1st Annual Celebration Of Darts
By Ty Hughes
The WWDL’s First Annual Celebration Of Darts is officially in the record books. And what a success it was!
The Swinomish Hotel and Casino in Anacortes, WA was crawling with dart players the weekend of June 8-9, 2013. WWDL players from up and down made the trip north, campers and all, to experience the new league’s first ever year-end Celebration Of Darts. This was a new adventure for everyone. No one truly knew quite what to expect over the next two days. And that goes for the attending staff as well, no doubt. You could hear a collective sigh of relief when the room filled up with shooters. Nearly a hundred people flocked to Anacortes for darts that weekend. The Hotel’s hallways were spattered with spirited dart players, ready to play.
The tournament floor was set up beautifully when the players began to arrive in droves and caravans. Thirty-four boards lined the convention room, with two neatly partitioned Championship boards set up opposite the central intelligence stage. From here, Gary and Kris, Dave, Liz, Bill, and John orchestrated an excellent weekend of darts, successfully managing a large-scale event. Over 200 entries into the weekend’s events created a fun atmosphere, full of dart friends.
By 7:30am Saturday morning, dedicated WWDL players began amassing at the boards, warming up for the 9am Doubles event. Once that tournament was off and running, the June Match Madness Finals broke out across the room. They took over the entire corner of the room, cheering and battling back and forth. Congratulations to R Bar’s Dave V., Randi V., Darryl R., and Kevin L. who beat out Wayne’s World’s Travis B., Larry M., Duane B., and Don G. for the title.
Meanwhile, the Doubles tournament was coming to an end. Congratulations to Larry M. and Travis B., taking first place; Rob M. and Ron K. taking second, and Todd J. and Stacy M. for third.
Later that afternoon, the Location Challenge pitted top point earners from participating locations against one another. Eight teams of four players each went for the jugular, leaving bodies in their wake. Congratulations to Jason V., Craig E., Christa L., and Holly W. on a great victory over Rob M., George D., Stacy M., and Crystal D., who picked up a 2nd place finish.
Saturday night Trios turned in a solid field of players, nineteen teams in all. Todd J., Joe B., and Stephanie S. took top honors, leaving 2nd place to DJ S., Paul B., and Lisa J. Bruce G., Stacy M., and Keri J. landed a respectable third.
After a long day of darts, and a wild night of parties, the players reconvened on Sunday to continue their quest to be the best. Sunday AM Trios was just the ticket to get everybody moving again, that and a whole lotta coffee. By the time the All-Star Showcase kicked off at noon, the Trios were wrapping up.
Congratulations to Todd J., Jolene H., Amber D, who went all the way to take the title. Finishing in 2nd place was Dave V., Darryl R., and Randi V., and in 3rd place, DJ S., Sandy F., and Kenny G.
The ensuing All-Star Showcase featured the Top 32 male and female point earners in a Blind Draw Doubles tournament. In the women’s tournament, Randi V. and Sandy F. took care of Jolene H. and Loni D. on the championship boards - Congrats ladies! Over on the men’s side, Craig E. and Rob M. beat out Todd J. and Anthony S. for the top spot.
Sunday night was highlighted by the Blind Draw Quads, and a Player Appreciation Party to polish off a great weekend of events.
The payouts were ridiculous all weekend long! Envelopes full of money were flying out of Kris’ hands - it seemed like everybody was getting paid! Over $23,000 in total was paid out that weekend! Plus, everyone took home a framed team photo to commemorate the event, compliments of RJB Amusements.
Todd Jordan was a fixture on the Championship boards, capturing almost $2,000 for two days of work! Not bad! He and all the others that attended the 1st Annual Celebration Of Darts vowed they’d be back next year. Everyone had great stories to tell, and memories to last a lifetime.
Special thanks to RJB Amusements, Digital Music Systems, and New Horizon Darts for a fabulous weekend in Anacortes, Washington!
Be sure to get in on this action next year!