In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, “Is it good, friend?”
“It is bitter—bitter,” he answered;
“But I like it
“Because it is bitter,
“And because it is my heart.”

Stephan Crane

A challenging night of darts last night. I teamed up with Billy, one of the top players, but we both struggled early on. Kevin and Troy, a solid team but one we should have beaten, knocked us into the losers bracket. We fought our way back against some other tough opponents, before meeting Kevin and Troy again in the semi-finals. This time we managed to secure a victory setting us up for a showdown with Cristy and Gerlie for the championship. Cristy is currently the strongest darter in Barretto and Gerlie is no slouch. We had our work cut out for us and almost miraculously I finally started throwing some decent darts. We needed them to play it out all the way to the final leg of the second match. And we won!

During the evening some of the dreaded darts drama reared its ugly head. Nothing related to the tourney, rather some people were complaining about a decision I made regarding the singles league. I’d been drinking of course which does reduce my ability to tolerate bullshit so I might have overreacted a bit. But I take personal attacks, well, personally. And when someone doesn’t like something I’ve done, I’m fine with agreeing to disagree. It’s over the line though to accuse me of being “unfair” when the decision I made was predicated on fairness.

In a nutshell, here’s what happened: A player quit midway through the season, which is a chickenshit thing to do to begin with. So, I needed a replacement and offered the spot to Espie who I promised could have the next opening. Now, the guy who quit was ranked last in the league. Espie is a very solid player, certainly capable of holding her own in the top tier. I was in the process of splitting our 12 players into two divisions and placed Espie in the higher group. It seemed to me that letting her play in the lower division which she would likely dominate wouldn’t be fair to that group. I did reach out to the 6th ranked player and asked if he was willing to play in the lower division rather than the spot he had earned in the top division. He readily agreed. And so it was done. And several players proceeded to attack me and my decision. I went home pissed, slept it off, woke at 2:00 a.m. unable to go back to sleep thinking about it so I posted this on our league Facebook page:

AN ANNOUNCEMENT
As most of you know, we had a player quit the league at the end of Round 1. The league format works best with an even number of players so I needed a replacement. Espie had asked to join the league at the beginning of the season but I already had 12 players. I told her she would be at the top of the waiting list. For this reason, I invited her to join the league for Round 2 Divisional play.

The player who quit finished last in Round 1. As you know, Espie is a very strong player. In my opinion, she would have an unfair advantage playing in the lower division. I asked the player who finished 6th in Round 1 and qualified for the upper division if he would object to playing in the lower division. He told me he did not have a problem with that. So I thought we were set and made the schedule and spreadsheets for Round 2 with Espie in the top division.

I have now heard from several of you that my decision to do so was unfair. I admit I was shocked to hear this. The whole purpose of Round 1 was to establish competitive divisions based on a player’s performance during Round 1. In my opinion, Espie is a much stronger player than the one who quit and belongs in the upper tier. If I’m wrong about that it is unfair to Espie, not the other players in the league. Again, to allow a stronger player to dominant the lower division is unfair to those players in my view.

I first founded this singles league format over 10 years ago. I have run the league in the USA and Korea. In Seoul, we had four divisions and 32 players. The intent of the league has always been to have fun in a competitive environment while improving our darting skills. This is the first time I’ve ever been accused of being unfair.

Therefore, I am resigning from the league. Espie can replace me which should be “fair” to everyone. I will leave it to the players to find a replacement for the vacancy in the Champs division.

I will continue to update the stats for the remainder of the season unless there is an objection to my doing so.

Good luck and shoot well.

You know, running a league is a pain in the ass under the best circumstances. I had avoided starting one after my move here because I didn’t want the headaches and hassles. But I know it really helps people improve their skills and strategies and I thought I should make a contribution to our darting community. I wasn’t looking for a thank you, but damn, I wasn’t expecting a fuck you either.

So, as of now, I’m taking a break. From the league, from tourneys, from the darts scene in general and the people who populate it. I certainly don’t want to be perceived as unfair so I think it is for the best. On the bright side, it is always a good thing when folks reveal what they truly think about you.

UPDATE: Wow! I feel vindicated: