Perfect game
‘I’ve got a tough draw, but I’ll do my best,’ pledges Mortlake postman, Dave Parletti, as he prepares to take on all-comers at the 2019 BDO Darts Championships at Lakeside next week.
Tuesday afternoon will see him up against either Denmark’s Brian Lokken or Krzysztof Kciuk of Poland in a tricky first-round tie.
‘There are three legs (single 501s) to a set, Round One is the best of five sets and the number of sets rises as you go on,’ explained Dave, who is the 11th seed heading into the big tournament.
If he prevails on Tuesday, former world champion Scott Mitchell could lie in wait in the second round, followed by a potential clash with number three-ranked Jim Williams in the quarters, and then a likely encounter with last year’s BDO tournament winner and this year’s bookie’s favourite, Glen Durrant, in the last four.
‘If I can get that far, I’ll be confident of going all the way – but for now I’m just focusing on each round as it comes,’ insisted Dave, refusing to make any predictions.
After representing England in 2016, illness ruled him out of action for much of the following year, but last season saw the ‘Maestro Mailman’ grab four tournament wins, taking the Jersey Classic, Welsh Masters, Isle of Man Masters and Wolverhampton Open.
And while winning four trophies in one season was ‘fantastic,’ Dave says that ‘representing my country was my proudest darts moment – and I really hope I’ll have that opportunity again.’
With all his colleagues at Mortlake delivery office cheering him on and eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s ‘bully-off’, Dave said: ‘I promise you all I’ll do my very best at Lakeside next week.’
Dave Parletti’s round one tie is scheduled for 1pm tomorrow (8 January) afternoon. Click here for more details.
