Owen makes semis

DARTS

BRIDGEND darter Robert Owen came of age with a stunning performance in the Coral UK Open Championship held behind closed doors at Butlins Minehead.

Butlins decided to close the holiday camp to all but friends and family because of the adverse weather leaving potentially dangerous conditions which also forced several players to withdraw.

Owen began in round 2 with a 6-4 victory over Michael Burgoine and followed that with a 10-2 win over fellow Welshman Jamie Lewis, who reached the semi- finals of the World Championship before losing to Phil Taylor.

Owen survived match darts before overcoming Northern Ireland’s Nathan Rafferty 10-9 in round 4 and then accounted for Ian “Diamond” White 10-7 in round 5.

In the quarter-finals he faced three-time world champion John Part and he blew the Canadian away 10-3 averaging over 97, hitting six 180s and was 43%t on his doubles.

Unfortunately, in the semi-final he came up against Australian sensation Corey Cadby and bowed out 10-3.

Neverrtheless it was Owen’s best ever perfor- mance in the PDC and it earned him £17,500 and a handy hike up the rankings.

If the 33-year-old from Lewistown can reproduce that kind of form in the upcoming tournaments then he can look forward to a massive change in his lifestyle like the current top ranked Welsh player Gerwyn Price, the former Dragons, Neath and Cross Keys hooker.

“I was disappointed to lose to Corey but at the same time I can’t really be too disappointed,” said Owen.

“It’s my first big TV semi-final and many other players never achieve that.”