The Taverners’ Craig Roberts and Kelly Stevens win the mixed pairs competition in the Newark & District Double Board Darts League
The final silverware of the Newark & District Double Board Darts League’s winter season saw Craig Roberts and Kelly Stevens, representing The Taverners, win the mixed pairs competition which was held immediately after the end of season presentations at the Castle & Falcon.
For Stevens it was the seventh time she had won the competition, having twice won alongside her father Derek Booth and four times with Taverners’ skipper Simon Cobb, while for Roberts it was his first success.
The duo’s opening match of the night saw them win 2-1 in a close encounter against three-time champion John Esam, of the Wheatsheaf, and Mandy Walker, of the Castle & Falcon Bangers, who was a winner back in 2010.
Their quarter-final clash saw them up against another pair of former victors in the shape of Wheatsheaf’s Martin Fryer, winner in 2018, and 2023 champion Stacey Grand-Scrutton, of the Falcoholics. They won 2-0 and secured victory with a terrific 103 checkout from Stevens of Bullseye, single-13, double-20.
Their place in the final was then secured as they overcame Tom Greenhalgh, skipper of league champions Rose & Crown Marauders, and Collingham FC MC’s captain Sharon Hovey 2-0.
Their opponents in the final were King’s Arms pairing of 13-year-old Cain Allen, making his debut in the competition, and Andi Atherley, whose route to the final started with a 2-0 win over Zak Daubney of the Hedgehoggers and previous winner Debbie Braithwaite, skipper of league champions Railway Youngers.
Another 2-0 win followed as they overcame Reece Chapman and Fran Paterson, of the Castle & Falcon Bangers, in the quarter-finals. A place in their first final was then secured with another 2-0 victory as they defeated five-times champion and captain of The Taverners, Simon Cobb, and Kathy Buttong, of the Castle & Falcon Bangers.
The opening leg of the final saw Roberts and Stevens outscore their opponents to reach the checkout first but missed doubles gave their rivals chances of their own but they failed to take advantage and Roberts holed out on double-1 to put them 1-0 up against the throw.
The second leg was evenly contested and again saw chances come and go but this time it was Allen who landed double-1 to bring his side level. The third leg was similar to the opening leg with The Taverners’ duo outscoring their opponents but this time the King’s Arms pairing took advantage of the missed doubles as Atherley checked out on 16 (single-8, double-4) to put the final debutants 2-1 ahead and just one leg away from victory.
The fourth leg saw Roberts and Stevens once again reach the checkout first but this time they didn’t allow their opponents any chances of their own as Roberts checked out on double-4 to regain parity at 2-2 with the King’s Arms pairing sat on 87. The deciding leg of this intriguing encounter saw the Taverners’ duo show their experience as consistent scoring, against the throw, enabled them to reach the double first and with their opponents still requiring 103 up stepped Stevens to seal a 3-2 victory with a double-14 checkout – landing Roberts and Stevens the final silverware of the season as the winter campaign drew to a close.
Results: Mixed pairs: first round: L Hubbard/D Stevens 2-0 N Ward/J Ward.
Second round: J Esam/M Walker 1-2 C Roberts/ K Stevens, M Fryer/S Grand-Scrutton 2-0 B Fletcher/D Walker, O Ward/S Baldwin 0-2 G Pocsik/S Clare, T Greenhalgh/S Hovey 2-1 D Thompson/Jess Esam, Z Daubney/D Braithwaite 0-2 C Allen/A Atherley, O Hubbard/L Wilkinson 1-2 R Chapman/F Paterson, K Rose/D Nuttall 2-1 R Dale/A Wood, S Cobb/K Buttong 2-1 L Hubbard/D Stevens.
Quarter-finals: C Roberts/K Stevens 2-0 M Fryer/S Grand-Scrutton, G Pocsik/S Clare 0-2 T Greenhalgh/S Hovey, C Allen/A Atherley 2-0 R Chapman/F Paterson, K Rose/D Nuttall 1-2 S Cobb/K Buttong.
Semi-finals: C Roberts/K Stevens 2-0 T Greenhalgh/S Hovey, C Allen/A Atherley 2-0 S Cobb/K Buttong.
Final: C Roberts/K Stevens 3-2 C Allen/A Atherley.
