MONDAY night saw the return of the ADC Winter League season with one of the standout matches being played between two of the top players, Danny Aplin and Mel Burton.

Aplin hit some unbelievable darts all night and kicked off with two wins from three but several missed doubles ensured he was forced to a 3-3 draw by Mel Burton.

Aplin hit 16, 19 and 15-dart winning legs with two 180s, but the dogged Burton hung in there to steal the draw.

Burton found two other victories on the night with the highlight being a 164-winning checkout in a brilliant game against Paul Dormer who managed a 136 checkout also.

Has the highest checkout prize already been taken on week one?

Reigning ADC champion Andrew McDermott ensured he started the season well, starting with a 100 per cent record and facing two new faces in the league, Ian Lloyd and Guy Paddock, with his other victory coming against Paul Paice, with McDermott hitting a 144 checkout along the way.

Paice secured a draw against Chris Burton and a classy 4-2 win with a 124 checkout, against Paul Dormer who himself hit two 15-dart legs in his only victory of the night against Scott Gannon.

The returning former summer league champion Sam Ward also started the season with a 100 per cent record winning all three matches and hitting three 180s on the night.

Last season’s summer runner-up Mark Samway’s earned two victories and a draw on the night, with the draw coming courtesy of new boy Ian Lloyd who hit 112 checkout in that match.

Drew Tweedy was the only other player to start with a 100 per cent record as he claimed victories in all three matches.

A returning Dave Butler fell just short of gaining a point from all three of his matches as he succumbed to three 4-2 defeats on the night.

Arnie Quinn secured a win and a draw with his three fixtures, with his sole defeat coming at the hands of Bazza Stratford who himself picked up a second victory against Billy Short.

Simon Churchill was one of the people who inflicted a defeat upon Short and also managed to gain a draw against Arnie Quinn but fell short against Aplin.

On the night, Trevor Honnor showed his form with two victories out of three, hitting a 180 in his 4-1 win against Simon Sharpe.

Shaun Lampard also faced the two new faces with a 4-1 victory against Guy Paddock but lost his other two matches 4-1 against Lloyd and Terry Tucker respectively.

The first week saw a total of 13 180s and five ton-plus shot outs with lots of quality tungsten thrown throughout the night.

This season is already shaping up to be its best yet.

CONTACT ME:

t: 01305 830990

e: sport

@dorsetecho.co.uk

twitter: @Dorsetechosport