Ogier holds his nerve to clinch the Western Premier Division title

Competition has been flourishing up at the West Legion, in terms of both quality and quantity, with 54 players battling across the four divisions.

The new face to the league did not have it easy as he finished on 152 points – each representing a leg win – to edge another Ogier, Michael, by just four.

Reigning champion Ken Waters, so dominant last season, had to claw back from a tough start and settled for fourth on 140.

Despite seeing her partner lose his crown, organiser Caroline La Touche had to praise the quality up top.

‘Nick is one of our best players,’ she said.

‘He has had to work hard to win that league, to be fair.

‘It was down to the last game for him to get those extra points.’

Indeed, the formerly Herm, Sark and now Guernsey-based Nick confirmed his title by beating Callum Ferbrache 7-4 on the final night as Michael took a tighter 6-5 win over Neil Hutchinson.

‘It has been brilliant having all the people in the league, but more challenging,’ added an organiser who credits word of mouth for the improved competition.

But the standings could have looked rather different had Mark Fletcher jnr, who led before Christmas, been available for the whole season.

There were also several other accolades and smaller victories to celebrate.

Nick Ogier also topped the standings for highest checkout – 161 – as Michael Ogier and Kyle Hutchinson ended up level in the best-leg contest at 11.

Waters can claim to be the 180 king after landing 24 through the season, including an unprecedented seven on one wonderful November night.

The quality permeated through all divisions, though, leading to thriving rivalries on every rung of the ladder.

Jerry Baguio proved a dominant force in Division One but Geoffrey ‘Ringo’ Tostevin featured prominently amid a league-wide checkout battle, having posted 157.

Chris Hamon won 24 from 25 in Division Three and also banked a 146 checkout.

There have also been plenty of women out west this season, with Debbie Hamon competing in the heights of Division One and finishing a respectable 10th there following her promotion.

Tracy Ingrouille enjoyed a good battle against Jo Fallaize in Division Two, finishing two points clear as both made the top five.

But look to the bottom, Division Three, and female players make up nearly the whole tier. Many are complete newcomers.

‘It’s nice that the girls are enjoying it,’ La Touche said.

‘Hopefully all the leagues will have a better year [next season] and we will not have all this Covid.’

• In the absence of a true inter-insular, many of the best in the west are taking on visiting Jersey and Alderney select teams this weekend at St Pierre Park. A lottery pairs competition on Friday night (starting 7pm) forms the appetiser for a long afternoon of darts on the Saturday, beginning at 12.30pm.