The Halfway Mixed are the 2024/25 Runcorn Darts Winter League Town Champions after a 5-4 win over Total Confusion in the Town Championship Finals, sponsored by Bully Darts.
Its the first time since Summer 2023 that Halfway have won this competition, regaining the title from Bogey Flickers who have won the last two Town Championships. For Total Confusion though, its a third successive defeat in the Final.
In the First Leg it was Total Confusion who took an early lead with Rob Magee overcoming Halfway's Paul Edwards. It was a cagey start from both players, with Rob hitting a 125 and Paul twice hitting 81. Rob eventually got over the line with a double ten finish.
Leg Two and Ethan Baines put in the performance of the night to bring the scores level at 1-1 against Dave Harrison. Harrison did nothing wrong, with scores of 121, 85, 81 and 60, but Baines hit 60, 60 and 58 to get his leg underway, and finished 225 in six darts to win the leg, a 96 followed by a 129 finish, to finish in 21 darts.
Next we had Halfway's Sean Bell taking on Scott Grady. It was another high quality game, Scott hitting 100 and 80 with Sean hitting 120, 95 and 81, before Sean won in 23 darts.
Halfway took the first game of the doubles to make it 4-1, with Ant Conroy and Ethan Baines beating Rob Gatcliffe and Scott Grady. Scott hit an 83 with Rob hitting 66 for Total Confusion, but it was Ethan who made the difference here, hitting the first maximum of Finals night in his first throw and 134 in his second throw. Ant hit double 16 to take the leg.
Leg Five saw both teams struggle to get off the mark, with Wayne Conway and Mark Delooze taking on Alan Magee and John Bowles. When the action got underway, Alan hit an 83 with John a 100 and 85 for Total Confusion, whilst for Halfway Wayne hit a 125 and Mark a 100 and 84. Mark hit double ten here to make it 4-1 to Halfway.
Total Confusion refused to give up and took leg six to make it 4-2. Dave Harrison and Rob Magee was the winning pairing, with Dave hitting a 99 and Rob a 100. Their opponents were Chris Clarke and Sean Bell, with Chris hitting a 100 and 92 whilst Sean also hit 100. Dave won the leg on double 16.
Back to Singles format now and Leg Seven was a quality affair between Ant Conroy and John Bowles. Ant hit scores of 100, 140, 60 and 140 with John hitting 125, 85, 100 and 100, the scores being 61-91 after just 12 darts each. Ant then hit 41, missing tops for a 15-dart leg, with John only managing 35. Ant hit double ten at the first attempt, the 16-dart leg giving Halfway an unassailable 5-2 lead.
Leg Eight saw Jordan Davies take on Alan Magee. Again both players threw well with Alan going first, scores of 95, 81, 85 and 60 leaving 180 after 12 darts. Jordan was ahead though, scoring 100, 58, 99 and 138 to leave himself 106 after just 12 darts. A 41 from Alan left him 139 with Jordan hitting 36 to leave himself 70. A 99 from Alan left him tops, with Jordan scoring 52, missing double 18 to take the game. Alan hit tops second dart to make it 5-3, the win coming in 20 darts.
The last and final leg saw Mark Delooze take on Chris Lindon. It was another great game to end the night, with Chris scoring 30, 76, 135, 58 and 100 to leave 102 after 15 darts. Mark was ahead though, hitting 140, 81, 60, 60 and 100 to leave just 60 after 15 darts. Chris' 42 left him stranded on 60, with Mark missing two darts at tops to take the win. Chris hit 20 to leave a finish but came inside on tops and double ten, with Mark sealing the win with his second dart at tops, winning the leg in 20 darts.
Congratulations to Halfway Mix on their 6-3 win, and on once again being crowned Town Champions of Runcorn 🏆
Man of the match award went to Ethan Baines for his performance in the two games he played. A maximum hit and a superb 129 finish - Well Done Ethan👏