Dundalk darts | Stephen Shields wins the Paddy Dixon Cup
Great darts thrown in the final night of the Summer Series of Darts
The last night for the Dundalk Summer Series of Darts in the Northend Bar served up some unbelievable darts. With the Paddy Dixon Cup available to the winner, expectations were high for a lot of the last 16 Finalists to win it.
Conor Taaffe made the draw on behalf of the Dixon family. With it being a seeded draw, there was always going to be some big names exiting the competition in the earlier rounds.
The first saw Marty Dixon grind out a hard-fought win against Graham Unwin. Stephen Shields came from one down to beat Paddy Gibney 4-1. John Rafferty came from two down to beat Conor Dunn 4-2.
Michael Gillick beat David Gonnelly, while there were wins for Martin Carvill over Daniel Dunn, Conor McArdle over Conor Carroll, Alan Dullaghan beat Ray Harte, and Simon Wykes beat Ciaran Treanor to complete the first round games.
The last eight saw wins for Alan Dullaghan over Martin Carvill, Stephen Sheilds beat John Rafferty, Conor McArdle beat Simon Wykes, and Michael Gillick beat Marty Dixon.
The semi-finals saw a great battle between Conor McArdle and Alan Dullaghan. Alan went through to the final with a 5-4 win.
In the other semifinal, Stephen Shields had a 5-0 win over Michael Gillick. The final was a classic match, best of 11, and it sure didn't lack quality.
The board was battered with countless 100+ score and also the odd 180 for good measure. Both players traded wins in the first few games, neither player was going to be given a chance to build up too much of an advantage.
A great crowd gathered around to watch the final, and Stephen Shields would eventually hit double five to secure a 6-4 win amid wild celebrations from those supporting him in the final.
The Paddy Dixon Cup, sponsored by Paddy's great friend Dermot Ralph, was presented by Mary and Sean Dixon. A big thanks to all our sponsors who have made the Summer Series of Darts possible.