Oct 3rd - 7th saw me head back to Bridlington as following my brief stint on the BDO darts tour, I had qualified for the Professional Play Offs & Winmau World masters due to my ranking of 30th in the world.
Following my previous visit I thought I knew what to expect for the playoffs & masters however this was not the case. I was in awe at just how many players had traveled from all around the world to compete based on their merit & achievements. Players from countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, USA etc. New friends to be made from further afield with a wealth of darting talent to boot.
In the pro playoffs I was knocked out in the last 64 stage (out of 256 players - ( give or take a few byes ) by a Finland international lady. I played well but I could not argue with the quality of her darts.
Despite some people's perceptions, BDO really is darts for all....ALL OVER THE WORLD!
One of my best achievements is qualifying for the Winmau world masters. Even after only attending a few competitions & missing some bigger ranking ones I still qualified. I will always be proud of this.
After a first round bye I got through 2 further rounds of the Masters before meeting my good friend and fellow Lancashire team mate Sue Cusick at the last 32 player stage (again out of approx 256 players- give or take byes ). With very vocal supporters on a board close by, Sue & I slugged it out. It was far from our finest darts but the knowledge of each others game and abilities made it very tense at points. We took it all the way to the decider, in fact to the deciding double. Sue hit it.
A little dismayed I congratulated her and proceeded to step up to mark the next game. However after marking I realised what an achievement I had made, and that I had gotten further in the competition that other big names.
I will treasure the Masters programme given as a momento to each player as it not only shows the talent from all over the world but it also listed me with the lovely Lancashire Ladies Danielle Ashton, Lisa Ashton & Sue Cusick.
Never, when I started playing darts did I ever think I would lead me here. Thanks to all the people who have helped, supported and believed in me all the way.
Hopefully I will be able to attend more competitions and give the full circuit a go, however it is all dependant on finances & obtaining sponsorship.
Here's to obtaining more sponsors for the next season & to bigger achievements.