Handy Andy Shows There's Life In The Old Dog Yet

Whilst darting retirement has always been Andy Bates' (31.31) goal, he was dragged in for one more encore of his very best form during a Steve Chapman 501 League 9-2 win for Cherry Tree C over Kings Arms.

Bates fired legs in 17, 16 and 15 darts during his 3-0 triumph and walked away from the oche with thirteen ton plusses, which included a 115 combination outshot.

Bates, in fact, had the top two checkouts in the game as he nailed a 94 that topped a 93 from teammate Nick Bryant, who himself finished on ten ton plusses.

The difference between Bates and Nick Miller's ton total was one of the five maximums, as Miller reached fourteen tons, joining Bryant, Dave Lee, Dave Johns, and Luke Johnson in achieving that feat.

Miller also picked up the least number of darts accolades in this matchup, thanks to a 14 darter that sat nicely alongside a leg in 18 during a 3-1 success.

A dominant display by Scott Lawrey (29.47) saw legs in a 3-0 triumph tumble in 16 and 14 darts, which gave Victory A the platform to secure a 9-2 win over King Billy.

Despite ending on the wrong side of a heavy defeat, Frankie Stout (28.90) still had time to secure his 3-0 singles success with legs in 18 and 14 darts.

Other heroics in the individual phase included 17 and 18 darters from Kelvin Rowe during his 3-1 triumph, whilst Paul Goundry and Darren Collis both added legs in 18 in respective games.

During the scoring phase, Lawrey topped the table with fifteen visits of a ton or more and was backed up by a tally of thirteen from Rowe.

Among the visitors, Andrew Cook nailed the most tons with thirteen, and Frankie Stout added one of the five maxis to his ten ton tally.

Teammate Paddy Archibald added a second for the away team, whilst Goundry, Collis and Rowe all contributed to the quintet overall.

Archibald and Cook both provided the best of the thirty-three checkouts in the contest as the pair shared the highest checkout honours with a 100 combo apiece.

Mike Pearce (28.91) put his name up in lights for St Levans with a phenomenal 3-0 win that contained legs in 18, 18 and 16 darts during a 9-2 match win over Fawn A.

Teammate and brother Tex Pearce (27.33) also showed his class with a leg in 14 darts that came in another 3-0 triumph, whilst the aforementioned pair put on a leg in 20 darts in the 601 pairs.

Anna Pearce also fired a top leg in her 3-0 win with an 18 darter, her best, whilst the Pearce family highlight reel included a 180 by Matt Pearce.

Mike Pearce's twelve tons overall gave him the edge over Tex Pearce, who added eleven ton plusses to his night's work, and Mike Pearce's magic did not stop there.

His 120 combination checkout outdid a 109 by Mark Sargeant for the defeated team that came in one of the two points the away side picked up.

John Mann's (27.33) heroic performance in the individual phase of Fawn B's 10-1 win over Tradesmans saw him clinch a 3-0 win, thanks in part to legs in 16 and 18 darts.

Mann's teammate Simon Washington pinched the least number of darts honours off his teammate with a 15 darter during another 3-0 success.

Over the 601 distance, Mann featured amongst the headlines as he paired with Lee Agar to produce a 20 darter in the team phase.

Mid-range checkouts of 84 and 93 came from Washington and Taylor, respectively, whilst top scoring player with eleven tons was Mann, who included a 180 amongst his total.

Agar put on ten tons, whilst Nick Bromley fired the only three treble visit for the defeated team as their only noteworthy moment from a trip to the champions elect.

Dan Brazier's twelve ton haul gave Cherry Tree A the platform from which to launch a 7-4 win in their home success over local rivals Beacon Park.

The best score came from Beau Carter with the only 180 for the defeated team, whilst Brazier's stablemate Will Broome fired an 86 out and a leg in 15, but that couldn't get him over the line in a narrow 3-2 loss.

Brazier himself managed a 3-1 triumph, and the cherry on top of that particular win was a brace of 18 darters to complete a successful night for the talisman.

Scott Heggie's eleven tons led his Firkin Scholar team to an 8-3 win over Indian Inn, for whom Ian Heggie and Mark Hatherley both added ten tons apiece.

Hatherley added a 17 darter during a 3-2 defeat to the junior Heggie, whilst teammates Lee Bannister and Rhys Castle both put 180s onto the scoreboard.

Bannister also showed his class at the business end of legs with a fine 82 combination out that was the best finish of all thirty-two checkouts in the contest.

Mike Whatley's eleven ton haul dominated Cherry Tree B's 9-2 win at Duchy that saw as many as four maximums for the victors.

Whatley's teammates Mark Shears, Phil Hoyle, Jason Pinkerton and Scott Wapshott all added to that total, whilst Whatley was also amongst the headlines in the finishing section of legs.

Whatley's 15 darter came in a 3-0 win and the best three dart combination outshot was a 108 checkout from Paul Gavican.

Three maximums and a 15 dart leg from Lee Rodmell highlighted Bar Mez' superiority in their 7-4 win at Victory Fireballs.

Chris Edgecombe's maxi sat nicely amongst the rest of the highlights, which came at the business end of legs in a 7-4 win for Octagon over Cherry Tree D.

Edgecombe's teammate Ralph Lancaster contributed to the reel with a 101 checkout and a 17 dart leg in his 3-0 win, whilst Alfie Ford also netted himself a leg in 17 during another 3-0 success.

A 3-1 triumph by Chris Beale for the defeated side saw an 18 darter as well as the highest checkout of the match and game week, which came at the first time of asking from 135.

An 85 finish from Jack Gilbert sat nicely alongside a 180 by Arthur Pearce, but those efforts couldn't arrest The Exchange's slide to a 7-4 home loss versus Victory Hammers.