Having both lost three previous finals on the WDF circuit, it was fourth time lucky for Antony Allen and Monique Lessmeister in Samorin as they won the WDF Slovak Masters.
Shaggy squeezes out Pres to win maiden WDF title
Antony Allen’s first WDF final appearance came in Hungary in October 2021 and since then ‘Shaggy’ has finished as runner-up in tournaments in Sweden and Wales.
In Slovakia, he finally made it into the winners’ circle as he defeated Hungary’s Nandor Pres, who was competing in his first WDF final, 5-2 to claim the Slovak Masters title.
Allen had exited the previous day’s Slovak Open early but he was focused in the Masters, breezing through the early rounds before beating compatriot Bradley Kirk 4-2 in the Last 16.
Twice a Lakeside qualifier, Allen then repeated that scoreline in the next rounds as he beat Tomas Houdek and former WDF No.1 Brian Raman to book his title decider with Pres.
Pres, nicknamed ‘Squeeze’ was a really surprise package in the Bronze-ranked Masters, beating Matthew Edgar in the Last 16 before coming through games with Janis Kupsis and Andreas Kumpan to make the final.
Defending champion Benjamin Pratnemer, who’d won the previous day’s Slovak Open, saw his bid for a weekend double end in the Last 16 in a last-leg decider against Raman.
Slovak Masters | Men’s Quarter-Finals
Brian Raman 4-1 Gyorgy Jehirszki
Antony Allen 4-2 Tomas Houdek
Andreas Kumpan 4-2 Martyn Turner
Nandor Pres 4-0 Janis Kupsis
Semi-Finals
Allen 4-2 Raman
Pres 4-3 Kumpan
Final
Allen 5-2 Pres
Lessmeister finally gets her crown in Women’s Slovak Masters
Like Allen, Monique Lessmeister had suffered three previous WDF final defeats but hers were more condensed, all coming during the 2023 season.
It was fourth time lucky for her in the Women’s Masters and there wasn’t ultimately much drama in the final as she comfortably defeated home favourite Martina Sulovska 5-1.
Lessmeister’s toughest test, after beating England’s Paige Pauling 4-2 in the quarter-finals, came in the last four as she was taken to a last-leg decider by Wales international Eve Watson.
For Sulovska, it was a second final defeat of the weekend but her run in the Masters, which included wins over Greta Tekauer and Anca Zijlstra, cemented her status as a talent to watch in the Eastern Europe region.
Slovak Masters | Women’s Quarter-Finals
Anca Zijlstra 4-1 Margaret Sutton
Martina Sulovska 4-2 Greta Tekauer
Monique Lessmeister 4-2 Paige Pauling
Eve Watson 4-1 Kirsi Viinikainen
Semi-Finals
Sulovska 4-2 Zijlstra
Lessmeister 4-3 Watson
Final
Lessmeister 5-1 Sulovska
Pauling and Rejhon take Youth Masters titles
Paige Pauling successfully retained her title in the Girls Slovak Masters, taking her weekend tally to three across the senior and youth competitions.
In the Masters final, the 15-year-old beat Slovakia’s own Bibiana Bugyiova 4-1.
The Boys Masters went the way of the Czech Republic and their 18-year-old standout Matyas Rejhon. Having lost in the Boys Slovak Open final the day before, Rejhon claimed his second Slovak Masters title with a 4-2 win over Hungarian prospect Balazs Szotak.
Photos: Slovak Steel Darts
