By Marcus Uhe
Snipers have done what many believed to be the impossible, overcoming the local powerhouse of darts in Just Social to claim a remarkable South West Gippsland Dart League championship for the summer season.
In a shock result, the Snipers claimed their first title since the 2022 Winter season, downing Just Social 8-5 at the Nar Nar Goon Hotel.
Just Social appeared all-conquering and set for back-to-back premierships, breezing through the home and away season with only one loss to finish on top of the ladder thanks to a healthy percentage.
But that loss, critically, came against the Snipers in round 10 in an 8-7 thriller, fuelling belief that history could repeat itself on the biggest stage.
Snipers were forced to go the long way to even reach the championship round, after losing to Warriors in the first week of the finals.
By contrast, Just Social had the benefit of a week of rest in the opening week of finals, before thrashing Warriors in the second week to qualify directly through to the decider.
But that didn’t deter Snipers’ confidence, rather spurning them on to overcome all the odds.
The two sides are no strangers to one-another, having faced-off in two grand finals last season, splitting the results for one win apiece.
Just Social won the Summer competition grand final 8-5, before Snipers turned the tables in the Winter edition, after Just Social once again finished at the top of the table.
In the Don Brown Memorial Shield, 26ers did what Just Social could not, making it back-to-back championships with an 8-5 defeat of Rebels.
It’s three consecutive losses in the battle for the shield for the Rebels, who lost to the Middels Wizards in late 2022 and 26ers in July.
