The quarter finals of the men’s doubles competition saw Tyson Hillcoat and Stewart Smith stop the day’s successful run of Michael Cassar after they defeated Cassar and Victorian teammate Dean Gibbs 4-1. Both teams held throw before Hillcoat and Smith held throw in 18 darts. The fourth leg of the match saw Hillcoat throw 180 then 140 before checking out 76 with the side’s 14th dart of the leg. Dean Gibbs missed the bullseye for the next leg and Hillcoat checked out 66 to move his side into the semi-finals with the 4-1 victory.
Rob Modra and Brendan Masters were even more comprehensive in their quarter final win as they defeated Kevin Young and Dwayne Wilson 4-0. After holding throw in the first leg Modra chased a 128 check out but left 10. Wilson could only move to 32 on his next visit only for Masters to not convert on this next visit. Young then had his shot at the leg but left 8 so Modra, who had started the run of darts at the leg, stepped back up and secured the leg. Wilson then left 24 when chasing 80 and Modra stepped up to secure the checkout required with last dart in hand. The final leg was the most comprehensive as a maximum from Modra and 105 consolidation from Masters straight after gave the team a strong lead that was soon capped off when Masters checked the leg out with his side’s 18th dart, thus securing the 4-0 clean sweep.
On paper the Laurie Loch / Anthony Shreeve v Aaron Morrison/Karl Schaefer should have been one of the matches of the round and it did not fail to deliver.
Morrison opened with a 180 after Shreeve had started the leg with a 140. When Schaefer failed to get a check out dart from 100 Shreeve looked to pounce but his 97 left him eight shy of the leg and Morrison threw tops for a 13-dart break of throw. The two then held their throw to double their lead before the Queensland side finally secured a leg, mainly thanks to Shreeve’s consistently strong visits in the leg. They then broke the throw of the South Australians with a 17-dart leg highlighted by a 134 from Shreeve leaving Loch to get 36 on his next visit, which he did. Shreeve then performed more heroics on throw as he opened with 134 before following it up with 140. Loch threw a ton to leave Shreeve 72 which was duly put away by him with the 14th dart of their leg. From 2-0 down they were now 3-2 up and the South Australians would not hold onto their throw in what would be the final leg of the match. A 16-dart leg from Shreeve and Loch was enough to put them through to the semi-finals.
Brayden Sperling and Mark Carter would be their opponents after they survived a final leg decider against the NSW duo of Luke Wilson and Daniel Meyer. Sperling set up the first leg nicely with a second visit of 140 and a follow up 132 leaving Carter to clean up 86 on his next throw. Wilson and Meyer combined beautifully in the next leg to hold throw in 15 darts, with Wilson checking out 82. The hold of throws continued in the next leg although remarkably both Meyer and Wilson busted attempts at an 88 check out before Meyer left seven at his second attempt at the total. A 56 checkout from Sperling put his opponent’s out of the pain they were in with that leg. Wilson and Meyer then held in 19 darts before a 105 visit from Meyer left Wilson needing tops. Wilson left ten and Carter stepped up to throw double 16 to move in front for the third time in the match. The run of holds of throw continued after a 17-dart leg and a 74 checkout from Meyer left the need for a deciding leg and the need for Meyer and Wilson to break the run of hold of throws if they were to make the semi-finals. They never came close in the leg and a 56 checkout from Sperling put he and Carter into the next stage.
The experience would not be pleasant for Sperling and Carter, despite Sperling opening with 101 in the first visit of the match. A 140 from Shreeve and 180 from Loch helped the to build momentum and they were 1-0 up after 15 of their own darts had been thrown. They then held their throw with Loch throwing 131 to leave 116 and Shreeve, so impressive in the early stages of this championship, checking it out on his next visit. Loch then pounced in the next leg by checking out with double 18 after Carter left 56 trying to check out 82. Three nil soon became four but in this leg Sperling and Carter had multiple opportunities to take the lead but failed to do so. Sperling helped his team by checking out 41 in the next leg but even that was only after Loch left 20 chasing Shanghai on the board. When Carter left 20 chasing 78 in the next leg Shreeve pounced with a 76 check out to take out the match. Thus, Laurie Loch and Anthony Shreeve were through to the Final with the 5-1 win.
They would oppose Rob Modra and Brendon Masters in the final after the latter two demolished Tyson Hillcoat and Stewart Smith 5-0 in their semi-final. After an initial break of throw Modra and Masters held their own although Smith had a chance at 67 but left tops. Smith and Hillcoat were improving and Smith had another check out chance but left ten chasing 85 and had to watch as Masters stepped up and checked out 63 in response. They then held throw in 17 darts but Masters almost did the job in 12 when he left 20 chasing a 140 check out. The final leg was all about the consistency of throw between Modra and Masters as they cleaned up the match without conceding a leg to their opponents.
Modra and Masters will now play Queensland teammates Loch and Shreeve in the final on finals day.
