Piles, surely the mid season break is over?
The break is indeed over Kid, and here’s tonight’s report fresh from the oche.
MATCH DAY 8
Game Over v the Anarchists
Venue: UpDown bar
28, Montée du Grund, L-1645 Luxembourg
In attendance last night: 2 Irish, 1 Scotch, 1 English, 1 Polish, 1 Romanian (moral support only as he was pissed)
After a well deserved winter break, the great and the good of the Luxembourg darts league returned to action tonight, refreshed and with renewed appetite for the noble arrows. We welcomed the Anarchists, long time top flight residents, to UpDown for the final match of the first half of the 2013-2014 season. We had our eye on this as one we could definitely win, and so, the mood was determined among the Game Over-ers. With the niceties out of the way, it was on to the action.
I began proceedings against Rick who took the first leg with some very heavy scoring and a first time tops finish. I threw well enough and, undaunted by the first leg loss, improved and took the second with a nice 16’s finish. So with the tie level, the third leg got underway and I improved even more and was quickly down to a double. Unfortunately, Rick was just as good, and with the finishing line in sight for both of us, the yips took hold in a big way. I was on 16’s and missed, Rick was on 4’s but left himself on madhouse. And so it went with the missed doubles until I eventually found myself on madhouse and took it out finally to record the win.
El Capitane was up next but went down 2-1 to Jem in an excellent tie. Very high standard from both players but Jem’s finishing was outstanding. Our lad didn’t actually miss any attempts at doubles, it was just that Jem took his two out before he had a chance.
Mr 143 regained the lead for us with an accomplished 2-0 win over Simon. Pegged some lovely darts and never really looked in trouble.
The Magic man threw the anchor leg of the singles ties and went down 2-0 to Shanky but could have won both legs. The finishing from both players was abominable but the visiting player was only slightly less gash, and leveled the match at 2-2 after the 4 singles ties.
The Westmeath Wizard replaced the Magic man for the team game, which we won comfortably. It was certainly one of our best team performances ever. As you all know, the team leg is our achilles heel, but tonight it was a slick showing and gave us a crucial edge as we headed into the doubles ties.
After discussions, it was decided to pitch myself and Mr 143 together for the first doubles tie, signalling our intention to go for the jugular and decide the outcome of the match as soon as possible. We found ourselves against Jem and Simon and promptly lost the first leg. I didn’t play too badly but Mr 143’s form went through the floor. With the wind in their sails, the Anarchists stormed ahead in the second leg but Piles upped his game significantly, and with a ton, followed by a 140, we edged ahead and won it with a 16’s finish, thrown by yours truly.
The decider was a tetchy enough affair. Piles once again scored heavily and dragged Mr 143 kicking and screaming (his words, not mine) towards the low scores. I got us there and he came good, nailing double 8 to win the leg, the tie and the match.
The second double tie was played and, while the Captain and the Wizard performed well, they just lost out to Rick and Shanky after three very entertaining games.
The evening culminated with a victory in the beer leg, rounding off a wonderfully satisfying outing for Game Over.
So, a 4-3 triumph for Game Over. Our record now stands at W4-L4 at the halfway stage of league proceedings. Coming into tonight, we stood 5th in the division of 9 teams. Barring a shock outcome elsewhere, we will consolidate our mid-table position. We’ve lost to the 4 above us and beaten the 4 below us. Given that our aim for the season is survival, the mid-term report would have to read, ‘satisfactory, room for improvement, must not let standards slip’.
According to the schedule, we visit the Bulls Eyes next week. The will be looking forward to trying to avenge the 5-2 defeat we inflicted on them in the first round of the season, but it is a very winnable match for us.
Don’t miss any of the action, you will find it all here.
Exclusively live on TFK.
Real darts.
Real people.
Fantastic news from the Grand Duchy!
MATCH DAY 9
Bulls Eyes v Game Over
Venue: Q42, rue Strasbourg
Present tonight: 2 Irish, 1 Scotch, 1 English, 1 Pole, 1 French (late arrival)
The second half of the 2013-2014 season of the world’s most exciting darts league got underway tonight as Game Over traveled to the mean end of town and to Q42 to face the Bulls Eyes in a repeat of the opening fixture of the season which Game Over won. The Bulls Eyes came into this second from the bottom of the table and with revenge on their minds.
This was a tie we felt we could definitely win and, therefore, put a little extra daylight between ourselves and the basement teams.
So, as is the norm, I started us off against Tony, a Portugeezer who wasn’t available for the earlier clash of the teams. Good player too, but I went alright. Alas, alright wasn’t good enough. Scoring was good but missed doubles chances in the first and third legs handed the win to the opponent. The first leg in particular was a sickener. Missed about 9 darts at doubles. Well pissed off, and so, we were on the back foot immediately.
Hopes weren’t high as the Captain faced Emilio, another Portugeezer in the second tie. Handy pegger too but our lad was outstanding and cleaned his enemy out with ease, 2-0.
Mr 143 up third against Butch, and won in sure fashion by 2-0. Things were looking better.
The Wizard finished the singles ties off against David, a local, bit of a quarehawk, but a decent player. Would have been a great win for the Wizard, but he went down swinging at least, 2-1.
So, with the tie finely balanced at 2-2, the pivotal team game was played.
And played very badly by us. Well, no, we weren’t too bad to be fair, but the other cunts threw unbelievably well, all 4 of them. We were still in the high 200’s when they finished.
So there we were, 3-2 down with two doubles ties to play. Had we been 3-2 up, myself and Mr 143 would have played together to try and ensure the win. As it was, we reckoned that the Bulls Eyes would put their 2 best - the Portugeezers - together and that they would play them second.
We were right about the 2 Portugeezers teaming up, but wrong about which tie they’d play in. They were to play in the first against myself and the Wizard.
Now, we have a good record in the doubles, but this was asking a lot.
We pulled off a stunning 2-0 win. The Wizard chipped in with his bit, but this was all down to Piles. Best few minutes of darts I’ve thrown all season. A treble twenty every visit, two scores over 120, a 140 and finished both legs. Well pleased, the Bulls Eyes couldn’t believe it, and it was all square at 3-3.
This left the final tie of the night to be played by the Captain and Mr 143, who had been our best in the singles, against their two weakest players. Fully confident that the lads would win and break our duck of never having won a match from 3-2 down after the team game, we looked forward to proceedings immensely.
It was car crash stuff. The two lads, who had played so well in the singles, found their form deserting them as they struggled to make their way down the board. They did win the second leg, just, but bottomed out completely in the third and lost 2-1. They had chances to win, missed a few doubles, but had they carried their form over from the singles, they’d have won easily.
An infuriatingly frustrating 4-3 loss was Game Over’s lot for the night. I should have won my singles tie, thereby easing the pressure on the team and doubles games. The loss of the final doubles was particularly galling though, especially after the unexpected win of the first doubles.
Very annoying, we now stand at W4-L5 and the gap between ourselves and the relegation places has been cut.
Not good, not good at all.
Next week is free for us. We welcome the Prototypes to our home venue in two weeks time. They too stood below us before tonights matches. They will be looking to exploit Game Over’s fragile state of mind after tonight’s setback. It’s serious business from here on in.
You will read about it, only here, exclusively live on TFK.
The home of darts.
Real darts.
Real people.
Hard luck Game Over & @Piles Hussain
Piles, why did you describe David the local as “a bit of a quarehawk”?
The glamour and excitement of Lakeside may be over for another year but the grass roots of the game is just as important and an LDL match report from Piles remains the highlight of any Wednesday night on this forum.
He was hopping around the place between throws, talking to himself, asked everyone to feel his hands and how cold they were.
I like the term ‘quarehawk’, I find it preferable to ‘weird’. Oddball is another nice alternative.
Car crash of a thread
Jog on, oddball.
MATCH DAY 11
Game Over v Brooklyn Zoo I
Venue: UpDown bar
28, Montée du Grund, L-1645 Luxembourg
In attendance tonight: 2 Irish, 1 Scotch, 1 English, 1 Polish, 1 French
We were meant to play against the Prototypes in round 10 last week, but they seem to have had some severe internal difficulties and so, we ended up getting a walkover. Handy 2 points, thank you very much.
So tonight, we welcomed the defending champions, Brooklyn Zoo I to UpDown Bar. They had walloped us earlier in the season by 7-0 so hopes weren’t high tonight, but we turned up determined to stick it to them as much as we could.
I led off against Manu and won 2-0, a welcome and unexpected return to winning ways. Played well too, and had to. The standard was very good in both games. Took the first despite a few missed efforts at doubles. Manu, who was lethal in the earlier round of the season, also missed a few and let me away with it to be honest. Second leg was even better standard than the first. I posted my first competitive 180 of the season and plugged madhouse to get the night off to a flying start, and then claimed the free drink for the 180.
Mr 143 was up second, and wanted to be, as it was Marco who went second for our opponents. He is class and Mr 143 wanted to take him on for that very reason. Goddam great 3 legs of darts too, high scores all round including Marco filling the treble 19’s. He lost the leg in which he did so, but held his nerve to edge out our lad 2-1. A tough loss after a breathtaking match.
The Captain played the third match against Claude, and again, it was a terrific match between the two. Claude’s finishing was the difference though. Our lad could have won, he played really well after a couple of wayward arrows early on. Again, the finishing killed us.
The Westmeath Wizard rounded off the singles against Steve, another excellent player. Although our lad battled gamely, he was outclassed in the end, and lost 2-0.
So, 3-1 down, we headed into a must-win team game. The Wizard was replaced by the Magic Pole, who played excellently. The rest of us played well too, but despite this, we just lost out.
And so, the night was lost. The doubles were played, myself and the Wizard went first against Marco and Claude. We ran them close in both legs but simply weren’t good enough and lost 2-0.
Magic and Mr 143 finished off the night against Manu and Steve and played very well, but went down 2-1.
So, a slightly better showing than our first encounter with these behemoths of the top division, but a 6-1 loss nonetheless. We played well but, as I’ve mentioned earlier this season, these boys are a cut above. Despite the scoreline, we acquitted ourselves well, and at least it wasn’t another whitewash.
Our record thus far is W5-L6. We play Brooklyn Zoo II next. They trimmed us 6-1 earlier in the season on their turf. If we play like we did tonight, we might pull off a shock result. The odds will be against us though. We look forward to it, and will plough on valiantly, irregardless.
You will hear about it first, only here, exclusively live, on TFK
Real darts.
Real people.
MATCH DAY 12
Game Over v Brooklyn Zoo II
Venue: UpDown bar
28, Montée du Grund, L-1645 Luxembourg
In attendance tonight: 1 Irish, 1 Scotch, 1 English, 1 Romanian, 1 Polish, 1 French
Back in action tonight, and Game Over welcomed the currently second placed team of the top division to UpDown, hoping to gain revenge for the 6-1 trimming we suffered at their hands earlier this season.
On a happy note, the Westmeath Wizards absence tonight was due to his wife giving birth to their second son on Monday night, heartiest congratulations to them both.
Anyway, I led off as usual against Claus and, despite playing averagely, won 2-0. The difference was that I nailed the doubles on the first visit in both games, a welcome development, let’s hope it stays that way going forward.
The Captain was up second against Gregory, currently 5th in the individual table. He was off his game tonight though, and the Captain was on his, recording his first 180 in competition this season and winning 2-0.
Mr 143 was up third and duly took care of Claudio, winning both legs and playing well with it to give us a terrific start and a very unexpected 3-0 lead.
The Romanian pimp played the anchor leg. He was up against Gerard, the current top player of the division and went down 2-0 but certainly didn’t disgrace himself.
So, with the singles out of the way, Game Over had a 3-1 lead and a shock result was very much on.
The team game, as has so often been demonstrated before, is our weak link, and we lost it again tonight. Close one though, my form improved markedly from the singles but the lads didn’t maintain theirs and so, it was 3-2 with two doubles matches to play.
After much discussion, it was decided that myself and Mr 143 would go first. We faced Gerard and Claudio, and drew first blood in a tense opener. Piles improved form in the team game carried on and the double was again taken care of in the first visit. The first two bent the wire of the double 4 but the third went in. Good thing too as Gerard was next up and hadn’t missed a double all night.
It was in the second leg though, that Piles dropped the hammer. Had to as well, as Mr 143 played poorly. I had 4 visits in the leg, the first three were a ton each. My fourth visit was to nail the double ten and put the seal on the upset of the season thus far.
Possibly my best leg of darts ever. Well chuffed.
The Captain and the pimp finished off the night but lost 2-0. It was irrelevant though as the victory had been gained and our record now stands at W6-L6. Our primary aim for the season is now surely achieved, we will not be relegated. Of course if the structure changes next year-which it more than likely will-and we revert to three divisions instead of two, we could still end up in division 2.
Relegation by committee is a more palatable dish than relegation because we’re shit.
We don’t play again until mid-March but rest assured, you will hear about it here, exclusively live on TFK.
Real darts.
Real people.
MATCH DAY 13
Thargs v Game Over
Venue: The White Rose
7, rue Dicks, L-1471 Luxembourg
In attendance tonight: 1 Irish, 1 Scotch, 1 English, 1 Belgian
In a match delayed by a 24 hour dart shortage (maybe), the second placed Thargs hosted Game Over in the White Rose as the Luxembourg darts season moves into the business end of things. They had turned us over on our home patch by 5-2 earlier in the season and would have been roaring favourites to come away with the points.
We were feeling good about things though, plus, we recruited a new player.
Jo (pronounced Yo) is his name, the Belgian mentioned in the line up earlier in this report. And he is good. Very good in fact, so we were looking forward to this immensely.
Things got underway with myself going up against Thomas. He flew out of the blocks, His first three throws were 100, 125, 140. I didn’t peg too badly but he took the game before I reached a double. The next leg saw an improvement and it was even all the way down. I reached the double first but missed, allowing Thomas to nip in and clinch the tie 2-0.
The Captain was up next against Christian and played very well. Had to come from 1 down to take the win, and so the match was level.
Mr 143 the faced off against Jeannot. Good tie this, and again the Game Over player showed great resilience to come from behind and take the win, leaving us 2-1 up on the night.
The debutant took the anchor leg of the singles. Once again, the win was achieved by coming from behind, a fine maiden appearance for Yo. He clinched it with a lovely 74 finish. T14, D16, not a bother.
So the upset was on, a win in the team game and we would have our biggest scalp of the season thus far.
And a win it was, we all threw well and were on the doubles while the Thargs were still in the 200’s.
That was that as far as the match was concerned, the points were ours and Game Over’s giant killing exploits continue. The doubles ties were played. Myself and Mr 143 went down 2-1 while the Captain and Yo won 2-1 leaving the final score on the evening, 5-2.
Another great win for the lads then, we fear nobody any more. We play the Bloody Marys next week and even though they’ve been hovering just below us in the table, we beat them 5-2 in their own gaff in our first meeting of the season. We will be expecting to win the return match, our biggest worry will be complacency but we must drive on and maintain our excellent form.
You will only read about it here, exclusively live, on TFK.
Real darts.
Real people.
Ahem, has the beer leg been dropped now that you won a few games?
The last two rounds, members of the other team headed off straight after the match so no proper beer leg.
Probably sulking that us upstarts wiped their eye.
We haven’t had an official beer leg in a few weeks. We’ll try and put that right in the coming weeks.
We hung around and played a few games between ourselves and had a few last night though. Well deserved they were too.
It is a vital part of the report, indicates the state of morale
After knocking off two of the big guns on the bounce, it couldn’t be higher.
When beer legs are played, the will be reported on, rest assured.
To @Piles Hussain & Game Over
Keep up the good work.
MATCH DAY 14
Game Over v Bloody Marys
Venue: UpDown bar
28, Montée du Grund, L-1645 Luxembourg
In attendance last night: 1 Irish, 1 Scotch, 1 English, 1 Belgian
We began the evening by heading to the Country restaurant for our usual feed of piri piri chicken. It’s a cosy spot on the corner of two of the ropiest streets in the city. The usual assortment of crack whores and deadbeats were hanging around the area outside, it’s not the most salubrious establishment in town but it’s a good feed and we’re regulars at this stage so getting stabbed or mugged while going into and out of the place is no longer an issue.
With the repast out of the way, we headed for the home ground to face the Bloody Marys in the hopes of recording our third win on the trot, and hopes were high as we had already beaten them 5-2 on their own patch earlier in the season, and they were rooted to the bottom of the table.
I led off as usual, against Yann who is their top man. Played alright in the first leg and took it with a double 5 at the first effort. The second leg was tight and I should have won it but poor finishing cost me and Yann nipped in to level the game. He blew me out of the water in the third leg mind you. A 21 dart leg, including 3 tons on the spin gave him the leg and gave the visiting team a 1-0 lead.
El capitane was up next and threw very well. His finishing was especially good, tops both times, a 71 and a 59 finish, giving him a 2-0 win and leveling the tie.
Mr 143 went next, and despite his worrying about celtic, played 2 fine legs and took the win to give us the lead on the night.
Our newest recruit, Yo, took the anchor leg and also won 2-0. Rock solid all the way, he led off the first leg with 5 60’s on the bounce and was never in trouble.
So, 3-1 going into the team game, the Bloody Marys were dead only to wash them. A very assured performance from Game Over saw them win while the opposition still had 250 odd on the board. 4-1, job done, points won.
The doubles were then played. Previously, any time we had the tie wrapped up after the tea game, our doubles performances have been brutal and we’ve usually lost them both. So to encourage a better showing we threw a fiver a piece into a pot, with a tenner going to the highest score and a tenner going to the highest finish.
Myself and Mr 143 went first and, in typical scottish fashion when there’s money involved, he played very well and recorded a score of 125 and a finish of 79 which I couldn’t beat. We won our game 2-0 to give us a 5-1 lead on the night.
Yo and the captain polished off a fine win with a 2-0 win in their doubles game. Neither could match Mr 143’s efforts at scoring or finishing, so the 20 went to the scotsman.
So, a 6-1 win it was for the gallant Game Overs. The beer leg was played and lost but we didn’t mind too much. Another couple of friendly games and beers later and the night was done.
Our good form continues then, we have a break of a few weeks now, but our next match is against the current leaders, Rusty Darts 1 who have only been beaten once so far this season. However, with our current form and confidence levels, we will be looking to cause another big upset in the greatest league in the world.
You will have the best seats in the house, right here.
Exclusively live on TFK.
Real darts.
Real people.