This week’s edition comes a bit earlier than normal due to me sitting at home on my sickbed and no voice. We have a brief review of the first games of the season , A Who are Ya? with Mario Jukic, a look at the new teams in the Division 3 and a venue report on the Shrine Clubhouse Sportsbar.
Thank for some nice comments on the blog from some of guys I met on Tuesday and I will be approaching a few people to make contributions in the coming months. And any gossip either team wise or venue wise will be much appreciated.
Watch out for Pikey Pete’s Games previews early next week. He had a few results spot on but generally it was a mixed bag ,so I would stay away from his tips if you fancy a spot of online betting!
Week 1 Review
Division 1
The Champions kicked off in impressive style against Tavern at Phattys on Tuesday night. The result was never in doubt from early on and despite some fight back in the singles from Karl and Dan , it was a pretty comfortable night as Mabuhay ran out 9-3 winners. Pikey had predicted ‘The Black Pelican’ would be a force this season and he did not let down his new team mates, with 5 checks, a couple of tons and a high finish. Raymond and Adrian contributed their usual high amount of tons, with Raymond also getting 4 checks. For the Tavern , some good scoring and Neil will be disappointed to come away with nothing after 7 tons on the night.
Those Guys overcame a few tense games in the triples and doubles ,to take control of their match in the Singles in their meeting with Charmed Assassins. Big Boy threw impressive darts both in terms of scores and checks. He was ably supported throughout the night by Ruud and Odilicious. The Charmed Assassins did not score too badly ,but only Phat and Andy G could stop the decline in the singles. A solid 8 -4 win sees Those Guys continue their fine form from last season.
Elsewhere, Toros and Ice Blue fought out a tough 6-6 draw .Toros star performers Cris and Neil from last year were playing well and new addition Bebe will be very happy with her debut ,claiming a singles win and three checks for the night. Ice Blue will be disappointed to lose the team game but will be happy to start this campaign unbeaten.
Pikey had mentioned the problem Pinoys may have this season due to player attendance ,and their heavy defeat to Vinyls unfortunately included quite a few forfeit games.But credit to the 4 players who turned up especially Russ and Leo, however at an immediate disadvantage already ,Vinyl did not show much pity with Matt and new addition Rick putting them to the sword in a 10 -2 victory.
Division 2
An outstanding performance from Thuong ,ensured that the newly named Bounced Cheques , head the table after a excellent 8-4 win over Phattys Phukkers. She hit 3 tons and 5 checks to start the season in fine form. Joshua also had a great night but generally it was a solid all round team performance. For the Phukkers, Convict and Ben were the only real players to put up too much fight on a night when checking was a major issue for some of the team.
All the other games in the division were much tighter and ended up in 6-6 draws. The Rottens came back from 6-4 down to snatch a late draw against BnB. Guppy being their star with his 7 tons and 5 checks. For BnB, a solid team performance score wise ,with most getting at least 2 tons and Leo and Sam on fine checking form.
The Dirtys had an up and down night ,leading 4-1 going into the Singles ,they soon lost that advantage to Madhouse. Then managed to claw it back through singles victories for Davison and Dixie , only for Madhouse to snatch the team game with a Lars check. Not the most high scoring match , with not too many tons ,though Dixie, Markus and Paul shot well. Colin from Madhouse topped the checking for the night with 4.
NSW will be bitterly disappointed after throwing away a 6-2 lead in their match against old foes Alayah. Captain Fudgie had led the way along with good darts from Eng but a spectacular collapse ,saw Alayah’s Willy, Mr Z and Stubbsy claim victory in the last three singles and they held their nerve to win the team game and get what was looking an unlikely point.
Division 3
The Patient Pricks fears of a drubbing at the hands of Nomads came to fruition on Tuesday with a 10 -2 loss ,but I am sure the copious alcohol intake helped them overcome the pain. Tripps and Mad Alex claimed two great singles victories and scored well overall. However the power of the Nomads squad proved too much on the night, with Chad and Thuy Tran in particularly impressive form. Chad getting himself 7 tons and Thuy Tran 5 checks.
Bernies Best started the season well and gave Projectile Dysfunction a tough introduction to Saigon’s competitive darts. A couple of singles victories for Alex D and Frank will ensure positivity going on but the low tons scoring may count against them as the season progresses. For Bernies, Tram and Hai were the pick of the bunch but it was a strong team performance throughout the night in a 9-3 win.
Buddha claimed quite a surprisingly comfortable win over the fancied BAZ team ,and this bodes well for the season ahead. They quickly raced to a 6-1 lead ,before BAZ eventually woke up and made a game of it. Tun and Lan ,with 4 checks and 4 tons each were dominant, with great support from John. For BAZ, Donald scored well with 4 tons and Sally and Peter also put up a good fight. It will interesting to see how these two continue the season .
Black Magic’s smallish squad also had a comfortable night against the league’s other newcomers. They beat Dailo’s DM 9-3. Sang and Sam Chan look useful players for the new team, however the experienced campaigners from Black Magic played strongly. They did not scored highly but checked when it mattered. Beamer and The Gimp both having memorable nights.
Mario Jukic- The Vinyls
So Mario a quick introduction of how you ended up in Vietnam and how life here has changed for you since your arrival?
After a brief one week visit in 2007 I decided to come back for a couple of months in 2008 in between relocating from Adelaide to Melbourne and been here ever since. Guess I learned about “Vietnam?
What was your previous darting experience before landing in Saigon?
Basically none. Threw darts at a board whilst having a few drinks with friends. Hmmm, thinking about it nothing much has changed.
You have a few years’ experience in the League. Who have you played for and who have been some of your best team mates and opposition players you have come up against?
Played for Sheridans, then Da Vinci’s for a few games, Buccaneers whilst we were together for a few minutes, Ice Blue for a few games, and now The Vinyls.. Team mates and players? Well apart from yourself “Jimish” really can’t single out anyone to be honest, most players are great to get along with.. Might come back on that after a few beverages…
The League has changed a fair bit since you started in it. What have been the positives and negatives of this in your view?
Going into a 3 division league structure has probably been the biggest change since I started. I think this has helped with player/team standards of play to improve for those that want to improve/get promoted and given those that are happy to enjoy a drink and throw darts whilst doing that a place to go on a Tuesday night. For me this is the positive end of the deal, improvement, however when you mix the competitive players with the socializers there may be a tendency for some negativeness. It all gets sorted out after a season of two.
You have become a member of the Committee for the first time this season. What was behind your decision about standing as a member of it this time around?
I wanted to try see if I could hopefully do something that would benefit the league and make some sort of a contribution. Plus I wanted to hear what everyone in the bleacher seats has to say, so let’s see how that works out.
Your best memory of your time in Saigon darts. Oh man you are going to make an enemy of one of my team mates… Best memory was beating Paul Devlin in a Sheridans vs Da Vincis match. I had been playing for a season or so and he was the first really good player I beat and I brought it up every time, for a long time, when I saw him. I think it got to the point where he would walk into a bar, see me, and walk out!!!
Your favourite venue over the years.
It was Sheridans, first place I played in and was always comfortable and relaxing (plus the food was great). These days enjoy being in non-smoking venues, food and drink seem to taste better…
Most annoying or frustrating an opponent does during a match. For the players who beat me, them turning up is annoying otherwise not really bothered. The scorers however that keep bobbing their heads towards the board after each throw are a different story.
Tuesday night drink.
A Bier Larue where I can get it, otherwise alcohol or if Kris G ever offers, it will be a Heineken…
And away from the Oche, how do seek to relax and have fun.?
Love hanging out with my wife, watching movies, try to stir the pot on facebook, if I was back in Oz I would be shooting pistols alas no such luck here, and of course the occasional “Beer Buffet”.
This season we see four new teams added to the fixture list in Division 3, all playing at new venues around town.
The Nomads make a return ,with a few of their old playing squad joined by other players who have been regulars with other teams. Fancied to be strong contenders in Div 3 and playing out Malt in D1. Their first game victory I think emphasized how dangerous they are going to be for opponents.
BAZ are team playing out of Confidant Bar based in Phu my Hung. They too have many familiar faces in their line up and though they experienced a first game loss ,they can expect to become stronger as the season progress.
Dailo’s DM based at Dailo’s in D1 ,are seemingly a very new team, with few players, if any, having previous experience at playing in the The SIDL. Their first game saw a comprehensive defeat against the old timers Black Magic.
And finally out in Phu Hung at Pitchers Bar and Grill ,we have the cleverly named Projectile Dysfunction ,with again a team roster of mainly new players.
Here three of these teams Captains look forward to the new season:
Projectile Dysfunction: Captain Matthew Levasseur
I was invited to start a team by Adam, the owner of Pitchers Sports and Grill. There was a lot of interest by my buddies, so it didn’t take too long to fill up the roster with a group of good guys. What we lack in skill we make up in good looks, mediocre jokes, and a thirst for beer.
Why did you guys decide to reform The Nomads after playing for other teams?
We never wanted to split in the first place but last year we lost both David Riches (returned to Canada) and Brett Nelson (decided to take a break), and then couldn’t find any new members to replace them so we all ended up joining new teams in D1 (Those Guys, Vinyls, Charmed Assassins) and D2 (Dirty Blues). Slight fortuitously for us (though less so for them) The Prixxx split last season and we decided to start a new team with a couple of their old members (Thuy & Melvin) and some of ours but still using the old name Nomads.
One thing that needs to be cleared up; we never wanted to start over in division 3 but as a “new” team that didn’t play last season this was our only option. This is because there were less than 4 players joining from a disbanded team (The Prixxx), all other teams that players joined from still existed in Divisions 1 or 2. If we had demanded to re-join division 1 this would have had repercussions for any newly promoted (or relegated) team from other divisions and hence rejected by the committee.
2. Description of your new home venue
We now play out of Malt (46-48 Mac Thi Buoi, Q1), which has a great darts set-up, delicious food and a shuffle board table. Thankfully for Brett it’s also a non-smoking venue.
3. Players to look out for in the upcoming season – either ability or character wise
Well on our roster we have our Golden Boy Chad as well as top female darter Thuy. New team BAZ has some great players in the form of Alan, Donald and Augustine, they’re also really nice guys so we look forward to renewed rivalry with them.
4. Aspirations for team in the upcoming season? What can we expect from you guys.
We’re just happy to be playing together again and looking forward to hanging out with familiar faces and some new ones every Tuesday.
Venue Review
Shrine Clubhouse Sportsbar
Above the rather swanky restaurant and cocktail place on Ton That Thiep, D1, is the newly revamped Shrine Sport bar, home to two teams in Division 2 – The Bounced Cheques and Shrine BnB. It was a darts venue previously and the revamp has not altered it too drastically, however the changes made all seem positive. It has been taken on by two well-known expats Terry and Tom. Many will know Tom from his time at nearby Phattys and Lindo’s. This was the first game to be held under the new management.
Darts Area: Two good condition boards, with one scoreboard at the rear and one alongside. Viewing can be done from the rear of the oches and also from the side seating area – 7.5/10
Service: No issues here .Quick and efficient and bills came promptly at the end – 9/10
Snacks: A nice big bowl of steaming hot potato wedges and a large and delicious seafood pizza. – 9/10
Drinks selection: My only criticism would be perhaps lack of choice in terms of beers available on draft. Only Heineken and Tiger presently but having just opened this may well change. Otherwise fine – beers cold and spirits good with just right amount of ice. 8/10
Smoking or Non Smoking? : Non Smoking with a large seated, covered balcony area for smokers provided outside.
Atmosphere: Not too many other customers. Music at good level and plenty of TV’s showing sport, if the darts did not entertain enough. 7.5/10
Toilets : Downstairs. Big and clean.
loslocosborrachos 
Written beautifully as usual Jimish,