BRENDAN DOLAN DESCRIBED it as “absolutely brilliant” to see off Mervyn King to reach the PDC World Championship last 16 for the first time, and has vowed to continue to take the sport more seriously after his success at the tournament this far.
Fermanagh man Dolan fended off a comeback from King to emerge as a 4-2 winner in the round of 32, notching five ton-plus checkouts and maintaining a three-dart average of 95.
The 45-year-old will now square off with either 30th seed Benito van de Pas or the unseeded Toni Alcinas having landed on the favourable side of the draw.
DOLAN WINS | The History Maker knocks out Merv King 4-2.
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 23, 2018
How far can Brendan go this year...?#WHDarts pic.twitter.com/XIj9oHmNEm
“It feels amazing to come out on top of that one.”
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 23, 2018
Brendan Dolan reacts to his 4-2 victory over Mervyn King... pic.twitter.com/hld0hxZcUs
“It’s absolutely brilliant to come out on top,” said Dolan post-match. “I’m into the last 16 of the World Championship which I have never done before. That’s a feat I wanted to do.
“Obviously, now that I’m in the last 16, I want to get to the last eight! But it’s a tremendous feeling at the minute, and to beat someone of Mervyn King’s calibre… I have a good record against Mervyn generally, but on TV he has beaten me, so this is great.”
Dolan admitted he may be reaping the rewards from only beginning to truly put in the effort with his game over the “last six or seven months”, and said he wouldn’t be getting ahead of himself as he enters the next round.
“I have a last-16 game to play, I’m not sure who I’m going to play against, but it’s about getting focused, putting in the effort; keep putting in the effort — it doesn’t matter what I do here, I have to keep going back to the practice board which I’ve never done before,” he said.
“And I think in the long run, I’m going to come good again.”
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