This past weekend the Winmau Belgian Open was held at "De Boomgaard" in Ranst. It was the 32nd edition and just like last year the weather was extremely sunny.
The weekend started with the warming-up tournament on Friday evening which also counted for the BDB ranking. First one of the new season actually.
It was 34 degrees outside and inside it was like a sauna. No cool breeze outside; just a hot one. But... It affected us all so...
I played Cindy Van den Borre first round. She is also Belgian. Her scores were very good and actually she should have won, but she wired the doubles. We all know what that's like. It was a close one though; 3-2.
Next round I played another Belgian woman; Patricia Claeys. Played another inconsistent game, but won 3-2. There were not a lot of entries (34) so I played the quarters next against another Belgian; Bianca Moyson. Won that game as well. 3-1. Played a little better, but not my usual game. Too hot. Blah-blah.
Unfortunately I lost the semis against Maret Liiri (Finland) 4-2. I just could not get into my game. But, happy with the result for the Belgian ranking.
Maret won the ladies singles. Sabrina Spörle was runner-up.
On Saturday the pairs were played. I played mix with Garry Thompson and ladies' with Peggy Van Ballaert.
Gary and I played Rachna David (Norway) and Jamie Holmes in the first round. Which really sucked because Rachna was staying over at my place this weekend and I really don't like to meet friends in the first few rounds. Always a bummer for one of us. Gaz and I won the game.
We lost in the second round to Maret Liiri and Madars Razma (Latvia). They were both playing really well. Didn't miss their trebles and checked out straight away. Too bad... I marked their next game though and they didn't play well at all. They lost that game against John Desreumaux and Maggy Sutton.
The mix was won by Anastasia Dobromyslova/ Stephen Bunting. Runners-up were Zoe Jones/ Ross Montgomery.
In the afternoon the ladies and men's pairs were played. We had our first game at 14:10H against Els Verpoorten and Debby Lenaerts. Both from Belgium. It went pretty well actually and we won the game. Peggy and I have never played pairs before, but it seems to work.
2nd game we played Renate Van Der Giezen and Mascha Ter Wolbeek from The Netherlands. Again; scoring and finishes went well and we won that game too. Happy days. :)
We lost our next game to Karine Frérot and Carine Dessein (Belgium). Trebles failed and they were on fire. Both hit 140 in the first leg and our 85 and 81 wasn't enough. We had a couple of chances, but... No... They won fair and square. Bummer, but we made it to the last 16, so... Quite happy :)
Ladies pairs were won by Anastasia Dobromyslova/ Lorraine Farlam. Runners-up were Deta Hedman/ Fallon Sherock.
Men's pairs were won by Kim and Ronny Huybrechts. :D Runners-up were Jeffrey De Graaf/ Wesley Harms.
On Sunday the singles were played. The ladies started in the early afternoon so we got to sleep a little longer.
Another hot one today and with more people in the venue temperatures were running high again. But; I brought my towel :D
I had a bye in the first round and then played Gina D'Hondt (Belgium) in the second round. Crappy start, but I won my first game of the day. Again, there were not a lot of ladies. Around 91 I think.
I played the sheet final against Carla Molema. It was a very close game. I started the deciding leg really crappy. 26 or 45 or something like that. Not playing my best that last leg. Missed 149 for the match while Carla had 72 left. She missed as well and I checked my remaining 16 with 8-double 4. Shaking like a leaf afterwards.
Came up against Trina again in the last 16 and didn't hit enough trebles. I did get a chance on a double, but missed. 4-0 for Trina, but she play really good. All in all I am quite satisfied with the results of this weekend.
The ladies single was won by Julie gore and Deta Hedman was runner-up.
The men's single was won by Martin Adams and James Wilson was runner-up.
I enjoyed the weekend. Got a chance to see a few people again. Also saw some very poor sportmanship from certain players who should know better than to behave the way they did. Not going to mention any names, but some might know who I'm talking about....
Next up; Antwerp Masters of Darts next weekend.