Westmeath's Robbie McCarthy retained his All-Ireland 40x20 Senior Singles title on Saturday night but only after surviving a 21-20 third game in a dramatic senior final in Kingscourt, Co Cavan.
Approaching the closing stages of a two-hour slugfest, Armagh's Charly Shanks held a 20-15 lead and served for the match and a first senior title. However McCarthy, who won his first title in 2014, dug deep and found a way to scrape over the line.
“I can't believe I'm here myself with the cup,” said the relieved Mullingar man.
“While I'm absolutely delighted with the win, I do feel very sorry for Charly, he was so close and I hope he gets a senior All-Ireland because he deserves it.”
At 20-15 down, his plan was simple – keep battling.
“You just have to keep taking it one ace at a time, keeping going for my shots. I got a bit of luck but I knew if I just kept going, I'd have a chance,” he said.
Eleven years have passed since a senior singles final went down to the closest possible margin – when Cork's Tony Healy edged past Cavan's Paul Brady at O'Loughlin's, Kilkenny – but what made this epic all the more memorable was that McCarthy looked dead and buried.
McCarthy had dropped the first game 21-12 to the Lurgan man, who was fired up and controlling the exchanges from the service box, but bounced back to take game two 21-6, dominating front court and consistently ending rallies with trademark dump shots in both corners.
The exchanges were tight at the beginning of the deciding set but Shanks, 32, looked set to take his maiden senior 40x20 title when he raced into a 12-4 lead.
And while McCarthy rallied, the Lurgan right-hander pulled clear again to lead 18-13 and then 20-15, greeting his arrival at game-ball with a huge fist pump.
But McCarthy proved that he has ice in his veins. In a tense closing passage of play, he flattened the ball off the back wall on Shanks' first serve for the match and then held off a second game-ball to close the gap, before drawing level at 20-all when a soft paddle attempt in the front left fell agonisingly short.
The defending champion made the most of his chance when he found himself serving for the match, playing a perfect rally. And when Shanks forced the issue with a kill attempt from 30 feet, McCarthy pounced, dumping the ball dead-weight around the front corner for the winning point.
McCarthy will now captain Team Ireland at the World Handball Championships in Canada this August.
Meanwhile, Aisling Reilly of Antrim defeated Cork's Catriona Casey in the ladies final, with Mayo's Niall Joyce seeing off Sean Kerr from Tyrone in the minor decider.
