View from the Oche

So the new season is well underway and Round 2 has been completed in all four divisions. In the return of View from the Oche we look at the results from Round 2 , we look at what happened in the season break, we get to hear Gypsy Pat’s predictions for the forthcoming season and for four matches next week and finally we meet committee member and flashing buccaneer Brett Nelson in Who Are Ya?!

News and Gossip

• So we have ended up with the four Divisions and that hopefully means no playoffs in the future and the tension and disappointment they tended to bring- they caused a little discord to say the least.
• Three new venues in the shape of the new sports bar Game On which hosts two teams in Dreamtime and Lunatics ,both in Div 4. Also Vinyl Bar [ex Moon Bar] and they are the home of The Buccaneers and finally Harry Casual in Phu My Hung
• Da Vincis now called The Buccaneers.
• Los Locos Borrachos now called Phattys Phukkers
• 1D2 Now called Dirty Harrys
• Madhouse have moved to Universal after their spell at Red Bar
• Dirty Harrys[ 1D2 ] have thankfully left that darting arena known as NO 5 Bar and moved to Phu My Hung and a new bar called Harry Casual
• Charmed Assassins have left Charm Bar and gone down to Bui Vien and The Spotted Cow ,where they are joined by a new team, led by ex-Tavern captain Andy , called An Udder Team.
• The demise of Ice Blue did not occur in the end and they decided to battle on and I see had our favourite Belgian and ex Sheridan’s captain Kris in their ranks first game up.
• Other people on the move seem to include Warren ,who I think played for the Spear Chuckers , now in the ranks of The Prixx and Mario, Matt and Phuong ,ex Sheridans, have found new bosom buddies at The Buccaneers.
• I think the tweeting experiment started by my friends The Prixx seems to have ground to a halt -it has been a little quiet in the first two weeks.

Well I think that just about sums up off season news in regards to the leagues. We of course had a load of darts played in the off season with the World Cup and Doubles Competitions and some great competitive Tuesday nights took place.

Round 2 Matches

Div 1

Team Viet v Mabuhay

Last year’s Champions came mightly close to losing their unbeaten streak on Tuesday night when they needed a team game win to rescue a draw against the impressive Team Viet. The hosts look like one of the few sides who may be able to challange Mabuhay’s dominance ,especially after also dispatching last seasons runners up Ice Blue 8-4 the week before. TV got off to a cracking start taking both the triples , thanks to Xu and Dung. The doubles went the way of the Filipinos 2-1 but with the last Singles and the team to go they found themselves 6-4 down and under real pressure. Well they handled it like the champs they are and you would not want anyone else but Jun up last and he duly took the last Singles 2-0 against Nhung. Raymond claimed the team check and no doubt brought much relief to Mabuhayians everywhere. Cracking way to start the season for Dung and a 134 high finish.Jonel claimed 8 tons for Mabuhay and Jesse 7 for TV. Xu was the top checker for the Viets with 5 and Adrian for Mabuhay with 4.

Those Guys v Ice Blue

The newly promoted Those Guys claimed their second point with a hard fought draw over Ice Blue and will be disappointed at losing victory in the team game.This was a very similiar game as to the one above and Those Guys got off to a flyer winning both the triples and the first doubles but lost the other two. In the end after even Singles, Ice Blue had Ruud to thank for rescuing a point when he won the last Singles and checked the team game.He had a good night topping the tons chart comfortably with 8 and getting 4 checks. For Those Guys Big Pete was the top man with 5 tons and 3 checks. Those Guys have proven in the first two games that they will definitely hold their own in this division.

Bucanners v Buhay Na Buhay

Newly named and with a new home The Buccaneers would have been hoping for a solid start to the season after flirting with relegation last year. They also welcomed three ex Sheridans players into their squad and would hope that they will do better this season. They got the narrowest of victories over Buhay Na Buhay 7-5 , but will be more than happy with that.They found themselves 3-2 down after the Triples and doubles but in the Singles ,they kicked off with two victories from new boys Mario and Matt and took two more and the team game to claim the win. Matt had a very good night topping the charts for tons and checks for them with 5 tons and 4 checks. For Buhay, Rex was regularly hitting those triple 20’s and helped himself to 6 tons and Roden got 3 checks.

Stats

Well surprise ,surprise we have Jonel[MBH] and Jun[MBH] at the top of the ton charts ,though Xu [TV] is providing a challenge at this early stage. Adrian[MBH] has 8 checks and leads by one from Xu[TV].

Div 2

Phattys Phukkers v Black Magic

BM came along to Phattys looking to gain some revenge for last seasons defeat on their home turf. The newly named Phukkers were a tad short of players and had to employ the help of new bar manager Mick at the last minute to get the six players needed. This was a tense match that could have gone either way and the outcome of last two Singles which were mighty close, ensured that the Magicians took the honours 7-5.The change of name seems to have changed the Phukkers game a little too and after being famous for never winning any triples matches ,for the second week they took both ,much to their surprise and bewilderment. Obviously still in shock they managed to lose all the doubles. Singles victories for Rob 1 and crucial close victories for White Barry White over Jimish and Tin Tin over Jamie, got them the win but it was a close run thing. For the Phukkers Colin and Jimish got themselves 3 tons each and Colin an 88 high check, while Thuy topped the checking charts with 4. For BM Rob 1 and Mutts Nutts topped the checks with 4 each and Rob and Tin Tin got 3 tons each.[We will get revenge Mr Rob but for the rest of the season I wish you luck and that you get to demonstrate your butt slapping cavorting to others around the bars in the coming season -u are a strange bunch but we certainly enjoy our matches against you- well done on your victory Black Magic.

Judging by Black Magic’s victory celebration it seems Rob has been watching too much American sport during the hols!

Alayah v Madhouse

After last week’s matches one would have strongly fancied Alayah to take this match after their thrashing of Black Magic and Madhouse losing to Dirty Harrys ,however this was a close humdinger of a match and I reckon newly promoted Madhouse could cause a fair few upsets this year if they manage to get their strongest team out week after week- but hey that is the challenge most of us face.Everything went pretty evenly going into the Singles with Alayah leading 3-2, with Mr Guess helping himself to two checks in his doubles, he is becoming a bit of specialist doubles player like those Bryan brothers in tennis. The Singles went 3-3 a piece ,with a win for Madhouse’s returning Colin and a defeat for the Chairman to the improving Luke. So Madhouse had to try and get a team game win to get their first point of the season and Luke continued his good form to claim it. For Alayah Willy and Jay got 4 tons each and Alan and Stubbsy shared the checking honours with 3. Madhouse’s Zach had a tons frenzy with 9 and Luke got 4 checks.

Dirty Harrys v Nomads

So 1D2 have transformed into Clint Eastwood wannbe’s and moved out to mean streets of Phu My Hung and after a pretty terrible second half of last season they have started strongly in the first two games with a win and a well earned draw against highly fancied Nomads. The draw specialists Nomads will be hoping this season they can turn these draws into victories but hey start off with what you know best. This was more or less a repeat of the match above with it being 3-2 to the Dirties going into the Singles.Jeff ,Glyn and Chad got valuable Singles wins for the Nomads and Devo for the Dirties got a useful win over captain Logan. The Dirties were 6-5 up going into the team game and a win would have given them a 100% record at this early stage but Glyn had other ideas and took it for the Nomads to get the draw. One high finish a piece ,a 98 for Devo [DH] and a 94 for Chad[NM]. Chad continued from where he left off last year with 9 tons and shared the checking top dog status with Jeff and Glyn.Ryan had a good throwing night and helped himself to 5 tons ,while Devo’s good night was confirmed by his 4 checks.

Stats

Zach from Madhouse already has a commanding lead with 11 tons ,the nearest player Dirty Harry’s Dan on 7. Alan from Alayah leads the way with 7 followed by a whole posse of players on 6.

Div 3

Featured Match

No Star Where v The PRIXX

I think it is fair to say that both sides are starting this season with a point to prove due to the way the promotion and relegation issues needed to be settled last season and both will feel they really deserve to be up in Division 2. But such is life and they must both be odds on to challenge at the top this year- my money by the way on The Prixx,who have added a useful player in Warren [though he lost his Singles on Tuesday]. So to the match,where Prixx started strongly winning both triples but stuttered in the doubles losing them 2-1.They then produced a strong singles performance ,where only Ching and Mal C managed victories for NSW. Melvin has shown a real improvement in form over the last season and he contiune this for The Prixx ,winning the last Singles to ensure victory and then checked the team game. Peter got most tons for Prixx ,with 5 and Donald got 4 checks. For NSW ,only Mal C got on the tons board with 4, while 4 players shared 2 checks each for the defeated team.

Other results

The other two matches ended up 7-5. Buddha have signaled their intention to bounce straight back with back to back wins ,this week over Lindo Pinoy Patriots but had to fight back and take the last four games to claim the points and Lindo should take some positives from the match.The Chuckers are still looking for their first points after falling to the girls from ACDC , who no doubt were loud and proud.

Stats

A familar face tops the tons chart with 9 in the shape of Jeorge from Lindo ,but he is joined by the Prixx’s Peter. Donald has 9 checks which is mightily impressive after two games and I would fancy he will not give up top spot to easily as the season progresses.

Div 4

Featured match

G-Force v Dreamtime

Dreamtime are one the new teams at Game On and are made up of some players from the old Lindo team. Away from thier plush new surrounding their darts did not unfortunately live up to their name and they had in fact a nightmare time ,falling to a heavy 11-1 defeat to G-Force. I am unaware of the Dreamers score from the previous week -get it up boys! But I hope they had better luck than this game [Actually Kevin has just informed me the match did not take place last week and both teams will not play it and have one game less for the season] ,where New Player 1 and Gazza got their only victory in the a doubles game.The same two top the tons and checks charts for Dreamtime ,with Gazza on two tons and New Player getting 3 checks.For G-Force Russ and Sammy got two checks each and Henry 5 checks.

Other results

Bernies Best got a solid 9-3 away win over Boston ,in a match where the scoresheet shows some forfeits in the doubles but six full Singles games???. And finally Lunatics and Tavern played out a 6-6 draw at Game On.Brendan from the Tavern getting a 100 high finish in the game.

Stats

Although we are still waiting for a result from week one ,the Tavern boys top the tons charts presently with Karl on 7 and Nathan on 6. For checks G-Force’s Henry and Michael share top spot with 7 each.

Gypsy Pat

This week we ask Gypsy Pat to look into his crystal ball and try and predict the Champions and relegation candidates for each Division winners and losers in each division and he turns his attention to a match in each division that takes place this Tuesday night.

Well, Jimmish asked me to gaze into my crystal ball and give predictions for who is going to win each of the  divisions and some of the games next week, so here goes.

Lets start in reverse order, the two strongest teams in D4 are GForce and The Udder Team, Gforce have strengthened this year and have already got experience, The Udder team were only formed during the mid-season break, but have some pretty good players, most of them new to the league, these two teams met in the first game of the season and drew, to me, The Udder Team have great potential and can only get better as the season progresses, so even though it is going to be a tight run between these two teams I think The Udder Team can edge it.

D3 is a tough one, some strong teams in there this year, despite losing their first game No Star Where have probably the strongest team, the only thing that could harm them is players not available for games, which is what happened in their defeat, with four of their strongest players out. The Prixx have signed Warren this year, whom was one of last seasons best players in D3, my own team, The Charmed Assassins are still a pretty strong team, although we have lost one of our best players for most of this season. Pinoy Patriots are also a good team and we were lucky to draw with them in the first game of the season. Buddha Bar are another strong team with seasoned players, and they have Ten Ton Tun and Scotty to get them near the top of the league. The two weakest teams are Rusty Spear Chuckers and ACDC, sorry girls, don’t hurt me when we play on Tuesday, this is a very tough one to call, but I think if NSW can field strong teams for most of the season they will win the league.

D2, again as you would expect in this division, all strong teams, Nomads drawing with Dirty Harrys(formerly 1D2) surprised me, I thought Nomads would just edge them, apologies to Black Magic but I don’t know many of you guys, but obviously a good team beating Phattys Phuckers on Tuesday night, with Zach in the Madhouse team it makes them strong contenders, especially after drawing with Alayah. and then there’s Baan Thai, we had some great games against these guys last season, and Rey can hit those tons, so onto the prediction, Alayah are obvious favourites been a former D1 team,but I think Nomads can edge them out of the top spot at the end of the season.

Now for the hardest one to predict, with two of the games drawn and the Buccaneers beating Buhay Na Buhay, so far Those Guys have had two draws against Ice Blue and Buhay Na Buhay, Ice Blue have lost Rick[not sure I think he may still be in squad Pat] so I think its going to be a tough season for them, Mabuhay Allstars have a good leg advantage already,Team Viet are still as strong as last season, the Buccaneers (formerly ?) have signed Mario, he will make a huge difference to their team, as with Black Magic, I don’t really know many guys on the Really Rottens team, but again a strong team, losing there only game so far to the Allstars, so who will be top at the end of the season? I will have to go with the Mabuhay Allstars, I think they are going to take some knocking off their perch, but I think Those Guys and the Buccaneers can give them a scare.

Now onto the games Mabuhay v Buccaneers, I think this will be a tight game, but I think Mabuhay will just edge it, prediction Mabuhay 7-5 Buccaneers.

Nomads V Phukkers, sorry guys but I will give this to………. Nomads, prediction Nomads 8-4 Phukkers.[I think we are underdogs too ,especially if we are struggling for numbers like last week -but hopefully we will have a bigger squad and I can rest and give our team a chance of at least a point]

Prixx v Buddha, a tough one this, I think this will go to a draw 6-6.

Dreamtime v Boston, hopefully Boston will be able to field a full strength team this week having to forfeit a triple, a double and the team game last week, even though Dreamtime took a hammering in their last game i think they will win this one, prediction, Dreamtime 9-3 Boston

This week we see the return of Who Are Ya?! The victim no less than Mr Creative himself Brett Nelson ,committee member and stalwart of the Saigon expat community for many years.

Brett Nelson – The Buccaneers -Division 1

1] Brett how did you come to end up in Vietnam and how long have you been here now ? [ It seems ages]

I came here to live abroad…I had worked at Microsoft for about 4 or 5 years and was burned out with both USA and Microsoft. I got here in December, 2002.

2] You have played in a few teams over the years- can you list them?

3 in a bed, Cyclos, Da Vinci’s, and Buccaneers. Basically the last 3 were the same team but merged with new people.

3] What has been your highlight of your time in Vietnam and what do you miss about the US?

Highlight would be hanging out with my son, Alex…every morning our breakfasts yields new surprises and ideas. I love that he prefaces lots of stuff with “I have an idea!”…basically, my role on the SIDL is “ideas”..so makes me proud he’s got so many of his own ideas.

US –  I suppose I miss Christmas time in the US. Santa stopped coming to Vietnam in 2005 after 3 of his reindeer went missing.

4] Who has been the best player you have played alongside?

I would have to go with Andre. The man is walking German engineering in the form of a darts player.

5] Why the name change for this upcoming season Brett ?

I sold Da Vincis a couple years back, and we had a lot of new faces….it was just time.

6] What are your hopes for the upcoming season in regard to your team?

Well, a week ago it was simply to have enough people on game day. I just hope we have good team chemistry, play competitively, and most important – have fun.

7] Give us your views on the teams in Div 1 this year and do you think anyone can challenge Mabuhay’s dominance?

I think Team Viet and Mabuhay both are clearly the teams to beat. The rest of the teams will be around the 500 mark.

8] What was your favourite Da Vincis pizza?

Mona Lisa but as a Calzone.

9] You have been heavily involved in the SIDL Committee and the development of the leagues. What has been the most pleasing aspect of the time you have been on the committee and the most challenging?

Most pleasing – technical challenges and providing solutions for darts entry and stats.

Most challenging – listening to players/teams whining – it’s volunteer work. I think if there are any players out there that don’t agree with format or how the league is run…they should join the committee in some form….I mean that in all sincerity. I’m sure I wanted to join the league because I thought (at the time) that the site could have improvements. If players are just whining over and over and not even offering suggestions or volunteering their time…meh. “Hey, I have an idea…can we try this?”….is a great way to start a topic on improvements.

10] When did you start playing competitive darts?

Competitive….not yet, but started playing in the league (my first time playing) in 2006 with 3 in a bed.

11] Who has been your most difficult opponent over the years?

Mario from Mabuhay. I was something like 0-7 until last December when I beat him on the last game of the season (sorry guys for the outcome on that one).

12] What do you think the future holds for both you and The SIDL?

Great question….for me gets a bit tired with controversy. I’ll stick around in some form…but only as it pertains to the architecture of the stats scoring and the site. We could actually have real time reporting with the stats so that entry forms could be created on the night…I asked few people and I don’t think they were quite ready for it…but if/when the league is, I think we can do it! You would basically enter your lineup (could even be drag and drop), select who checked, click a button each time someone hit a ton, high check,…and by 11pm your stats are automatically calculated. We could even have a live feed on the site for scores throughout the league. World cup, singles, and all the other stuff is ok, but for me personally…I like the SIDL for Tuesday nights and it’s always what the league holds for me.

13] What’s your drink on darts night?

Red wine! I would hope if you asked the Shiraz family of red wines who they’d prefer to be drunk by, they would choose me…I don’t swish it around and spit it out, don’t sniff the hell out of it, don’t twirl it forever in my glass, don’t critique it, and certainly not too picky. Yep, I’ll drink it cold, warm, with ice….it’s all good. I think wine and I have a pretty good understanding of each other.

14]Playing in the same team as Peter Brown – describe in in no more than 10 words.

The great thing about Peter Brown is that I can walk up to him and say anything and we’re off and running on that topic. Anything from antacid to Zoro’s birthplace. “Peter, long time no see!..Pluto is not a planet!” 10 words restriction and going over that restriction is basically Peter Brown.

15] Finally if you had a theme song to walk to the oche ,what would it be?

A Frank Sinatra tune…can’t be stuck with the song, but I’m ok stuck with the artist.

A THANK YOU!!!

A big thank you from myself to Mr Jeff Spikers from The Nomads who kindly and without question helped to design the new logo for Phattys Phukkers. A beer will be putting itself in front of you my dear chap when we meet in competition this coming Tuesday night .Nice job!!