14th Nov saw myself leaving the Morecambe mob behind to return Prague and hopefully defend my points earned the previous year. I took the train to Manchester airport...however despite trying to board the wrong flight, from the wrong terminal I still managed to meet up with other dart friends. We all shared an Uber to the impressive Oreo Pyramida hotel. We checked in and relaxed with a couple of drinks before retiring to bed before the first comp on the Friday - mixed pairs.
I partnered Yorkshire county player Brian Hallas. We were playing a very good male player with his partner. His lady partner struggled to score but managed to hit quite a few random trebles. We took a 2.0 lead however our lady opponent managed to pin double two to start their come back. They managed to level the score with the male hitting 180 the first three darts. It was a race to the double. I had set Brian up with double ten left. Our male opponent stepped up the the oche and hit his 109 outshot. We had been pipped.
Out of the competition I enjoyed the Czech hospitality and made a late night visit the " The Shed ". Even though all darts were done for the day the laughs were not. It was such a fun night.
Saturday saw the singles comp. I was defending my last 4 position of the previous year. However after winning my board final I lost to the fantastic treble 19 thrower Maggie Sutton 4.2 in the last 16.
Sunday brought ladies pairs. Again playing with the awesome Kirsty Hutchinson. We both had up and down games but we paired well together. We were to play Lorraine Winstanley and Casey Gallagher in the pairs semi final. This was streamed and.on the stage. I struggled to find my mark. My first dart seemed to have a magnet into the treble 5. I didn't score very well but managed to set Kirsty up with finishes. Despite my poor scoring I did manage to checkout 101 and 83. We ended our charge in the last four by 2 legs to Lorraine & Casey's 4. This was one position higher than our previous year together. Maybe next year we will make the final!
With all the darts complete we made our annual trip to the beautiful city of Prague. Even though I saw it last year, the statues, city and architecture still blew my mind. Prague is one competition I look forward to each year and it never fails to impress. I love doing the BDO circuit as it is not only helping my game I am meeting lots of new people and finding lots of new friends.
A little tour time off now. Next one for me is the Scottish Open in the new year. I'll keep in practising for my local leagues and county until then.
Don't forget to have a look in the gallery for new pictures.