10/18/2026
NYC Ryder Cup of Darts Final Day
Every two years, the darts community comes together for something bigger than the game. This year's finale at the Irish Rover in Astoria was a day of friendly rivalry, great food, raffles, and plenty of good craic, all in support of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and the heroes and families it serves. The darts were sharp, the banter was sharper.
**USA 85, Europe 68**
Team USA arrived on Saturday, October 17 with a 36-24 lead and left with the Cup. The closing session was played on two boards side by side: 93 legs and 4,836 darts. USA took 49 of those legs to Europe's 44.
**Board one: 24-24 draw, USA wins on sets 9-7**
Board one finished level at 24 legs apiece, with USA taking the set count by two. Europe's Garrett French and Sean Mitchell opened the scoring in the doubles with a 3-0 sweep of Colm Neilson and Nick Beach, and Darren McCann swept Spike Ceglio in singles. USA hit back when Danny Millerick shut out Leslie Harvey 3-0 and Carmen McGowen did the same to Kelly Caldwell. Mitchell threw the leg of the match, 501 in 16 darts at a 93.94 average, but Beach won the set 2-1 after an 88.41 leg of his own in 17 darts. The day ended the way it should: captain versus captain in the final set of singles, with USA captain Marie McHugh beating Europe captain Pat Long 2-1 by winning the first and third legs.
**Board two: USA 25, Europe 20, USA wins on sets 10-5**
USA took this one decisively. Europe won the throwing contest, 56.18 to 55.76 on three-dart average, but USA won more of the sets that mattered. The closest moment was a doubles leg where Mike McVey and Rich Ensmenger averaged 95.40 and were left on 24 when Europe finished first. McVey made up for it in the final set, beating Mitchell 2-1 with an 83.50 leg in 18 darts.
**Between the breaks**
Play paused several times over the day, and the breaks were as memorable as the darts. Firefighters from Tower Ladder 117 stopped by, and both teams gathered for a group photo in front of their truck. We also held a moment of silence for Larry "Doc" Watson, then listened together to his Irish ballad. It was a quiet, fitting tribute from the whole room.
**Player highlights: Team USA**
- **Bobby Polaski:** The day's best singles player. He swept both of his singles sets 3-0, against Terre Hughes and Mert Altinsoy.
- **Danny Millerick:** Went 2-0 on board one, winning the doubles with Angelo Anzano and then the 3-0 sweep of Harvey.
- **Matt Traub:** Won doubles with Lewis Carter on board one, then swept Billy Greek 3-0 on board two.
- **Carmen McGowen:** Three straight legs over Caldwell on board one.
- **Nick Beach:** Beat Mitchell 2-1 in singles with the 17-dart, 88.41 leg.
- **Mike McVey:** Closed out board two with the 2-1 win over Mitchell.
- **Marie McHugh:** Captained the team to victory and clinched the final set of board one over Pat Long.
**Player highlights: Team Europe**
- **Garrett French:** Europe's most consistent performer. He won a doubles set and swept Ensmenger 3-0 on board one, then won doubles again on board two.
- **Sean Mitchell:** The 16-dart, 93.94 leg of the match, plus two doubles set wins alongside French.
- **Darren McCann:** Perfect in singles with 3-0 sweeps of Ceglio and Jen Cocchi.
- **Dean O'Conner:** Swept Carmine Marino 3-0 on board two.
- **Jamie Donovan and Terre Hughes:** Won their doubles set over Polaski and Carter 3-0 on board two. Donovan also took a singles set from Paul Achenbach on board one.
- **Sarah Engstrom, Leslie Harvey and Mike Celio:** Each won a singles set 2-1, over McGowen, Pete McGowen and Alex Astromovich respectively.
- **Pat Long:** Led Europe as captain and took the final singles set against his USA counterpart all the way to a deciding leg.
**With gratitude**
A big thank you to Paul Burns for keeping this event going year after year. This tournament exists because of your dedication. Thank you Mcgowan Peter the master of meat, cooked all day long for everyone! Thank you to Pat Long for captaining Team Europe and to Marie McHugh for captaining Team USA. Thank you to every player, volunteer and supporter who made the day what it was.
**Thank you to our sponsors**
We could not do this without you. Thank you to The Irish Rover and Flannery's Bar, our hosts; Bear Steel; Tracy Feiertag; John McBride, Bunlin LLC; Dominick Castoro; Michael Staub, TEI Group; PCS Electrical; Aetos Capital; Aetos Alternatives Management; DPFL Darts Community; New York Dart League; Mark Bloom, G.S. Dunham, LLC; Marie McHugh; Damien Mckenna; Glenn Padgett; Long Patrick and Dominic Pagnozzi!
Thank you also to our raffle and auction donors: Vinny Norton, D'Angelo Sports, Blatt Billiards, McHale's Bar and Grill, Sappslic,Murphy’s bar, and The Butcherblock for a great basket.
**For charity**
Raffles and shirt sales added another $3,000+ to the charity total on top of the donations already raised. If you'd like to give, the campaign page will remain here:
https://dogood.t2t.org/campaign/nyc-ryder-cup-of-darts-2026/c831468
Full detail for each board is available at:
https://recap.dartconnect.com/matches/6ad3bf8dbd32629b2fbc1099
https://recap.dartconnect.com/matches/6ad3c02cbd32629b2fbc119f
