CHARLIE GIBB AND LOGAN CARSON ARE THE 2024 SCOTTISH PAIRS CHAMPIONS
Many congratulations to the Dumfries 1 team of Charlie Gibb and Logan Carson who clinched the 2024 Scottish Pairs title. They beat home side Stranraer 1 of Frazer Hare and Ian Kirkpatrick in the final.
Dumfries 1 were on form from the get-go and went through their group games in Section B unbeaten. The match-up between Dewars Centre 2 (Gary Rutherford, Finlay Rutherford) and Kinross 2 (Sam MacConnachie, Stewart Kyle) proved crucial in deciding the second team to progress to the play-offs. The Perth side took victory and eventually progressed as runners-up on six points with Kinross 2 in third.
It was a similar story in Section A for Stranraer 1 who sat on a perfect record at the end of the group stage. Dumfries 2 (Fraser Morton, Caroline Davidson) bagged the runner-up spot on a three in one record, beating Forfar 2 (Andy Ferguson, Ewan Mitchell) to the play-off spot.
Section C was a tighter affair with only a single point between the top two teams. Curl Edinburgh 1 (Graham Patrick, Nigel Patrick) started their campaign with two wins but then couldn’t exceed a draw. However, they bounced back with victory in their last draw to secure top of the table on seven points. Dewars Centre 1 (Arran Thomson, Lewis McCabe) bagged the other play-off spot, having won all of their games bar the one versus the Edinburgh side.
Over in Section D, Moray (Andy Cameron) were unbeatable and progressed to the play-offs as table toppers. In the fight for the second spot, it all came down to the final draw. Both Greenacres 2 (Wallace Gilbert, Wullie Smith) and Stranraer 2 (Murray McWilliam, John Agnew) sat on two in one and were set to face each other in a straight shoot-out. Greenacres 2 took the win and a place in the quarter-finals.
On to the first play-off stage and Dumfries 1 continued their excellent run with a 5-2 win over rink-compatriots Dumfries 2. Stranraer 1 lost a single steal in the first end to Dewars Centre 2 but quickly regrouped and stormed to a 4-1 success. Greenacres 2 had the superior second half over Curl Edinburgh to clinch a 5-2 win while Moray started brightly versus Dewars Centre 1 and brought it home for a 5-2 success.
The semi-finals were set between Moray versus Dumfries 1 and Stranraer 1 versus Greenacres 2. Moray had the slightly better start and were leading 1-0 at half time. However, Dumfries 1 came firing back with a two followed by a steal of the same number and when it became evident Moray wouldn’t be able to fabricate the score they needed, the conceded with stones to spare on 4-1. Next door, Stranraer 1 and Greenacres 2 traded singles and were level on points with two ends to go. Stranraer 1 added another single to their tally and followed it up with a steal to win 3-1.
Everything was set for an exciting final. After a blank opening end, Dumfries 1 were first on the board with a two. Another blank followed before Stranraer 1 were forced to a single in End 4 that cut the gap but kept the advantage with the Dumfries side. When Dumfries 1 went on to score three in End 5, the game was firmly in their corner and End 6 didn’t need to be completed for them to take a 5-1 win.
