MICHAEL MANSELL defeated Stephen Byrne 6-4 to win the Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay Final.
Mansell's victory in the tournament, named in memory of the late PDC star from Ireland, sees his qualify for the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship in December, as well as succeed Aodhagan O'Neill as the event's champion.
The pair had won a spot on stage at the Citywest Hotel having battled through to the final in August, and showed few nerves in front of the Dublin crowd ahead of the Bodog.com World Grand Prix final.
Byrne, a baker from Wexford, made an ideal start, opening the match with a 180 which was followed by a 140 as he took the first leg.
Mansell levelled with an 11-darter as the pair traded 180s, before a missed double ten from Byrne allowed his opponent to hit the same bed to break for a 2-1 lead.
Byrne responded to take the next on double ten to lead 3-2, only for his Northern Irish opponent, a joiner from Clonoe in Tyrone, levelled on double top and hit the same bed for a 4-3 cushion.
A 68 finish then put him a leg away from the match, but he was denied a shot for victory after hitting a 180 to leave 20, with Byrne finishing 78 to pull back to 5-4.
Byrne also hit a third maximum in leg ten, but three ton-plus scores helped Mansell to be first to a finish before he eventually sealed the win on double one.
Match Stats
Mansell's victory in the tournament, named in memory of the late PDC star from Ireland, sees his qualify for the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship in December, as well as succeed Aodhagan O'Neill as the event's champion.
The pair had won a spot on stage at the Citywest Hotel having battled through to the final in August, and showed few nerves in front of the Dublin crowd ahead of the Bodog.com World Grand Prix final.
Byrne, a baker from Wexford, made an ideal start, opening the match with a 180 which was followed by a 140 as he took the first leg.
Mansell levelled with an 11-darter as the pair traded 180s, before a missed double ten from Byrne allowed his opponent to hit the same bed to break for a 2-1 lead.
Byrne responded to take the next on double ten to lead 3-2, only for his Northern Irish opponent, a joiner from Clonoe in Tyrone, levelled on double top and hit the same bed for a 4-3 cushion.
A 68 finish then put him a leg away from the match, but he was denied a shot for victory after hitting a 180 to leave 20, with Byrne finishing 78 to pull back to 5-4.
Byrne also hit a third maximum in leg ten, but three ton-plus scores helped Mansell to be first to a finish before he eventually sealed the win on double one.
Match Stats
|
Michael Mansell |
6-4 |
Stephen Byrne |
|
14 |
100+ |
13 |
|
8 |
140+ |
7 |
|
2 |
180 |
3 |
|
30.94 |
Ave1 |
29.43 |
|
92.83 |
Ave3 |
88.30 |
|
68 |
High Finish |
78 |
|
2 |
Legs Against Throw |
1 |