Walshie Wins Gleneagle Irish Masters
MARK
WALSH defeated Vincent van der Voort 6-5 in the final of Saturday's
non-ranked Gleneagle Irish Masters at the INEC in Killarney.
Walsh picked up his first tournament victory since September 2005 with a superb comeback against the Dutchman, after finding himself 5-3 down in the final.
Van der Voort included finishes of 161 and 118 in pulling two legs clear, only to pay for two missed darts for the win in the ninth leg, as Walsh stepped in to land double eight and remain in the game.
He then took out 116 with van der Voort sat on 40 to send the game into a decider, and returned to the oche after his opponent missed double 13 for a 106 finish to land double ten and take the 5,000 euro first prize.
The tournament saw over 300 players competing as the Killarney Darts Festival continued, with Joe Byrne the best-performing Irish player as he reached the last 16.
Adrian Gray's love affair with Ireland continued as he reached the quarter-finals, a month after his run to the last eight at the SkyBet World Grand Prix.
Denis Ovens, Andy Hamilton and Tony Eccles also made the quarters, while Ray Farrell represented Northern Ireland in the last 16.
Kevin Painter followed up his run to the semi-finals of last weekend's PartyPoker.net German Darts Trophy by reaching the last four in this event, only to be defeated 5-1 by an on-song van der Voort, with the Dutchman hitting three 180s and taking four straight legs to win their clash.
His compatriot Jelle Klaasen went down 5-4 to Walsh in the other encounter, with the Englishman coming from 3-2 down to take the decider with a superb 12-darter.
The players will return on Sunday to compete in the John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic, a Players Championship tournament offering a £20,000 prize fund - as well as a Harley Davidson Motorbike for a nine-darter in the quarter-finals onwards.
Walsh picked up his first tournament victory since September 2005 with a superb comeback against the Dutchman, after finding himself 5-3 down in the final.
Van der Voort included finishes of 161 and 118 in pulling two legs clear, only to pay for two missed darts for the win in the ninth leg, as Walsh stepped in to land double eight and remain in the game.
He then took out 116 with van der Voort sat on 40 to send the game into a decider, and returned to the oche after his opponent missed double 13 for a 106 finish to land double ten and take the 5,000 euro first prize.
The tournament saw over 300 players competing as the Killarney Darts Festival continued, with Joe Byrne the best-performing Irish player as he reached the last 16.
Adrian Gray's love affair with Ireland continued as he reached the quarter-finals, a month after his run to the last eight at the SkyBet World Grand Prix.
Denis Ovens, Andy Hamilton and Tony Eccles also made the quarters, while Ray Farrell represented Northern Ireland in the last 16.
Kevin Painter followed up his run to the semi-finals of last weekend's PartyPoker.net German Darts Trophy by reaching the last four in this event, only to be defeated 5-1 by an on-song van der Voort, with the Dutchman hitting three 180s and taking four straight legs to win their clash.
His compatriot Jelle Klaasen went down 5-4 to Walsh in the other encounter, with the Englishman coming from 3-2 down to take the decider with a superb 12-darter.
The players will return on Sunday to compete in the John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic, a Players Championship tournament offering a £20,000 prize fund - as well as a Harley Davidson Motorbike for a nine-darter in the quarter-finals onwards.
