Hogan the hero of Woodman tournament (From Andover Advertiser)

Hogan the hero of Woodman tournament

8:39pm Tuesday 9th June 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

Paul Hogan claimed the £200 first prize and coveted Johnny Woodman Trophy, sponsored by Ability Associates, after defeating Kevin Ede in a keenly-contested final last Saturday.

It was a high quality final which averaged less than 15 darts per leg but Hogan’s pair of 16 darters in legs seven and eight was enough to clinch the title. Hogey was made to work hard for the win after tough tests from Chris Bailey, Shane Harvey and a last leg win against Sam Rooney in the board final before overcoming Swindon’s Mark Cox in another ninth leg win in the semis.

Ede was not without a test himself having to come through against Colin Nichol, Craig Griffiths and 2008 Classic winner Paul Cook in the semis. Andover’s most successful players who reached the last eight were Andy Harvey and Mark Thorne who lost an exciting quarter-final to Cook in another which went the distance. Ali MacDonald also deserves praise for his excellent showing which included the scalp of the mercurial Nillson Pritchard, as does the Academy’s Conner Bevis and Gary Thorne who picked up the best performance prize. Thorne showed glimpses of the ability that would take him to the next level with a mature and high quality performance which included a 130 finish on the bull against Swindon’s experienced Colin Nichol. Bevis is also showing good levels of consistency and was unlucky to be edged out by Berkshire's Dan Woodcraft. In all 11 Academy players toed the oche and earned much praise for their ability and sportsmanship gaining valuable senior match day experience.

Winner: Paul Hogan £200, second: Kevin Ede, 3-4: Paul Cook and Mark Cox £50 each. 5-8: Mark Thorne, Andy Harvey, Sam Rooney and Craig Griffiths £25 each. Best lady: Jane Jenkins £15. Best Academy: Gary Thorne £15.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)