Murray Makes A Move
Geoff Murray claimed his fourth ADC title across the weekends action to move up to fifth in the rankings after winning the Winmau Sky Lounge Ranking Event 5 in Washington. The Englishman beat Windy Miller 5-3 in the Final claiming 128 ranking points and moving ahead of Championship Tour 6 Runner Up Adam Warner by 19 points.
The 31-year-old averaged 87.62 in the Final and included a first three dart average off 103.79 despite not throwing a single 180 in the Final. The new ADC Number 5 wrapped up victory in Washington with a 100 finish in three darts to hold throw, coming through a tough field that included Adam Atkinson and Tony Wood who are amongst the four players above him in the rankings.
Phil Borthwick moved well in the rankings this weekend after winning the Consett Station Club Ranking Tournament 4 having won Event 3 at the end of July this year. The Englishman moves up to 8th in the rankings ahead of Championship Tour leader Lee Budgen and king of the Globe Hotel Kevin McDine, behind seventh placed Lloyd Pennell by 23 points.
The 56-year-old whitewashed David Crawley 5-0 in the Final averaging 89.46 in the North-East including an opening checkout of 97 in two darts to break throw early. Borthwick closed out with another break of throw this time hitting 74 in two darts again, to claim the 64 ranking points and move ahead of Winmau Championship Tour 6 winner Budgen by 19 points ahead of Bristol in two weeks.
Ricky Evans won the Haddenham Darts Open after beating fellow PDC Tour Card holder Nick Fullwell who appeared at Lakeside back in April. Rapid is ineligible for ranking points due to playing in PDC competitions but chose to play this weekend joining the likes of Chris Dobey and Ryan Joyce who have won on the ADC circuit this year.
The Englishman reached the Final after beating the likes of Phil Coward 5-4 in the Quarter Finals before a whitewash victory over Josh McCarthy in the Semi Finals. The 32-year-old from Kettering beat good mate Fullwell in the Final 6-3 in a tournament that also included Adam Mould and Ritchie Edhouse.
Just one week of darting action now remains before the Final Championship Tours of the year, with a return to the Thornbury Conference Centre scheduled for the 24th and 25th of September. Next week sees the Albert Gainey Nelson Memorial Cup Finals Day at Bar501 as well as the Botanical Gardens Atherton September GSoD with both events taking place next Saturday.
ADC Rankings:
Matt Jackson: 1243pts
Adam Atkinson: 900pts
Steve Brown: 868pts
Tony Wood: 743pts
Geoff Murray: 599pts
Adam Warner: 580pts
Lloyd Pennell: 543pts
Phil Borthwick: 520pts
Lee Budgen: 501pts
Graham Hall: 484pts
Paul Nesbitt: 469pts
Kevin McDine: 447pts
Ricky King: 384pts
Raymond Marshall: 374pts
Tom Lonsdale: 366pts
Kevin Garcia: 356pts