Dart teams from Peabody in state finals
The road to the Minuteman Dart League state championship goes through Peabody in three of the five divisions.
The six week-long playoffs conclude tonight with the finals in all divisions. The Buddha Tavern’s Bangers A Division team, VFW Tailshooters B squad and the St. Michael’s Archangels in the E Division all made it to the finals out of the Tanner City.
“It’s unheard of to have three teams from one city,” said Manny Raymond, captain of the VFW nine. “I’ve never been involved in a championship with this team, but I’ve gone three other times in the 23 years I’ve been playing darts (winning twice). All teams have a home-and-away matchup in the finals.
“We’re playing the Irish Village from Brighton (they trail, 8-4, after having played in Brighton earlier this week). The team with the most points during the season has the choice to shoot home or away first.”
The Minuteman Dart League is the largest steel-tip league in the world. Established in 1974 with just a few teams, it has grown to over 500 teams in Massachusetts. There are four areas across the state that make up the MDL including North Shore, South Shore, Central and Boston.
“A, B, C, D and E represent the level of skill,” said Raymond, who grew up in Salem and still lives there. “There is also a Super A level, but (those) players are few and far between.
“Most of those teams have to travel to find competition, and their guys are ranked nationally with a lot of professional players. The best one around here is Tom Sawyer, who I believe in ranked No. 1 in the country. He shoots out of The Barn in Amesbury, and the last two years he’s been invited to play in the World Championships in England. He goes to all the big tournaments. I bet he plays darts at least six hours a day.”
Raymond spends 3-4 hours a week honing his skills. He said it isn’t possible to spend any more time than that while juggling work and a family.
“It’s a fun night out with friends,” Raymond said of playing darts. “Some people belong to bowling leagues, but I prefer darts. It comes naturally for some, but others struggle getting the hang of it.
“Having three teams from Peabody make the state finals is very impressive. The winners get shirts, trophies, and most importantly bragging rights.”
Joey Peters is captain of the St. Mike’s team with Bryan Pereira as co-captain. Peters, a 24-year old Peabody native who played high school baseball for the Tanners, has been playing darts for three years.
“I played a couple of years, but I work nights so it was hard to keep it up,” said Peters. “They started up a team and I got involved again.
“We had the most points out of all the teams with 129 so we chose to have Quincy come to our place first. The first team that wins 13 games takes the title, and we’re up 7-5. We can clinch by winning six more while Coops needs to win eight. The competition is great. I really enjoy playing, but I do get nervous at the line.”
Buddha’s captain is Cassandra Gilman of Peabody, who is also the only woman on the team.
“We won 10-2 on Tuesday night, so we need three more wins,” said Gilman, who has been playing for 20 years and hopes her team can clinch its first state championship ever.
The six week-long playoffs conclude tonight with the finals in all divisions. The Buddha Tavern’s Bangers A Division team, VFW Tailshooters B squad and the St. Michael’s Archangels in the E Division all made it to the finals out of the Tanner City.
“It’s unheard of to have three teams from one city,” said Manny Raymond, captain of the VFW nine. “I’ve never been involved in a championship with this team, but I’ve gone three other times in the 23 years I’ve been playing darts (winning twice). All teams have a home-and-away matchup in the finals.
“We’re playing the Irish Village from Brighton (they trail, 8-4, after having played in Brighton earlier this week). The team with the most points during the season has the choice to shoot home or away first.”
The Minuteman Dart League is the largest steel-tip league in the world. Established in 1974 with just a few teams, it has grown to over 500 teams in Massachusetts. There are four areas across the state that make up the MDL including North Shore, South Shore, Central and Boston.
“A, B, C, D and E represent the level of skill,” said Raymond, who grew up in Salem and still lives there. “There is also a Super A level, but (those) players are few and far between.
“Most of those teams have to travel to find competition, and their guys are ranked nationally with a lot of professional players. The best one around here is Tom Sawyer, who I believe in ranked No. 1 in the country. He shoots out of The Barn in Amesbury, and the last two years he’s been invited to play in the World Championships in England. He goes to all the big tournaments. I bet he plays darts at least six hours a day.”
Raymond spends 3-4 hours a week honing his skills. He said it isn’t possible to spend any more time than that while juggling work and a family.
“It’s a fun night out with friends,” Raymond said of playing darts. “Some people belong to bowling leagues, but I prefer darts. It comes naturally for some, but others struggle getting the hang of it.
“Having three teams from Peabody make the state finals is very impressive. The winners get shirts, trophies, and most importantly bragging rights.”
Joey Peters is captain of the St. Mike’s team with Bryan Pereira as co-captain. Peters, a 24-year old Peabody native who played high school baseball for the Tanners, has been playing darts for three years.
“I played a couple of years, but I work nights so it was hard to keep it up,” said Peters. “They started up a team and I got involved again.
“We had the most points out of all the teams with 129 so we chose to have Quincy come to our place first. The first team that wins 13 games takes the title, and we’re up 7-5. We can clinch by winning six more while Coops needs to win eight. The competition is great. I really enjoy playing, but I do get nervous at the line.”
Buddha’s captain is Cassandra Gilman of Peabody, who is also the only woman on the team.
“We won 10-2 on Tuesday night, so we need three more wins,” said Gilman, who has been playing for 20 years and hopes her team can clinch its first state championship ever.
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The members of the VFW Tailshooters dart team out of Peabody will be
battling The Irish Village of Brighton for the state's B Division state
championship this evening.
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Buddha's Bangers is one of three dart teams from the city of Peabody
that will be battling for a state championship tonight. Buddha's play in
the 'A' Division.
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