WDF Weekly Overview: A double battle between two players in Australia

Last weekend, there were no less than 5 different tournaments on the program. The WDF was active in Estonia, Australia and New Zealand. Read more here.

Ivy Hampton Memorial

The 'Silver' Ivy Hampton Memorial was held in Alice Springs, Australia on Saturday morning. Only 20 men and 16 women attended the tournament. In the men's category, it was Brandon Wenning who was victorious. They lost once in the group stage, but dominated in the knockout stages. In the semi-final he defeated Danny Porter 5-1, and was subsequently defeated by Peter Machin 6-2 in the final three over 100 (130,144,115).

In the women's category, Joanne Hadley won her second WDF title of her career. In the final she defeated Amanda Loch in the deciding eleventh leg. 6-5.

Gentlemen
semi final
Peter Machin 5-3 Aaron Morrison
Brandon Winning 5-1 Danny Porter

last
Brandon Winning 6-2 Peter Machin

Ladies
semi final
Amanda Loch 5-3 Kim Mitchell
Joan Hadley 5-3 Lynn Morrison

last
Joanne Hadley 6-5 Amanda Loch

Estonia Open

The 18th edition of the Estonian Open, a “bronze” category tournament, was scheduled to be held on Saturday in Tallinn. A total of 150 men, 32 women, 24 boys and 6 girls stood on the field Saturday morning to compete for the titles. For the men, Alexander Merckx was the top seed and immediately showed good play. The Dutchman lost only one leg until the quarter-finals. However, things went wrong in the quarter-finals, and Merkx had to surrender 4-1 to defending champion Valters Melderis.

In the end, 16-year-old Ralph Lomanis and Swede Björn Lijon reached the final. Lomanis defeated Melderis 4-3 in the semi-finals, despite an average of 105 from Melderis. In the other semi-final match, Lejeune won with the same numbers over Belgian Cyprien Giggles. Lomanis quickly took a 2-0 lead in the final, but that deficit was quickly erased by Lejeune thanks to goals from 74 and 85; 3-2 for Lyon. Then two legs went with arrows. In the eighth leg, Lomanis missed one dart over the top to force a decider, after which Lejeune won his second WDF title via 10 doubles.

In the women's race, Anna Forsmark won her first WDF title of the year. In the semi-finals, she defeated Dutchwoman Lerena Rietbergen 4-2. With the same numbers, she was too strong for her compatriot Maud Jansson in the final. Ralph Lomanis and Amanda Kirilova won the youth titles.

Gentlemen
semi final
Ralph Lomanis 4-3 Walters Melderis
Bjorn Lejeune 4-3 Cyprin Gables

last
Bjorn Lejeune 5-3 Ralf Lomanis

Ladies
semi final
Maud Jansson 4-0 Greta Tikauer
Anna Forsmark 4-2 Lerena Rietbergen

last
Anna Forsmark 4-2 Maud Jansson

Boys final
Ralph Lomanis 4-0 Rob Pitkanen

Girls final
Amanda Kirilova 4-0 Marta Roja

Billy Hill Memorial

Another 'Silver' rated tournament was scheduled for Sunday morning in Alice Springs, and the Billy Hill Memorial was completed with 17 men and 7 women participating. Just like on Saturday, at the end of the day we saw two of the same players holding the trophy. Brandon Wenning took his good feelings into Sunday. In the last 16 he had to survive several darts against Trent Mitchell. In the final he met Peter Machin again. Machin was nowhere near his top form and thus saw Wenning emerge easily with a 6-1 win.

For the ladies, Joan Hadley looked after the doubles. In the final she met Kim Mitchell, where the eleventh leg was decisive. Mitchell went 5-3, but was forced to vacate the title to Hadley after missing several darts. 6-5.

Gentlemen
semi final
Peter Machin 5-1 Dylan Salmon
Brandon Winning 5-3 Aaron Morrison

last
Brandon Winning 6-1 Peter Machin

Ladies
semi final
Joanne Hadley 5-2 Lynn Morrison
Kim Mitchell 5-4 Jules Taylor

last
Joanne Hadley 6-5 Kim Mitchell

North Island Masters

There was also a darts game in New Zealand last weekend. The 'Bronze' ranked North Island Masters tournament was held in Hastings. In the men's section we saw the two best players reach the final. Ben Robb needed a decisive match against Harley Smith in the semi-finals. Johnny Tata won by the same margin over Mai Jonathan in the other semi-final. In the final, Rob had no problem with Tata, as 'Big Rig' prevailed 5-2 and claimed their first WDF title of 2024.

In the women's category, Nicole Rignaud won her second title this year. After defeating Desi Mercer 4-0 in the semi-finals, she defeated defending champion Wendy Harper 5-2 in the final. In the final I got 141 points.

Gentlemen
semi final
Ben Robb 4-3 Harley Smith
Johnny Tata 4-3 My Jonathan

last
Ben Robb 5-2 Johnny Tata

Ladies
semi final
Wendy Harper 4-2 Hanware Penny
Nicole Regnaud 4-0 Desi Mercer

last
Nicole Regnaud 5-2 Wendy Harper

Tallinn is open

On Sunday, 121 men, 32 women, 20 boys and 6 girls lined up for the “bronze” seeded Tallinn Open. For men, WDF points can be earned again from the round of 16 onwards. For number one on the placement list, Alexander Merckx, this was also the finishing point. Merkx came back from 3-1 down and even got a darts shot against Lithuanian Arvydas Kvedaras, but still lost.

In the final match, Englishman Scott Walters and Belgian Cyprien Giggles faced each other. The first two legs went with darts, after which Walters was allowed to break 22 darts. Finishing 64 in 15 arrows was enough to take advantage of the break and take a 3-1 lead. A leg later, Walters made another break, reaching match point with an 84-point finish. In the end, Gijbels was no longer involved, because with 17 darters Walters secured his second WDF title.

In the women's race, Hungarian Greta Tekauer won the title again. Tekauer won the Iceland Masters last weekend and won her fourth WDF title this weekend. In the semi-finals, she defeated Maud Janson (4-3). In the final Lerena Rietbergen was defeated 4-1. The youth titles went to Finland's Onni Pinanen and Latvia's Amanda Kirilova

Gentlemen
semi final
Scott Walters 4-1 Arvydas Kvedaras
Cyprin Gables 4-3 Jerry Brijschas

last
Scott Walters 4-1 Cyprin Gables

Ladies
semi final
Greta Tikauer 4-3 Maude Jansson
Lerena Rietbergen 4-1 Anna Forsmark

last
Greta Tikauer 4-1 Lerena Rietbergen

Boys final
Oni Benanen 4-1 Marcus Janssons

Girls final
Amanda Kirilova 4-2 Ida Hansen