Darts: Ross Montgomery shows World Champ how it's done

Dec 10 2008 by Paul Thomson, East Kilbride News

ROSS ‘The Boss’ Montgomery sent the World Darts Champion crashing out of the Winmau Masters at the weekend – only to be knocked out himself in the following round.

The Greenhills player, who is gearing up for his appearance at the World Championships at the Lakeside next month, narrowly missed out on an automatic place in the last 16 of the Winmau and had to qualify for the televised stages.

But the 45-year-old had a great run, making it to the quarter-finals and knocking out World Champion Mark Webster in the last 16 match, which was shown on the BBC.

But Ross had mixed feelings about his performance down in Yorkshire.

The Boss, who lost 3-1 to England’s Tony O’Shea in the quarter-finals, said: “The problem is I really feel that I should have beaten Tony, but when you get to the latter stages you can’t afford to miss your doubles like I did during the match.

“But Tony’s a good friend of mine, he’s a mad Rangers fan and he comes up to Scotland to see the games all the time, so it’s not so bad to lose to him.

“I didn’t perform as well as I had been during the two days and maybe next time I play Tony I can turn the tables.”

But the world number six took heart from his victory over the World Champion which was shown live on the telly.

He added: “Beating Mark Webster is a great boost for my confidence.

“I caught him cold, as the BBC said, because I had played a few matches the previous day to get to the last 16, but he’s still a quality player and he’s not World Champion for nothing.

“It was the first live game on the BBC as well, but I felt more pressure playing him than knowing the match was being shown on national television

“I’m used to the cameras now because I’ve had plenty of televised tournaments.”

As Ross predicted a fortnight ago, his Indian opponent Nitin Kumar didn’t turn up for his first round match and Ross was given a bye.

But he recorded comfortable 3-0 wins over Brian Blake, Ross Snook, Stefan Gerritsen and a dramatic 3-2 victory over Stephen Bunting to make it to the televised stages and Ross landed a difficult double on his last dart to win.

The Winmau Masters was eventually won by England’s Martin Adams who claimed the trophy after a narrow 7-6 victory over fellow countryman Scott Waites.

Ross now looks to the Zuiderduin Masters in Holland which takes place from Friday and he hopes to enjoy himself there before preparing for the ultimate test at the Lakeside on January 10.

He said: ”The Zuiderduin is an invitation only, so it’s great to be at the stage where you’re asked to these events. It’s a group stage first and I have to play David Richardson and Scott Waites – who was in the Winmau final – and the group winner goes through to the final.

“But I’m just going to enjoy it and I will be home for Christmas after that – then it’s all about the Lakeside in the New Year.”