Rich beats world no 8 on way to trophy win
WHITBY darts ace Rich Parkin beat the world number eight Dave Prins on the way to winning the Loftus Open on Saturday.
In a nail-biting finale, Rich edged out Prins 4-3 and hit three 180 maximums.
Earlier, Rich beat Tony Eccles in the quarter-finals of the event, which is part of the Teesside ranking event, 4-3 with Eccles missing bull for a 167 in the last leg and Rich hitting a 14-dart leg.
In the semis, he defeated Paul Temke 4-0 in a game in which he finished with an impressive 11-dart leg and hit four 180s.
Speaking to the Whitby Gazette yesterday, Rich said: "It^s my first open win in the Teesside ranking event and it has put me in good form for the Winmau World Masters in Stockport on Saturday."
However, Rich^s bid to qualify for the BDO World Darts Championship at Lakeside ended in gallant failure.
Rich reached the semi-finals of the Cleveland qualifiers for the championship, losing 4-0 to Dennis Coleman, one of the top names in the north east.
"I played really well to get to the semis and hit four 180s and had some 11 dart legs," said Rich.
"It was all fine until I played Dennis but he didn^t miss anything."
The BDO World Championship attracts top players from all over the globe and is played in a razzmatazz atmosphere at the Frimley Green venue, with entrants entering the stage to their own theme tune.
Rich – who plays darts for Stakesby Arms – bowed out of the local league last Monday with a 3-0 win in the singles final over Bri Davidson of the Friendship.
Rich captured the trophy for the third time, this time without dropping a leg in the whole competition – following in the footsteps of his granddad Bill and uncle Graham "Sooty" Sutherland who have each won it twice.
And it was an impressive swansong as it was his last game in the league due to entering a superleague with Guisborough and playing county darts for Cleveland which starts next month.
Earlier, Rich beat Tony Eccles in the quarter-finals of the event, which is part of the Teesside ranking event, 4-3 with Eccles missing bull for a 167 in the last leg and Rich hitting a 14-dart leg.
In the semis, he defeated Paul Temke 4-0 in a game in which he finished with an impressive 11-dart leg and hit four 180s.
Speaking to the Whitby Gazette yesterday, Rich said: "It^s my first open win in the Teesside ranking event and it has put me in good form for the Winmau World Masters in Stockport on Saturday."
However, Rich^s bid to qualify for the BDO World Darts Championship at Lakeside ended in gallant failure.
Rich reached the semi-finals of the Cleveland qualifiers for the championship, losing 4-0 to Dennis Coleman, one of the top names in the north east.
"I played really well to get to the semis and hit four 180s and had some 11 dart legs," said Rich.
"It was all fine until I played Dennis but he didn^t miss anything."
The BDO World Championship attracts top players from all over the globe and is played in a razzmatazz atmosphere at the Frimley Green venue, with entrants entering the stage to their own theme tune.
Rich – who plays darts for Stakesby Arms – bowed out of the local league last Monday with a 3-0 win in the singles final over Bri Davidson of the Friendship.
Rich captured the trophy for the third time, this time without dropping a leg in the whole competition – following in the footsteps of his granddad Bill and uncle Graham "Sooty" Sutherland who have each won it twice.
And it was an impressive swansong as it was his last game in the league due to entering a superleague with Guisborough and playing county darts for Cleveland which starts next month.
Story by: Whitby Gazette