World final honour for referee Antony
Officiated as friends battled out showpiece
A Rutherglen darts referee had the honour of officiating the BDO (British Darts Organisation) world final which was contested by two of his close friends.
Antony ‘The Pup’ Dundas, 31, admitted either player would have been a worthy winner on January 14 as his BDO circuit partner Mark McGeeney was narrowly beaten by two-time world champion Glen Durrant.
Durrant, 47, from Middlesbrough, survived two match darts to edge the pulsating match 7-6 at the Lakeside.
After blowing a 6-4 lead, and trailing 2-0 in the decider, Durrant produced a magical 149 checkout which put him within a leg of victory.
And although he missed his first three darts to retain his crown, Durrant eventually took out double three to become the fourth person ever to retain his title.
Antony, who officiated the first half of the final, the third of his career, was then handed a special piece of memorabilia to mark the occasion.
He said: “Glen gifted myself and Nick Rolls, who refereed the second half of the final, with two of his match-worn shirts. One from the final and one from the semi-final.
“I’m definitely going to be keeping it. I’ve got a collection of shirts, darts, passes and other darting memories that I’ve collected including the trophies I’ve won.
“I always did suspect it would take a superstar performance to beat Mark.
“Obviously Mark has missed the two darts himself but Glen has pulled it back and got his second successive world championship.
“I know them both well and Mark is my doubles partner on the circuit. But with the rules of the referee, you have to be impartial.”
Along with the grand final, Antony took charge of Durrant’s first round victory over Gary Robson and also his quarter-final.
He then refereed the second round tie between McGeeney and Danny Noppert of the Netherlands and Trina Gulliver’s last eight triumph in the women’s competition.
And 24 hours before the main event, the Castlemilk Road resident, who also plays in the Old Oak Inn, Cambuslang, was the man in the middle for the women’s final as Lisa Ashton defeated Russia’s Anastasia Dobromyslova.
“It was an absolute brilliant experience once again,” Antony continued.
“The standard had improved and was extra good to watch this year.
“It did take a while for it to get going after the first couple of games but once it did, there was some great darts on show.”
I always did suspect it would take a superstar performance to beat Mark