He bagged the £2,000 top prize at the inaugural Guernsey Series of Darts finals afternoon, outshining a stacked field containing almost all of the island’s leading players at the RAFA (Gremlin) Club.
Having exceeded expectations simply to reach the final, he overcame Leyton de la Mare 6-4 for the biggest individual win of his career.
‘I would have been happy to get to the quarter-finals – £100 in my back pocket,’ he said.
‘I thought, “Happy days, that” – it’s a nice Christmas bonus, isn’t it?’
The £4,000-plus prize pot for finals afternoon had been funded primarily by entries to the series, which had featured a separate qualifying event every month from February to November.
Ogier, who had qualified automatically in winning round three in April, admitted he had gone in nervous for the finals.
It helped not that he had, only the previous night, lost 3-1 to de la Mare in the Guernsey Triples League divisional knockout at the same venue.
Experienced Ogier testified to how badly nerves would impact him when he started playing the sport.
‘It would affect my game. My standing leg would just shake and it would make my whole body shake.’
He had got over those nerves ‘all of a sudden’ during his second year of playing.
That was until Saturday. He nevertheless could take confidence from his performances, beating Darren Lilley 4-0 including a 164 check-out, Phil Martel by the same margin, organiser Adam Gontier 4-1, and Kyle Hutchinson 4-2 leading up to the final.
‘I was a bit nervous, but that just makes me concentrate that little bit more,’ he added. ‘Saturday was just one of those days – I managed to keep it going all day.’
He had gone into the best-of-11 final ‘quietly confident’ only to struggle with check-outs in the first two legs, allowing de la Mare to push ahead.
‘I went 2-0 down and that confidence wasn’t feeling too good.
‘You do not go 3-0 down. I needed that leg.’
Ogier’s push for redemption led to a 12-dart leg, which he nearly repeated in the fourth – ultimately winning that in 18. He struck two 180s across those legs and displayed inspired form from there to come out top.
‘That final was one of my best matches.
‘I was buzzing. I couldn’t believe it.’
The overjoyed winner credited the wider organisational team, but especially Gontier, for making this year’s series possible.
‘I can’t thank Adam enough for what he has done just by organising all this – the time and effort it has taken him for the past 10 months to do this.’
With Gontier’s series having brought in 127 total players and uncovered plenty of new talent in the local game, Ogier added: ‘I think it’s absolutely amazing what he’s done for darts.’
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