Darts - Inverness Winter League champions claim more trophies as captain speaks of pride achieving decades of dominance - Also says influence of world champion Luke Litter is see number of teams in competition growing
PORTLAND A have been the dominant force in Inverness darts for over two decades as they celebrated winning another league title this season.
They claimed the Inverness Winter Darts A League title and also the Supreme Cup last week to round off another successful campaign.
Their excellent campaign comes after last year, when for the first time in 22 years, they failed to win the Inverness Winter A League title when Nairn outfit Seaforth Club were crowned champions in the 2023/24 season.
But they returned to form this season, winning the league title by three points and also beat Still Game 7-3 in the final at the Clachnaharry Inn on Thursday.
Club captain Gordon Morison (61) admitted failing to win the league for the first time in over two decades last season was hard to take. But he praised his team for how they responded this campaign to regain the title and are back on top of the Inverness darts scene.
He said: “We were on a 22-year run winning the league and then we lost it last year to Seaforth Club.
“That was probably the best thing that happened to us as the competition was getting stale.
“Losing the league title last season gave us a new lease of life and the fight was in the team to win it back. It was the foot up the backside our players probably needed. It was another close season with the Seaforth, but we got our mojo back and proved it.
“Winning the Supreme Cup was the icing on the cake. Last year was probably our worst ever year, but to win both trophies shows the character of the boys. “Previously we maybe thought that we could turn up and win but that was not the case last year. But we did great to win both competitions this season.”
Morison has played in the Inverness Darts League for 47 years, starting with his dad’s pub team the Stratton Lodge in Culloden when he was 14. In his first season playing competitive darts he reached the semi final of the Inverness Singles when over 360 entries played in the competition.
Since then he has won around 30 league titles during his career and says the quality that has been in the Portland A team over the years has led to their success. They include current Scotland internationalist Nicky Denoon who travels from Helmsdale in Sutherland to play for the team.
Morison said: “We have players like Nicky who first joined the team 15 years ago and look how well he is doing now.
“I was fortunate to get seven caps for Scotland as well. In addition, we have the likes of Steve Falconer, Craig Quinn from Elgin and Steve Mitchell from Invergordon who have all played for Scotland.
“These lads set a good standard, which makes everyone desperate to beat us, but that is what motivates me and the team to keep going and winning.
“In the league, the top two or three teams are close in terms of quality, but I would say we are just above them.
“Whereas we are consistent throughout the season, the other teams tend to take points off of each other which tends to be their downfall.”
Portland A are now turning their attention to defending their Inverness Summer Darts League title with the season beginning on Thursday, May 15.
Morison says while they are confident they can retain their title, is also pleased with the increased number of teams taking part in the competition this summer.
He says the increase in teams is down to the influence of current PDC world darts champion Luke Litter, saying his success is encouraging more youngsters to get involved in the sport.
He said: “We are encouraging players to take up the game and with the Luke Litter affect, there are young guys coming through and it is scary how good they are.
“Every second home has a dartboard, which you couldn’t say five years ago. In the Summer League there are an extra four teams in the league taking part this year.
“In previous years there has been a trend for less pub teams in some sports. I remember when there was 40 darts teams in the league.
“Now it is just over 20 teams, but darts is bucking the trend where the number of teams are going back up. Since Luke Litter arrived on the scene, more teams are entered into the league and it is great the sport is growing with the influence of just one man.”
He added: “We are defending the Inverness Summer League title and are confident we can win it again. You need a decent squad to win a summer league to combat with holidays and we are fortunate to have that.”