THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

Well, Dimi did his best to throw it away from 7-2 up but well done for getting it over the line. He's now world number 7, ahead of Krusty!

The Heta-Littler quarter-final was insane. One of the best matches I've ever seen. Littler didn't do much wrong but Heta was absolutely on it. Great to see Rapid Ricky Evans get to the semis, too.

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"I sometimes buy the Big Issue out of social embarrassment. I don't buy a fucking bank!"

with thanks to Littler and this particular competition, my son now has a dart board installed in his room and this weekend has been a non stop delight of thud thud thud, 5 seconds respite, then thud thud thud with the added bonus of several dozen holes in the wall that will no doubt only increase of the next few days/weeks/months/go only knows.

Nothing wrong with that, just keep him off the kebabs!

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"I sometimes buy the Big Issue out of social embarrassment. I don't buy a fucking bank!"

Agree with all of the above. That's the best I've seen of Heta.

Great for Rapid Ricky. I know it didn't happen for him in the semis, but he can be pleased with his recent performances. Looks like he has slowed down a little, and his consistency is improving as a result. He's always been talented, just inconsistent.

I like Luke the Nuke's "Big Fish" celebration too

Littlerwatch:

World Championship: runner-up on his debut
World Series of Darts: won on his debut
Premier League: currently third in his first campaign
Pro Tour: won on his debut
European Tour: won on his debut

The latter was the weekend before last in Belgium, and he hit another nine-darter in the final. He's actually now above Raymond van Barneveld in the world rankings (up to 28).

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"I sometimes buy the Big Issue out of social embarrassment. I don't buy a fucking bank!"

He'll be dead or burnt out by 25. The Paul Gascoigne of darts, I fear.

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.

Not necessarily. Michael Van Gerwen has been playing an intensive schedule and performing at an extremely high level for well over a decade now, and he's doing fine despite looking like an angry fat baby.

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"I sometimes buy the Big Issue out of social embarrassment. I don't buy a fucking bank!"

He has, but it's also true that after bursting onto the scene (not quite like Micah Richards), he had a few years where he just couldn't win a match, went onto the youth tour and got beat by James Hubbard and Aaron Monk in successive finals, then somehow got to the final and came from a few sets down to beat Mervyn King in the World Grand Prix and then there was almost no stopping him.

I've always felt tho with van Gerwen that the time will come that he will start to drop away. His stance at the oche looks awkward, and one that will take its toll on his back over time. I may be proved wrong, but players with a stance more like Barney, Beaton, Anderson, that look so more natural at the oche, usually have much longer careers as a result

Didn't get back to this thread after Minehead but for those who have contributed I would 100% recommend you attend a UK open one year.

Having been to Matchplay, Worlds, Premier League, Grand Slam and Masters, it pisses on all of those comfortably. It's a long slog and you do need a break from the Butlins Beer after a while but for Darts fans it's a mecca.

Spent most of Friday and Saturday on the multi-boards or Board 2 before moving to the main stage. Although I did see my hero Beaton on Day 1 who lost out on the main stage.

The Heta -Littler game I actually caught on TV as Sunday is our traditional afternoon trip into Minehead to play Darts at the Queens Head with a carvery, two bottles of red wine and a ludicrously loud jukebox to play 80's soul on. The hidden bonus there is some of the players bring two brand new boards every year for a friendly tournament on the Thursday before. They are always still up on the Sunday.

Saw many of the players out and about on the weekend, it's worth the extra cash as opposed to a single day event.

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Decided to come back.