Splenetic slinger Neil Duff claimed Double Trouble V honours in the MODUS Live Lounge, pinching the title with a dramatic last-leg victory over the ever-likeable Keegan Brown.
The Ballyclare man bounced back from recent disappointments in both the WDF World Masters and MODUS Champions Week to get his hands on the trophy.
Now, it’s fair to say Neil and I aren’t exactly exchanging Christmas cards. Birthday cards aren’t looking particularly likely either. Nevertheless, in the interests of journalistic integrity, I suppose I should acknowledge that he played extremely well and thoroughly deserved the victory.
Only kidding.
The truth is, I can always appreciate good darts, even if they were being thrown by an escaped serial-killing psychopath, I’d still reluctantly admit they played well and consider Neil marginally preferable as a person.
After the opening groups concluded, Duff found himself alongside the ageless wonder Simon Whitlock and one of the nicest blokes in darts, Keegan Brown, in a semi-final round robin that was packed with quality.
In what wasn’t just a battle of the ages, but very much OF the aged, Duff whitewashed the Wizard before edging out Brown to book his place in the final four. Simon, meanwhile, continues to defy both logic and the birth certificate.
Standing in Duff’s way was Fallon Sherrock, who once again demonstrated exactly why she’s one of the biggest stars in the sport. She pushed him every step of the way before eventually succumbing in a deciding leg.
On the other side of the draw, Keegan Brown—who genuinely is one of darts’ good guys—produced another classy display by overcoming Whitlock before squeezing past Steve West. “Simply” Steve was, as ever, entertaining, brilliant to watch and desperately unlucky not to make the final himself.
So it was Duff against Brown for the title, and before you could say, “Who’s that bloke in the pink shirt?”, the bloke in the pink shirt was one leg away from victory, cruising at 3-1.
At this point, I was already mentally composing a glowing paragraph about Keegan lifting the trophy. Unfortunately, Neil rudely ignored my script.
Credit where it’s due – something that for me, doesn’t come naturally in Duff’s case. Yet has a redeeming quality I very much admire and respect. The bloke simply doesn’t know when he’s beaten. Whether it’s a darts match or a Facebook debate that despite being 5-0 down, he refuses to concede, once Neil digs his heels in, good luck shifting him.
He battled back superbly, broke Brown’s throw to level matters before holding his nerve in the deciding leg to complete the comeback and lift the title.
I’m not entirely sure what the winner collected this week. It’s usually around £5,000 for a standard MODUS Super Series title, although whatever it was, it comfortably eclipses the fifty quid and Greggs voucher he supposedly received for winning Lakeside.
(For the avoidance of doubt – and because Mr WDF himself certainly won’t appreciate the sarcasm – it was in fact £50k – and there wasn’t actually a Greggs voucher involved.)
Congratulations, Neil. Thoroughly deserved. This was probably nicer that you expected mate!
