Savvery Claims First ADC Women's Event as Jackson Extends Rankings Lead
Chris Savvery
ADC rankings No.1 Matt Jackson lost in the Final of the Second South West Open, with Mike Norton taking home the £250 winners prize and the 64 ranking points. Meanwhile, the ADC Women’s events got underway cheered on by Beau Greaves!
Jackson, despite losing in the Final to Mike Norton (pictured below), picked up another 32 ADC ranking points which put him further ahead of Adam Atkinson, in second, by 86 points, as the second seed hasn’t played in the ADC since the second Winmau Championship Tour event at the start of this month.
Mike Norton
Number three in the rankings Tony Wood and Kevin McDine in ninth played the Tommy and Dodds Memorial held in Stanley on Saturday, which saw PDC tour card holders Callan Rydz, Adam Hunt, and overall winner Ryan Joyce all take part.
Wood did himself no favours as he lost in the opening round to Andy Parks who found a magnificent 157 checkout in the last leg to send the third seed packing early. Kevin McDine who has played on the Ally Pally stage in his career, faired no better losing in the second round to a whitewash by Butch Knighton, after winning his opening match by the same scoreline with a 96.97 average and a thirteen-dart break in the second leg.
The ADC and Bar 501 played host to a Women’s event across the weekend's action, as the Bristol Open and Welsh darts player Chris Savvery overcame Karen Littler to win the £150 prize, the valuable ranking points and a flying start.
Beau Greaves
The ladies were supported by a familiar face as World Champion Beau Greaves visited to support the event and a friend who was vying for the title. The recently crowned Lakeside Champion was even pictured serving up the liquid refreshments. It's a good job she is now 18!
Savvery came strongly through the field, only dropping one leg in the whole competition which came against Marie Martin in her Quarter Final, with Martin taking 88 out to break the throw in the third leg.
Relentless Ryan Joyce came through the winner in Stanley, beating fellow Geordie Callan Rydz 5-2 in the Semi-Final, despite a lower average and three fewer maximums against The Riot who reached the Ally Pally Quarter-Finals earlier on this year.
Joyce has also been in the QFs on the World stage and included a break of throw in leg six with a 104 checkout. He would go on to win against Paul Nesbitt in the Final with Joyce opening the match with a 12-dart hold before winning 5-2.
Adam Mould enjoyed a very strong weekend as he moved into the top 16 of the order of merit after winning the Chichester Darts Tour Event and finishing runner up in Sunday’s tournament, accumulating 48 points to put him into eleventh in the current standings. The thrower from Aylesbury is 29 points of Steve Brown in tenth, with the ranking points earnt moving Mould onto 201 points.
There is a very interesting group of half a dozen players, with more than 200 points, who are jostling for position prior to the next Championship Tour Weekend. Newell, McDine and Brown are handily placed and any of them as well as a few more besides, could rise to threaten the top positions in the coming weeks.
This coming weekend will see Adam Atkinson return to ADC action as he is registered for the Peter McMenamin Open which is to be held in Teesside on Saturday, whilst Tony Wood also returns to action in the Spennymoor Town Open on Saturday as well.
ADC: Order of Merit
Matt Jackson: 550pts
Adam Atkinson: 464pts
Tony Wood: 326pts
Graham Hall: 320pts
Lee Budgen: 284pts
Lloyd Pennell: 268pts
Adam Warner: 268pts
Tony Newell: 256pts
Kevin McDine: 240pts
Steve Brown: 230pts
Adam Mould: 201pts
Geoff Murray: 190pts
Graham Usher: 188pts
Gary Hayes: 188pts
Shaun Rutter: 181pts
Dave Prins: 179pts
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Words by Harry Masterton - Darts World Magazine