Ranking points competitions take place throughout the season, updated players standings are posted here.

2013 Report

Williamson's Butchers: Tel  873986 were the sponsor of the team this year Ally Flett is pictured with the team. Thanks for the support once again!

The team to play Shetland on April 26th  2013 was: Captain: Craig Taylor. Players:  Kevin Gray, Stevie Linklater, Robbie Stanger, Ivan Leslie, Mike Bain, Billy Ward, Brian Moar, Derek Firth, Bruce Moar, Iain Wilkie, Alan Gray and Neil Croy. Reserves 1st Paddy Kirkpatrick, 2nd Roy Foubister.

What a great weekend of darts, with the annual visit of the Shetland ladies and gents teams.
On the first night, the ladies were unlucky to lose 11-10.
It was on then to the big night, with the gents toeing the oche in the Masonic for the annual Inter-League/County game, with the Orkney boys going for a hat-trick of wins.
The last time that happened was in the early 1980s, and in that team was one of the present day players, Billy Ward.
The Orkney captain, Craig Taylor, decided to play the singles first, and what a start, with Kirkwall’s Michael Bain taking on the Shetland’s singles champion Neil Redfern, and Michael just blew him off the board to win 2-0.
The defeat of their star player seemed to dent the hopes of the Shetland team, and the Orkney boys took full advantage by winning the next two before Shetland got on the score sheet, with Derek Firth a bit unlucky to lose 2-1.
Another three wins for Orkney put them in a very commanding lead, at 6-1, before Shetland got their second game, with Ian Wilkie unable to find the finishing double.
But that was the last reverse Orkney had to endure, and by winning the last four singles, found themselves 10-2 up — just one away from victory, and hopes were high for a record-equalling 11-2 victory.
But the Shetland boys had other ideas and started an amazing fight back by taking the first four doubles.
The Kirkwall boys could not find the winning double until the fifth game, and the pairing of the Legion’s Ivan Leslie and new cap Neil Croy came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 and send the crowd into wild celebration as the K-DDL team won 11-6, and secured a hat-trick of wins.
Man of the match was Kevin Gray of Kirkwall, with a 74-44 average.
The next day, it was on to the Anniversary Singles, and some very fragile-looking players turned up to the Legion for the 1.30 p.m. start.
A total of 31 ladies and 41 gents braved another day, but even so, some very good games were played, and now more so than both semi-finals, which featured Orkney v Shetland in both.
After some great finishing, it was both the Orkney boys who came good, with Michael Bain beating Whalsay’s top player Roger Irvine 3-2, and Stevie Linklater getting the better of Angus Galbraith 3-1.
The final lacked the excitement of the semis, but some great finishing from Michael, including a 107 and 100, saw him home 4-1.
Other high finishes: 117 Stevie Linklater; 119 Scott Whittle; and 158 from Barry Couper. Michael also had a 114 in the team game.
There were 180s in both events from Kevin Gray, Barry Couper, Billy Ward, Andrew Swannie, Neil Drever, Andrew Burgess and Alan Gray. There might have been more, but that’s all that was reported.
Before the big game on Friday, three of the league’s long-standing players were honoured, with the trio receiving certificates appointing them honorary presidents of the K-DDL. They were Jim Scollie, Jimmy Miller and Eddie Craigie. All three have been involved with the K-DDL since 1967.
 

2012 Match Report

Williamson's Butchers: Tel  873986 were the sponsor of the team this year Ally Flett is pictured with the team. Thanks for the support once again!

A 22 – year wait came to an end on the big stage in the Lerwick Legion on Friday night when the Kirkwall and District Darts League side beat their Shetland counterparts 11-10 in a match which will no doubt be spoken about for years to come as an absolute classic, packed with drama and excitement.

Going into the annual fixture, being officially played for the 40th time, the Kirkwall side were the current holders of the cup, but it was back in 1990 that the KDDL side last won on Shetland soil.

The epic match came to an end around 1am in the packed venue which had an atmosphere to rival the Sky Sports Premier League of Darts.

Flashing lights, big tv screens and walk on music added to the highly charged atmosphere, and the players on both sides were certainly up for it.

At the request of the hosts, the evening started with a warm up match of the Shetland reserves John Robert Scott and Jim Wood playing Kirkwall's reserve Michael Bain and a somewhat surprised KDDL committee member Allan Brown, who had come up with the Orkney squad! Much to the delight of the home team it was Shetland who won this prematch opener.

Getting down to the main event, KDDL captain Craig Taylor and Shetland skipper Andy Glen had their team sheets entered into the computer so that the crowd who packed into the hall could be kept up to speed with the play.

The home team decided to play the 6 doubles first with a mouth-watering opening game between KDDL champs Derek Firth and Kevin Gray taking on Shetland champs George Smith and Paul Scarsbrook.

It was the Orkney pair that won 2-1 with Kevin hitting five scores of 100 or above. Kirkwall then went 2-0 up with Ivan Leslie and Robbie Stanger beating Neal Redfern and Brian Patterson 2-0 with Robbie hitting a maximum. 

Shetland got their first point on the board when Angus Galbraith and Danny Irvine beat brothers Stevie and Ian Linklater 2-1. This was despite Kirkwall winning the first leg as Stevie hit a maximum. But the away team hit back with Brian and Bruce Moar getting the better of Andrew Simpson and Gordon Irvine 2-1. 

 Up next were Iain Wilkie and Roy Foubister against Shetland’s Gareth MacRitchie and George Mackay. The home pair won the first leg and it looked like they were going to lose the second until George hit a brilliant 136 checkout to win the game 2-0. Then home pairing of Barry Couper and Roger Irvine levelled the match beating Martin Peace and Michael Moodie 2-1.

So with the match all square at 3-3 it was set up nicely for the 12 singles matches. Shetland put star man Neal Redfern up front and he didn't let them down beating the KDDL raking points table topper Derek Firth 2-1, hitting a 180 in the deciding leg. Again the away team hit back immediately with Ivan Leslie overcoming Angus Galbraith 2-1, with Angus checking out 106 to win the first leg. 

Then Brian Patterson making his county debut for Shetland played an excellent game to take the scalp of Kevin Gray 2-1. Gareth MacRitchie put the home team two games ahead for the first time playing well to beat Robbie Stanger 2-0.

The next match was probably the crucial turning point with Bruce Moar against George Smith. George won the first leg with a good 94 checkout then when he hit a 180 in the second leg it looked all over, but the double proved elusive and Bruce took the leg, before winning the decider in 16 darts. 

Stevie Linklater then once again levelled the match with a good 2-1 over Paul Scarsbrook, winning the third leg in 15 darts including a 102 checkout. The Orkney boys were now on a bit of a roll with Brian Moar playing really well to beat Andrew Simpson 2-0 with the help of a good 113 checkout in the first leg. Things were starting to look bleak for Shetland as Ian Linklater won 2-0 against Danny Irvine.

With the KDDL boys having won four in a row, Shetland’s George Mackay had a lot of pressure on him but he rose to the challenge beating Iain Wilkie 2-0.

However, the Orcadians then went 9-7 ahead with Roy Foubister edging out Barry Couper 2-1. 

Shetland won the last two singles with two 2-0 wins for Roger Irvine and debutant Gordon Irvine over KDDL’s Martin Peace and debutant Michael Moodie respectively.

So the destination of the cup was to be decided with the three 4 a sides (one leg 1001).

Kirkwall put up Derek Firth, Ivan Leslie, Kevin Gray and Robbie Stanger against George Smith, Paul Scarsbrook, Neal Redfern and Andrew Simpson. The boys in red got to the double first but after a couple of misses the home team had a chance to nick it, but didn't take it. Kevin hit the double to put Kirkwall 10-9 up. 

The visitors were now one away from a historic victory, but Shetland had other ideas.

Shetland’s Neal Redfern, George Mackay, Gareth MacRitchie and Danny Irvine beat Bruce Moar, Stevie Linklater, Brian Moar and Ian Linklater, with Neal hitting tops. 

With the crowd now at fever pitch, and well after midnight, it all came down to the last fours, Iain Wilkie, Roy Foubister, Martin Peace and Michael Moodie, against Shetland’s Roger Irvine, Barry Couper, Brian Patterson and Gordon Irvine. 

Both teams came down pretty even, but it was Iain Wilkie who hit a brilliant 180 at the crucial time to give Kirkwall the advantage. With nerves really on edge the Orkney boys were struggling to finish off the leg. 

Young Michael Moodie, who was making his début on the big stage, left Iain Wilkie a shot at double 7. Shetland’s Gordon Irvine had a chance to steal the glory but just missed tops for a 78 finish.

Iain stepped up to the plate to nail double 7 with his second dart to send his team into a state of delirium!

It was the first time in 22 years the Orkney team had won in Shetland.

All in all it was a great nights entertainment for the full house watching, with the walk on music really getting the crowd on their feet adding to the brilliant atmosphere.

The Kirkwall side were cheered on by the ladies team who had travelled to play their game the night before. Some of the members of the Orkney Badminton team, in Shetland for their inter-county, and also added their vocal support.

Kirkwall’s Brain Moar won the man of the match title awarded for the highest average on the night. He had 90.74 in the doubles, 80 in the singles, and 57.75 in the fours, with an overall average of 76.16.

KDDL captain Craig Taylor thanked all involved in the darts and for the hospitality shown to the team over the entire weekend, describing the win as a “proud moment” for all involved from Orkney.

He also thanked Williamson Butchers for sponsoring the team shirts and Ali Flett’s continued support of the KDDL.

On the Saturday afternoon the anniversary shield competitions were held in the Lerwick Legion. 52 men entered as well as 32 women.

The visitors were unlucky not to take the silverware home with them. Kevin Gray lost in the final of the men's competition to Barry Couper 4-2 and Kirkwall’s Katy Croy lost in the ladies final to Iris Anderson 3-2 in a very close match which saw Iris retain her title.

On Sunday, Kirkwall ladies player Catherine Symons, running in the London Marathon, wore a shirt congratulating the men's team on their victory!

A link to the players averages can be found here: http://www.shetlanddartsassociation.co.uk/Inter%20County%20averages%202012.pdf

The celebrations begin on the stage in the Lerwick Legion.

The 2011 Inter-county took place on April 22, in the Kirkwall Masonic. 

 The team to play were Captain: Craig Taylor. Players: Kevin Gray, Brian Moar, Ian Wilkie, Ivan Leslie, Robbie Stanger, Derek Firth, Stevie Linklater, Bruce Moar, Paul Foubister, Ian Linklater, Billy Ward, Wayne Monkman. 1st Reserve: Mike Bain 2nd Reserve: Michael Moodie.

What a weekend of darts entertainment and fun was had when Shetland came visiting for the annual county match.

It got off to a great start on the Thursday, with a convincing 13-8 win for the Kirkwall Ladies. A good omen for the gent¹s match the following night in the new venue at the Masonic Club, all decked out with a stage, flags, posters and TV screens, just like the Lakeside ...nearly.

The Orkney team, decked out in their new Williamson's shirts took to the stage with high hopes. It did not start too well, with Shetland winning the first singles, but we weren't to know that it was the only time Shetland were to lead as Orkney reeled off the next eight games, and at 8-1, was the record score of 11-2 on the cards.

But Shetland but that to bed by winning the next two ­ was a comeback on thecards? But, then up stepped Billy Ward, playing for the first time since 1995 and it was just like old times as he won 2-0 to take the Orkney team to 9-3 and only two away from a dramatic victory.

It was soon 10-3 as the Orkney doubles champions Derek and Kevin won 2-1. Eight games to go and only one needed. Nothing could go wrong could it? But, Shetland weren't finished and took the next three games to take the score to 10-6. Not quite panic stations, but murmurs among the packed house.

But, no worries as up stepped the Moar boys, Bruce and Brian who had a shaky first leg, but still a win. An action-packed second leg took the cup back to Orkney with a score of 11-6. A great win for captain Craig and the boys.

That was game number 40 between the two sides. Shetland are well ahead, but Orkney have shown in recent years that they are every bit as good since the team was selected on ranking points won.

Man of the match was Neil Redfan from Shetland with a 88.34 three-dart average. Top Orkney player in second place was Kevin Gray with a 83.24,which most years would have won.

A big thank you from K-DDL to main sponsors Williamson's, others OTE, Carpet Shed and the Masonic Club who put in a lot of work in setting up the hall. Also the darts committee who put in a lot or work to ensure everything went with a bang.

The Shetland report can be found on the link below:

http://www.shetlanddartsassociation.co.uk/blank.html

PAST YEARS:

Final Ranking Points Table 2009/10

Stevie Linklater 48 points, Brian Moar 38, Ivan Leslie 35, Kevin Gray 34, Paul Foubister 32, Derek Firth 27, Mark Louttit 24, Davy Cooper 22, Ian Linklater 21, Bruce Moar, 18, Willie Bremner 18, Robbie Stanger 15, Wayne Monkman 15, Ian Wilkie 14, Lee Macpherson 13, Brian Stevenson 12 and Colin Kirkpatrick 11. A further 28 players had points ranging from nine to two and includes 11 ‘B’ League players.

2010 match

Inter-county KDDL v Shetland: 5 November 2010

(This match was postponed from April because of the volcanic ash cloud).

Captain: Craig Taylor. Players: Stevie Linklater, Brian Moar, Ivan Leslie, Kevin Gray, Paul Foubister, Mark Louttit, Ian Linklater, Bruce Moar, Robbie Stanger, Ian Wilkie, Brian Stevenson, Alan Gray. 

The long awaited annual Inter County match finally got played on bonfire night and fireworks were expected, with the big screen up and computer programme for averages in place and a good crowd in to watch the players were ready to do battle.

First doubles up was Jim Wood & Neal Redfern v Ivan Leslie & Paul Foubister and the Orkney boys showed they meant business with Ivan hitting a 180 with his first three darts however a 150 from Jim left Neal on tops a he made no mistake finishing the leg before going on to with the match 2-1 first blood to the home team. Next up were Paul Scarsbrook & George Smith v Brian Moar & Alan Gray despite losing the first leg the Shetland veterans came back to win 2-1 with a 68 checkout from George in the decider. The third doubles was between Ronnie Johnson & Marc Henry v Kevin Gray & Bruce Moar again Orkney won the first leg but Shetland hit back to level with Ronnie hitting a 180 in the third leg it was left to Marc to hit the winning double on his debut. With Orkney now 3-0 down they were desperate for the Linklater brothers to get them off the mark which they did, Stevie & Ian beating Roger Irvine & Richard Hughson 2-0. The fifth game was between Angus Galbraith & Gareth MacRitchie and Robbie Stanger & Ian Wilkie with a combination of good scoring from Angus and Gareth hitting the doubles the Shetland boys won 2-0 to give Shetland a 4-1 lead going into the last doubles. Next up was Andrew Simpson & Andrew Swannie against Mark Louttit & Brian Stevenson (Tone) yet again Orkney took the first leg with the help of a 180 from Tone but back came Shetland again to win the next two legs and give Shetland a very healthy 5-1 lead going into the singles.

SINGLES.

First up was Neal Redfern v Paul Foubister, the home team kept the pressure on awith Neal winning 2-1 with a 180 in the deciding leg. The visitors were now in trouble and needing a win to get them going again, Bruce Moar did just that taking the scalp of Angus Galbraith 2-0.The third singles saw Shetland again stamp there authority on the match with George Smith beating Kevin Gray 2-0. Ivan Leslie took on Paul Scarsbrook . Paul hit a 180 on the way to a 2-0 win. Next up was to be the game of the night, Andrew Simpson v Stevie Linklater, despite scoring the highest singles average of the night Stevie couldn't get the better of Andrew losing 2-1 with Andrew hitting a 67 checkout in the deciding leg which had four 140's in it, this was to be a killer game for Orkney who were now feeling to cup slipping away. Andrew Swannie v Robbie Stanger was next. Andrew  put the hosts on the hill winning 2-0. Ronnie Johnson had the chance to win the cup against Brian Moar but Brian had other ideas winning 2-1. With the score at 10-3 debutant Marc Henry had the chance of glory against Ian Linklater and he had three darts at doubles 5 to do just that but it wasn't to be and Ian held his nerve to keep the match alive 10-4, with Shetland needing one more for the victory. Roger Irvine was against Ian Wilkie next and he was in no mood to let Orkney back into the match hitting double tops for a 2-0 win a take the cup back to Shetland. It was decided that the match be played out to a finish this year so with a bit less pressure but a lot of pride at stake Jim Wood was up next v Alan Gray, Jim lost the first leg which was the pattern for a lot of the games but hit back with a 118 checkout which was the highest of the night, but Alan dug in to win the game 2-1,to reduce the defacite to 11-5. Richard Hughson v Tone was the penultimate game with Richard's clinical finishing (90 & 76 outs) winning 2-0. The final game saw Gareth MacRitchie v Mark Louttit and Mark gave the away team a little consolation winning 2-0, final score 12-6 to Shetland. Neal Redfern won man of the match with a 76.60 average.

After the presentation of the trophies KDDL captain Craig Taylor made a special presentation to Tommy Watt (Shetland team captain) and his wife Sheona, he presented them with a specially made Orkney chair for providing accomodation to many of the teams for the last 30. They were also given engraved crystal glasses which Craig presented them on behalf of the Kirkwall Ladies team who did not travel to Shetland this year.  The gifts once again showed the friendly nature of the darts fixture.

Everyone involved in the fixture from Orkney would like to thank  the Shetland Darts Association for a great weekend of darts and fantastic hospitality. Special thanks go to all the markers and those who kept the averages throughout the night.

Thanks to the whizz kids at the SDA the players averages can be found via the link below.

 www.shetlanddartsassociation.co.uk/currentseason/Intercounyaverages2010.pdf

ANNIVERSARY SHIELD 

After the drama of the county match on Friday night it was back to the Legion on Saturday for the Anniversary Shield, a fine turnout of 57 players some in better fettle than others went into the draw, after the initial rounds were played the quarter final line-up included seven county players. match one saw Paul Scarsbrook beat Andrew Simpson 3-1, match two featured the only none county player Ryan (curly) Mustard, he did well to beat Orkney's Ian Wilkie 3-2, in match three Kevin Gray (Orkney) won 3-0 against Gareth MacRitchie and match four George Smith won a very tight match 3-2 against Neal Redfern. In the first semi final Ryan Mustard played superbly to take Paul Scarsbrook to a deciding leg and had three darts at tops to win but as always against the likes of Paul you only get one chance and Scarsbrook hit the double to take his place in the final 4-3. In the other semi it was a county battle repeat with George Smith beating Kevin Gray 4-3 in a very close game. So to the final and rolling back the years it was Paul & George who have had many great battles over the years on this occasion George was to come out on top winning 5-2 with some excellent darts. George also won the high checkout prize with 146.

Iris Anderson beat Zara MacRitchie in a play off to win the prize for furthest lady. 

Williamson's Butchers: Tel  873986 or 878501 were the sponsor of the team this year. Thanks to them for the support. 

2009 match

Thanks to Helgi's, Kirkwall's newest pub for sponsoring the inter-county team shirts in 2009.

Visit the website: www.helgis.co.uk

The 2009 fixture was a night to remember for the K&DDL team who won the trophy for the first time since 2003.

Shetland were out to increase their big lead over the Kirkwall team, but Kirkwall had been playing well in practice and were full of confidence. It showed as captain Jim Scollie decided to kick off with the singles first.

Always in these games it's so important to win the first game and Derek Firth gave the Kirkwall team the perfect start by taking out Shetland's top player Neal Redfern. Kirkwall kept it up and soon found themselves in a 7-1 lead, then 8-2, needing only three more for a famous win. But it's never as easy as that, as Shetland made it 8-4 to Kirkwall at the break.

Doubles were on next, and Shetland got the first one taking it to 8-5. Tension was high as Kirkwall fought back 9-5 then back to back wins for Shetland to make it 9-7.

Were Kirkwall going to throw it away at the end? The answer was no, as Brian and Davy put the home side one game away at 10-7.

Last of the doubles saw two ex-West Mainland players, Robbie and Ian, play a game worthy of any TV game and at 1-1 the pressure in the packed bar could be felt. But a double ten from Robbie resulted in Pandemonium as Kirkwall got their hands on the cup after a six year gap.

For the 72 year old captain Jim Scollie it was a night to remember as the last time Kirkwall defeated Shetland Jim was Lying in a hospital bed in Aberdeen awaiting a major heart operation. Thankfully he has recovered from that.

Man of the match was Neal Redfern with a 75-95 average, in third place was top Kirkwall player Ian Linklater with a 72.18 average, but every player was a top player. 

The 2009 K&DDL team who played Shetland was as follows:

Stevie Linklater, Ivan Leslie, Brian Moar,  Derek Firth,  Kevin Gray,  Bruce Moar,  Wayne Monkman, Willie Bremner,  Davie Cooper, Craig Taylor, Robbie Stanger, Ian Linklater. 

 1st Reserve: Martin Peace, 2nd Reserve: Ian Wilkie.

Captain: Jim Scollie.
 

2008 match

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