William O’Connor and Jason Cullen will battle it out for a place in the William Hill World Championship after both made it through to the final of the Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay.
Ireland’s premier domestic tournament took place in Tramore over the weekend, with O’Connor and Cullen securing their places in the final, which will take place on stage at the Citywest Hotel, in Dublin, next month.
Cappamore’s O’Connor has played in several majors before, including the World Grand Prix and UK Open, and has also represented the Republic of Ireland at the World Cup of Darts.
The 31-year-old has yet to appear in the World Championship though, but wins over Dean Forde, Martin Byrne and Roy Bailie has put him now one game away from clinching his debut at the Alexandra Palace at the end of the year.
Wexford-based Cullen, who has qualified for the BDO World Championship and World Masters in the past, is aiming to secure his debut in a PDC televised tournament.
The 29-year-old saw off Sheamus Hagan, Anthony Whoriskey and Keith Rooney to reach the decider, which will take place ahead of the Unibet World Grand Prix final on October 7.
The Tramore Darts Festival also featured the Irish qualifier for the upcoming Unicorn World Youth Championship, with Nathan Rafferty defeating Dean Finn 5-3 in the final to book his spot in November’s event.
Rafferty recorded wins over Luke Pearse and Ronan McCarthy on his way to reaching the decider, where he got the better of Finn to earn him the Irish Youth Matchplay title alongside a spot in the World Youth Championship.
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