Gravesend’s Brad ‘Norovirus’ Shepherd won the annual Christmas ‘Do’ for the fourth year in-a-row with victory in the “Riverclose Worlds UnProfessional Minigolfer's Darts Championship” held at Rileys Victoria in London on Sunday 23rd December 2012.
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| Brad Shepherd 'takes' the cup |
The tournament saw eight dartists step up to the oche on the evening and after a quick warm-up and a few swift pints the format for the event was decided and the draw was made.
The eight players were drawn into two groups for a round-robin stage, with the group winners advancing to the semi-finals along with the two group stage runners-up. As the reigning Christmas Champion Brad was the seeded player in Group 2, with BMGA Darts Champion Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman drawn into Group 1.
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| The players inaction. Lots of mental arithmetic in full flow |
Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman qualified as the top player in Group 1 after beating Jon ‘The Stance’ Angel in a play-off to decide the group winner after both players had won 2 and lost one game.
Richard ‘Squire’ Gottfried was the winner of Group 2 with three wins from his three matches. Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd was the group runner-up.
Richard ‘Squire’ Gottfried was the winner of Group 2 with three wins from his three matches. Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd was the group runner-up.
.JPG "Steve 'What's the Skinny?' Gow draws quite a crowd") |
| Steve 'What's the Skinny?' Gow draws quite a crowd |
Results from Group 1 – all matches one-leg 301-straight-in, double-out
• Chris Jones beat Alan Norman
• Jon Angel beat Steve Gow
• Alan Norman beat Jon Angel
• Steve Gow beat Chris Jones
• Jon Angel beat Chris Jones
• Steve Gow lost to Alan Norman
Rankings from Group 1
1. Alan Norman – won 2, lost 1 Q*
2. Jon Angel – won 2, lost 1 q
3. Chris Jones – won 1, lost 2
3. Steve Gow – won 1, lost 2
* Alan beat Jon in a play-off to determine who would qualify as the group winner to face the group runner-up from Group 2
Results from Group 2 – all matches one-leg 301-straight-in, double-out
• Richard Gottfried beat Emily Gottfried
• Seth Thomas lost to Brad Shepherd
• Richard Gottfried beat Brad Shepherd
• Emily Gottfried beat Seth Thomas
• Seth Thomas lost to Richard Gottfried
• Brad Shepherd beat Emily Gottfried
Rankings from Group 2
1. Richard Gottfried – won 3, lost 0 Q
2. Brad Shepherd – won 2, lost 1 q
3. Emily Gottfried – won 1, lost 2
4. Seth Thomas – won 0, lost 3
The semi-finals saw Squire face The Stance in a 501 match, eventually finishing on double one. In the other match The Fist picked up the win against Stormin to advance to yet another Christmas Final.
Semi-Finals – one-leg 501-straight-in, double-out
• Richard Gottfried beat Jon Angel
• Alan Norman lost to Brad Shepherd
Classification Matches for places 5-8 – all one-leg 301-straight-in, double-out
• Steve ‘F1’ Gow lost to Emily ‘Ah Bristow’ Gottfried
• Chris ‘Stretch’ Jones lost to Seth ‘Sethers’ Thomas
• Emily ‘Lemony Lemster’ Gottfried lost to Seth ‘Wandsworth’ Thomas – Seth finished in 5th place to win ‘the shield’
• Steve ‘Stevie Gow’ Gow beat Chris ‘Stretch’ Jones to finish in 7th place
Before the final Norman & Angel faced-off for the third time in the evening in a one-leg 501 game to decide who would take the last spot on the podium. The BMGA Darts Champion showed his class and took the win against Jon ‘Safe Darts’ Angel.
3rd/4th place play-off – one-leg 501-straight-in, double-out
• Alan Norman beat Jon Angel
The final match was played in a best of three-legs format on one of the ‘fancy’ boards with electronic scoring. The referee/scorer for the contest was Emily ‘Dagenham Dan’ Gottfried. The first leg was won by The Fist after innumerable chances were squandered by both players. The second leg was clinched by Squire to mild interest from the spectators.
With the crowd growing restless and eager to head off for a curry in Bayswater Brad nailed his finish to take the win and his fourth Christmas ‘Do’ title victory in four years! An amazing achievement indeed.
Final – best of three-legs 301-straight-in, double-out
• Brad Shepherd beat Richard Gottfried 2-1
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| The ever-popular Brad Shepherd receives congratulations from his fellow competitors |
Ranking Table
1. Brad Shepherd
2. Richard Gottfried
3. Alan Norman
4. Jon Angel
5. Seth Thomas
6. Emily Gottfried
7. Steve Gow
8. Chris Jones
Following the main-event Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman organised a game of ‘Halve-It’ between the eight contestants. With three lives each the players attempted to best the previous player’s score, with any failure to exceed the target meaning a life was lost. Guess who won? Alan was the runner-up though.
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| Alan 'Halve-It' Norman and another player at the Darts Tournament |
Brad ‘Mr Christmas’ Shepherd picked up yet another victory on the night as he was on the winning team, along with Seth Thomas & Steve Gow in the three-a-side Table Football match.
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| The three-a-side Table Football match-up |
Crazy Golfers Christmas Do/Shenanigans Hall of Fame
2012 – Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd – Riverclose Worlds UnProfessional Minigolfer's Darts Championship
2011 – Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd – Rivernear Worlds Professional Crazy Golfers Darts Championships
2010 – Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd – Christmas Minigolf 9-Hole Putting Green Sudden Death Challenge
2010 – Keith Kellard & Jon Angel (Team KJ Choice) – Sim BIG Golf Par-3's of the World Doubles Challenge
2009 – Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd – Christmas-themed Crazy Golf at Devonshire Square
Before Records Began – Lionel ‘The Spoon’ Bender – Crazy Golf Contest
The Christmas Club Committee will be convening in early 2013 to confirm the contest for next Christmas. If any readers know of Brad’s sporting weaknesses do let them know. Suggestions on a postcard...
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