University Of Gloucestershire Darts are Champions of the UDUK Central West Division after Morgan Barrett ‘magic’ secures the title for UOG.
Gloucestershire went into their final league matches of the 2025/26 season on Wednesday as they came up against three strong sides from the University of Loughborough, however the UOG A team knew just two wins out of three would be enough to secure the top spot in the league.
The A’s began their title fight up against Loughborough’s C’s and dominated across the oches coming out as 10-1 winners overall, meaning they had officially qualified for Nationals in April, but they knew there was still plenty of work to be done if they were to become champions.
However the pressure soon mounted on UOG’s A side after Loughborough A’s comfortably beat the UOG B team 9-2, meaning the A’s had to win one of their two next matches otherwise Loughborough would be take the title.
The pressure was certainly on for Gloucestershire as they next played Loughborough’s B team, with both sides’ winning a triples game each, making the scoreline 1-1 early on. Matt Sutcliffe and Jack Payne then managed to snatch a game away from Loughborough in the doubles, but the Leicestershire University managed to win the other two doubles matches making the score 3-2 to Loughborough with six single matches to play.
Billy Maple and Jack Payne then showed brilliant confidence and determination for UOG as they won 2-1 in their singles and James Pryer also secured a 2-0 victory putting Gloucestershire one match away from being champions.
But the nerves suddenly began to grow for UOG when Loughborough managed to get a game back making the score 5-4 with two singles matches left to play.
Carl Springer and Morgan Barrett were the final two to play their singles and with the rest of the Loughborough and Gloucestershire players watching on, it was sure to be two tense matches.
But it was Barrett who came out on top after checking out on 54 and cementing UOGs place at the top of the division. Springer also went on to win his match completing a scoreline of 7-4 to Gloucestershire.
”What an achievement winning the league, it’s what we do. Obviously I haven’t played much darts this year but to step up under pressure and take out that 54 checkout, it was just the perfect way to win the league. Proud of the boys, proud of myself. Roll on Varsity,” Barrett said.
After a long afternoon of darting action, Gloucestershire A’s final match of the season was up against the Loughborough A side. With both teams having been at the summit of the table for the majority of the year it was a great way to end the UDUK 2025/26 season.
Unfortunately for Gloucestershire, Loughborough’s A’s dominated the final matches of the afternoon and won with a scoreline of 9-2, handing Gloucestershire A’s first loss of the season in their final match of the year and ending their unbeaten league run.
However, with big victories against Loughborough’s B’s and C’s earlier in the afternoon, UOG got the job done topping the league and qualifying for Nationals which will be played on the 26th April in Leicester.
President of UOG Darts, Billy Maple, claims it has been a brilliant year for the team with the A’s clinching the League and the B’s, in their first season, finishing mid table: ”I think having two teams this year made a huge difference, raising the standard and giving more players the chance to contribute and improve.
“I am really proud of the whole group and everything we have achieved together, but for the A team to win an extremely competitive league filled with some of the biggest universities in the country, it was really something quite special to be apart of.”
Maple and the UOG Darts squad will now set their sights on Varsity, when they take on Worcester on the 14th April, as they look to end the season on a high and take the bragging rights back down the M5.
Tickets are available for Gloucestershire V Worcester Varsity Darts here.
