Today we saw our newly crowned singles champions defeat the pack as they clawed their way to the podium. CONGRATULATIONS to our Canadian National Singles Champions Cindy Pardy & Norm Tremblay both from Alberta!
It was the day that all the national competitors have been putting in time on the board for, dedicating themselves to various practice routines, and traveling the darting circuit to gain that critical competition experience & dedication required to become the Canadian National Singles Champion! There was a lot on the line today with plenty of upsets and many exciting moments.
The Ladies
Our ladies plowed through a tough crowd of competition as they worked their way from the round robins to the straight knock-out rounds. The first knock-out round contained a few upsets notably Kim Whaley-Hilts a well seasoned veteran with many titles under her belt, who attended this year as a ranked player. Whaley-Hilts went down 3-0 to Canada’s # 4 ranked lady Darlene MacLeod of Nova Scotia. A big win for MacLeod, who has been on a roll these past few years, as she made her way to the top 8 finalists. Debralee Roberts of Ontario and Carmel Pasher of Nova Scotia, also serious contenders who would both be at the top of the bookies lists, each took a seat in the top 32 round also.
The Semis
In the top 4 ladies, Krisan Mommersteeg of Ontario was the new kid on the block as she joined top ladies Robin Curry also of Ontario, Patricia Farrell of Newfoundland & Labrador, and Cindy Pardy of Alberta who all have singles championship titles notched in their belts. Pardy is the 3 time defending champion(consecutive 2009, 2010, 2011), Curry the 2008 Champ, and Farrell the 5 time champ and record holder (1987, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2002). Whew that’s a lot of prestigious titles held by these three ladies and Krisan is a gal to be on the lookout for as she has steadily climbed the ranks over the past few years and is biding her time to claim her first national title!
Curry VS Pardy
Semi 1 kicked off with these gals fighting for their place in the finals in a best of 5 legs - match. Missed darts at the double in leg 1 Pardy, leaves it wide open for Curry to come down and snatch the leg with a 68 finish in 20 darts. Then nerves seemed to set in at leg 2 as both gals had a hard time taking the win. Pardy finally settled down and checked out 16 to tie the match 1 all. Curry kicked off leg 3 like lightening and sat on 141 after 12 darts with Pardy back at 256. What looked like the opportunity to take the lead did not pan out for the Ontarian. Missed doubles from both side finally going in favour of Pardy on double 2.
This leg was ‘do or die’ for Curry as both gals turned up the pace. With the darts, Curry fires off 60, 41, 100, 60, 100 to leave herself on a makeable 80 finish to tie the match. Pardy has other ideas as she shoots 60, 97, 140, 60, 60 to leave 84. Sitting back at 80 Curry could only watch as Pardy checks out 84 on the bullseys (20, 14, 50 - red bull) to win the match and move into the finals championship round.
Mommersteeg VS Farrell
I could call this match the Rookie VS Veteran, with the 5 time champ stepping to the oche against the underdog and the tough competition of Mommersteeg. In a race to the first 3 legs to move on the finals leg 1 was a slow starter for both gals as Farrell wrapped it up 20 finish. Leg 2 didn’t go much better for these gals as both struggled to find their place on the board. Farrell finished off 70 in 20 darts with Mommersteeg back on 188.
After 15 darts Mommersteeg was sitting at 133 with Farrell just ahead at 18 in leg #3. Each gal had shots to win and it was Farrell who checked out 4 to win the match. Their stage games may not show it in this match but these two ladies played extremely well and took down some top players to make it this far. Congratulations to Krisan and Robin – joint 3rd!
The Finals
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Talk about pressure! Two top notch ladies both gunning for the win as one is fighting to defend her national title & make it for 4 in a row (Pardy) and the other looking to break the national record of 5 singles titles... a record that held by just 3 players (Farrell). There was a lot to fight for in this match!
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Patricia & Cindy |
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Pardy VS Farrell
The best of 7, Pardy takes leg 1 in 20 darts with Farrell who just shot an 11 to leave 47 waiting for her chance at the double. Leg 2 & Pardy is blazing as she fires off 85, 41, 140, 139, 56 to leave 40 while Farrell follows with 83, 47, 45, 41, 95, & 138 to catch herself up with 57 left. The Albertan checks it out on 20, double 10 for the second leg. A 48 finish in 18 darts and Pardy is looking more relaxed with a 3-0 lead. Struggling to get her darts going Farrell is back at 177 in the 4th leg as Pardy checks out 56 in 17 darts to win the match, the National Singles Title and her 4th straight championship singles win! Awesome darts ladies!
Ladies Singles Knock-Out Bracket
Men - Please check back.
Second - Wayne Pike - Newfoundland & Labrador
Joint 3rd - Bruce Davey - Ontario
Joint 3rd - Gord Mills - Ontario
Please check back for more details, pictures, & knock-out brackets