Volume  013

 DARTS  THAILAND

February 2008
 

JOHN  LOWE  IN  PHUKET

  
   A LINE OR TWO FROM LOWE . . . . .   
  But first a word from David Brook…I am not a particularly good dart player but have had a major involvement with darts for many years. Like many, on October 13th 1984, I watched The World Match Play in awe as John Lowe played Keith Deller and achieved the first ever televised 9 dart game. Little did I know that not only did that change John’s life but it also changed mine. In 1986 as Chief Executive of Federation Brewery in North East England I signed John in a 3 year sponsorship deal and from there evolved not only the longest sponsorship ever in the Brewing Industry but a very close personal friendship. Hectic years of promotion tours throughout UK and the occasional relaxing game of golf on The Celebrity Golf Tour followed. I retired in 1998 and decided to live on the Paradise Island of Phuket but our friendship was maintained despite the distances involved. Sadly I could not be in Las Vegas when John married Karen but I was delighted to be able to attend the wedding of John’s daughter in 2004 (which also happened to take place in Vegas) and John’s 60th birthday celebrations in Chesterfield in 2005 along with Kanchana, who is now my wife.

John and Karen have been to Phuket on a number of occasions but I was particularly delighted to know they were returning in January 2008. Kanchana and myself were married in November 2007 but decided not to have Celebration Party until John and Karen arrived. How could we celebrate without our best friends. I am honoured and delighted to be able to call John a great friend and I know this friendship will never wane, despite him being an adopted Sunderland supporter and my coming from the home town of Leeds United !!!		  
                   
   And now over to Old Stoneface himself, Britain’s greatest darts player…… John Lowe.

I threw my first dart in 1967 on a fateful evening that would change my life forever… and that was the start of a journey that would lead me to the Four Corners of the World, win every title and accolade in the game, be the unbeaten captain of the England team, win Three World Titles in 3 different decades, achieve the first ever televised 9 dart finish, meet wonderful people and make countless friends. Darts indeed has given me a wonderful life ….but of course Father Time marches on and new players have moved onto the scene…does that mean my playing days are lessening and I will put on my slippers and sit in the rocking chair by the fire ?? Far from it…..the schedule is as extensive as ever but most importantly there will be an announcement shortly that will be a great shock to many and a huge delight to millions of players and darts watchers…and readers of this article will be the first to know about it….the great names in darts, the true legends of the game will shortly be toeing the oche in The New Legends League of televised darts….the names of John Lowe, Eric Bristow, Bob Anderson, Bobby George, Keith Deller will once again be facing up to each other in a League that will entertain and enthral the world of darts…but more of that later…..

The last year has been once again very busy, travelling the world stage and toeing the oche….and I start this article at 38,000 ft in a jumbo jet flying west across the Atlantic. No, not on my way to Thailand yet but to another of my favourite places, Las Vegas, a place I have been to numerous times and played in the North American Open for xx years. But this time I am not going to play darts but instead going to watch another superstar in action…Rickie Hatton. I am indeed en route to Caesars and the MGM to watch the world boxing title fight. Sun cream in the bag,,,shorts freshly pressed and short sleeve shirts ready for the warmth of the desert sun where I will enjoy a few days with friends, watch the fight and maybe slot in a couple of games of golf. Sounds great …..a sun tan just in time for Christmas. Right ? Wrong !!! My previous visits were normally in July/August, blisteringly hot and when you were pleased to walk into a casino for the cooling air con systems. I had not realised it could be cold…and oh boy was it cold….I was please to walk into a casino and the air con which felt warm compared to the outside temperature.. 		 
                   
  The Boxing was hot though and the atmosphere awesome. I have known Rickie and his family for quite some time. Rickie is a great darts enthusiast and an awesome boxer. He put up a great challenge but sadly did not get the result we hoped for. I think I would prefer to play him on the darts board and not meet him in the ring. Thoroughly enjoyed the event and the few days with friends but soon it was time to wing back across the Atlantic for Christmas , time with the family, and then pack the bags for the trip east to the magical country of Thailand on New Years Day. While the UK and indeed the rest of the World were celebrating the New Year, or nursing hangovers by over celebrating, my wife Karen and myself were at 38 000 ft sipping cocktails en route to Phuket via Manchester, Frankfurt and Bangkok. A long flight during which I was able to spend some time contemplating the forthcoming big darts announcement……more later. In the meantime John Part had won the PDC Tournament with some great darts…  
                   
  Soon we were gliding into Phuket International Airport over the blue dazzling Andaman Sea. I was wondering how Phuket had changed since my last visit and whether it had recovered form the tragic tsunami of Boxing Day 2004. I was soon to find out. A delayed arrival but there to greet us was my long time friend David Brook who greeted us in the usual manner…a cool air con car, a cold face towel and of course a chilled beer.

My first trip to Thailand was in 1989 when the brewery who sponsored me for many years, Federation Brewery, first exported their beer to Bangkok and Pattaya. David Brook then Chief Executive asked me to come on a promotion tour and we duly introduced and promoted the beer in a number of outlets. And yes I also played darts and actually won both the Pattaya Open and the Thailand Open in Bangkok during my trip. When David left the Brewery in 1998 and decided to retire to the paradise island of Phuket I just had to visit and see it for myself. A fabulous Island , awesome scenery great golf courses and delightful people. Visits in 2000, 2002 and 2003 proved highly successful ….throwing darts for Charity and special events, having the John Lowe Golf Classic in 2003 where memorably I auctioned one of my sets of darts for 90,000 baht boosting the Charity pot to over 150,000 baht.

So here we are, 2nd January 2008, back to Phuket for our fourth visit. Soon we were driving down the main road into Patong then south through Karon to Kata.to the Aspasia Hotel, a stunning hotel managed by the affable General Manager Mike Inman who had previously taken good care of me at the Central Hotel. A warm greeting from his immaculate staff, a welcoming refreshment and shown to our room overlooking the ocean. I looked at Karen and she at me….well I asked “What do you think ?”…the answer was a big beaming smile….life is good and its time to relax and tan in the glorious tropical climate of Phuket. Right ?...Wrong again….

First a touch of sun…this time of year is dry season when usually there is little or no rain…wrong again !!!...two days later there was a massive thunder and lightening storm and a tropical downpour usually associated with the rainy season. But that cleared and the weather reverted to clear blue skies and gentle breezes…perfect. Now we can relax….

Well not for too long as there was lots happening and over the next 3 weeks a programme that included touring the Island, a visit to the new Big Buddha temple being built in the south if the Island, bumping into old friends from the UK out on holiday, shopping visits into the new Jung Ceylon shopping centre, golf at the new Red Mountain Course and the chance to play at the Blue Canyon Country Club. Even a chance to walk the beach and take in some sunshine. We visited some of the great restaurants including The Boathouse, Baan Lai Mai, Baan Rim Paa, Sams Steak House in the Holiday Inn as well as pizza places, local diners and an occasional cool beer on the beach. All this and more….a live interview on the new radio station in Patong, photo sessions with local media, interviews with the Phuket Gazette and Andaman Post as well as a video shoot for Phuket International Hospital.

Then a couple of real highlights….my wife Karen’s birthday when we had a dinner on the beach front at Baan Lai Mai Restaurant…..an open air venue, with great live music show through the evening. Karen thoroughly enjoyed this but she was in for a great shock…no I did not make her pay but we had arranged a surprise guest arrival from UK, our old friend Johnnie Spiller whose birthday fell on the same day. Karen almost jumped out of her seat when he came up behind her and started singing Happy Birthday. The other event a few days earlier was a party in David’s bar The Island Lager Bar in Soi Sukhumvit to mark David’s wedding to Karn…they had been together for 10 years before tying the know…and what a party. Big turn out of Thai and expat friends many of whom I had met previously, including the Honorary British Consul Alan Cooke and someone with a very familiar name..Bristow…no not Eric but a regular visitor from London who runs a Drinks company. Great night…a buffet spread that included a whole roast pig…and some very interesting people. I was later to visit some of their homes for an evening drink and watch the spectacular sunset dipping into the Andaman Sea and play on The Lakes Course at Blue Canyon, which features some of the best golf holes in the World. A big thank you to Chris Hill, Secretary of The British Business Association of Phuket, and Mark Phillips in particular. 		 
                   
  Remarkably I have not thrown a dart on this trip apart from one at David’s bar to mark the Official Opening. Anyone visiting Phuket should go and see him…he is well known around the Island, has many visitors from around the World and is a font of knowledge and contacts. In April another name from the World of darts will be in Phuket to see him…Stefan Lord, whilst in May there should be gathering of Celebrities for a Golf Tour. Speaking of Stefan I made a remarkable recovery in Kata , just South of Patong.. Calling in a bar named The Frog Club, which has pool, darts, and serves a very tasty pizza, I found in the darts area…. a Stefan Lord Darts Board…..surely a collectors item by now !!!

But time again has passed quickly and we shortly depart for home, albeit for a short while. We have thoroughly enjoyed our trip. For those who have never experienced Thailand let me say you are missing out on a fabulous country, and the remarkable people. The Thai people demonstrate a remarkable resilience to the issues and problems that they have been forced to endure. Two key items have impressed me…firstly their remarkable allegiance, respect and loyalty to the King and Royal Family. Sadly during our visit the King’s eldest sister HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana passed away and immediately a lengthy period of mourning ensued. And secondly the manner in which the tragedy and disasters caused by the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami were handled. A huge amount of damage and devastation, a tragic loss of life of some 6,000 souls on Thailand’s west coast and an impact that is hard to comprehend. Now, 3 years on, you would hardly believe there had been a problem. But the locals, Thai and expat alike, will always remember, as I will as I bought cd’s of the event to remind me of the real value of life and the countless unsung heroes who rushed to help strangers and those suffering tragic loss.		  
                   
  So what next? February is a busy time back on the road playing Exhibitions and in between I will be finishing my latest book…A Manual on Darts. And then of course we start the New Legends Tour I mentioned earlier. The League of Legends is due to start on the 31st of May 2008, it will involve 9 players: Eric Bristow, Bobby George, Bob Anderson, Keith Deller, Cliff Lazarenko, Jamie Harvey, Peter Evison, David Whitcombe and myself, it will run live for 10 weeks on Setanta TV, I know it will work, the pedigree of the players involved is without question, they hold over 2000 titles between them, 9 of those World Championship honours, it will be very interesting to begin real professional competition again after moving on from the Professional Darts Council Circuit a few years ago, but let no one doubt the intensity and earnest of the players involved, pride can do wonderful things and I expect darts of the highest quality to be the order of the day. Take a look at web site www.legendsofdarts.com for details and updates.

I believe it will be an enormous success and universally welcomed.…I have no doubt that my dear friends Barry Twomlow and Leighton Rees will be looking down from the oche in the sky and be saying…great stuff lads…Game On !!!!

Will we be back in Phuket?….most certainly. You might say I have been bitten by the bug.

To Johnny and all readers and supporters of Darts Thailand….you have a great newsletter and I hope that on my next visit I will be able to spend some time in Bangkok and meet you. In the meantime…keep throwing…		  
                   
  John Lowe's website "Legends of Darts" -  CLICK HERE

David Brook's Island Larger Bar website -  CLICK HERE		  
   
   
  A special DT thanks to John Lowe and David Brook for this exclusive interview. Most recently I was contacted by Stephen Fein - Phuket Gazette news editor and darts enthusiast. Stephen recently met for drinks with John Lowe.  They had a discussion in the lobby bar at the Yorkshire Inn on Soi Sansabai in Patong. Many thanks Stephen for sending us a copy at DT. To read Stephen's interview  CLICK HERE  

February Darter of the Month
The Captivating Miss Muoi.

Miss Muoi is the newest darts sensation in Aloha. New to the game, she has proven herself a natural at the sport. All that talent as well as a natural beauty - plus a virtual walking library of music knowledge.  No surprise that Muoi serves as the music director in Aloha Bar. Click their sign below to Aloha Bar's website.

                   

                   

                   

 

DARTOID  IN  BANGKOK

  
   SELFLESS  SACRIFICE  

It's said in Jazz Music that as a young musician you take from your more experienced elders so that you can return your own teaching when you yourself become the elder. If not - it's considered stealing from the art form. Exactly the same in darts and as you can see our good friend Paul "Dartoid" - is one who in fact makes time from an almost nonstop schedule to take a new darter under his wing, giving back his learning to the sport that he so loves.  
  It's personal sacrifice and dedication displayed by Paul than inspires the rest of us to promote our beloved game of darts.

Every month I have an increasing number of dedicated darters willing to give of their valuable time to help as photo coaches to insure that our Darter of the Month has only the best of priceless instruction. Out hats are off to you - the darters of the world for such selfless commitment.

As always, Paul, we enjoy your visits and look forward to your next one. Hopefully you'll have more than a few days on your next trip through. Paul's website "Dartoid's World" is one of the most read darts sites on the web. Check it out.
 

DARTIOD'S   WORLD        CLICK  HERE
                   

  ALOHA  BAR CAT'S  MEOW FLAMING  MOE'S  
 

INTERVIEW   WITH  JAYKE 

 
  This month we interview our own featured columnist Jayke. A rare moment when Jayke's Take has a serious side. Unlike a serious discussion in the Silver Dollar Bar where some league players all were into how to best improve our Tuesday League. Jayke continually insisted that the only way to improve the league was a mandatory rule that all players wear party hats for matches. Becoming increasingly frustrated - Ben told Jayke that he is totally incapable of a serious darts conversation. The really funny thing is that Jayke was dead serious.
 		  
  DT) How and at what age did you get started playing darts? Jayke) About 8 years old- me and my older brother had some Xmas or birthday money and decided to buy a dartboard. Darts was the rage (after football) at the time and everyone had their particular favourite- mine being John Lowe co-incidentally. We had re-located to the outskirts of Stoke-on -Trent where the world championships were held and was a big interest in the battle for top dog, usually between Eric Bristow (who was Stoke based and had his own pub there 'The Crafty Cockney'), John Lowe , Jocky Wilson and just behind Bob Anderson and Leighton Rees. Was a real shock one year when relatively unknown Keith Dellar became World Champion.

First memory of playing darts was in our garage, my brother actually threw a dart at me and still have the scar today-when getting the obligatory hand rub in the bars always get asked what happened as it was embedded in my left hand.		  
 

PROFILE
NAME - Jayke O'Reilly
NICKNAME - However wrong the girls pronounce my name
DATE OF BIRTH - 19 Jan 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH - Armagh, Northern Ireland
CURRENT HOMETOWN - Bangkok
DARTS USED - Milwaukee Brewers 15 g (hey they look good)
HEIGHT -  5ft 4 inches
Weight - I think my jeans have shrunk again
DT) Who has influenced you the most in your dart game? Jayke) As mentioned above, darts was possibly the number 2 sport in the UK at the time so was the thing to play after football. The whole sport in general was huge and had the rowdy football fan like crowds which I liked. The man people loved to hate was Eric Bristow- was very much with the majority on that. His arrogance was on par with his outstanding ability, met him in person and dis-liked him more as a result. Just emulating what we saw on the TV to be honest, Jollees club In Stoke On Trent was just down the road and darts used to make the sports headlines in them days- I think Phil Taylor another Stoke lad took the excitement away a little as was just too good and the sport lost interest as a result.  
 
DT) What has been your most memorable win? Jayke) Without a doubt when I first bought Flaming Moe's and entered the league. Would have been pleased with just 1 victory to be honest- was myself, On, Dave a great lad from Wales and two of the girls- Ning And Jaeo. Strangely we were red hot at the singles- think we won our first 12 singles games but were awful at the doubles. We had our first and most memorable win for me at the Silver Dollar beating Johnny, Ned , Phil and Tan and got so carried away I think I actually hugged On (now captain of the Sport Corner's team). Trust me that was a rarity in them days ;-)		  
  DT) You have been playing darts in Thailand for quite a few years. What changes have you seen in the game over those years? Jayke) Well in the season mentioned previously we had great fun- the Moes team then went on to be the all conquering villains of the league due to new additions which I didn't enjoy although was nice to have THE bar in Bangkok where people wanted so desperately to win. The league has expanded so much and the introduction of the Fun division was a God-send. Had to be done due to the amount of teams and mainly to put the fun factor back. Winning was great but having a good craic far more important. Think the league was about to fold at one stage if changes hadn't been made.

DT) What changes do you think would improve our sport of darts in Thailand? Jayke) Think the right changes have been made to date-more scantilly clad female scorers would improve my attention. Keeping the two division completely separate would be the right way to move forward I feel. One competitive- one fun.

DT) Anything specific you'd like to say to dart players in Thailand and readers of DT? Jayke) To the female players my room number is 3147. On the darts side- personally big up to Johnny for all his effort in supporting the game via this web-site and to KaptainX for all his efforts which often go un-noticed. To anyone who reads and fancies a game despite maybe thinking you might not be up to it- pop by and just have some fun, a beer a game of arrows and some great company is what it's about. Laters.		  

 

BANGKOK  DART  LEAGUES

  
   TUESDAY  AQUI-PAK  LEAGUE          Latest Update  
  The week ending January 29th saw all of the postponed games of the Premier League played out. After a superb start to the season The Moe Syzlak Experience drops a few places down the tables into third. Domino 1982 now holds poll position. Last Seasons number two; Flaming Moe's battle on in season 16 while Cat’s Meow’ continue to do well despite the strong opposition.

In The First Division; New Cowboy Bar continue to do well taking the lead while Pel-I-Can and Bully’s struggle to differentiate themselves from second and third place. With the halfway mark of this season around the corner, the Bully’s’ team this week announces a change in home venue. From now on, The Bully’s’, will play out of “The Aloha Bar” on Sukhumvit Soi 22 opposite the New Cowboy Bar. This change came into effect on the 2nd Feb 2008 with Bully’s playing their first home game at their new bar against The Sports’ Corner… - - KaptainX		  
 

Lower Sukhumvit Darts League  
    THURSDAY LEAGUE          Week10 - Jan 31 & PLAYOFF  
                   
   DIVISION 1
Pinocchio
TOT
Domino 1982
GSB
Flaming Moe's
Lazy Pelicans		  DIVISION 2
Offshore
Domino Stone
Domino Seniors
The Other Darts
In Traffic
D'Pelicans		 Most 180s scored Somchai 7 of TOT team.
Team scoring most tons - Domino 1982 with 497.
Scoring the most closes - Tui with 68 of Domino Seniors.
Scoring the highest close - Harry with 154 of D'Pelicans		  


PLAY OFF (Thursday 7th & 14th Feb 2008)
1st Division
TOT vs. Flaming Moe's at Domino
Domino 1982 vs. GSB at Domino
2nd Division
D'Pelicans vs. Domino Stone at D'Pelican
In Traffic vs. The Other Darts at In Traffic
Super Champ
Offshore vs. Domino Seniors at Offshore

Party & Open Dart Tournament - Thursday 13th March 2008 At Domino. Point of contact for this league - Dew at Domino Pub & Restaurant.    dewdomino@hotmail.com 
   UPDATE    BEST  501  BANGKOK  

?  WHO  WANTS  TO  BE  THE  BEST  SINGLES  DART  PLAYER  IN  BANGKOK ?
  Still waiting on an update from Gayle as she struggles with getting players to get their game matches played. Getting a group a people organized anywhere is a challenge and most especially here in Bangkok. For those of us getting our games played - great stuff. For those who aren't or are failing to get the results turned in - come on let's get with it. Gayle's got challenge enough learning how to operate the stats on the "Best 501 Bangkok" website.

We have a good thing going with this new league so let's get those matches scheduled and played and turn in the results. Hmm, by the way Gayle, forgot to turn in the results of my match with Sar - will get that out to you directly. - - Johnny  - -  Point of contact for this league - Gayle -  best501bangkok@gmail.com		  
 

HUA HIN  DARTS  LEAGUE

  
  We are now more than half way through the season and it is still an open race in division one. Johnny Walker Black, Cat Bar and Jungle Juice are all within a couple of points from each other. At the bottom it looks like Jaew Bar will finish last.

In division two Mojos Trio are leading the pack and have also two games in hand compared two the second team, Butterfly Rock.

In individuals Stuart is well ahead of the others, followed by the two Taos. In the cup JWB, Cat Bar, Dick's Office A and Mojos Trio have reached the semi-finals. - - Osmo		  
                   

The Hua Hin area
including Cha Am
is darts country.
12 active darts bars
a darts league
and regular
Monday and Friday
darts events.
 

This Month's Darts  Bar

  
 

LAZY  DAZE  BAR

Hua Hin - Thailand
Poolsuk Road
Opposite Hua Hin Temple
and on the corner
of Soi Bintabaht.

 Lazy Daze Website
                   

    MOONSHINE  PUB'S  
 

X-MAS  INVITATIONAL  501  KNOCKOUT

  
                   
  Our own Kenny (a.k.a.) kennythedart is much like the character John Wayne portrayed in the 1952 movie classis "The Quit Man" - of course minus Kenny's omni-present necktie. Yorkshire lad Kenny is one much behind the scene - always with an awareness of what's going on but one of few words.

Seeing that the monthly knockout co-hosted each month between Flaming Moe's and Moonshine Pub was doing very well, continually attracting a higher level of darts player but unfortunately alienating the less-serious fun players - Kenny came up with the concept of a Fun Knockout. He talked to Wassana & Mitch of Moonshine Pub and a new Bangkok darts event was born.

The following event reported by Moonshine Pub's David - Captain of Moonshine team "White Lighting" is a great account of how our local fun players did when they stepped up to the oche and did what was needed to be done to get the job done.		  
   
   
  On January 12th, the best of the rest of Bangkok’s darting elite met for the first Moonshine Christmas Invitational Darts Tournament. Why was a Christmas darts tournament held in January you ask? That is because of the Thai election, bars had to close on the original scheduled date.

Twenty three darters started the tournament, due to time constraints, the first round was best of three 301. First up was Dono against Pab, this looked like a mismatch but not for the last time in the tournament, an upset was on the cards. Dono won the first leg easily with a 42 finish, but Pab came back to win the next two legs with finishes of 8 and 4. Next up was Chris verses J.R, again Chris took the first leg but J.R. battled back to take the next two legs. The first match at Flaming Moe’s saw Nok take on Sai, Nok took the first leg but Sai battled back to take the next two legs to advance to the round of 16. The next match saw Matt from the Pelican take on Jayke, all though both throw a ton, Jakye took the match in straight legs with 20 and 87 finishes. Up next was a good match between Colin and C.W. both darters throw a ton but C.W. won the 1st and 3rd legs to advance. The next match at Flaming Moe’s was an all Moonshine match with Matt taking on Taxi, Taxi was too much for Matt as took the match is straight legs. Also at Flaming Moe’s Roger took on Jaa, although Roger throw 2 tons to Jaa’s 1, Jaa won 2 legs to 1, Next up was a match between Bob and David, this was probably the longest match of the evening, David won the 1st and 3rd legs to advance. The last preliminary match saw Harry take on Nahgn, which Harry took in straight legs.

The round of sixteen was played as best of three 501. The first match was an all female match between Pab and Gayle. Gayle took the 1st and 3rd legs to advance to the quarter finals. At Flaming Moe’s Marco advanced at the expense of Scott 2 to 1. It was a good match with both players throwing some good darts. The next match saw Sayan beat J.R. in straight legs while throwing 3 tons in the process. Up next was Tris against Jaa, again a good match, Tris advanced with a 2 legs to 1 victory. Up next was another all female match between Sai and Oi, in a tight match Oi advance in straight legs while throwing a ton. Meanwhile at Flaming Moe’s Charlie and Jakye squared off for an eventful match. It seems that a one point in the match Jayke hit 3 20’s and scored 0, that’s right 0. His first two darts were barely staying in the board so he throw his last dart quickly, his luck was such that it hit the twenty but all three darts fell out of the board before he could retrieve them. Both players throw a ton but Charlie advanced 2 legs to 1. In the next match David played C.W. and in a crazy match managed to advance in straight legs. Both players throw 2 tons in the match and C.W. was up over 200 points in the second leg but bad luck helped David check out the leg. The last match of the round saw Harry take on Taxi. Harry played like a man on fire throwing 5 tons to Taxi’s 2 and won the match 2 legs to 1. That completed the round of 16.

In the quarter finals, the first match saw Gayle take on Marco at Flaming Moe’s. Marco advanced with a 2 straight checks. Next up was Sayan against Tris, again a straight leg victory for Sayan to advance to the semi-finals against Marco. The third semi saw Oi take on Charlie. Both players throw a ton but Oi advances with closes of 4 and 87. The last match saw Harry against David, in a tight match Harry throwing 3 tons to David’s 1, Harry advance with a 2 leg to 1 victory and a match with his wife Oi in the semi-finals. Talk about an all family affair. 		 
 
The semi-finals matches were held in both bars, in the first match at Flaming Moe’s Marco took on Sayan. No tons but some good darts, Sayan won the first leg with a 16 finish, but Marco then took the last two legs with finishes of 40 and 32. In the second match between Oi and Harry, Harry showed no mercy to his spouse, throwing 2 tons and winning in straight legs with 32 and 10 finishes. That set up the final two matches of the evening, Oi and Sayan for third place and Harry and Marco for first place.

The third place match between Oi and Sayan was a tight match with Oi finishing the first leg with a 16. Sayan then took the second leg with a 32 finish. The last leg was a fight but Sayan finished with a 30 finish to take 3rd place.

The final was another tight match with it going the distance. Harry who had been playing out of his skin took the first leg with an 8 finish. Marco took the second leg with his favorite double 19 to even the match. In the third leg both players were on a finish, Marco couldn’t hit his favorite double and Harry took advantage to finish on 12 to win the match and the tournament. Congratulations Harry!
 		  

 
There were other prizes furnished by Kenny for most tons and highest finish for both male and female. Highest female finish went to Oi with an 87, highest male went to Jayke with also and 87 finish. Most tons female went to Oi and most tons male went to Harry with 11 tons on the night. Congratulations to all! There was also a lucky draw for two bottles of wine furnished by the Moonshine. As they say somewhere in the world the rich get richer and the poor get poorer because Harry and Marco won the wine. Sometimes there is no justice in the world!
 		  
                   

 
To recap, Harry was the winner, with Marco placing second and Sayan third.

The Moonshine would like to thank all the players for taking part in the tournament, which we hope will become an annual event. Special thanks go to Kenny and KaptainX for doing all the grunt work to make sure that the tournament was such a great event. Thanks to Wasana and the Moonshine staff for hosting the event and providing such good food. Also special mention to Flaming Moe’s for co-hosting the tournament.  - - David		  
 

 Additional photos from this event can be found on the Photo Galleries Page.

 

FLAMING  MOE'S  FEBRUARY  501  KNOCKOUT

16 Feb - 8PM
 (registration from 7:30)
Prizes & Free Food
Open to All
Flaming Moe's
Sukhumvit Soi 22 - Bangkok

DOWNUNDER  SPORTS  BISTRO
FUN  FEB  KNOCKOUT

22 Feb 8 PM  (registration from 7:30) 
3 Trophies & Free Food Buffet
Open to all 1st Div Players of LSDL
(The fun division of the Lower Sukhumvit Darts League)
DownUnder Sports Bistro
Sukhumvit Soi 23 - Bangkok

  
 

BREAKING NEWS    UK  DART  PROS  IN  PATTAYA

  

Darrell Fitton,  Gary Anderson  &  Gary Robson
  06 FEB)  Just opened an email from Alex of Lucky Time Bar in Pattaya informing me that Darrell Fitton, Gary Anderson and Gary Robson will be in Pattaya from 26th Feb to 5th March. Alex will be holding an event every evening in Lucky Time Bar from 8 o'clock at night until late. For all interested out of town players Alex says not to worry that he has rooms available - photos on their website. The Lucky Time Bar is located on Soi 53 of Pattaya, or Soi NERN PLABWAN.
Email - luckytimebar@hotmail.com

Mike Baird's  Pattaya Bar Hopping Guide  is a great printable map if you're unfamiliar with Pattaya. We will update you on our DT Forum as we receive more information.		  
   JAYKE'S  TAKE            

JOCKY WILSON,  BULLSEYE  AND  THE  SLAUGHTERED  LAMB
 
Well February is upon us and Jayke's Take this month is going to have a look at some classic TV/Movie moments in the darting world. Have to start with my favourite and one you non Brits will need explaining. Top of The Pops was a TV institution for many years-Thursday evening 7-30 and the top 40 would be beamed into our living rooms- every week a DJ would count us down to the current number 1 single with selected acts performing their acts and of course with the introduction of the music video a selection of folk prancing around usually with no relevance to the song in question. What had darts got to do with it hear you ask???? Good question- back in the 80s, Dexy's Midnight Runners had a number 3 hit in the UK with a cover of the Van Morrisson song 'Jackie Wilson said........I'm in heaven when you smile'. Dexys bless em hailed from Birmingham in the UK- anyone who has ever been to said place will know they have their own language, think I was 14 when I realised it was English pronounced oddly!! Kevin Rowland the lead singer asked for a picture of Jackie Wilson the singer of such hits as 'Reet Petite' to be beamed on a screen as the band performed...............yep you guessed, due to the language barrier someone thought he said Jocky Wilson the then legendary Scottish darter, one of the BBCs finest moments'

For those of you with You Tube facilities- CLICK HERE , Jocky himself said he was watching the show at the time and quite baffled. The description does say the band actually did it as a joke- completely untrue as the clip points out. Great song though. 		 
 

Who  Can  Forget  'Bullseye' ?

 

  For those of you who were not lucky enough to be in front of a TV in the UK on Sunday nights- 'You can't beat a bit of Bully' presenter Jim Bowen used to tell us. To be honest was a crazy idea of a darts based quiz-was always two friends from the pub , one would answer questions as the other one threw darts!!! Interesting idea and ran for some years. What always baffled me was the star prize- usually a speedboat, a car or a caravan- they got one between them!!!!!! To be honest rarely remember anyone winning it to tell the truth- ok you have the boat Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and every alternate Sunday, probably a good thing. Think a bar in Bangkok may have nicked their logo- not naming names though. They used to have a 'Bullseye' night every month at my local pub in the UK- actually won a few times but weren't the brightest sparks to be honest. Always remember one woman being asked 'Which former Olympic swimmer was famous for his portrayal of Tarzan'- she replied Duncan Goodhew. Now you can see why. Easy to understand why she thought he'd play Tarzan- was an Olympic swimmer though for those who don't remember him.  
 
Finally one of my favourite all time movie clips- for those who can't access You Tube apologies here- 'An American Werewolf in London'. Hilarious horror film from the 80s- the Slaughtered Lamb was the name of the pub- many the time have walked into pubs back home with friends and one of us commented resembles The Slaughtered Lamb due to not being too welcome. The guy playing darts makes Ben look like a fun guy to play against, just please don't invite them into the league. Some of you will recognise the bald Yorkshireman as Brian Glover and for those of you who know Rik Mayall the comedian, a very young version playing chess. For the You Tube clip CLICK HERE And some of you thought Japanese bars in Bangkok were unfriendly to visitors.

Anyway hope you enjoyed some darting TV moments- until March then happy darting		  
 

DARTS   THAILAND   RUMOR   MILL

  
  Ideally we would like to report no rumors and only put out the facts. But we are not always able to confirm if a rumor is true or not by the time we upload this newsletter. In the case of darts events missed here or time or date changes we will email all on our emailing list. If you would like to be added to our emailing list - email us and we will add you.

 CURRENT  RUMORS
1) Heard that the folk of Ilford, Kent are holding a charity auction to buy Ben a ticket back to Bangkok. ** Source of Rumor - the Mayor of Ilford and the 42,000 signatures on the petition.

2) Johnny B in Bangkok? Hey guys just wanted to let you know (or warn, your choice) I will arriving in Bangkok around the 10th for about 9 days. Hope to see you all then. ** Source of Rumor - Johnny B.

3) Heard that Gayle was going to have a sponsored 5 minutes silence. ** Source of Rumor - Jayke - spotted buying a roll of duct tape in Carrefour.

4) Our friend Symon, famed darter from Subic Bay, Philippines will be passing through Bangkok for a few days at the end of the month and is looking for some serious darts challengers again. ** Source of Rumor - Symon

5) Silver Dollar Bar's own in house darts pro Ned will be traveling for a month or so. Unable to find a suitable replacement, he will have Johnny subbing for him in his absence. So if you're looking for a game of darts - you know where you can find one. ** Source of Rumor - Ned

If you can confirm or dispel any of these rumors please contact us.		  
 

DARTS  THAILAND  ONE  YEAR  ANNIVERSARY

  

                   
  Many thanks to our readers and especially those contributing information. We  invite anyone that would like to write about the darts scene in your part of Thailand - email us and we will include your article in our newsletter. Our Dart Bar List continues to grow but we know that there are still more out there. If you know of one - email us and we will add it. Looking forward to making our second year an even better one.  - -  DT  Staff  

EDITOR'S  NOTE

Osmo and the Hua Hin League will be up in BKK for the return leg of our LSDL vs. HHDL challenge the last weekend in March. Matt of D'Pelican informed me that they would be doing a Woman's Knockout in March as well. Will have it all in next month when dates are set.

Expanding our great game of darts with more special weekend events is great news. But I would like to mention to all bar owners and or darters that represent bars - your own event will meet with more success if you support other bars' events.

If you're a darter traveling to Thailand by all means pack your darts. New to Thailand? Contact us and we'll point you in the direction of the nearest darts bar. Traveling in a group and want an impromptu darts match - no problem

-  - Johnny "The Big Witkowski"

 soi22johnny@yahoo.com

     
 

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