Harrogate Darts League holds preliminary round of Knock-out Cup competition

Knock-out Cup action from the Harrogate Darts League. Picture: SubmittedKnock-out Cup action from the Harrogate Darts League. Picture: Submitted
Knock-out Cup action from the Harrogate Darts League. Picture: Submitted
Week four of the Harrogate & District Darts League season saw the preliminary round of the Knock-out Cup take place.

Current holders Bilton Batsmen and Harlow Hill received byes through to the competition’s first round.

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The format for cup ties is singles matches only, consisting of seven sets, which are decided over three legs.

Londesborough God Squad beat Prince Of Wales by a 5-2 score-line, Jamie Boyce claiming a 2-1 victory over Gary Whellan, while Terry Jackson won 2-0 against Jayson Duck.

Shaun Smith stopped the rot with a 2-0 demolition of Gary Watson in 21 and 24 darts, but Londesborough’s Dane Chalmers then edged out Lorna Watson 2-1, despite her hitting a 25-dart leg.

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Matt Lambert decided the contest, beating Adam Whitehouse 2-0, making the two remaining fixtures dead rubbers.

Jim Green claimed a 2-1 win over Tony Cash, including a 24-dart leg, before Steve Linday pulled one back for Prince of Wales, triumphing 2-1 against Daz Metcalfe with a 25-dart final leg.

Bilton WMC Dales also won by the same score-line, getting the better of George & Dragon.

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Craig Gibson recovered from losing the opening leg to win 2-1 against Chris Wood, with Sonia Porter then beating Terry Sherwood 2-1 to give the George false hope of upsetting one of the league’s in-form teams.

Rick Harper then destroyed Nicole Wilcox in 22 and 16 darts, while Jack Fleming also bagged a 2-0 victory against Mark White with a 21-dart winning leg. James Hall continued the run of 2-0 successes for Bilton, beating Ian Denny with an 18-dart final leg and a 180.

Pete Newbould and Ben Fleming contested the match of the night, Newbould edging it 2-1 in 20, 20 and 18 darts respectively.

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James Pedel then came through by the same margin against Jamie Preece with 22 and 20-dart legs to make it 5-2 to Dales after a slow start.

Manhattan School of Darts edged out Trades Hall 1899 4-3 in what was a close contest.

The 1899 only fielded six players and that would ultimately prove to be their undoing.

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Captains Christian McIntyre and Ian Gibson produced a scrappy affair, with the former edging it 2-1 to get Manhattan up and running.

Nick Hanslow equalised for Trades Hall, beating Luke McAvoy 2-0 with a 22-dart opening leg before Doug Sneesby restored Manhattan’s advantage by seeing off Mike Lamb to make it 2-1 on the night.Tony Green put Robbie Blair to the sword in swift fashion to level matters once more, then Giles Holt battered an improving Colin Bunyan 2-0 in 22 and 24 darts to make it 3-2 to the 1899.

Mick Butterfield then recovered to beat Jonathon Wareing 2-1, making it 3-3 overall, however the bye point meant that the Manhattan side sneaked through in the end.

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In a derby showdown between both Starbeck Cons teams, James Keane of the Mahoosive beat Tony Hawkes 2-0, with Ian Malkin following suit against James Marriott in 23 and 24-dart legs.

Blaine Hobson then beat Andrew Parkes by the same score-line before Sam Davey ended the contest, seeing off Chris Admas with two 18-dart legs.

Simon Hoare got Starbeck Cons off the mark with a 2-0 victory over Leigh Rowley before Alan Roberts lost 2-1 to Matty Vincent to leave Mahoosive 5-1 ahead.

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The final head-to-head saw Dennis Wise sink Paul Kennedy for a consolation point, making the final score 5-2.

Trades Hall Vikings cruised to a 6–1 win over Bilton Umpires.

With the Umpires only able to field five players, they were always going to be up against it, finding themselves 2-0 down before a dart had even been thrown.

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Viking Stewart Pyke recovered from losing the opening leg against Luke Saville to triumph 2-1 with a 23-dart final leg.

Tim Hargreaves won by the same score-line against Ken Glew – opening up with a 25-dart leg – before Dion Glew stopped the rot with a 2-0 win over Harry Kidd with two 25-dart legs.

It was however one-way traffic from that point onwards, with Phil Taylor beating Andy Darling 2-0 with a superb 157 checkout and a brace of 21-dart legs.

Chris Nelson rounded things off for the Vikings, winning 2-0 with a 20-dart deciding leg.

The upset of the round saw Manhattan Madhatters suffer a shock 6-1 reverse at the hands of Londesborough 2023.

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