Photo: Mike Glover/UK Darts Magazine
with an average in excess of 104.
Simon Whitlock was unable to recapture the form that had seen him
take the 2012 Dutch Darts Masters title and could only average 89 as he
fell victim to an in form Brendan Dolan.
There were breaks of throw in the opening three legs of the match,
before Dolan finally held throw to take a 3-1 lead. Whitlock then hit
back, closing the gap to 3-2, before a 121 checkout allowed Dolan to
regain his two leg cushion.
Whitlock again closed the gap, thanks in part to a 171, before Dolan ran
away with the match, taking the final two legs to secure a 6-3 victory
Final
Kim Huybrechts had saved his best performance of the weekend for the
final and the Belgian ace landed a string of crucial 180s on his way to a
6-3 victory over Brendan Dolan.
The opening four legs of the encounter all went with throw, before
Dolan made the first breakthrough of the match by landing a break of
throw to move 3-2 up in the fifth leg.
The sixth leg saw both players miss double eighteen for 100+ checkouts,
but it was Huybrechts who returned to wrap up the leg and level the
match.
“I probably played
my best darts
in the final but
Kim thoroughly
deserved to win”
Brendan Dolan
Huybrechts then landed a maximum in each of the next three legs,
taking each of them in turn to secure the £20,000 first prize with a 6-3
victory.
“It’s been a great couple of weeks for me,” said Huybrechts, who
averaged 101 across six games in the tournament. “I’m loving it and
playing some fantastic darts.”
“I’ve put in a lot of hard work but really enjoyed myself and played
really good darts in the Championship League, Killarney and now this.”
“Before Killarney I only had one title, and now inside two weeks I’ve
got three, so I’m really happy.”
Huybrechts dedicated the title to the memory of his father, who had
passed away last December but remained in the 27-year-old’s thoughts
throughout Sunday’s final stages.
“It is very emotional for me,” he admitted. “I still have a couple of
text messages from my father on my phone, and I looked at them
before the final.”
“I probably played my best darts in the final but Kim thoroughly
deserved to win.”
“I’ve put in a lot
of hard work but
really enjoyed
myself and played
really good darts in
the Championship
League, Killarney
and now this”
“I’m happy to get this far and it’s a major achievement when you
Kim Huybrechts
“I’ll keep doing that for the next five years, ten years or 20 years
because he’s always going to be an inspiration for me.”
“Today I remembered what he said to me about being more confident,
and I was reading the text messages and saying that I’d be confident in
the final, whatever happened. It worked for me!”
Dolan admitted: “I’m not too disappointed to lose.”