Wednesday and Thursday Tournament 27th & 28th November

Another two tournaments this week, and I tried a few things, especially with the mental side. 

At Wednesday's Under 55 average tournament, I went from one extreme to another. The previous couple of tournaments, I have mentioned that I feel tight and a bit nervy. My plan, therefore, was to just relax and not worry.  I think I did that a little too much and lost focus. I didn't get down or annoyed by not playing well, but felt I just wasn't putting in the effort. Another aspect I noticed, was my grip. It just didn't feel right. This is almost definitely a mental thing, as it's the same gripped I've always had. I suppose I just play through it - it what I advise others, so will keep going. 

For the first time in a very long time I didn't even make it out of the group stage. That won't happen again!

Wednesday 27th stats: Avg 42.28:  First 9 50.53: 100+ 1: 140+ 0: 180+ 0

Thursday 28th November and back to it. This is an Open event of all abilities and I felt I might claw something back from the previous day, as I never expect too much from this event. 

I hadn't really looked at the line-up beforehand and then saw a couple of real quality darts players signed up.  The first was the American PDC Tour player, Danny Lauby. Actually this is not the first time we have played in the same tournament, but it's always a great thrill to play against one of the World's top players. Unfortunately I didn't get drawn in the same group, but that helped in other ways with my overall performance.  The other was Tom Lonsdale. If you follow the Modus Super Series, you may recognise him. He has played a few times on that stage now, and made a semi-final too. Last year, he was very unlucky at Q School, where he made a late charge on the last day, but just fell short. Lonsdale also plays on the Challenge Tour. Outside of those two were several county players, another Modus player and generally lots of good players!

I have to admit, I still didn't feel right. The grip was really bugging me and I was going left into the 5s a lot. I even switched darts at one point, but switched back, once I realised it wasn't going to change anything. 

I lost the first game fairly comfortably, but in the second, I got my chances and the win, as my opponent was well below par. So I reckoned on having to win one more game out of my three remaining group games to progress, barring any vastly shocking results. 

My third game was my best by far, despite losing. My First 9 was mid 70s and average in the 50s. They were better than my opponents, although we all know it's all about the 'W', and not average. 

I lost my fourth game, so it was just a straight shootout between myself and another player. Winner goes to the knockout stage. The first leg was messy. We both scored ok, but both then ended up on double 1, for what seemed like an eternity. I won that one luckily. Second leg we both played ok and he took the double. Into the last leg and I hit a couple of decent scores that were unmatched, so ended up with a comfortable go at the finish. 

I was pleased with the fact I got out of the group stage, and that gave me back some of the confidence lost on Wednesday. 

In the last 16, I really should have made things closer. I did have doubles to win legs, but just didn't have that killer instinct. I lost 3-0, but I did have chances. 

Overall it was a better night, but need to sort this grip issue out. I do have my eye on a set of darts that may help with this, but will give the faithful Mervyn King's a little longer. 

Thursday 28th stats: Avg 44.60:  First 9 51.46: 100+ 5: 140+ 1: 180+ 0

WDF Mens Darts World Championship Preview

 

The 2023 WDF World Darts Championships seemed to have a clear favourite, with Andy Baetens, who went on to went the title in fairly comfortable fashion. 

The 2024 Championships is very different, with a host of names that could take the crown. 

Jimmy van Schie is the bookmakers favourite, and this is about right. Van Schie's form this year, especially of late, shows he is hitting his peak at the right time. Winning in the Modus Super Series and WDF events across Europe makes him a very strong contender 

The number one seed is Australian Danny Porter. Another player with multiple WDF tournament wind this year, he has arguably the 'easier' half of the draw and will be there or thereabouts. 

Former WDF World Champion Neil Duff is always consistent and has been here before. Nerves shouldn't affect him and his experience will count a lot. A tenacious player ,he will make any player work very hard if they are to beat him.

Two younger players may also have a say. Reece Colley has made it to a few Pro Tour events this year and he is a big scorer. Shane McGuirk is also another 180 specialist. He's had some good results on the Modus stage and the Challenge Tour. He could be a dark horse.

If he plays to his best Gary Stone could be a real contender. He often comes into tournaments as the favourite but occasionally seems to play below par. He has bags of experience though, so cannot be written off. 

Mike Gillet is another dark horse. The draw has been reasonably kind and if he gets going, could find himself deep into the competition. 

So,in summary, it will be a close and exciting tournament.  I think van Schie will just edge it with McGuirk having a run to the final. 

WDF Women's World Championship Preview

Beau Greaves heads to the Lakeside on 29th November to try and defend her WDF Women's World Darts Championship for a third year in a row. She is the overwhelming favourite, so is there anyone who can stop her?

Beau topped the Women's Series Order of Merit and won 8 of the 24 events. She would have won more, but for the emergence of Dutch player Noa-Lynn van Leuven. Noa-Lynn has made huge strides in 2024. Finishing second on the Order of Merit and winning a Challenge Tour title. Her success has meant that she will opt for the PDC World Championships instead, alongside Fallon Sherrock, who would also be a major threat to Beau. 

Mikuru Suzuki has also opted not to play in the WDF event, and it may seem like it will be plain sailing for Beau, however there are still a crop of very good players that could upset the odds.  

Lisa Ashton had a few issues with injury last year, so was never quite at her best. This year, especially the second half, as been much much better. Lisa won events 11 and 12 of the Women's Series and was back to something near her best. Her involvement on the Seniors Tour has also been useful and she has had some good results there. If she can maintain some of this form, then she has a chance of a final place, at least. 

Another candidate for a final place, at least, is Aileen de Graaf. The perennial Dutch player has been at the top end of Women's darts for over a decade. She has had hit and miss form on the Women's Series Tour, but has had some good results in her home country of the Netherlands. She was the 2023 Women's World Championship runner-up and made showed some real class at times. She has the experience and will be hungry to go one step further this time around. 

Two emerging players hoping to cause some surprises are New Zealander, Nicole Regnaud, who was very unlucky not to progress further last year, and 18 year old Sophie McKinley. Sophie has a tough first round match against Lisa Ashton, but many will know that she is more than capable of causing a surprise. Nicole has a draw that will give her a lot of hope. Potentially meeting Deta Hedman in the quarter finals ,but that will not overawe her. 

Deta Hedman, Anca Ziljstra and Irina Armstrong have an incredible amount of experience, and will all expect to go far. Deta was unlucky at the recent Womens ADC Championship Finals, and has been winning all over Europe this year, as has Anca. Irina has been at the top end of WDF Womens darts for the best part of 20 years, so these players should never be underestimated. 

I believe the toughest opponent Beau will face in her half of the draw is the Finnish player Kirsi Viinikainen. On her day she is a match for any player. She has had deep runs in several Women's Series events and has had experience playing on the Modus stage. Kirsi is due a big win and maybe this could be her chance.

Aletta Wajer usually plays more in the continental European events and is always around the latter stages. Lorraine Hyde is another to consider. An experienced and quality player,she faces a tough draw,  but if she can get through the first couple of rounds, she may think it could be her year. 

I think the draw is set up for a Beau Greaves/Lisa Ashton final, but darts is never that predictable!

Practise Update (Mind)

After being set back with a flu bug thing over the past couple of days, I went back to practise, and using the mental techniques I mentioned before. 

The idea was not to really worry about what I was hitting, just to throw with more ease and to feel comfortable, instead of tense. After just a few hours of doing this, I did find that my darts were not going astray as much. Certainly the number of snatchy darts was reduced. I also took a little breath before each throw and kept at a slow-steady pace. It made me feel more in control I guess. If I hit a bad dart, I didn't think about it and carried on. 

The first test will be tonight at my regular Wednesday Under 55 average tournament. This is probably my worst tournament for getting nervous or tense. I'm fairly sure that I put too much pressure on myself, as I expect to do well. I will not be doing that tonight. I will just throw. If I win then great, if not, I get an early night, so it's not all bad. This is a long term goal, so it may take a while to get my head programmed into just relaxing, but will update tomorrow, to tell you how it went. 

Pilot PDB Rankings

So over the past few months, I have been putting together a formula that should hopefully rate players on a variety of aspects of their game and performance in tournaments. I hope to do this for as many tours as possible (Pro, Challenge, Womens, Development etc). 

As it's early days, the data may become more accurate as the year goes along. I've set up a pilot sheet for the Players Championship and will also use it at the World Championships.  

These ratings will be known as PDB Rankings (named after my Twitter name) and I hope they will bring discussion and interest. The maximum score possible is 800, but unlikely that will ever be achieved!

Interesting so far, that although Humphries and Littler were high up in the ranking, as maybe expected,they are not top. Anderson had good performance indicators, which scored well for him. Same goes for Cameron Menzies. Based on this we should expect good performances of them both at the World Championships, the draw of which will happen later today. 

 

Modus Week 12 Preview

 The final of this 12 week cycle of events, and it is loaded to say the least. The players will win the first prize and a place in Champions week, which is already looking very strong. 

The favourite, and perhaps deservedly so ,is Daryl Pilgrim. For many darts players, he is regarded as one of the best darts players not currently on the PDC Tour. However, due to some great performances on the Challenge Tour, he has been fairly regular in the PDC floor events, so is getting more and more experience. He is also a Modus stalwart and knows what to expect. 

His biggest challenge could come from the Dutch player Jimmy van Schie. Van Schie has already ready won at Modus and he goes to the WDF World Championships as one of the favourites. He regularly challenges at Challenge Tour events and won't be far away. 

One of the most successful Modus players ever is Steve West. He has a wealth of experience and knows how to win here. He also has years of Pro Tour experience and will keep a cool head. Another successful player at Modus is Conan Whitehead. He is another veteran of the event and also has a lot of experience. 

Then there is Ted Evetts. The former World Youth Champion has played on the Challenge Tour this year after losing his Tour card. He is a quality player and will also pose a real challenge. Jared Cole is another quality player coming through. He has had a 9 darter at the Modus event, and played many times here, 

On the other end of the scale, (well age wise anyway), is Richie Howson, one of the best players on the World Seniors Tour. Howson also plays well as Modus events should not be overlooked. 

I'm particularly excited to watch Klein Hilton play this week. He is a Botswanan player I know little about. I do keep a small eye on African darts, but not come across him at all. Will be keen to see how he performs. Either way, it's great darts is reaching even more countries!

The rest of the list includes Modus and Challenge Tour regular, Adam Lipscombe ,alongside Steve Reynolds, John McCarthy and Rhian O'Sullivan. I hope Rhian particularly plays well, following in the footsteps of Fallon Sherrock and Gemma Hayter who have represented Womens darts so well in the Series. 

Overall it's a very tough call this week, but I think as Pilgrim has been playing on the Pro Tour quite a lot this season, this has sharpened his game. I expect him to make the final at least. 

The Mental Side

 As I may have mentioned in my previous post, I've got this flu bug thing happening, so I can't see me playing darts for the next couple of days. Luckily there is darts on TV, so will still get my fix. 

One thing I can do, however, is to have a look at the mental side of the game. 

I've had a look around the internet for tips and advice and there are quite a few articles. Most of them are in agreement, so I think it's safe to say they may all be worth a try. I will trial this for 2 weeks and see what happens. 

Big in sport generally is the idea of visualisation. Trying to imagine hitting perfect darts or picking up the trophy at the end of a tournament. This is something I will try to spend at least 15 minutes per day to visualise that I am a good darts player and try and stop the self doubt. I want to embed this thought in my head. It doesn't matter what averages I'm getting, or games I'm winning, I will still visualise that I'm a great player. 

I'm a big overthinker and analyse way too much. This, I've read, can be quite detrimental, as there is little focus on what you are actually doing. This would give less confidence in the throw - I would always be thinking how to adjust to make things better, rather than just have belief that I have a decent throw. So my intention is to just throw and not worry about where they go. This is a long term project, so I will accept I will have dips in form. 

I remember a few years back, I was told by an elderly, and obviously very experienced player, that breathing was the most important part of the game. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but after reading more and more articles, he may well have been onto something. Deep breathing before a turn and control of breathing during a turn can make a lot of difference in terms of keeping relaxed and focussed at the same time. Concentrating on the breath, means you are not concentrating on the noises in your head.  I've been given advice that maybe having a song in your head, or counting can have the same effect, as is distracts the mind, but I am going to try the breathing route.

Finally, for the next 2 weeks, I will just enjoy the game, whether that's practise or matchplay. The aim at the moment is to feel comfortable and not tense. By not worrying about the result or average, I hope this will eventually make a difference. I'm sure I will come back to this topic many times, but I think I have a starting point.