Australian Champion: Western Australian Blake Hatchett claimed the 2023 Men's Australian Darts Championship title last Friday. Photo: Darts Australia
Blake Hatchett and Jackie Marks have each claimed a maiden national title, with the pair crowned the men’s and women’s Australian Darts Champions respectively last Friday.
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Hatchett, who hails from Western Australia, proved too strong for Victoria’s Brody Klinge in the final, claiming a commanding 6-2 win.
Marks was made to work a little harder in her final, with the Queenslander taking the win 6-4 over Victoria’s Kayleigh Pickett.
The win for Marks ends the streak of four successive titles for Victorian Tori Kewish, who relinquished the title she has held since 2017.
Friday’s action was not limited to the singles, however, with the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles champions also being crowned.
Mother-and-son duo Janine and Michael Cassar represented Victoria in the final of the mixed doubles. However, they were unable to defeat the Queensland pairing of Melina Van Den Kieboom and Rob Modra.
National title: Queensland’s Jackie Marks has been crowned the 2023 Women's Australian Darts Champion. Photo: Darts Australia
The Queenslanders claimed a tight contest, taking the title 5-4. The title is also significant for Modra, who completes a full set of Australian Championship titles with the mixed doubles crown.
Van Den Kieboom was in action again for the women’s doubles final, paired alongside Amanda Loch. However, they were unable to overcome the might of Western Australian duo Natalie Carter and Angela Clarke, who ran away with the 5-1 win.
The men’s doubles final was an all-Queensland affair, with Laurie Loch and Anthony Shreeve claiming the 6-3 win over Modra and Brendan Masters.
A new addition to finals day was the President’s XI vs Indigenous All-Stars match, taken out by the President’s XI 8-3.
The Pacific Masters competition was run on Saturday, with Queensland’s Raymond Smith taking the men’s title 6-5 in a thrilling encounter over current WDF world number one Andy Baetens of Belgium.
England’s Lisa Ashton claimed the women’s title 5-1 over Clarke, displaying red hot form ahead of the Australian Open.
Echuca’s Joanne Hadley has earned selection to the Australian team that will compete at the 2023 World Championships in Denmark this September, with her inclusion coming off the back of a strong nationals campaign.
Following the final qualifying rounds across Monday and Tuesday, the Australian Darts Open competition proper gets under way on Wednesday, with the first group stage beginning at 6pm.
The world’s best will be in attendance, with Baetens and Ashton, a four-time world champion, being joined by reigning WDF world champion Neil Duff and 2015 WDF world master Aileen De Graaf for what is set to be a high-quality competition.
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