2024 Lakeside World Championship – Finals Day

On a fabulous finals day, Ireland’s Shane McGuirk ended former ADO #1 Paul Lim’s fairytale, with an impressive 6-3 defeat of the Singaporean.

In a nervy first set, Lim missed four darts to take it 3-1, and the Irishman won the decider. McGuirk won the first two legs of the second before the former Pacific Cup Singles Champ struck back in style with a brilliant checkfrom 132 (SB, T19, DB) for a swift 12-darter. He then tied the set befor his opponent stuck in a 12 of his own to go 2-0 ahead.

At this point, McGuirk hadn’t dropped a set all week. That didn’t look like changing any time soon as Lim only found one double in the next two sets to drop four behind. The next five legs all went with the darts which meant Shane had finally lost a set! Highlight here, of course, was a beautiful 144 checkout from the 70-year-old in leg three. 4-1 soon became 5-1, and the man from Castleblayney was nearing the finish line.

Anxiety started to creep into McGuirk’s play, and a five-leg seventh set saw Lim make it 5-2. A four-leg eighth set saw Lim make it 5-3! It couldn’t happen, could it? Actually, it couldn’t – and didn’t. Returning from the commercial break, McGuirk’s composure returned, and he wrapped up the match, and Ireland’s first-ever World title, in straight legs. What had threatened to turn into a massive anti-climax instead provided a great evening’s entertainment.

Not that we had been short on entertainment earlier…

The day started with the Girls’ final, and top-seeded Paige Pauling saw off a brave effort from #2 seed Sohie McKinlay in a high-quality encounter. This was followed by the Boys’ final, and #1 seed Jenson Walker was a pretty hot favorite to lift the trophy. Things appeared to be going to plan as he took the first set 3-1.

Walker’s 15-year-old opponent, Archie Self, had other ideas, and levelled the scores by taking the second set in four legs. With the aid of a nice finish from 108, Self then went 2-1 up. A quick 12-darter from Walker, complete with a 137 check (T19, T16, D16) kicked off Set 4, and then won the set with another big finish (131).

Thi seemed to spur on Self, and the lad from just up the road in Berkshire held his throw in the first leg, and took the second with a nice 103. Throwing for the match, he opened with 96, 140, 133, and despite some nerves creeping in at the end, was able to claim a famous victory.

On to the women – albeit young women. Yes, in what was the youngest senior final in darts history (a 20-year-old taking on an 18-year-old), we were watching twice World Champ Beau Greaves taking on Sophie McKinlay, who only an hour earlier was beaten in the Girls’ final.

McKinlay was quite frank; she didn’t want to get skunked, and I’m sure that many people thought that was the most likely outcome. After all, a World Champ against a youth, and like Shane McGuirk, Greaves had yet to drop a set in the Championship.

Greaves duly won the opening leg, but that didn’t affect young Sophie, who picked up the next two. The Scot came so close to winning the set next leg, wiring a 154 out – which Greaves punished. Next leg, the 18-year-old left 20, but Greaves too was looking at 20. This time however, it was a “no” for Beau, and McKinlay was a set to the good.

McKinlay then wired an attempt at 160 to start the second. Here, she didn’t get another shot at it, and Greaves pocketed the next six legs. First leg of the fourth, Sophie wired a 150 out! She was able to clean it up, though. Unfortunately, this still wasn’t enough, and the Lancastrian won six of the next seven legs to claim a hat-trick of World Championships. Still, as a youth player, Sophie McKinlay looks like she could be shaping up to be Beau Greaves’ biggest threat.

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