Darts Federation of Australia

Review
Embassy World Darts Titles, Lakeside Resort, Frimley Green, Surrey, UK 2003
By: Tony Glass

Lakeside and the Embassy, what an amazing place for a darts player/fan to visit and be a part of the experience. My reason for the visit was of course to be a supporter of our Tony David in his defence

of the title.
I was not prepared for the level of excitement the event creates for so many fans and the level of popularity our boy has with every nationality of player and fan from the Scots to the Dutch to the Welch & the English.

He is a true international star to these people, at least for now whilst he is going well, and I think for a long time as any winner of the Embassy is treated like a Major winner in golf by these true darts fans.

The plan was to meet up with Tony on the Friday to start some practice for his first match on the Saturday against Swedish player Brian Sorensen. Tony had a portable board set up in the flat his parents were staying at and due to my late arrival from Scotland and York, we didn't get onto the board until about 10.00pm and went through Tony's regular hit out routines for about 2 hours.

The Saturday saw Tony take on Brian. Whilst not overly happy with his game, he ground out a 3-1 win after losing his first set and still pushed a better than 30 per dart average.

My role was to support him in the back room with Natalie and keep him happy with drinks etc. The back room at the lakeside has the walls covered with photos of all the players who have played the Embassy since 1994. You can't help but be proud as an Aussie to see the wall full of familiar faces.

Barneveld outside Lakeside

Wayne Weening who had made the semis on more than 1 occasion (I recall).

Russell Stewart, Peter Hinkley, Graham Hunt, Wayne Atkins (Taka), I wonder if Taka ate McDonalds whilst over here as this was his favoured diet in the 80's as I don't think Maca's had reached the apple isle back then.

(I apologise to any Aussies I may have left out).

My trip down memory lane was shortened when Olly Croft came up and said hello and I was surprised that he offered a recollection of me from 1994 when I had met him at the Winmua & the World Professional. Olly was busy with the running of the event so we only got a couple of minutes in. Throughout the week though he always managed to say hello and fondly called me John. Oh well, almost famous!

We found a pub to practice for Tony's next match and again he was looking sharp but I struggled to give any real competition to push him. His match was on the Tuesday against Vincent Van De Voort, a tall young Dutch player who is ridding the star trail of all Dutch players, as it appears the popularity of the sport in Holland has surpassed the popularity in the UK.

The 1,500 strong crowd at Lakeside is 30% to 50% orange in dress. (The favoured colour of the Dutch at all sporting events). Every day they would come with Orange Kangaroos on their heads, Orange T-shirts with either the name of their favoured player or a large 180 emblazoned on front

The 'Crazy' Dutch Fans

and back. Orange Suits, Orange Hats & Wigs.

A big contingent are Tony David fans after Tony won the Dutch Embassy (The World Darts Trophy) and the Doeland Masters.

He is very liked by the Dutch fans as he always goes out in amongst them and spends about an hour per day being swamped by them for autographs or photos.

Tony again lost the first set but bounced back to win 3-1 and move into the quarterfinals. His average was again over 30 per dart.

We again met the day before his match for a hit out. This time Peter Hunt from New Zealand and his better half Dianne joined us. Dianne & Nat had a game whilst Peter (who went down in the first round) and I took turns at trying to push Tony to some better darts. Once again he looked sharp. By this time the snow and ice was getting to all of us. For 5 days, Frimley Green had had good snow fall each night and a good 2 to 3 inch layer was on the ground each day walking to the venue. Tony's main objective besides trying to defend his title was to keep warm.

Tony's opponent in the Quarters was Richie Davies, nicknamed "The Little Lamb Chop". Richie was in great form having just put out 2001 winner, John Boy Walton. Tony put Richie out the previous year in the first round. Tony again got off to a slow start but started to come back in the middle of the match. To Richie's credit, he lifted as Tony came at him and ended up winning 5-0.

The score line does not reflect the match as is so often the case in darts and Tony's average was the best he shot all week at nearly 34 per dart. That's the way it goes and Tony found himself being the professional diplomat following the match with TV interviews for the BBC and a Dutch TV station. He had defended his title stoutly and was not unhappy with his effort.

The week continued on and we ended up with Trina Gulliver of the UK winning her 3rd title in a row and a men's final that saw Raymond Van Barneveld play the Little Lamb Chop. The men's final whilst not the best match in the tournament was very exciting but sadly, a little predictable. Richie had thrown a lot of good darts

to reach the final and was now faced with a 2 time champion who all week was on a mission to make it 3. The final result was Raymond winning 6-3.

At the end of the week, I sat with my mate Matt Flynn who had put me up for the week with his mum Wendy at the request of Tony, and we had a few pints to reminisce over the
9 days just gone.

We chuckled at the mad keen Dutch supporters. We toasted to meeting some great blokes like Brian Sorenson, Bob "The Bear" Taylor and Tony O'Shea. And we reflected that every dart player/fan at least once in his life should do the Embassy at Lakeside.

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