USA Dart Classic / 510 National Championships
Aug 11-13 2006

To say I was disappointed in my finish would be an understatement. After a quick bite I headed back to the hotel room and remained there for the rest of the evening. I decided to just hit the practice board rather then play the pro singles or the blind draw. And come back refreshed and refocused for the rest of the weekend's events. My new weekend would start on Saturday...

Saturday morning kicked off with the Open Doubles 501. Steve and I draw Dieter Schutsch and Chris Helms first round. Not exactly the easiest of tasks especially right off the bat. But with a little luck and some missed shots Steve and I advance 2-0 to the second round. Our next opponents are Ray Carver and Johnny K. Ray and Johnny steam through on the strength of a brilliant 180 - 140 start in the final leg.

Cricket singles is the next event and I am determined to have a good showing. After some heated early round action I head to the money rounds were I meet Frank "Chitown" Smith. Now Frank posts his practice scores on Sewa-darts.com so I know what I'm up against. His practice scores don't lie and he hits multiple perfect shots in the match. But somehow I am able to amp up another gear to advance through the toughest match of the day.

In the quarterfinals I draw Ray Carver. And Ray is always going to be a tester no matter how well you are playing. Over a weird and tense 3 legs I finally emerge to move into the semi-finals.

To meet me on stage for the semi-finals was a familiar face out of Ohio, Gordon Dixon. In the past Gordon and I have always had very heated and competitive matches so I was expecting a real clash. Nothing could have been further from the truth as we both struggled to get on track. The stage was made of what appeared to be boxes stacked together that moved and swayed as players walked back and forth. And on the right hand board there was only about an 18inch walkway, past that it’s a 4foot drop off. The closest I can compare it too was playing on bleachers. I never did ask Gordon if that bothered him but it was driving me crazy. In the end I came out on top to advance to the finals in a confidence-draining match.

My opponent in the finals was Mr. Philadelphia himself Bill Davis. The finals were still on stage but played on the center board. So the stage wasn't an issue as it was more stable and a safer walkway. After claiming the first leg and holding a decent lead heading to the finish in leg 2 I felt confident. But just as I'm about to set cruise control Bill fires up with 16 or 18 marks in his next 6 arrows. After his comeback in leg 2 Bill continues his hot shooting and while I missed only a few darts it was enough to give him a fairly easy victory in the decider.

It was a good match and a well-deserved victory for Bill. He is a true gentleman and a pleasure to play against. I felt better about my dart quality in the finals and coming in runner-up, while disappointing, was still an accomplishment against such a tough field.