Colin Pollard was in devastating form as he clanged of 16 dolls for Kings Arms Kidlington in Section 2.
But his tally of 5-6-5 was still not enough to prevent opponents Seacourt Arms claiming a 2-1 victory.
It was close in all three legs, with only two dolls separating the teams in each.
Kings Arms took the first 20-18 but lost the next two 22-20, 19-17, with Seacourt's anchor man Robin Charlton hitting the winning dolls.
Also in Section 2, Black Swan's veteran Reg Costar, 75, hit his best ever score of 11 (4-5-2) as they beat Plough 2-1 with leg scores of 21-16, 21-24 and 26-12.
The Green brothers, Dave and Martin, chipped in with 13 and 11 dolls respectively for the winners.
In the top section, newcomers Squire Bassett beat Premier outfit Highfield Club 2-1, with Ray Dempsey and Paul Sawyer both hitting a six in their 13 dolls. The leg scores were 25-26, 20-17 and 30-22.
It was unlucky 13 for Red Lion's Bryan Hunt in Section 3 as he whipped off a six in his baker's dozen, but still finished oin the losing side 3-0 at Turners Arms.
Neil Ireson was in top form for the home side with 14 dolls (5-5-4). Arms proved too strong in the 29-16, 24-18, 25-23 scoreline.
Littlemore Rugby Club and Democrats 16-16-16 both hit 48 dolls in their Section 4 clash, but it was the consistent throwing by Demos, who threw 16 in each leg, that saw them sneak through 2-1.
Fairview took all three legs at home to Littlemore British Legion. Alan Gardiner had mixed fortunes for the winners, as he hit two ones followed by a perfect six.
Team Monarch are finding their promotion from Section 11 to Section 5 hard going, after losing 3-0 at New Club. Russell Simmonds top-scored for the winners with 4-3-3.
Red Lion, Garsington, had no problems as they took all three legs at home to Chandos Arms 15-13, 18-10, 17-12. Rob Tipping led the way with 11 dolls.
Anchor man Ady Varney was the hero for Cavalier as they beat Kidlington Sports 2-1 in Section 9.
With the game nicely poised at 1-1, Varney hit the three dolls needed to take the decider 13-12. Sports' Dave Edmonds came out on top with nine dolls.
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