Reigning University Darts Champions, York qualified for the national finals for this years competition on Saturday, December 10th after coming out on top in the North Eastern Group Stage held in Durham.
The result means that York, captained by Chris West and Alex Harrison,continue their streak of making the national finals every year since the competition’s inception in 2007.
They stand to meet darts teams from the University of West of England, Sheffield University and Roses rivals Lancaster in the set-piece event held in Sheffield on the 3rd March.
York were made to work hard for their qualification, having to finish top of the highly contested North Eastern section of the competition –playing 3 games over 12 hours in one day.
After an emphatic 10-3 victory over newly reformed Northumbria, York narrowly defeated a strong Newcastle side 7-6, meaning they had to beat Durham by at least two clear points to qualify.
In the Durham game, York stormed out of the gates winning three of the first four “team games”. They followed this up with four straight singles wins, with Tom Hesketh’s 2-1 victory over Durham’s Jon Gaskell securing the match with a 60 checkout. York went on to win the match 9-4.
This took York’s unbeaten run in the competition to seven matches since losing the final to Lancaster on home soil two years ago.
This means York will play in the biggest University Darts UK event of the year when the finals descend on Sheffield in March.
Nick Hall, Chairman of the Darts Society said: “It was an absolutely fantastic day in Durham, we went into the competition under-strength and still came out with a victory.
“I was really pleased with the result, especially considering we had lost three big names who played in Roses last year and one of our up-and-coming Freshers. The team played out of their skin today and we’re looking forward to the final in Sheffield” he added.
Highlights from the event include an 18 dart leg from former captain Andy Myhill, finishing on a 100 checkout.
Captains Chris West and Alex Harrison also led by example, hitting a 37 dart leg in the doubles match against Northumbria.
York’s highest scorers included Nick Hall, Alex Harrison and Andy Myhill who all hit 140+ scores. The only 180 of the day was hit by Chris M from Northumbria whilst playing against York.
The result confirms the university’s key role in University Darts UK, further cemented by the University Darts Singles Championships on the 18th February 2012 which are due to be held in the Roger Kirk Centre, coming to York for the second consecutive year.