Monaghan's Shane McGuirk has won the Lakeside World Darts Championship, beating Paul Lim 6-3 in the final on Sunday evening.
McGuirk was unseeded coming into the WDF tournament at Frimley Green in Surrey but didn’t drop a set through five rounds until the decider against the legendary Lim, who in 1990 became the first player to throw a nine-dart finish at the World Championships.
The 29-year-old, known as The Arrow, quickly established a four-set lead but was made to endure a nervy finish as the 70-year-old from Singapore fought his way back to 5-3.
However, McGuirk held his nerve to win the ninth set 3-0 and claim the title and a cheque for £50,000.
He answered Ireland's call 🇮🇪
— WDF Darts (@DartsWDF) December 8, 2024
Shane McGuirk mastered the Paul Lim challenge at Lakeside, winning 6-3 to become Ireland's first senior darts world champion 🎯
🎥: @BLAZETVUK pic.twitter.com/UsmYk95oIg
"I can't believe what's just after happening," McGuirk, who hit nine maximums and averaged 90.31, told Blaze TV after becoming the first Republic of Ireland player to win the men's championship.
"I just kept thinking to myself, 'you have the lead, you have the start you needed, just keep going and eventually it will come'. Lucky enough it did come for me at the end.
"I knew after the [last] break, just come out swinging and try to get this over and done with.
"The first set was very nervy for both of us and I got away with it.
"After that, I settled, I cruised a wee bit and then he started fighting back and I was like, 'come on, let's get this done'.
"I can’t believe it. I’m world champion."
Meanwhile, women's world number one Beau Greaves claimed her third title in a row, beating Sophie McKinlay 4-1 in the final.
Follow the RTÉ Sport WhatsApp channel for the best news, interviews, analysis and features, as well as details of our sports coverage across all RTÉ platforms.
