THEY went into the weekend as the number one ranked ladies and men's players in the country and now Katie Sheldon and Dale McCarthy have ended it by firmly cementing their spots at the top even more.
Both were INDO Irish Matchplay champions on Sunday, gaining the much coveted ranking points that has them well ahead at the top of the INDO tables.
Sheldon's latest trophy win, which she topped off with a brilliant 5-4 victory over Robyn Byrne in a captivating ladies final, means she's now won four of the opening six INDO ranking events.
That places her in a prime spot to maintain her place on the Irish team for 2026, with the WDF World Cup in South Korea already on the cars for her in September.
Katie has now mustered up 52 points already on the INDO ranking table, ten points ahead of her Dublin team-mate Robyn.
Kerry star McCarthy is not too far behind on that score, having made it to the last four ranking event finals on the trot in the men's section, winning two of them, including Sunday's Matchplay decider over Mayo's Ultan McDyer.
It means he now sits 14 points ahead of McDyer in the men's ranking table, with the likes of current Republic of Ireland captain, Stephen Rosney, who was a semi-finalist on Sunday, and Louth's Damien Grimes, a winner of the ranking event on Saturday, also making some strong moves.
It all makes for a very intriguing few months ahead with up to a dozen players at least in contention to make the top five in the men's ranking list.
Speaking after winning the INDO Irish Matchplay on Sunday, McCarthy said: "There were just 100 players here today and any one of them could have been the winner but thankfully they weren't and it was me.
"But it shows just how strong the competition is. Ultan played a great tournament and it was hard for him to lose in the final as I know what it's like to lose a few myself, but if you keep working hard then the rewards will come."
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