UK and ROI University Darts Singles Championship

The event, organised by the University’s Darts Society, saw darts players from as far as Bristol and Ireland travel to participate in the annual tournament.

Derwent Bar was transformed, with darts company Diamond Wire Promotions providing sixteen boards and equipment to turn the cafeteria into a darts hall.

Almost 100 players arrived for the day and were sorted into groups, with the top eight players from last year being seeded and separated from each other to ensure the highest possible quality of darts in the later rounds.

The top four from each group qualified for the knock-out stages and a huge chart marked their progress for all to see.

No seeds fell in the group stages but the round of 64 saw the first casualties, as James Bielak, seeded fourth, was knocked out by David Harnick while Simon Rimmington (7) fell at the hands of Paul Haysom.

The tournament saw some impressive playing and statistics, with high checkouts from Daniel Merrick of 152 and 120 from Kirk Bevins. There were also numerous quick legs, notably from Bevins, Harnick, Alex Harrison and Luke Radcliffe.

Many of the University of York’s own darts players entered the competition and hopes were high for seeds Kirk Bevins (2), Alex Harrison, (3) and Andy Myhill (5). Myhill progressed to the round of 16 but lost to top seed Matthew Howard in a very high-standard game, where all legs were thrown in under 21 darts.

Bevins and Harrison met each other in one of the semi-finals, in what was a thrilling encounter. After each walking on to loud cheers and their chosen walk-on song, “We didn’t start the fire” by Billy Joel for Harrison and Kylie Minogue’s “The Locomotion” for Bevins, the game began. There was impressive play from both players and the game was nail-biting as Bevins took a 3-0 lead, only for Harrison to win the next two legs and close the gap to 3-2. Bevins remained on top however and won the next two frames, winning 5-2 overall, to give himself a place in the final.

The other semi-final saw Luke Radcliffe take on top seed Matthew Howard. Radcliffe’s choice of song was “I am a rat” by Tower of London, while Howard opted for "Crazy, Crazy Nights” by Kiss. Unseeded Radcliffe played well, answering Howard’s numerous tons and 140+ scores, and managed to take two legs off last year’s runner-up. Howard, however, was impressive with his doubling-out and finished clinically to secure the win 5-2 and progress to the final.

With seeds one and two in the final, a high standard was expected and the players did not disappoint. Both hit 180s and countless tons and Bevins, cheered on by an enthusiastic York home crowd, hit a fantastically quick leg of 14 darts, giving him a 3 darts average of 107 for that leg. Howard took the lead but Bevins battled back each time. Then, with the scores level at 3-3, Howard asserted his dominance and took the next two legs to give himself some breathing room at 5-3. Nerves seemed to take over in the ninth leg, as Howard, with the opportunity to seal the victory, missed nine darts at a double, allowing Bevins to check-out and make the score 6-4. Howard, however, regained his cool and won the next leg, becoming the UK and ROI University Darts Singles Champion.

Trophies and prize money were awarded by Alan Belmore, one of the tournament’s organisers, to first, second and third places, which went to Luke Radcliffe after he defeated Alex Harrison in the third-place play-off.

Speaking to The Yorker after the final, Howard, who attends Edge Hill University and has the nickname The Beanstalk, revealed “I feel great. It’s good to go one better than last year”. He praised the fantastic atmosphere and said he had thoroughly enjoyed the whole day.

Organiser Alan Belmore with winner Matt Howard

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