Results:
| Division “A” Singles 1st – Richard Campbell 2nd – Edsel Haylock 3rd – Philip parsons 4th – Rodan Asuncion Division “A” Doubles 1st – Hank Ebanks/Rodan Asuncion 2nd – Philip Parsons/Reneboy 3rd – Irma Smith/Cliff Weeks 4th – Neville Parker/Ricky Bodden High Finish Edsel Haylock (150) Hank Ebanks (117) |
Division “B” Singles 1st – Ray Leonard Baylon 2nd – Carol Johnson 3rd – Cliff Weeks 4th – Miriam Rodriguez Division “B” Doubles 1st – Earl Smith/Carol Johnson 2nd – George Bodden/John Luna 3rd – Derrick Larner/Ray L. Baylon 4th – Amber Tatum/Cassius Anglin 180’s scored Richard Campbell Rodan Asuncion |
Outstanding Performance & Overall Champion – Richard Campbell
Runner up – Ray Baylon
Ladies Overall Champion – Lisa Evans
Ladies Runner up – Carol Johnson
3rd Place – Miriam Rodriguez
Special thanks to: Cable & Wireless, the CIDA, the Security Centre, Little Tokyo, Trevor Lloyd of IMS [sponsor of trophies], the Ministry of Youth & Sports, Focus Beauty Salon, Anita Bodden [director's assistant], and Horace DuQuesnay, Roxanne, Johanna & Julie [the Corner Pocket]
By Martin Bodden Jr. [ - tournament director]
The 9th Annual Vivian Rankine Memorial dart Tournament got on the way this past weekend [20th 21st September 2008.] 31 dart players along with dart enthusiast came out to the Corner Pocket in the Alissta Towers to watch some spectacular darts being thrown.
The tournament was full of excitement and fun. Day one of the activities saw players such as Hank “The Hammer“ Ebanks, Philip Parsons, and Edsel Haylock (the reigning Caribbean Champion.) The Tournament was blessed to have familiar faces, as well as some new faces such as Richard Campbell who stunned both Hank Ebanks and his uncle Philip Parsons to keep advancing in the A Division. Campbell was very impressive scoring maximum points each time against his opponent, he was well-focused and appeared rather hungry for victory.
Campbell went head-on with Edsel Haylock for the Division A singles Championship, this was a nail-biter of a game, it was definitely the match of the night as both darters hammered the Triple-20, scoring very high points, including a maximum 180 by Campbell. Haylock not taking much chance with Campbell began to unleash his arsenal of experience, closing out the first game with an impressive 150 finish. It was obvious that the excitement was growing as Campbell remained focused and continued to pound the Triple 20, both players throwing back to back 100’s keeping the margin of score between them just a few points
Haylock attempted to close out his opponent making it two games to zero, but missed the double, next it was Campbell’s chance to even-the-score, but unfortunately he missed the double 10 and Haylock refused to miss the double again closing it out, taking the lead two games to zero.
Campbell started off game three scoring 100 points. It was now more apparent that the large crowd gathered was rooting for the rookie Campbell. Campbell, not wishing to disappoint his fans, suddenly out-of-no-where began throwing some spectacular darts, not seen from a Rookie in a long time, leaving the champ somewhat dumbfounded, Campbell Clinched the game by a wide margin. The crowd went Wild!
The score now 2-1 to Haylock, both of them now more than ever going for the critical win, Haylock could close out the game, knocking Campbell out for a chance to become the overall champion, but Campbell did not settle for that, he took no chances with Haylock, and continued to pound the board scoring 100+ points ensuring that he reached the double before Haylock did, CAMPBELL then attempted to close out, but unfortunately missed. It was Haylock’s chance to send the Rookie out of the game for good… but the Champ just could not finish. By this time, the spectators were on their feet. It was Richard’s time to hit the double, and in spectacular form, he closed out the game, leveling the score to 2-2. Again the crowd sang, “it’s not over until the fat lady sings“
Both players now seemed rather exhausted, and paused to take a sip of their favorite beverage, before starting the most crucial game of all, game 5.
Haylock started game 5 with 60 points leaving 441 to finish, followed by Campbell with 85, leaving 416 to finish, by this time you could hear a pin drop as all eyes were glued to the board as the players fought it out in top dart form.
The crowd at times could not help but cheer after the big scores by both players… Chalker for the game, Derek Larner did a fantastic job of scoring , but sure had a little difficulty controlling the cheering at times.
The crowd by this time, had little nails left on their fingers, the match being down to 2 games apiece, it was therefore anyone’s game… you could hear the heartbeats of the two players, Haylock was nowhere near a double when Richard had 52 remaining, his first dart went for single 20, and Richard took aim at the double 16 and Missed, one dart remains the crowd are ready to explode, he aims, and he hits the double 16… the crowd went NUTS! Richard was very jubilant and jumping with excitement, the crowd rushed in and showered him with congratulatory hugs. Both players hugged each other in sportsmanlike form.
This was definitely the match of the weekend and one to always remember.
In the ladies Singles which was not quite as exciting, but some great darts were thrown, Lisa Evan was crowned Overall Ladies Champion.
In the game for the overall championship Ray Baylon of the Philippines proved no match for Richard Campbell, who earlier Slaughtered Edsel Haylock 3 -2 in the nail-biter game, who also won this game 3 to Zero, Baylon came close but was definitely no match for the Rookie Campbell.
Minister Alden Mclaughlin, MLA Alfonzo Wright, And Vice President Albert Anderson were present during all the excitement and thoroughly enjoyed the games.
The Honorable Alden Mclaughlin, Minister for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture presented the Trophies to the winners in Division A. But before doing so he said.“It was very touching to see the level of support you all have shown to Vivian –Veggie- Rankine, his family, and especially to his son George. I commend the organizers for continuing to keep Veggie’s memory alive“
Mr. Trevor Lloyd of International Map Services the Sponsor of the Beautiful Trophies presented the trophies to the winners in Division B along with medals.
Cable and Wireless Representative Mr. Albert Anderson was on hand to receive a Certificate of Appreciation from Tournament Director Martin Bodden Jr. For their continued Sponsorship of the tournament.
On the first day of the Tournament George was on Hand to declare the tournament open. This time George was not successful to hit a Bull’s-eye but Ironically he managed to Score 32 points which was a favorite Double on the Board of his father Vivian.
George was given a medal for his performance and attendance, he also received a Gift Certificate sponsored by Little Tokyo Mongolian Grill Ltd. Once again George Expressed how grateful he was to have the tournament in honor of his dad and helping him at the same time with his future education.
George is now 14yrs old and wants to be a Marine Biologist. He attends the Catholic School, and to his surprise this year, two of his teachers showed up in support of him and the tournament.
George’s Mom, Ms. Mavita Rankine, and George’s Aunt, Ms. Rosa Mclaughlin, and other family members graced the players with their presence during the two day tournament, for this the players were very grateful, as everyone had an opportunity to strike up conversations on a personal level.
As Tournament director, I would like to say that I am extremely happy for the overwhelming support of everyone, including the sponsors, as without them the tournament would not be possible. A big thank you to my committee who have been more than wonderful, and most of all to the many dart players and spectators who cheered making the weekend one to remember, and an event to look forward to next year.
The Tournament was very successful and went without a hitch. A little over CI$ 1000.00 was raised from Registrations and a raffle, to include a very generous cash donation by the Cayman Islands Darts Association [CIDA].
