Mixed fortunes for Tipp Darters

There were mixed fortunes for two Tipperary Dart players attempts for World Championship glory this week.

Nenagh’s Stephen Rosney is taking part in the 2025 WDF World Championship which takes place at the iconic Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green.

Formerly a huge event, it was very much fallen behind the PDC World Championship which takes place over Christmas but it no less prestigious for the 48 men, 24 women, eight boys and four girls will compete for the respective titles and an overall prize fund of £221,000.

Rosney came through his first round game on Sunday, defeating Scotland’s Jim McEwan 3-0 and in round 2 later today (Wednesday) he will take on the 14th seed Thomas Junghans from Switzerland.

Fellow Irish man Shane McGuirk is bidding to become the first male to successfully retain this title.

However, there will be no Tipperary involvement at this year’s PDC World Darts Championship later this month.

Borrisokane’s Dylan Slevin was aiming to come through his last chance qualifier last week in England, where five places were up for grabs at the Alexandra Palace.

The 23-year-old came through his first round 7-4 against Sweden’s Viktor Tingstrom but was beaten 7-5 in the semi-final by Scotland’s Andy Boulton.

The defeat means Slevin, nicknamed Ocean’s Slevin, will miss out on playing at the Ally Pally for the first time in three years. He made his debut in 2023 losing in the first round but last year he defeated fellow Irish-man Willie O’Connor from Limerick in the opening round before exiting to the seeded Dmitri Van Der Bergh from Belgium in round 2.

Slevin’s failure to reach the blue-ribboned event means he will lose his PDC Tour card and will have to go to Q-School in January to earn it back and be eligible to play on the tour in 2026.