Hellings on the mark with a 170 checkout

THE highest checkout of the season can only be matched, rather than beaten, after week one of the Plymouth City Super League Division A saw Lee Hellings net himself a 170 finish in an 11-0 win for Octagon at Ker St.

- JAMES COOK

PLYMOUTH CITY SUPER LEAGUE

Hellings bagged that effort in a 601 doubles win that also saw Hellings and Alfie Ford hear ‘game shot’ called after 21 darts and Hellings (33.40) followed that with a 3-0 singles win that was put away in 13, 15 and 17 darts.

One of those aforementioned individual legs fell with a 124 threedart combination finish whilst Hellings’ tally of 15 tons was topped off by one of the two maximums in the game.

The other decent average came in the very first game of the night as John Mann teamed up with Fred Goldsmith and Alfie Ford (30.33) to bag a 33-darter over the 1001 distance.

That game started a 12-ton haul for Mann, whilst new addition to the champions’ roster, Paul Palmer, started his campaign with ten scores of a ton or more.

On a tough night for the promoted Devonport side, Roger Bailey cast a torch on the class in their ranks with a maximum and an 18-dart leg in a 3-1 singles defeat, whilst a 104 from Mike Evans was the home team’s best finish.

Cornwall Gate, who came up as the first champions of Division B, started life in the top tier with an admirable 7-4 win over an Indian Inn B side formed of the majority of the Legends Lounge that were Division A runners-up.

Simon Stevenson dominated the match-up with 28 scores of a ton or more; a haul that included one of the four maximums in the match.

Shaun Dring showed his undoubted class with 15 three-figure scores and team-mate Matt Vosper chipped in with 11 tons including his team’s other maximum.

Dring’s 108 three-dart combination out shot was only bettered by a 122 from Vosper, whilst two men from the visitors also reached double figures in tons.

Scott Cook led the way with 11 ton-plusses with Mark Shears adding ten tons and the Stoke village side’s only maximums came from Scott Wapshott with a brace.