Robbie Stanger beat Stevie Garner to win the festive singkes title. Also pictured semi-finalists Kevin Gray and George Low.
The eagerly awaited Festive Open Singles took place in the Masonic on Friday evening with 53 players taking part. The standard of darts throughout the night was outstanding, even from many of those who failed to progress far.
George Low was having one of those nights where everything seemed to be falling into place as he slipped silently into the semi-finals, claiming some sizeable scalps en route. Meeting him there was Stevie Garner, who was himself throwing some eye catching arrows, taking out two of his Exiles team-mates along the way. George gave a good account of himself, but Stevie was in determined mood and didn't give him much of a sniff at it, winning out 4-1.
Kevin Gray will have had harder routes to a semi-final than he did on the night, but that isn't to say that he wasn't pushed hard and he was still chucking some exceptional darts. His opponent would be Robbie Stanger, who had come through a tough draw himself, but was in devastating form, hitting the big stuff just when he needed it most. Kevin isn't outscored very often, but he couldn't get close to Robbie's treble hitting ability during the match, with Robbie deservedly triumphing 4-1.
Stevie Garner is starting to become a regular in ranking competition finals, already having secured one victory, and he looked super focussed as he moved into an early two leg lead with Robbie struggling to find his mark. A wild dart at the double blew the chance for a 3-0 lead and seemed to throw Stevie's concentration momentarily as Robbie pinned one back. Stevie scraped the fourth leg with both players looking nervy, but Robbie took the fifth with chances being missed by both players.
By this point Stevie was looking visibly flustered, and it showed as his darts were beginning to miss by a bigger margin. Robbie could smell blood and as Stevie faltered, he seemed to gain composure and seized control, reeling off the next three legs for a 5-3 victory.
The annual Festive draw took place on the night, with Myra Hazell scooping the first prize and Robbie Norqouy the second. The committee would like to say a huge thank you to all who sold and purchased almost all of the 3000 tickets we had printed. The money raised greatly reduces the financial burden on the league for sending teams to Shetland every year now.
Finally, the KDDL committee would like to wish all players, sponsors and followers of our leagues a very merry christmas and best wishes for 2026.
Results:
Festive Open Singles Final: Robbie Stanger 5, Stevie Garner 3
'A' League:
Ale Stars 3, Untouchables 9
Sanday 3, Exiles 9
Tankerness 2, OGC 10
Legion 9, Wanderers 3
'B' League:
Bilco Boys 6, Rough 'n' Rowdy 6
Bellevue 2, Sands 10
Young Loons 8, Quoyburray 4
'C' League:
Bull Hitters 11, Vikings 1
Sands '2' 10, EMYFC 2
Outcasts 6, Nomads 6
Bull Hitters 8, EMYFC 4
180s were scored by: Gavin Linklater, Trevor Shearer, Graham Firth, Michael Muir, Erlend Lennie, Ian Linklater, Billy Ward, Andy Green, Gordy Rendall, Kevin Peace, Keith Brumpton, Jamie Drever, Shaun Sutherland, Kieran Doherty, Mason Taylor, Brett Dickinson, Stuart Thomson (two), Ian Findlay (two), Stevie Linklater (two), Kevin Sarling (three), Erland Ritch (three), Stevie Garner (three), Kevin Gray (four), Leigh Shearer (four) and Robbie Stanger (eight). Three scores of 177 were recorded from Kevin Gray, Stevie Linklater and Bruce Moar with Leigh Shearer posting 174.
High Checkouts: Aidan Robertson 101, Ross MacPherson 104, Ian Linklater 104, Bruce Moar 104, Trevor Shearer 106, Erland Ritch 108, Brett Dickinson 112, Leigh Shearer 114, Craig Taylor 118, Graham Firth 120, Ryan Findlater 130, Martin Peace 131, Mason Taylor 147, Kenny Gunn 151, Kevin Sarling 100, 102, Wayne Monkman 126, 157 and Kevin Gray 101, 104, 121.
Short Legs: Stevie Garner/Gary Wilson 15, Gordy Rendall/Stuart Thomson 15, Iain Wilkie/Davy Henderson 15, Brett Dickinson 15, Ian Linklater 15, Graham Firth 14, Erland Ritch 14, Wayne Monkman 14, Stevie Linklater 14, Stevie Garner 14, Gavin Linklater 13, Trevor Shearer 13, Kevin Gray/Wayne Monkman 12, Leigh Shearer 12, Robbie Stanger 15, 13, 12 and Kevin Gray 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 13.
Fixtures:
'A' League:
Tankerness v Untouchables
Legion v Exiles
Wanderers v OGC
Ale Stars v Sanday
'B' League:
Young Loons v Rough 'n' Rowdy
Muppets v Sands
Quoyburray 'B' v Quoyburray
Bilco Boys v Bellevue
'C' League:
Sands '2' v Exporters
Outcasts v Vikings
Nomads v EMYFC
Shandy Bass v Bull Hitters
League matches resume after the festive break on Monday January 12.