SOPHIE JACKSON AND DUNCAN MCFADZEAN ARE THE 2024 SCOTTISH MIXED DOUBLES CHAMPIONS
Many congratulations to Sophie Jackson and Duncan McFadzean who clinched the 2024 Scottish Mixed Doubles title. They beat Lisa Davie and Mark Watt in an exciting final.
| A draw by draw breakdown of the championship, including winners interviews, is available here. |
Playing in Section B, Jackson/McFadzean were off to a tricky start, missing out to Amy MacDonald and Blair Haswell in their opening fixture. They bounced back in style though to collect five wins in their next six games, the one defeat coming at the hands of Rebecca Morrison and Kyle Waddell.
Competition was incredibly tight with five teams in play-off contention going into the final draw. While Morrison/Waddell were safe at the top of the standings and through to the semi-finals, no less than three teams concluded Section B on an equal five in two record in the fight for runner-up and the play-offs. Having all beaten each other, the decision went to DSA and ranked Jackson/McFadzean as second in the table with Fay Henderson and Euan Kyle securing the last quarter-final spot in third. MacDonald/Haswell in fourth missed out on an inferior DSC.
Over in Section A, Gina Aitken and Grant Hardie were in splendid form from the get-go, beating defending champions Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat in their first game. Only a defeat, coming to Sophie Sinclair and Ross Whyte, blemished their record at the end of the round robin. While Davie/Watt also concluded proceedings on five in one, head-to-head decided the ranking in Aitken/Hardie’s favour and gave them a direct ticket to the semi-final.
Sinclair/Whyte were unchallenged for third and with that a quarter-final spot on a four in two record.
The quarter-final between Jackson/McFadzean and Sinclair/Whyte went back and forth with nothing separating the sides with one end to go. Coming down with hammer, Jackson/McFadzean scored two for a 10-8 win and a spot in the semi-finals.
Next door, Davie/Watt were off to a flyer and led by five points after three ends. Henderson/Kyle did fight back but couldn’t quite cut their deficit down significantly enough. Eventually, they offered handshakes with stones to spare, 7-5 the final scoreline.
On to the semi-finals where Jackson/McFadzean had the brighter start versus Aitken/Hardie. While Aitken/Hardie didn’t let their opponents run away with it, they also didn’t manage to catch them and when Jackson/McFadzean scored three in End 7, handshakes were exchanged on 8-3.
In the other semi-final, Davie/Watt were in cruise control at half time already, leading Morrison/Waddell 6-1. That trend continued at the restart and when it became evident that Morrison/Waddell would not turn the game around, they conceded on 8-3.
Thus, everything was set for an exciting final between Jackson/McFadzean and Davie/Watt. The sides traded singles to start with before Davie/Watt took a slight advantage with a single steal in End 3. However, a massive five points in End 4 gave Jackson/McFadzean the lead and the momentum. They went on to steal in the next two ends to increase the gap to seven points with two ends to go. A single for Davie/Watt in End 7 did little to cut their deficit and they opted to concede, 9-3 the final scoreline.
