EAMONS Piano Bar tournament 2014

Dessiemc27

Starts tonight ( Monday 20th January 2014)

The best pub darts competition in In the land kicks off tonight In EAMONS piano bar in Blacklion , CO. Cavan . Defending champion is Mickey Mansell. Eight weeks of qualifiers every Monday now until March 10th. Grand final is on Monday 24th march .

€ 10 to enter per night.

Winner on grand final night €1,000
Runner up €500
Semi final €250
Quarter final €125

Come and join in the Craic. For darters of all abilities. Where the season darter / international and the pub dark horse player stand shoulder to shoulder.

Dessiemc27

Week 1 Paul Boyle wins qualifier 1

29 players took part in week One. Down on recent season but with a few clashes with other tournaments going on the quality on show wasn't diminished. In the earlier rounds Brendan Dolan took on Sean McGowan in an early clash of pre tournaments favourites. Dolan progressed but his night would end before the final. A newcomer emerged in the shape of Steven Gannon from Carrick on Shannon. He faced off against Paul Boyle of Sligo in the first final of the 2014 series . Boyle claimed his place in the final with some very heavy scoring . Especially in leg two where he hit back to back 180's going out in 12 darts.

With week two only hours away the home challenge for a final spot is headed by Ireland's no 1 , Dolan . With Eamon McGovern , and Ritchie Reid also in the mix . No doubt Sean McGowan will also be in the mix on final night and if he avoids a tough earlier round like week one his experience could well make him the man to beat on the night .

Dessiemc27

So week two is on its way and Paul Boyle has made the final . The Sligo thrower hit 7 180s on the night . A very decent return . Back to back maximums in the final also looks good on his CV. This is the standard that people have to expect in the tournament , with numbers very likely to increase from tonight onwards.

Dessiemc27

WEEK 2 - SEAN McGOWAN REACHES FINAL NIGHT


Week two saw 32 entrants . Numbers still down on previous years but with 6 weeks remaining still a lot of darts to be played yet. One of the pre tournament favourites, Sean McGowan reached the Semi finals where he would face Tyrone thrower , Colin Maxwell. In the other Semi Final , Brendan Dolan faced off against Campbell Jackson. McGowan reached the decider with a 3-1 victory , whilst Brendan reached his first Final of the Tournament without loosing a leg.

The decider however would require all five legs to be played. Sean who had an unlucky run of final defeats in last years qualifiers would avenge last weeks exit at the hands of Dolan . With finishes of 115 and 81 to help him along the way he qualified for the final night after a cracking final match here with everyone staying put to enjoy it . The win means he will join fellow yeats county thrower Paul Boyle in the Grand Final.

Week 3 coming up and the usual suspects are showing the form. Campbell Jackson who gained a PDC tour card last year looks to be in good form and he could well be the man to beat in week 3, and keep up this reporters tipping stats !

Firewalkwithme

Thanks for these reports Dessie, it's interesting to follow this since I can't make the trip up to Cavan myself

Dessiemc27

Cartoon_Head wrote: »

Thanks for these reports Dessie, it's interesting to follow this since I can't make the trip up to Cavan myself

No problem . Here comes the latest ...

Dessiemc27

44 entrants as things start to heat up in Blacklion. The standard was as expected of this tournament , high quality. Four players battled through to the semi finals . Mickey Mansell who faced off against Campbell Jackson and local hope Gordon Burleigh against David Concannon. Mansell , the defending champion claimed a final place and David Concannon got the better of Burleigh , a frequent semi finalist in this tournament and surely due a change of luck. In the Final , played at a nice tempo Mansell prevailed by the odd leg in 5 . His second leg being the best of the night (3x140 , t19 d12) an eleven darter.

In week four with more entrants expected Brendan Dolan can book his final spot with Campbell Jackson there to push him all the way

Dessiemc27

24 players turned up on the night . The Irish Darts championships held the previous day would have had a major impact on the numbers . The semi Finals saw Michael Cox defeat Campbell Jackson and Colin Maxwell defeat John Joe Dolan in the other. An observer noted that in the quarter finals Michael and Campbell were playing on boards beside each other and both checked out games in 11 darts. In the final , a feature of this years tournament saw the final go to the deciding leg . Michael got the verdict , to make it 3 out of 4 qualifiers from the Yeats County.

In week 5 Brendan Dolan , fresh from the dutch masters semi final in veldhoven, should clinch a final place . Brother John Joe will be a danger or could another one of the Sligo contingent like Michael Healy strengthen the Sligo chances ?

Dessiemc27

Brendan Dolan claimed his spot in the final night coming through a strong field of 43 players on a night of high quality finishing . David Concannon who previously reached a final here repeated the trick again . Ending the hopes of Enniskillens Richie Reid in the semi final . ' Reido ' , a multiple grand finalist here was hitting some form here but Concannon disposed of him without the loss of a leg in the semi . In the other semi final , another local multiple grand finalist , Eamon McGovern , from Irvinestown had a great battle with Brendan . Dolan eventually getting home 3/2 . McGovern had shown his arrows to be in great order in a quarter final with Colin Maxwell , taking out shots of 160 and 167 to break maxwells resistance .

In the final as usual this term it needed all 5 legs , with Brendan , who is in a real purple patch at the moment getting home just about . Week 6 is now upon us and the secret is out here with David Concannon looking in good order to claim a place . Other dangerous players who have yet to claim a place include John Joe Dolan and Campbell Jackson . The competition is set up for a fantastic final few weeks .

Dessiemc27

43 entries on the night . Major absentees included John Joe Dolan and David Concannon , fresh from international Duty at the six nations darts at Glenrothes in Scotland where week 2 winner Sean McGowan capped a personal milestone of reaching 100 international caps. A fine achievement for one of the great ambassadors of Irish Darts over the past number of years. Here's to 200 caps Sean.

Quarter finals here saw Campbell Jackson beating Anthony Mullarkey, Stephen Ganley beating Gordon Burleigh, Kevin Quinn beating Colin Maxwell and David Bowen beating Jason Reilly. Colin Maxwell despite missing out on the semis takes a special prize home with him in the shape of a fine handcrafted Table provided by sponsors LMJ furniture , by way of hitting a fine 170 checkout , following Eamon mcGoverns 167 shot out last week. In the semi finals Jackson defeated Steven Ganley and David Bowen made his first final with victory over Kevin Quinn. For once this term the final was won in straight legs . Jackson who by his own admission had under performed in earlier rounds came good in the final and rattled off three straight legs , the second in 14 darts to reach yet another grand final.

The final two weeks should be ultra competitive . David Concannon , on the crest of a wave after being capped at International Level will be a warm order to take the second last spot but could the experience of John Joe Dolan wrestle it from him ?

Dessiemc27

After six rounds of action a quick recap. The six qualifiers so far are :

Paul Boyle
Sean McGowan
Michael Mansell
Michael Cox
Brendan Dolan
Campbell Jackson.

4 out of those 6 have featured in the grand final night of the past 3/4 years. Eamon McGovern , John Joe Dolan and Richard Reid have also featured in 2 or more grand finals and have yet to qualify. David Concannon has impressed in his visits and should he make it up would be well fancied to reach a decider. a decent turnout to be expected for the penultimate round next Monday night .

Dessiemc27

51 entries on the night. The best turnout yet. Only two places remaining and a lot of players who have been in the last 7/8 final nights still not with a ticket for the big one. It Turned out that the final would be a David v David affair . The quarter finals saw Eamon McGovern beat Stephen Dooney 3/0. David Concannon beating Ryan Gethins 3/1 with his match winning dart at double top just resting in at a wickedly acute 60* degree angle before it was hurriedly retrieved!. David. Bowen beat Darragh Healy 3/1 , Healy unlucky to not force a decider after narrowly missing a vital leg double. In the tightest quarter final of the night Kevin Quinn squeezed out Daryl Gurney. Quinn missing a match dart to win 3/1 before gurney forced the decider. Quinn then hit a maximum in the decider to seize control of the leg seemingly. However Gurney was to have one last big shot narrowly missing D8 for a 133 before Kevin showed great bottle to close out the match.

In the semi finals David Concannon defeated a below par Eamon McGovern 3/0. The Irvinestown thrower not at his fluent best with only 2 treble twentys hit in 3 legs, but Concannon , recently capped for Ireland at the six nations in Scotland progressed to his third final of the tournament. Another David , David Bowen would meet him there after coming through in a thriller where both him and Kevin Quinn had missed 6 darts to win , Kevin unfortunate to have left 3 with two attempts. In the final David Concannon kicked off with a 180 against the throw to set up a possible 14 darter however he would miss on 3 visits to the board at leg doubles as David Bowen took a nervy first leg .

A 15 dart response from Concannon with a 104 checkout levelled the match but Bowen , in his second final in a row went ahead again in 16 darts hitting d8 . An 86 finish from Concannon in 17 darts in a leg where his cover shooting was vital forced a decider . Bowen missing one dart at d4 to progress. In a close final leg Bowen again had a match dart attempt , this time at the bull before Concannon progressed 3/2.

Unlucky for David Bowen , the thrower who plays a lot of Darts in his local lough Allen league in Co. Leitrim just missing out on the final night but for. David Concannon his stock continues to rise and he will be a tough opponent for anyone on Finals night.

The last week coming up and some notable absentees in the final list. Aodhagen O'Neill , John Joe Dolan and Daryl Gurney just 3 from last years line up. Also Eamon McGovern , whom by his own admission has been under par lately . David Bowen , a relative newcomer is in fine form as is Kevin Quinn. Could Bowen make it 3rd time lucky in the final heat?

Dessiemc27

46 entries in the last heat in Eamons Piano bar tournament. Another great year in the history of the competition . Some new faces and future stars shining and also some familiar faces back and hungry for success.

Monday nights Final qualifier saw Kevin Quinn defeat Darragh Healey in the Quarter Finals . With other victories for David Bowen over Martin Reilly Daryl Gurney over James Deery and the Impressive Anthony Mullarkey , a previous grand finalist from a few years ago who defeated the highest checkout holder Colin Maxwell. For the third week running a semi final Pairing of David Bowen and Kevin Quinn would decide one finalist . Kevin , playing some great darts in earlier rounds opened up a lead but David , aiming for his third final in a row in his first season here went 2/1 up as he started to assert pressure on Quinn's throw. He settled the match in the fourth leg with a d14 to progress. Unlucky for Kevin Quinn who had some great battles with David over the past few weeks which should stand him in good stead in future competitions.

The second semi was a classic . Daryl Gurney looking to make two grand finals in a row faced an inform Anthony Mullarkey . Gurney took the lead only for Anthony to Level up. Some power scoring from Anthony saw him take a 2/1 lead only for Gurney to Level up. The final leg was a nail biter. Mullarkey sealing a 3/2 win with a d10 in 18 darts having missed shanghai for the match . Gurney having put the maximum pressure he could muster on him hitting a 130 to leave D16 , alas to no avail .

In the Final Anthony Roared ahead. A 118 checkout to take the first leg in 15 darts followed by an 18 dart second leg where two awkward single 20's meant he had to move a good bit to the left of the Oche to hit tops. In running betting here would have saw Anthony a hot favourite to reach the grand final but in the best comeback of the tournament David came back. Taking the third on d12 having narrowly missed a 132 (t20 t16 missed d12) and having missed a match dart Anthony could only look on as David hit d10 to level it. The final leg saw Anthony throw away a decent lead yet he still managed to miss 9 match darts before David , the coolest man in the house hit tops to progress to the Grand Final and to make it 3 winning predictions from 8 weeks from your humble reporter!.

Unlucky to Anthony Mullarkey . He played quite beautifully for most of the night only to be pinned back at the death By David Bowen. So take note any future opponents , Anthony is in fine form .

Sherry71

Any word when the final night is? I guess next Monday

Dessiemc27

Brendan Dolan was crowned champion for the 7th time as the 2014 EAMONS Piano bar Tournament came to an end after a great night of darts in Co.Cavan.

Monday 24th March saw the 8 finalists gather for the final round and the games went as followed.

PAUL BOYLE 4 DAVID BOHAN 2

Firstly apologies to David here as I incorrectly miss heard his surname to be 'Bowen' instead of 'Bohan'.

David took a 2-0 lead in a battle of the debutants. Paul , part of a 3 strong Sligo team on the night battled back well and rattled off 4 legs in a row to progress to the semi finals.

BRENDAN DOLAN 4 MICHAEL MANSELL 3

In the pairing of the round Brendan prevailed in a match which went to the 7th and final leg and which went with the throw. The weight of expectation weighed hard on both men here and Brendan was relieved to get over the line to end the reign of Mansell, who despite hitting a 10 dart leg missed out on retaining his crown.

SEAN MCGOWAN 4 MICHAEL COX 1

The two Sligo throwers were paired off against each other in a battle to claim a semi final spot and it was the debutant on finals night Michael who took a 1-0 lead. Sean didn't panic however and showed why he has qualified for so many finals here by taking 4 straight legs to advance.

DAVID CONCANNON 4 CAMPBELL JACKSON 0

This was perhaps the performance of the round as David Concannon , fresh from winning back to back INDO Events at the weekend tore into Campbell right from the start. In amongst a straight legged victory there was an 11 dart leg and a marker laid down to the other players. Disappointing end to the tournament for Campbell but he won't have long to wait to possibly avenge defeat here with both men heading to the Weigh Inn in Omagh on Sunday week for what promises to be a great tournament featuring Ireland's top players on both sides of the darting divide.

Semi Finals.

SEAN MCGOWAN 5 PAUL BOYLE 2

Another 'Sligo' derby and tough match for Sean. Up against an opponent he knows quite well. Both players exchanged legs early on as the match settled in , McGowan however always just keeping ahead of matters with some trademark finishing. Paul who qualified on week one of the tournament did well to stay in touch but McGowans experience carried him through to the grand final.

BRENDAN DOLAN 5 DAVID CONCANNON 0

In what promised to be a match of the tournament Brendan , high flying in the top 16 of the PDC rankings squared up to Ireland's newest capped player David, who 24 and 48 hours respectively earlier had taken 2 major INDO ranking events. Dolan chose this moment to lay down his marker . In knocking in 5 legs without reply he stunned the crowd with a dazzling display which saw Brendan averaging around 104.5. Cruel on David but a valuable learning curve for him and Brendan reached yet another grand final here at the expense of the precocious talent from Co.Roscommon who has been a revelation in the tournament.


GRAND FINAL - BRENDAN DOLAN 6 SEAN MCGOWAN 1

Brendan reclaimed the title with a comprehensive win in the end over his opponent the vastly experienced international Sean McGowan who last month reached a personal milestone of 100 international caps at the six nations in Scotland . Dolan , himself now in the top 16 of the PDC rankings took off on a run after the first two legs of the match were shared and he ran out a 6-1 winner on the night to land this event for the 7th time . Credit to Sean however for a good run on the night and the next few weeks should see him bang in contention for honours .

Dessiemc27

Another Tournament comes to an end in Eamons Piano bar and what a great success it was. A few more new faces in the mix here for honours like David Bohan from nearby Carrick on Shannon and the Sligo pair of Michael Cox and Paul Boyle, not to mention David Concannon.

There was a few men who also deserve mention who didn't reach the finals night . Kevin Quinn was one . Unlucky to run into an inspired David Bohan in the last three weeks . Also Anthony Mullarkey who also came a cropper against Bohan shared with Quinn the notable scalp of Daryl Gurney in a quarter and semi final respectively. Colin Maxwell also deserves a mention for his 170 outshot. The highest of the tournament.

At the end of the night I had a good chat with Sean McGowan and Brendan Dolan the two finalists and it was heart warming to hear that the future of darts in the country is looking bright. There are some fine young players coming up through the ranks. A few featured here in the qualifiers . The likes of Ryan Gethins and Stephen Dooney are two examples. To all who take part at all levels of the sport , whether it is at administration level or at tournament organisation, you have my humblest respect . The game needs you and keep up the good work. To sign off The organisers would like to thank all who supported the tournament , and whether you are from nearby in Cavan , Sligo , Leitrim or further away make sure you look out for the 2015 tournament next year.