Jamie Hughes loses group final at Gold Cup
A board final for Jamie Hughes was the pick of the West Midlands darters' efforts in singles action at the BDO Gold Cup.
Tipton's Hughes was a game away from winning Group Two but was edged out 4-3 by Dave Copley,
'Yozza' first toed the oche at Event City in Manchester to record two 4-0 whitewashes in succession, over Tony Hamit and Andrew Hibbert.
He dropped his first leg against John Burgess but still came out on top 4-1, before another 4-0 landslide against Rob Cross. His progress was then halted by Copley.
West Midlands county players Glen McGrandle, Paul Price, Shaun Carroll and Michael Baker, along with Staffordshire's James Hughes, all fell at the first hurdle.
McGrandle was in Group One, where he was dumped out by Allan Edwards. Price lost a Group Three clash 4-1 to Dafydd Edwards.
Shaun Carroll, who has reached a quarter-final and the last 16 in his last two BDO competitions, bowed out 4-3 to Derek Williams. Baker was beaten 4-0 by Kevin Thoburn.
Hughes lost 4-0 to Duane Nessling, but fared better with a run to the quarter-finals of the men's pairs event with Karl Marchant.
The duo won three games and eliminated the teams of Andrew Rough and Richard Langlois, then Dan Nicholls and Scott Baker, both by a 4-1 scoreline.
They then stunned reigning world champion Scott Waites and Garry Thompson 4-3, before they were vanquished 4-2 by Josh McCarthy and Tony Moulden.
Carroll also got to the quarter-finals of the pairs, alongside Gary Watts. Only Andy Brown and Jack Vincent could put them out, 4-1.
They came out on top in five matches to get that far, starting with a 4-2 verdict over Allen Bond and Tony Andrews.
Three 4-1 results followed over Kevin Leadenham and Dave Watson, Johnathan Gardner and Luke Etherington and Lionel Sams and Andy King.
