SportGibraltar

Darts: Gibraltar's second ranking event

No ranking is bland in nature as there is simply too much at stake. The second GDA ranking was no different and it had it all; tight games throughout, shockers, twists and turns.

The opportunity for members to attend more international competitions this year is sure putting a spanner in the works. Members now know the great opportunity that has been handed to them and it showed, as everyone wanted a piece of the pie.

Pictured Winner (right) Francis Taylor (6) vs finalist (left) Danny Peach (4)

Except for Francis Taylor (winner of this ranking) and Dylan Duo (winner of the 1st ranking), the doors are very much wide open for the remaining players. The top 12 players from the rankings (which has always been just 4 players representing Gibraltar) will earn a place either for the World Cup, Mediterranean Cup and the International Torremolinos Open.

Although please note that there are 15 places in total up for grabs this year, which includes those from rankings & also those from singles competitions.

Here follows the breakdown of players achieving points via the four available ranking tournaments & through singles knockout competitions:

Seeds 1 to 4 - Attend World Cup (points gained via rankings - hosts Holland)
Seeds 5 to 8 - Attend Mediterranean Cup (points gained via rankings - hosts Greece)
Seeds 9 & 10 - Int. Torremolinos Open (points gained via rankings - hosts Spain)
Competition - Best of the Rest Singles Competition (none of the top 8 seeds can enter this event), winner earns entry into the Singles Winmau World Masters & World Pro Playoffs (previously known as the Embassy)
Competition - National Champion Singles Competition, winner earns entry into the Singles Winmau World Masters & World Pro Playoffs (previously known as the Embassy)
Competition - Gibraltar Open, winner earns entry into the Singles Winmau World Masters.
Other x 2 - Int. Torremolinos Open, top two 2nd division players from the rankings will earn entry & accommodation into the event (singles & doubles).

It’s no surprise that the darts scene has become this year a proper battlefield and more exciting than ever!

On the 2nd rankings most critical games and upsets where taken to the deciders. Players such as Dyson Parody taking out Dylan Duo (though Dylan was at one point 3-1 up in legs), Dyson managed to pull through and win 4-3.

Another player deserving a mention is Dayle Ramirez who played exceptionally well throughout. Dayle who barely just lost 4-3 in the quarterfinals faced the dark horse of the night Roy Rodgers. Roy who is in and out of the game decided to make a surprise appearance but it must be said that he never disappoints the crowd and usually plays as well as regular attendees could dream of playing like. If it were not for an in-form Francis Taylor the eventual winner he might have even reached the final. Good to see you back Roy.

The upset of the night was by luck of the draw between Francis Taylor & George Federico who has placed George in a rather uncomfortable position in the rankings as he departed the competition in the 2nd Round after losing against Francis.

The man of the day however was young Danny Peach who had no easy route to the final by beating Justin Broton & then Dyson Parody. In both games he was 1 leg away from being knocked out but he persevered and in both occasions won by a 3-2 and 5-4 deficit. In the decider against Justin he pulled it out of the bag scoring a 180 and finished with double 4 to take the game.

In the final, you could see a slightly worried Francis Taylor, as he had never faced Danny Peach at that level before. Danny played very well and in several occasions missed out on levelling the game when at 2-1 he could have made it 2-2 but Francis had other ideas and went 3-1 up. Nevertheless that did not seem to bother Danny and at another junction in the game when they where 4-3 to Francis, Danny had another good chance of making it 4-4 but Francis is a potentially world class player and with some composure and his unquestionable experience was able to make it 5-3.

Francis won the game on double 1, which still showed he was somewhat uncomfortable in playing Danny who never seemed to go away or doubt his ability. However Francis eventually got the winning double and was this year crowned the David Obee Ranking Singles Winner. The game concluded at a 6-4 win for Francis.

Well done to the worthy winner – Francis Taylor.

Here are the quarterfinals to the final line-up:

180’s thrown on the night
How many 180’s can a competition have? Well it was an impressive 12
(In a matter of hours don’t forget)

3 x Dyson Parody, 2 x Dylan Duo, 1 x Dayle Ramirez, 1 x Roy Rodgers,
1 x Danny Peach, 1 x George Federico, 1 x Henry Zapata, 1 x Owen Phillips, 1 x Johnny Remorino

That night most of us were privileged to witness 11 to 14 darters thrown throughout the night and that is International County and International competition quality darts.

Lets just hope this encouraging level of play remains as high throughout the season and years to come.

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