, Stubbsy in Singapore, Willy in Taiwan, Alayah went, with a win on their minds, however, it was not to be, Da Vinci’s running out 8 -4 victors on a great night of darts.
The Pizza was as spicy as the darts, hosts and players as gracious as ever and even after a couple of “Bo Da La’s”, the supping of several of Singapore’s finest ales, the wheels fell off in the singles, on paper it looked a good match up and as indeed it was, every leg going down to the finishing double, however, DV’s finishing was superior, in what turned out to be an evening enjoyed by all, from the time the Alayah team emerged from Jays stretch limo to the time we all fell back into it, thanks DV great hosts, great team, great match.

Alayah v Ice Blue
It all started off so well, 1-1 after the triples, then an agonizing 10 game losing run, where did it all do wrong???? I compare these past 3 weeks as the same as EPL team Sunderland, who knowing they had beaten the drop, and will remain in the top ‘flite’ took their foot off the pedal.
Ice Blue were too strong, Alayah never giving up, all matches remained competitive, even Rick losing a leg!!!!, the only things Alayah could take from the evening, Percy’s 2nd 180 and that the ‘blooding’ of the new guys will only see us stronger in the coming weeks, the extra competition in matches will give them confidence that they can match up to everyone in the SIDL, who on their night are all beatable.

Alayah v Da Xanh
A welcome back from hospital to Kimchi, albeit with a back brace, but wanting to throw some arrows, & Willy fresh off the plane from China with new darts, champing at the bit.
Da Xanh always a handful, lying in second place, only 1 defeat this season, came with arrows sharpened, ready to deliver Alayahs 4th straight defeat. With Percy away it looked a hard task as Da Xanh’s trio of Dung, Nhan & Aey took the 1st triple, Rod, Lee & Jay immediately leveled the score.
The doubles started badly for Alayah as Da Xanhs pairs Dung & Pankaj, (could be Dankaj, Dungs scribble like reading Arabic)!!!! and Aey & Johnny defeating Alan & Kimchi and Paddy & Bob with 2-1’s, until Lee & JC took Negi & Dave 2-0, making the score 3-2 in Da Xanhs favour.
Da Xanh hit back in the singles, Singapores finest ale taking it’s toll on Alayah, Dung defeated Jay 2-0, Negi beating Alan by the same result, Jootray (again apologies for spelling, re Dungs writing) beating Rod 2-0.
Alayah 6-2 down, staring defeat in the face, called upon the old faithful, Lee & JC to start the fight back and at least get the draw, Lee stepped up to the ochey against Nhan, promptly hit 3 tons and won 2-0, 6-3, was it possible!!!!, JC to the delight of a now very noisy crowd took on Aey and in true JC fashion hit 4 tons and won 2-0, 6-4. A very nervous Willy was Alayahs anchor player, 1st season, never ever in this position, the weight of the world on his shoulders, a deafening din of ‘Bo Da La’ ringing in his ears and playing old campaigner Michel, (not old in years, well yes he is), he played the game of his life taking the game 2-0 and the impossible was on 6-5, one leg to play. The scores were level through the 500’s the 400’s the 300’s down to the final out shot, Alayah left with Mad House, Lee acting like cool hand Luke!!!! Needed only one (bullet) dart and the bar erupted the impossible a 6-6 draw. A fantastic evening of darts enjoyed by both teams and neutrals alike…………………………………………….. Bring on Duffill Watts.

Departures – Jamie, Goran, and soon to be Romy from Mabuhay. For those of you who don’t know Romy, he’s one of the anchors (9-0 so far this season) to a very strong Filipino team that, win or lose, generally has a smile on his face. Good luck on your new assignment, Romy.  If you decide to return, Da Vinci’s would be happy to have you (we’ll even take tagalog lessons).

Top 7  – Ice Blue has been a dominant force, with their only loss coming at the hands of Da Vinci’s.  No top 5 opponents until the end of the year means they have a strong shot at the trophy. Da Xanh has been very strong . Dung goes both ways (err, shoots at 19’s and 20’s), which seems to disrupt opponents….  Negi is as strong as ever, and my god…where did Nhan (9-0 in singles), the bartender/busboy come from? No surprises from Mabuhay….well, sorta. Had one lone tie against….No Star Where.  Mark and Huck anchor a fairly strong Da Vinci’s team, and Alayah surely has one of the most competitive and lively group of guys taking the field on Tuesday nights.  Latino lovers has perhaps the most gifted writers (http://thesidl.com/blog/) and drinkers that round out their squad.  Jess has been a surprise force, and we already knew what Kevin could do (singles champ last year).  Really Rottens have been steady.  With Tom returning, they should be an even stronger force….

OK, that rounds out the top 7. This is where it gets really interesting because there are 4 teams that are vying for 1 upper division spot.  Here’s a quick look at each one…

The Mad House – Team led by Colin Johnston, an experienced SIDL darter,  Mad House has previously never played in the upper league, but it’s quite possible they have the team this year to do it. Paul, Richard, and Sam have all been fairly successful in the singles, and Huong (180 last year) is always a threat.  It’s been rumored that Malibu Rum (stuff that smells like sun tan oil) is their kryptonite. One shot of that and their hitting wall….well, Colin hits the wall anyways, but more so after Malibu Rum.

Psyclos – Charles has been here before. Last year, his team was on the cusp and edged out DUI to make the upper league. With even records, it went down to legs played and a thumb wrestling match against the captains. Needless to say, you don’t want to thumb wrestle Charles. Daniel is transitioning to darts from yoga fairly well, and an always dangerous Rob, Vinny, Rylan, and lovely Anh round out their core.

3 in the bed – OK, this is very unfamiliar territory for a team I played for a couple years back. They have gotten used to playing in the upper league every year. A bit of bad luck with Justin, arguably their anchor and heart and soul of the team, was involved in an accident and is out a month from throwing.  Kirk and Chris are both former top 10 players whom are perhaps on the cusp of finding their form (Chris threw a 180 and 90 checkout in one leg against Latin lovers!). Phil is always a threat (2 180’s this year), and Rich is the most effective at using the entire dart board to get points.

No Star Where – Rumor has it that Stone Cold, knowing his team was going to be playing Mabuhay that night, painted his face to the likes of William Wallace, and delivered a 20 minute speech to his team atop the steps of the Opera House.  Having not seen anyone with a face painted like that since Imelda Marcos, the Mabuhay team could only pull a draw on the team game.  Eng makes this team stronger, and Ken can only hope this team climbs to the upper league.

Outside looking in – Blue Gecko has a few players that can make a difference.  Looking at this teams singles records and I’ll be damned if most of their players have a winning record.  Lots of close losses means likely a little bit of bad luck.  Dream Team’s experience is slowly coming to form. Alex and Waydee are both very handy with the arrows,  and it’s only a matter of time before they work their way up to the upper league. Tom and Craig lead a Duffill Watts team that is finding their way.  Some very handy darts from Craig recently.  Sheridan’s and No. 5 – bad news/good news. Bad news is that almost every new team goes through this on their first year.  Bit more practice and it will come. Good news – someone will take points on May 20^th when your teams meet up. If a victor is not proclaimed by midnight, however, Charles will preside over a thumb wrestling match between the captains.

Cheers,

Brett

Yet again, we say farewell to another darter – Romy “ya never got to know me” Cusi is leaving Vietnam on assignment to another region. Romy has been with the Mabuhay squad for some time and an absolute gentleman. With a 9-0 record this year and one of the anchors on the defending champs the past 2 years, he’s a top notch player who is both competitive and humble…..admirable qualities. I had the great fortune of playing Romy last year in the singles tournament. It is with a sad departure from my own humbleness that I say I beat him solidly in that tournament….hehe.

Romy, you have the heart (and trophy to prove it!) of a champion. You are graceful in victory and defeat, and you have certainly put a mark on your darts legacy in Vietnam. You will be missed.

All the best from the SIDL…….

We had previously played 3IAB twice before and had yet to claim a win so we were looking forward to this encounter. We were missing two key players but thankfully after last weeks venue problems things seemed a little cooler and the food arrived sharpish to raise the teams morale.

The triples which had been a bit of a let down for us recently was a bit of a mixed bag. Both games lacked that finishing quality,especially the second game where Jimish, Cyril and JP just went on and on and on aiming for their finishing double. But they say practice makes perfect and after a fair few goes they succeeded in gaining that final madhouse. The first game was a little better and at least the 3IAB team put our trio out of their misery quickly.

On to the doubles and it was all square and in all honesty both teams were playing pretty average at best. Hopes were high that the returning Kevin and Jimish pairing would bring the standard up , however these hopes were dashed by absolutely atrocious darts from both of them. Thankfully Chris and Bill could bear to watch this humiliation for too long and quickly won the match. It seems that Kevin’s usually flawless technique has been offset by the enormous belly he has developed on his brief hiatus to Australia and the extra weight is pulling his darts hand down further than he is used to. However Tracey helpfully has passed on Jenny Craig’s number to him and we hope he will be able to rectify the situation before next week. On the other board Cyril and Jim T were on the darts equivalent of Viagra as they continued to throw dart after dart with no end in sight and Phil and Hugh seemed afflicted by the same ailment. We will move on to the third doubles which saw some great play from John and some awesome finishing by Campbell. They quickly wrapped up a 2-0 win over Kirk and Alan. On the other board the second doubles was evenly poised and the boys continued to show their extra staying power and did so for another 10 minutes of throwing at the double. To the relief of the watching [ snoozing] crowd Jim and Cyril wrapped up a glorious 2-1 win and slouched off exhausted to rest their weary arms.

So the match was finely poised as we approached the singles. The ‘ comeback kid’ Iwan was first up and started impressively with a score of 1 and quickly found himself a leg down , but this boy is no quitter and stormed back in the second leg . Unfortunately he found Phil a little too strong and his valiant effort end in failure and a 2-1 reverse.JP was really suffering in his game early on and Alan was looking dominant. Cyril however quickly identified the problem ,he had not had his JD and coke and indeed after two double shots his game showed an immediate improvement and high scores. However the alcohol must have reached his brain ,he felt pissed,was seeing two boards and lost 2-0. Ah the evils of alcohol! But nice try Cyril! Kevin wobbled to the board determined to put his bulimic thoughts behind him and play a game of darts and as the ground shuddered beneath his additional weight he struggled to a 2-1 win over Kirk. Though Kirk quite rightly did complain he was at a disadvantage as he could only see half the board around Kevin’s substantial paunch. Jim T and Bill played out a very competitive game of darts inbetween all of the jovial banter and Jim did well with a close 2-1 win. Jimish was back with his chicken wing again and after a quick first leg win ,he and Hugh really struggled to finish the second one. The pressure got to both as madhouse came and went and a shot at the bull was required. Hugh was first up and threw mightily close, putting real pressure on the Latin skipper, who thankfully plonked the dart right in the middle to the delight of his team. While this exhibition of how not to get a double had gone on ,Johnboy had unfortunately been dispatched by Chris who scored 180 then a 72 finish to win 2-0.
The Lovers had at this stage managed to gain 6 wins and 3IAB needed the team game to salvage a draw. The Lovers brought Pete off the bench once again to try and claim the victory but once he threw his first dart at the wrong board we knew our night was over and 3IAB claimed the team win.

A fair result for both teams I feel, with some awesome darts [two 180’s –Phil and Chris] , some marathon matches [ I am amazed Cyril still has the strength to stand] and better climatic conditions provided by the bar. All in all exactly what social darts should be about. Also if you see Kevin jogging along the streets of Saigon ,munching on a lettuce leaf ,tell him to stop, we are all fat bastards and don’t care if he has put on a few extra pounds.

Latin Lovers v Blue Gecko

So it’s not often that you get to play darts in a sauna but after this experience I doubt any of the players would heartily recommend it. A bit of advice here till they sort the air con out at our home venue I would advise all visiting teams to wear shorts and t shirts and to drink plenty of ice water. But enough of my whinging let’s get on with the game. Last season we had some cracking games against this team and this one was to prove equally as exciting and close.
Our triples form has been really good this year however I afraid to say that we had our arses kicked in both games. Cyril was looking strong though and afterwards chatted to me and JP saying that his darts was much better this year – oh Cyril how that came back to haunt you later on!
So we went into the doubles hot, sweaty and two down and visiting Jamie had been unable to save us. Jess [ who loves his air con ] and Cyril were first up against Pago and Simmo and carved out a narrow win. Now usually I wouldn’t usually mention that one one player was responsilble but Cyril what was going on their mate ,was it 9 darts to get scoring a double digit total [ mind you I’ll admit to getting two 3’s aswell in my game].Jess took it all in his stride though and resisted throttling his loveable French teammate to throw some excellent darts and clinch the win. Cyril mate we know there are better things to come and we still all love you but when teammates are calling for Pete to come to the rescue you know you’re in trouble – no offence meant Pete. Our second pairing was the visiting Jamie and slowly recovering Jimish who has had to adopt a new style of throwing due to injury aptly named “the chicken wing “ technique by his team mates.Some good darts by the pair ,high scoring by Jimish and splendid finishing by Jamie wrapped up a 2-1 comeback win. So all level now but John and Jim T slipped up against the strong pairing of Zyrg and Coach.
At this stage of the night the Olympic torch has completed its route of Ho Chi Minh’s glorious city centre and we had put away our Tibetan flags, so we decided to continue with the singles. Campbell was up first and despite some good scoring fell to Zyrg and on the other board Jess who by this stage was desperate to get out into the cool Saigon night , threw impressively yet again to claim victory over Pago. Trailing now we needed a morale boosting win and it came from Colonel Sanders favourite player Jimish where his odd new chicken wing throw managed a comeback victory over Blood . John boy fought a close match against Rad ,who was looking fresh in his first game of the season . Some good darts from the pair and a 2-1 victory to Rad .It was looking grim and we needed Won Ton Tandi to show us how to do it , unfortunately this wasn’t going to be her night and despite some good scoring she went down to Coach two zip. So we were desperate now and needed JP to scale to the heady heights of which we know he is capable of to give us a chance of a draw and the boy didn’t let us down with a comfortable win over Simmo, showing us that the power of JD and coke is all conquering [apart for Cyril].

So a win needed in the team game was needed to gain a draw and with teammates deserting us like rats from a sinking ship or in our case from a Swedish sauna we picked the only remaining players we had and drafted Pete in for his first action of the night. Despite his best efforts though we undone in the battle for the final double finish and fell to defeat by the narrowest of margins. Well done Gecko boys I think on the night just about a deserved win for you.

So in summary a really good match which will be remembered for the numerous power blackouts, the worrying effects of JD and coke on Cyril , the worst aircon in Saigon and our sneaking suspicion that chickens may well be able to become top darts players –who would believe it.