McBrearty Becomes Local Hero
UNKNOWN Felix McBrearty became a local hero by taking victory in the Ireland Open Classic Players Championship with a 3-1 defeat of Chris Mason at the Dromore Leisure Complex.
McBrearty, who hails from Dromore, came through a qualifier just to win a place in the £20,000 PDC Pro Tour event, but swept through the field to claim the £5,000 first prize.
He overcame Tony Ayres, Kevin McDine, Colin Osborne and Michael van Gerwen to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament, before defeating Andy Hamilton 3-2.
He then defeated Colin Lloyd in straight sets, with all three sets ending 2-1, before meeting Mason in the decider.
Mason took the first set without reply, before the three-time Co Tyrone champion took six successive legs to sweep to the title.
Mason ended as runner-up in a Players Championship event for the third time this year, and included in-form Alan Tabern, Alex Roy and Mark Walsh among his victims in the tournament.
Lloyd won through to his first PDC Pro Tour semi-final since April^s Antwerp Darts Trophy with wins over Nigel Peden, Owen Caffrey, Mick McGowan and Robert Thornton.
Mark Walsh reached his second semi-final of the year to take a further step towards winning one of the qualification places in next month^s Sky Poker World Grand Prix.
The event saw qualifier Aodhean O^Neill overcome Roland Scholten and Colin Monk to reach the last 16, while Kevin Painter was a first round victim of Ireland^s Jacko Barry^s.
Ireland Open Classic Players Championship
Preliminary Round
Dave Honey 3-1 Campbell Jackson
Roy Baillie 3-1 Paul Mein
Jamie Caven 3-0 Sean McMurray
Andy Howarth 3-0 Steve Cusick
Paul Dillon 3-1 James Deery
Martyn Turner 3-0 Justin McGuigan
Shane Lennon 3-0 Mark Summerville
Andrew Davies 3-1 Daryl Gurney
Felix McBrearty 3-2 Tony Ayres
Ian Jopling 3-0 JR Docherty
John Quantock 3-2 Brian Cathcart
Gary
Welding 3-0 Brendan DolanOwen Caffrey 3-2 Dave Ladley
Peter Wright 3-0 Ian Branks
First Round
Denis Ovens 3-0 Declan Cunningham
Chris Thompson 3-0 Eamonn McGovern
Mark Walsh 3-1 Alan Caves
Dave Honey 3-2 Adrian Gray
Jacko Barry 3-2 Kevin Painter
Tony Eccles 3-0 Roy Baillie
Mervyn King 3-0 Jon Archer
Matt Clark 3-0 Jamie Caven
Alan Tabern 3-1 Ben Burton
Steve Maish 3-1 Andy Howarth
Chris Mason 3-0 Geoff Wylie
Wes Newton 3-0 Paul Dillon
Aodhean O^Neill 3-1 Roland Scholten
Colin Monk 3-2 Martyn Turner
Co Stompe 3-0 Andy Jenkins
Alex Roy 3-0 Shane Lennon
Andy Hamilton 3-1 Ray Farrell
Steve Brown 3-2 Martin Burchell
Andy Smith 3-0 Francis Mellor
Wayne Jones 3-0 Andrew Davies
Colin Osborne 3-0 Brendan Scullion
Felix McBrearty 3-1 Kevin McDine
Mark Dudbridge 3-1 Darren Johnson
Michael van Gerwen 3-1 Ian Jopling
Ronnie Baxter 3-0 Ricky Dunlop
John Quantock Bye (Alan Warriner-Little)
Robert Thornton 3-1 Vincent van der Voort
Gary
Welding 3-2 Steve BeatonColin Lloyd 3-0 Nigel Peden
Owen Caffrey 3-2 Lionel Sams
Barrie B
ates 3-0 Robert Watson-LangMick McGowan 3-0 Peter Wright
Losers £75
Second Round
Denis Ovens 3-2 Chris Thompson
Mark Walsh 3-2 Dave Honey
Tony Eccles 3-2 Jacko Barry
Mervyn King 3-2 Matt Clark
Alan Tabern 3-0 Steve Maish
Chris Mason 3-2 Wes Newton
Aodhean O^Neill 3-1 Colin Monk
Alex Roy 3-0 Co Stompe
Andy Hamilton 3-1 Steve Brown
Wayne Jones 3-1 Andy Smith
Felix McBrearty 3-2 Colin Osborne
Michael van Gerwen 3-2 Mark Dudbridge
Ronnie Baxter 3-1 John Quantock
Robert Thornton 3-1 Gary Welding
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Owen Caffrey
Mick McGowan 3-0 Barrie Bates
Losers £150
Third Round
Mark Walsh 3-1 Denis Ovens
Mervyn King 3-1 Tony Eccles
Chris Mason 3-2 Alan Tabern
Alex Roy 3-1 Aodhean O^Neill
Andy Hamilton 3-2 Wayne Jones
Felix McBrearty 3-2 Michael van Gerwen
Robert Thornton 3-1 Ronnie Baxter
Colin Lloyd 3-2 Mick McGowan
Losers £300
Quarter-Finals
Mark Walsh 3-0 Mervyn King
Chris Mason 3-1 Alex Roy
Felix McBrearty 3-2 Andy Hamilton
Colin Lloyd 3-2 Robert Thornton
Losers £600
Semi-Finals
Chris Mason 3-2 Mark Walsh (2-1, 1-2, 0-2, 2-0, 2-0)
Felix McBrearty 3-0 Colin Lloyd (2-1, 2-1, 2-1)
Losers £1,250
Final
Felix McBrearty 3-1 Chris Mason (0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0)
Winner £5,000
Runner-Up £2,500
News Updates
Preliminary Round
Andy Howarth overcomes Steve Cusick, a quarter-finalist in the Kitchener Open Players Championship last month, 3-0.
Andrew Davies defeats qualifier Daryl Gurney 3-1, the second time in a week the youngster has lost to a Welshman, after losing to Mark Webster in the Europpe Cup final.
Gary Welding opens up with a 3-0 win over Northern Ireland^s Brendan Dolan.
Ian Jopling^s win over JR Docherty sets up last 64 meeting with Michael van Gerwen.
First Round
Local qualifier Aodhean O^Neill defeats Roland Scholten 3-1.
Wins for Denis Ovens and Chris Thompson over qualifiers Declan Cunningham and Eamon McGovern mean they will meet in the last 32.
Mervyn King begins his challenge for a second Pro Tour win of the year with a 3-0 win over Jon Archer.
Andy Hamilton defeats Northern Ireland^s Ray Farrell 3-1, with Mark Dudbridge winning by the same scoreline against Darren Johnson.
Mark Walsh sees off Alan Caves 3-1 to move into last 32.
Ireland
^s Jacko Barry defeats number eight seed Kevin Painter 3-2 to progress.Matt Clark^s straight sets win over Jamie Caven earns him clash with King.
Chris Mason defeats Northern Irishman Geoff Wylie 3-0, while in-form Alan Tabern is 3-1 winner over Ben Burton.
Holland
^s Co Stompe defeats Andy Jenkins in straight sets, and meets Alex Roy in the last 32.Steve Brown^s narrow win over Martin Burchell earns him a clash with Hamilton.
Colin Osborne, Andy Smith and Ronnie Baxter reach last 32 with 3-0 wins.
Robert Thornton produces some finishing of the highest order to see off Vincent van der Voort 3-1 - taking out finishes of 164, 161, 158 and 154 when the Dutchman was sat on a double.
Colin Lloyd defeats Nigel Peden 3-0, while Barrie Bates moves into second round with straight sets win over Robert Watson-Lang.
Dave Honey edges past Adrian Gray 3-2.
Qualifier Felix McBrearty defeats Kevin McDine 3-1.
Gary Welding is 3-2 winner over Steve Beaton, while Ireland^s Owen Caffrey defeats Lionel Sams in five sets.
Second Round
Denis Ovens defeats Chris Thompson in five sets to reach last 16.
Ireland
^s Mick McGowan wins 3-0 against Barrie Bates.Michael van Gerwen edges out Mark Dudbridge in five sets.
Ronnie Baxter and Robert Thornton set up third round meeting with 3-1 wins over John Quantock and Gary Welding respectively.
Andy Hamilton overcomes Steve Brown 3-1.
Mark Walsh edges past Dave Honey 3-2, with Chris Mason seeing off Wes Newton by the same scoreline.
Aodhean O^Neill reaches last 16 with 3-1 win over Colin Monk.
Qualifier Felix McBrearty continues his run with a 3-2 defeat of Colin Osborne.
Alex Roy sees off Co Stompe in straight sets.
Wayne Jones sets up meeting with Hamilton thanks to 3-1 win over Andy Smith.
Colin Lloyd defeats Owen Caffrey 3-0 to set up clash with another Irishman, Mick McGowan.
Third Round
Robert Thornton is first man into quarter-finals, following 3-1 win over Ronnie Baxter.
Colin Lloyd defeats Mick McGowan in a deciding set, and now meets Thornton in the last eight.
Felix McBrearty wins through to quarter-finals with 3-2 win over Michael van Gerwen.
Andy Hamilton will meet McBrearty for a place in the semis following his five-set win over Wayne Jones.
Alex Roy ends Aodhean O^Neill^s challenge with a 3-2 win.
Chris Mason defeats recent Peachtree Open Players Championship winner Alan Tabern in five sets.
Mervyn King reaches a second successive PDC Pro Tour quarter-final with 3-1 win over Tony Eccles.
Mark Walsh will meet King in the quarter-finals with 3-1 defeat of Denis Ovens.
Quarter-Finals
Mark Walsh defeats Mervyn King in straight sets.
Colin Lloyd edges out Robert Thornton 3-2.
Felix McBrearty takes another big name with a narrow win over Andy Hamilton.
Chris Mason sets up semi-final with Walsh thanks to 3-1 defeat of Alex Roy.
Semi-Finals
Felix McBrearty, the current Co Tyrone champion and a local Dromore star, defeats Colin Lloyd in straight sets to reach the final.
He took all three sets 2-1, and included a pair of 11-darters in his success.
Chris Mason comes from 2-1 down to defeat Mark Walsh in five sets to reach his third Players Championship final of the year - taking the final four legs without reply.