Duff seals week 8 glory at the MODUS Super Series.

After topping Group A and having two days off Former Lakeside Champion Neil Duff pinned double two to earn a spot at Champions Week in an unbelievable final against Scotsman Gary Stone.

Group A belongs to former Lakeside World Champion Neil Duff, who went from fourth place on day one to finish on top after back-to-back days of domination.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the man from Northern Ireland as Dutchman Michel Van Der Vorst was on the charge for the top spot after wiring double 12 for perfection earlier in the week.

Jon Worsley got Group A off to a flyer after pinning double 10 for a 140 checkout against Matt Clark in the week’s first game. The Welshmen finished day one on top after winning four out of five games.

However, “The Womble” did not remain on top as the Northern Irishmen went five from five on day two, which put him in pole position.

The two at the top, Van Der Vorst and Duff met in a must-win game on the final day. Neil Duff extended his lead at the top by four points after winning 4-3.

19-year-old Bram Van Dijk, who was making his debut at the Modus Super Series, secured the top spot for “Duffman” after the Dutchman put aside his fellow countrymen Michel Van Der Vorst 4-3. The 48-year-old Van Der Vorst will join Jon Worsley in Group B.

Dutchman Van Dijk looked to improve as the group continued but only managed to pick up five wins, which saw him join Group C. Joining the youngster in Group C were Colin McGarry and Matt Clark, who both won six games, respectively.

Group C

After having a brilliant first day of action, three players sat on eight points. Former tour card holder Simon Preston, who was on debut, finished the opening day with four wins.

It was the same story for Colin McGarry and Andy Hamilton, who came into this group in great form after qualifying for the final stage of Q-School. All three had one foot into finals night.

After having a late call-up, former ten-time World Champion Trina Gulliver MBE didn’t manage to get the winning feeling. “Golden Girl” came close to winning her first game of the week but missed three match darts at double and got punished as Simon Preston took out 60 to win 4-3.

The battle for the top two was getting closer and closer, but McGarry created some daylight at the top as he passed youngster Bram Van Dijk, which almost meant the Northern Irishmen qualified for finals night. McGarry eventually secured the top spot after taking out a hundred with two double tops in a 4-0 win over Gulliver.

Qualification was in the hands of Andy Hamilton as he got the job done over Van Dijk, which meant he joined “The Chief” on finals night. Simon Preston signed off for the week with a defeat to Bram Van Dijk.

Group B 

Three-time BDO World Champion Martin Adams got off to a flyer on Thursday evening, winning three games. The only man to beat “Wolfie” was Matthew Edgar, who finished the night on the same points as the 67-year-old. It was a slow start for Scotsman Gary Stone, who only picked up one win against the reigning Slovenian Open and Iceland Master Champion Matthew Edgar 4-1.

Gary Stone sat at the bottom of Group B going into the final session with much to do. However, with a massive win over Jon Worsley to start proceedings, Stone began to build confidence as results started going his way.

Michel Van Der Vorst was the first of many to dent Matthew Edgar’s chances of qualifying for finals night. After having a brilliant start to Group B, the 37-year-old could not get over the winning line and ended up finishing bottom of the group.

With Edgar losing all four matches this meant that the chances of Stone qualifying for finals night grew with wins over Adams, Van Der Vorst and Worsley with a brilliant 158 finish in a last leg decider the Scotsman qualified for Saturday night finals. Stone finished on the same points as Worsley, who concluded the night with a win over “Primetime” and finished top on leg difference.

Martin Adams was the final man to qualify for finals night as he dropped to third after an impressive start to his Group B campaign and ended the night with a defeat to Dutchman Michel Van Der Vorst, who bowed out alongside Matthew Edgar.

Finals Night

Neil Duff kicked off finalsl night with a very much one-sided 4-1 win against Andy Hamilton who had it all to do. Hamilton understood the task in hand and with his next game it piled the pressure on Gary Stone. All Duff had to do in the last match of Group 1 was secure one leg to advance to the semi-final.

It looked like one-way traffic with Stone leading 3-0, but Duff managed to pin double 14 to advance. The Scotsmen however recorded a 4-2 win over the Northern Irishman which meant that Hamilton was knocked out.

The first game of Group 2 saw Jon Worsley take Martin Adams to a last leg decider, where the 67-year-old managed to get over the line with one foot in the semi-finals.

Colin McGarry carried on his impressive form as he knocked out Welshman Worsley with a 102.26 average. This resulted in McGarry and Adams taking the last two semi-final spots.

Semi-Finals 

The first semi-final saw Duff hold his nerve as he managed to put aside McGarry after a break of throw averaging 92.69. Martin Adams who managed to hit a 11 darter, looked to pile pressure on the Scotsman in the second semi-final. However, after it went 2-2 Gary Stone put his foot to the floor and averaged 94.71 in a 4-2 win over “Wolfie”.

It was Northern Ireland vs Scotland in the final and Gary Stone won the all-important Bull. That didn’t affect the former World Champion Neil Duff, who broke and held for an early advantage.

That didn’t last long as the Scotsman broke back on double three, bringing the final back 2-2. In fitting fashion it went down to a straight shootout in a last-leg decider which saw Neil Duff hold his nerve and book his spot in Champions Week after Stone missed a dart at the Bull.

Words By Harry Tovey.