Tired and half-shoeless

First 180 of October

Hit it during a cricket game against the bot. I then proceeded to lose the leg (after being 140 points up). So it goes, Kurt, so it goes.

I shouldn't have been playing. I'm tired. And you shouldn't play darts when you're tired. But a 180 is a 180, and it's the first 180 I've hit for a while where the dartitis didn't kick in after the first two T20s.

 

98/50

"Hemel Hempstead is Hemel Hempstead"

Yep, that was a genuine piece of dialogue from a Play For Today. From 1976  . . . and it wasn't even using Hemel Hempstead as a punchline for a change. I guess there was never many laughs in Play For Today back in the day when you think about it. Though to direct any sort of criticism - however mild - at the PFT canon can result in a lynch mob turning up at your door.

Anyway, back to the darts. The Dart Bot still thinks it's peak Phil Taylor but I messed with its head by scoring a Round 9. It'll punish me repeatedly over the next few days.

*The Play For Today? Bernard Kops' Rocky Marciano Is Dead.

The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow)*

I don't make a habit of posting partial results and/or breakdown of a First to a 100 game, but I thought it was worthwhile this time to both illustrate my recent dip in form (with an added sprinkle of ongoing dartitis), and my (possible) recovery.

I'm still 5 points down in my '01 averages but I'm a bit more hopeful today than I was 3 or 4 days ago. I'll take it.

01-10 (3-7)

11-20 (0-10)

21-30 (1-9)

31-40 (1-9)

41-50 (4-6) 

51-60 (4-6)

61-70 (1-9)

71-80 (4-6)

81-90 (7-3)

91-100 (5-5) 

101-110 (7-3)

*Yes, I was listening to The Jam today whilst playing cricket. This brilliant compilation. 

37 - 100 "Well, that was fucking awful."

Opponent: Computer Level 9

Date Started: 21st July 2026

Date Finished: 17th September 2026

Serves me right. 

As I kept beating the Level 8 of the Russ Bray Dart App at cricket, I decided to take the step up to Level 9 for the usual marathon first-to-100 match. Within about 4 legs I realised that Level 9 thought it was Luke Littler on steroids, a Luke Littler on steroids with a sadistic streak. 

The sensible thing would have been to abandon the game and go back to Level 8. Sadly, I don't do sensible when it comes to darts. That meant two months of 'What the fuck?' as it hit Rounds of 6s, 7s, and 9s as I was scrambling to hit a single 18. I repeat: Level 9. For context, the Russ Bray App goes up to Level 20, which makes you wonder what sort of game that would be like. I wondered so much that I 'played' a single leg of cricket against Level 20. Here's the damage:

T20, T20, T19

T18, T17, S16

T16, S15, T15

S15, SB, DB

That's the Level 20's stats. My stats are lost to the ether.

Back to Level 8 for the cricket . . . back to my station in life (and darts).

I fucking hate teenagers

Posted in late June. (How late? Steve Clarke resigned as the Scotland manager. That late.)

I hate the 18s . . . not as much as I hate the 16s but close enough. So, it's a pleasant surprise to hit a Round 9 on the T18s.

And you thought the title of the post meant it was a post about the kids. Shame on you.

100 - 89

Opponent: Computer Level 8

Date Started: 22nd September 2025

Date Finished: 2nd February 2026

 

Three-and-a-half months to finish a game ! Do I have to state the obvious? I don't really enjoy playing Cricket at home. At best, I use it as a warm up 'practice' for 501 games. Sad but true. 

 

Nice to get a win, though.

153 . . . for the hard of hearing.

Turns out it's been a while since my last recorded Round of 9. Still haven't gotten one in League play. Another one for my Darting bucket list. (Does 'bucket list' work in this context? I don't have a scooby.)

Correction or addendum . . . you decide:

According to this post from July, it looks like I hit Round 9s more often than I think. I guess I don't record them all for posterity.  If it's a Round 9 of, say, T19, T18, T17, I don't usually post a picture. The funny thing is that that sort of Round 9 is much more difficult than the Round 9 posted above, or even a 180 for that matter.

Just be thankful for what you've got . . .

A 180 that came via a cricket game on the Russ Bray App. I know it sounds totally ungrateful but I always feel a '180' during a cricket game is a lesser 180. I deserve a kick in the bollocks for that mindset. 

165/50

100-87

Game started:   17th June 2025

Game finished:  20th July 2025

It's nice to get a win against the Russ Bray App. Admittedly, it's not 501 and it's not Level 9 . . . but I will take it.

Stuff and nonsense

I don't know why but it always feels a bit threadbare when hitting a 180 during a cricket game. I know, absolute stuff and nonsense. I'm sure if I hit a 180 in an actual league cricket match I'd be doing cartwheels all the way to the Verrazzano Bridge.

148/50

Unexpected

. . . that unexpected that I don't even have a Fresh Meat quote immediately to hand. Sorry about that.

It's kind of annoying that I hit this 180 whilst playing cricket against the Russ Bray app.

87/50

162, before you ask . . .

I will eventually stop posting Rounds of 9 on the blog — obviously I need to free up space for those planned 15,000 word essays — but the novelty hasn't not worn off yet. Especially when it involves T18s, which can be a bit tricky at the best of times.

That Tungsten Emotion

Occasionally I play cricket on the Russ Bray App, and occasionally I score what is known as a Round of 9.

Take my word for it, it's a good thing.

Spot the song title in the post?

Storming the T18 bed . . .

I'm writing this post on the 27th of the January, but this Round of 9 is from January 6th when I was still using the Designa Dark Thunders.

I didn't have an issue with the Dark Thunders. They had been my regular darts for months on end; I just happened to pick up the Target Carreras 'cos the Dark Thunders were soaking in some soapy water, and something clicked. Darts can be bastard annoying like that. It likes to throw you the occasional curve ball. It likes to mess with your head.

Will I go back to these darts at some point? How long's a piece of string? (An inside family joke. Don't mind me.)

Three T18s is nothing to be sniffed at. That segment of the board can be frustrating for me. I'll take it.

One of life's mysteries . . .

The T17 is my go to in cricket (darts). I think it's a crooked elbow thing.

"A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma" . . . otherwise known as cricket in darts

Despite initial appearances that is not a score of 153; it is in fact a Round of 9. 

You have now entered the mysterious world of cricket in darts  . . . good luck.

Better late than never: 171

Posted October 19th, 2025 (late morning)

Trying to free up some memory on my phone and I found this old Round of 9 from 2020. Except it wouldn't have been a Round of 9 'cos I wouldn't have been playing cricket at the time. In fact, I wouldn't have known how to play cricket at the time. 

It's a companion piece to this other 'cough' Round of 9 that - according to my phone - I hit four minutes earlier. I think I vaguely remember hitting these two shots. I was getting the kids ready for school. 

Before the lockdown . . . before my dartitis . . . and you know what I think was the greater tragedy . . . the greater loss to humanity.

You're not seeing double. I just thought I would repeat myself (with a wee tweak). Quicker than AI, folks.

Better late than never: 153

Posted October 19th, 2025 (late morning)

Trying to free up some memory on my phone and I found this old Round of 9 from 2020. Except it wouldn't have been a Round of 9 'cos I wouldn't have been playing cricket at the time. In fact, I wouldn't have known how to play cricket at the time. 

It's a companion piece to this other 'cough' Round of 9 that - according to my phone - I hit four minutes later. I think I vaguely remember hitting these two shots. I was getting the kids ready for school. 

Before the lockdown . . . before my dartitis . . . and you know what I think was the greater tragedy . . . the greater loss to humanity.