Ryan Mooneyham Wins Both ADO Regional Cricket and 501 Qualifiers

November 17 and 18 were the regional qualifiers for the national cricket and 501 championship in Las Vegas. and both were won by Ryan Mooneyham. I only played Saturday, and I came in second. The key to his success from my experience playing him is he never seemed to have a bad round. Including his ability to pound the bull. Just like Shark Tank when he hit 2x Double Bulls for the match, he did it 2 more times Saturday.

Here he is, all smiles, and why shouldn't he be? Ryan Mooneyham, your going to Vegas Baby Vegas!  But who is Ryan Mooneyham? Here's a little interview.

SS: What city do you live in? 

RM: I'm from Springfield Missouri. 

SS: What Dart Association do you play for? 

RM: I  play under the flag OMDA or Ozark Mountain Dart Association. 

SS: I heard you are the new Area 6 Manager, now that Matt Stoner is ADO Vice President, What does that entail? 

RM: I am the new Area 6 manager for the ADO. Jason Snodgrass is 6-2 and Steve Webb is 6-5. I oversee now the entire area 6 for tournaments and regional playoffs

SS: When did you start playing darts? 

RM: I started playing darts in Indianapolis IN at a friends house. I like to play. This friend is who my ex wife left me for. I became determined to be better at darts than him. Well I discovered tournament play and league play. My first tournament I ever entered was Blueberry Hill in St Louis MO and my first league was in Springfield MO via the OMDA. I started playing darts in 1998 with my first league trophy collected in 2002

SS: What kind of darts do you shoot with?

RM: What got you into playing darts? I shoot a 24 gram Harrows Retina in Steel Tip and a 22 gram Colonial in soft tip plus a 20 gram Accurate Dart called Evolutions

SS: Tell me about how you practice? 

RM: Practice to me is the most important part of my game. I only practice for the game of 501. Cricket is what I shoot the most in soft. I put most of my time into outs and doubles. I struggle with check out percentages and I tend to score well. So I spend my time on the short game. I also practice to relax. To unwind. I can calm a rough day with a good hour on the dart board.Depending on the event I normally practice an hour a day. Close to competition I can practice up to 3 hours a day. I also enjoy shooting a match online with Jason Snodgrass via Skype and Dart Connect The game of darts is what I play. I don't care if it is soft or steel tip, I just want to play. I want to earn all players respect and I play hard every time win or lose. I enjoy playing. 

How About 131 Out?

How about 131 out? It wasn't long ago if you went for 80 it was considered showboating to go D20-D20 (40-40), but now if your opponent is on a double (40 or less), you consider going for it because 2 doubles are bigger than a triple and a double. So I'm going to make an argument for starting 131 with an unconventional T14 (42).

The out chart will tell you T20-T13-D16 (60-39-32), or T20-T17-D10 (60-51-20). Some might go T19-T14-D16 (57-42-32) because a single 19 leaves 112 which is a good path to go. Heck if you miss left and hit T7(21) that leaves 110; T20-D25 (60-50) a 2 dart out. 

Why not go T14-T19-D16? This way if you go high and hit T9 (27) leaves 104 (T18, D25); Miss low T11 (33) leaves 98 (T20-D19). Plus if your intention is to take 131 you are going to have to shoot at T14 anyway, so why not do it when you can benefit from both adjacent triples?

New Laserdarts American Eagles with L-Style Flights and Shafts

Thursday I used my new Laserdarts American Eagle Darts. Josh really outdone himself here.

They are like the Laserdarts Eagles, but with with ghost rings and 4 deep lateral cuts and are titanium aluminium nitride coated (Same durable, vapor coating used for aerospace,and medical equipment).

There is nothing like the grip of a new knurled dart ...I thought ...until I tried these. For me I could never use the "Taylor" style grip, because the grooves are too deep and the dart would stick to my fingers. It was like I could never let go of the dart. These have a nice solid grip that I can release.

The lateral cuts add a new dynamic. depending on the way you grip your dart. I grip mine with the dart on top of my thumb. The groove creates a groove on your thump that point towards the target so to speak. Combined with the grooves around the barrel creates an X, so you know you have the dart the same place again and again for consistency.

For me it the Goldilocks dart. the grooves are not too deep, and they are not too shallow.If you see me around, I'll have a set with me so you can check them out. If you don't see me, go to Horizon Darts and check them out.

They also come in soft-tip, I'll be getting a set of those next.

On to the Flights and Shafts. Yes I know I was just taunting the virtues of the Cosmo flight system, but I saw the L-Style Flights and Shafts and decided to give them a whirl.

The shaft is unique in the fact they have fins that protect the bottom of the flights

They have these things called "Champagne Rings" that fit inside the flight, then you slide the flight and ring into the shaft, it's that easy. The Champagne ring is made of a different material than the flight and shaft. The champagne ring prevents robin-hooding and holds the flight to the shaft tightly. I think it holds the flight to the shaft better than the Cosmo ...Plus they come in different colors.

As far as robin-hooding goes with both systems it's so infrequent, I don't think it's an issue. The main difference is flight thickness and weight. The L-Style is thinner, making it lighter and more flexible. To prevent wear as you can see in the picture the leading edge of the flight and back is reinforce to prevent premature wear. They also have a gusset in the middle to keep the fins at 90 degrees. Cosmo does make an "Air" flight that is lighter and more flexible than the regular Cosmo flight.

Some people like the heavy flight (to each there own), but if you want a light durable molded flight, you might check out L-Style. Heck just go to Horizon and check out the many different flight and shaft systems available. They have all the shapes and sizes and you can try them out in the store with experienced staff that can help you  pick out whats best for you.

Midtown Winter Championship

In the end it was: Chez Charlie's, F.O.G. vs. Colonial Club , Hoho and His Merry Elves. (F.O.G. who has already beat us earlier in the year).

Chez Charlie's: F.O.G (F'n Old Guys) vs. Colonial Club's; HoHo and his Merry Elves.
FOG: Carl Bell, Kenny Fields, Mike Baker, and Matt Eayms (Subs Jose Paez, Greg Houck, and Sasha Kahrs). 
Hoho: Gary Holland, Steve Shope, Danny Bribiesca, and Dave Whitney (Bill Pittman and Steve Osborne).

Both Teams and Moe who a special thanks goes out for keeping Steel Tip alive in Kansas City. In fact one of the people who was instrumental in the starting steel-tip leagues in KC beginning in 1976. Yes 1976. Back when there were 4 teams; Andy Capp's, Mike's Tavern, Blarney Stone, and Bogart's in lawrence. (More on the history of darts in KC to come).

And the winners are "Hoho and the Merry Elves". Left to right Gary Holland, Steve Shope (Eating Shorty's Pizza), Dave Whitney, and Danny Bribiesca. We won 4-1 but it was closer than the score line suggests. 

Thursday night league is comprised of 4 person teams that play 7 matches. 4 Singles (Chicago), 2 doubles (Chicago), and a team 901.

Also special thanks to Shark's, Banditos for coming out, good to see you guys back out (Nice win over the DirtBaggers).

The next season starts in January, There will be Blind Draws on Thursdays till then. No official word yet on where, but I suspect at Chez Charlies, Blarney Stone and probably Colonial Club. 

For more info feel free to comment.