Seamy Roberts checks out 104 to win the Sara O'Reilly Pairs Cup 2023!
Seamy Roberts & Dan Cahoon are this year's Sara O'Reilly Pairs Champions!
Quarter-Finals
Conor O'Neill & Gavin Mawhinney 3-0 Sean Murphy & Sandy Howard
Our first quarter-final match seen the L.W.M.C. team of Conor & Gavin get the better of the Lodge Celtic duo by getting to a double first in each of the three legs. Steady darts was thrown by each team but nerves seemed to prove too much for the Lodge Celtic duo. An excellent 3-0 win in the quarter-finals could prove a big confidence booster for Conor & Gavin in their semi-final match.
Conor Teer & Jonathan McWilliams 3-2 Martin Corbett & Dan Delaney
The second quarter-final match was a very highly-competitive match which could have went either way. Martin & Dan took the first leg with the darts and a nice 20 darter to go 1-0 up. Conor and Jonathan then hit back with a 23 darter to to level the match. In the third leg Conor and Jonathan put in some lovely scoring to break throw with a 21 darter but Martin & Dan done the same in the fourth leg to break back with a 21 darter as well. At 2-2 both teams were wanting a strong start in the fifth leg and Martin did this by starting of with a massive 140 but Conor & Jonathan weren't deterred as Jonathan followed with a 100. Dan then followed that with a 100 of his own before Conor hit back again with another 100. As both teams were getting down to a finish, Jonathan left 120 for his partner if he returned as Martin had left 74 for Dan to checkout. Dan missed one match dart at tops which gave Conor a chance at shanghai. Conor stood up hit treble 20, single 20 and wired double top for the match which would have been an incredible way to move into the semi-finals. Martin Corbett then stepped up to try to checkout double 20 for the match but he wired all three darts on the double giving Conor & Jonathan one last chance to win the match. Jonathan then stepped up and hit tops with his first dart to win this highly-competitive match!
Conor Hanna & Pearse Maguire 3-0 Gary O'Connor & Joe McLaughlin
In this match, it was basically the tale of one team as Conor & Pearse displayed some lovely, high scoring to get the better of the Lodge Celtic duo. Conor & Pearse showed why they are in this stage of the competition with dart legs of 19, 20 & 21. It is going to take something special to beat this duo in this years Sara O'Reilly Pairs. Conor & Pearse play the winners of Tommy Castles & CJ Rossbotham against Dan Cahoon & Seamy Roberts.
Dan Cahoon & Seamy Roberts 3-0 Tommy Castles & CJ Rossbotham
The scoreline did not do this match any justice as it was definitely a lot closer than the scoreline suggests. Tommy & CJ started off the first leg strongly with back-to-back tons but Dan & Seamy replied with a ton and a 137 to give themselves a lead in the first leg. Tommy & CJ missed two darts at a double in the first leg to go 1-0 up before Dan & Seamy checked out 60 in two darts for a 23 dart leg and a 1-0 lead. The second leg was one-sided as Dan & Seamy's scoring was taken up a notch before Seamy hit double 10 for an 18 darter. At 2-0 down Tommy & CJ were going to have to dig deep to get themselves back into the match and both started strongly getting down to a double after 21 darts. Dan & Seamy's scoring deserted them in this leg but Tommy & CJ failed to take advantage of this missing darts at a double to get their first leg on the board. Dan stood up and hit double top for a 28 darter and a place in the semi-finals against Conor Hanna & Pearse Maguire!
Semi-Finals
Conor Teer & Jonathan McWilliams 3-1 Conor O'Neill & Gavin Mawhinney
The first semi-final seen the Warriors duo of Conor & Jonathan taking on L.W.M.C. duo of Conor & Gavin. Both teams scored really well in the first leg of the match but it was Conor Teer to checkout first for a 24 darter and a 1-0 lead. Conor & Gavin came back strong in the second leg scoring back-to-back tons before checking out 56 for a 23 dart leg and a level match. Both teams were looking to raise their game even more and both successfully did this. Conor Teer left Jonathan 71 before Conor O'Neill hit a 125 to leave Gavin 52. Jonathan checked out the 71 on double 18 to put his team 2-1 up. Conor & Jonathan shot off in the final leg scoring 99, 97 & 123 back-to-back to leave 97 before Conor Teer stood up to hit 19, treble 18, double 12 for an 18 darter, a 3-1 win and a place in this year's Sara O'Reilly Pairs!
Dan Cahoon & Seamy Roberts 3-2 Conor Hanna & Pearse Maguire
The second semi-final was undoubtedly the best match of the night. It seen the Lodge duo of Dan & Seamy taking on Glenpark Celtic's Conor & Pearse. This was a highly anticipated match on paper and it lived up to those high expectations. The first leg of the match was actually the worst leg of the match but still seen Dan & Seamy score well and then take out a 74 checkout for a 21 darter and a 1-0 lead. At 1-0 down Conor and Pearse both upped their game with back-to-back scores of 96 and 100 but Dan & Seamy hit back with higher scores of 135 and 121 but Conor left 48 for Pearse after 15 darts thrown by hitting a 180 in the crucial part of the leg. Pearse hit double 16 with his third dart for an 18 darter and more importantly, a level game. The third leg seen Seamy hit a ton to start the leg followed by a ton from Conor before Dan hitting a 180 of his own. This gave Dan & Seamy a nice lead in the leg and they held onto that leg when they hit the double for a 17 dart leg and a 2-1 lead. Conor & Pearse needed once again to produce some lovely darts to level the match again. Up steps Conor Hanna, treble 20, treble 20, treble 20, a 180 to start a need to win leg! Pearse then followed that with a 100 and after the strong start, they were first to the double and Conor hit the double for 20 darts and a level match once again. At 2-2, it was anyone's game to win but Dan & Seamy fired in scores of 100, 100, 100 and 126 without reply to give themselves a comfortable lead. Dan & Seamy went on to check the leg out in 19 darts to win the match and advance into the final of the Sara O'Reilly Pairs!
Final
Dan Cahoon & Seamy Roberts 3-2 Conor Teer & Jonathan McWilliams
The final was far from a classic as both teams struggled to find the form they were showing all night. Both teams looked like they were both running out of steam but never less it was a final and one team had to win and be crowned the Sara O'Reilly Pairs Champions 2023. Dan & Seamy scored better than Conor & Jonathan in the first leg which allowed them to get to a double first. They took advantage of this checking out the double for a 29 dart leg and a 1-0 lead. Again in the second leg Conor & Jonathan struggled to get their scoring going but with Dan & Seamy missing darts at a double, Conor stepped up and checked out 56 for a 29 darter as well. At 1-1 both teams started to find a bit of better for scoring six 90 plus scores between them but it was Dan who checked out the leg first for 24 darter. The fourth leg seen both teams score well but both teams struggled at the doubles missing 18 darts at a double between the four of them before Conor said enough is enough and pinged double 7 with his first dart for a 31 dart leg. In all honestly you could not have asked for more from both teams all night as they both have already came through highly competitive matches and last leg deciders but they had to do it once more for the final time tonight. After a nervy start both teams started to find their form. Dan steps on and hits a 60 to leave Seamy 104 before Jonathan stepped up to leave Conor a high finish of 167. Seamy stepped up, hit 20, treble 20, and double 12 right in the heart of the double for a 104 checkout, 24 darter and more importantly, to be crowned this year's Sara O'Reilly Pairs Champions! A massive congratulations to Dan Cahoon & Seamy Roberts and commiserations to Conor Teer & Jonathan McWilliams on falling just short after an excellent run in this year's Pairs competition!
I would just like to thank The Shamrock for hosting this year's pairs competition & also a massive thanks to all of our committee for an excellently ran competition! Our next prestige competition is the Billy Brooks Sr Individuals & Kate Lynch 701 Individuals to be held in L.W.M.C. in May 2023.