DOUBLES TOURNAMENT :: Monday 11-02-08 @ 7pm
Congratulations to Grae and Peach who claimed the doubles tournament victory in a joint event with JMU. The tournament statistics can be seen here 
along with the match report 
(which is also below)
Above: Peach and Grae showing off their trophies for winning the doubles tournament
Below: Chris M and Westie are runners-up after a close fought final
THE FORMAT
The doubles tournament this year had a bit of a twist. It was a joint adventure between JMUDC and LUDC, in JMU’s bar, with a random draw determining the pairings. Eight participants from LUDC joined 14 from JMU, with all the LU participants being separated (it would have been too easy for us to win otherwise). The format was simple; 11 pairs in 3 groups, top from each group into the semis and an audacious playoff system, that confused many, to find the 4th semi final participant (the playoff system was a work in progress throughout the night and had the LU participants thinking, “Hmmm, I wonder which ex-LUDC captain came up with that crazy system”!). All league matches and semi finals were best of 3, 501, the final best of 5, 501 and the playoffs/quarter finals best of 1, 701.
THE DRAW
The tension was great. Some could say you could cut it with a knife. These two bitter rivals were meeting together once again, and to make it worse were forced to play with each other. Shocking. The draw commenced with Will drawing the LU players and Jon drawing the JMU players. Taunts from the crowd as the names came out. Mike W and Abdy did not seem happy with each other but ended up having a screamer. The last LU player out of the hat/polyethene bag was Grae, who was paired with Peach who is arguably JMU’s best player. Shouts from the audience of “We might as well give them the trophy now”, “Fix” and “We can take them” echoed through the bar, as this is the pairing that nobody, apart from Peach and Grae, wanted; they were the early and clear favourites. Other standout pairs would be Will/Stu, Westie/Chris W and, of course, the much favoured pair of James and Rach! 3 pairs consisted exclusively from JMU members with Downsey/Phil initially seeming the strongest of those 3.
GROUP A
Stu/Will, Abdy/Mike, Jon/Chris C, James/Rach
This dedicated reporter can confirm that this league was a cracker. Predictably Stu/Will ran away with it, winning all their games and booking the semi place, but that was the boring part. The opening game saw James/Rach face Jon/Chris C. The standard was good, with James hitting a 139 to leave 28 but Jon/Chris C piped it. Good scoring from Rach followed by a quick double from James levelled thing up. The final leg was close the whole way with Rach, to her delight, coolly taking double 10 to wrap up an unexpected win. With Abdy/Mike then piping James/Rach and Jon/Chris C beating Abdy/Mike, all 3 participants would were locked on 1 win each. In an administrative oversight, Abdy/Mike were awarded 2nd place when in fact it should have been Jon/Chris C in 2nd. It hardly mattered though, as you will see later. James/Rach finished bottom, equal on leg difference with Abdy/Mike, but having lost to their rivals saw them out of the tournament.
GROUP B
Westie/Chris W, Chris M/Wardie, Tony/Ryan, Drew/Mike B
Again, perhaps predictably, Westie/Chris W ran away with the group and won all 3 games to reach the semis, albeit after a close match with Chris M/Wardie which would have seen the latter pairing take top spot. A tight and close match between Tony/Ryan and Drew/The Boddy saw Tony/Ryan take it 2-1 to take the 3rd spot and a place in the playoffs. Drew/The Boddy were eliminated.
GROUP C
Grae/Peach, Downsey/Phil, Rich C/Matt
Perhaps Rich C/Matt could count themselves a little unfortunate for entering this group, since the other two were strong pairs. Each team only played two matches so the chances were that one win would take you to the playoffs at least. Rich C/Matt opened up against Peach/Grae and in a tight ran match, Peach/Grae took the crucial victory, to their relief. Rich C/Matt then went down to Downsey/Phil to finish bottom of this tough group and exit the tournament. To decide the group winner, Peach/Grae faced Downsey/Phil, with the favourites taking it 2-1 to book their place in the semis.
THE PLAYOFFS/QUARTER-FINALS
This impudent playoff system could only have been concocted of by the greatest, most intellectual and devious minds Liverpool had to offer; or Downsey, James, Chris M and Peach in this case. It was more controversial than the Rugby League playoffs; more confusing than the NFL playoffs and more ridiculous than a Teletubby on caffeine high. So put your thinking caps on… this is the format. The 3rd placed teams from leagues A and B play each other with the winner joining the 3 group runners-ups in the “Quarter Final, Part A phase”. The 4 teams in this part A phase would be randomly drawn against each other with the winners playing each other in the “Quarter Final, Part B phase”. The winner of this would join the 3 group winners in the semi finals. Got it? If not, you’re not stupid, you are normal!
This reporter has to admit to not knowing much about this game or much until the final but I’ll do my best. To kick off proceedings, Jon/Chris C, who should not have been in this playoff since somebody worked out the leg difference from group A wrong, would play Tony and Ryan; this was tight with Jon/Chris C taking it to make Jon very happy!
In the quarter final, part A phase, Abdy/Mike caused an upset by beating the hotly tipped Chris M and Wardie, a promising LUDCs newcomer. On paper the latter team should have won, but it was not to be, with Chris M playing like a muppet (his own admission) and busting 60 by hitting T20. This allowed Abdy/Mike to take a surprising victory. In the other part A match, Jon again got very excited as his team knocked out Phil/Downsey to set up a league A rematch in the quarter-final part B.
The fact that Jon/Chris C should have been awarded 2nd in their league over Abdy/Mike was irrelevant. Both underdogs had made it though the phase A stage and the winner of this match would make the semis. It was that simple. The result in the league was reversed to the joy of Abdy, who embraced his doubles partner, Mike, after coolly doubling out to get to the semi’s, against all odds.
SEMI FINALS
Peach/Grae vs Abdy/Mike; The great work from Abdy/Mike to get through the playoffs set up a showdown with Peach/Grae. Abdy hit 3 tons in two legs (I think) but it was not enough as the powerhouses reached the final with a comfortable 2-0 victory – they had only played 3 matches to get to the final!
Westie/Chris W vs Stu/Will; Many tipped these two to get to this stage, and both were probably relieved to avoid the Peach/Grae combination till the final. As expected, it was a close fought game with Westie/Chris W taking it 2-1 to progress to the final.
FINAL
Peach/Grae vs Westie/Chris W; What a final! If we ignore all the issues with the pens and actual seeing the scores on the scoreboard, then this was a classic. I think all 4 players had darts to get a 180 – I think 3 of which were 140s.
The 1st leg was epic. Peach/Grae were left on 60 after 15 darts and Grae should have had two darts at tops for a great leg. He hit 1, then 7 but left Peach on a double. It ended up being a 24ish darter which was a great start for the favourites. Some great scoring from Chris W, who probably scored the best in the final, and a nice double 8 finish (I think) levelled the tie at 1-1. Grae/Peach then stepped up a gear with some heavy scoring and a quick finish to take the lead. Grae/Peach would probably like to forget the 4th – they both played like monkey’s with no arms, no legs and blindfolded. Chris W was constantly berating his team-mate with support, which worked with Westie doubling out (I think) in the 4th to take it to a decider. This was close, both teams matching each other evenly. Both had shots at a double to win it but Peach decided he didn’t like tops, or double 10, to finish with 20/10/D5 to take the title. The early tipped favourites had won to the sound of “Jeez, Peach won again”.
NEAREST BULL TROPHY PRESENTATION
Quiggers obviously bought some cheap ass trophies since the base fell from one of them. Grae and Peach couldn’t decide who should have the broken one so it was decided that 1 dart at bull would decide it. Up stepped Grae who promptly stuck it bang into the bullseye with a roar of laughter from the crowd! Peach was rattled and couldn’t match it, hitting just outside the outerbull ring. Take that you JMU scum – one up for the LUDC!
LUDC I - Tournament Report 
LUDC II - Tournament Report Rules Statistics
LUDC III - Statistics
LUDC IV - Statistics Report