Billy Brooks Snr Individuals Champion 2023 is Conor Hanna!
Conor Hanna has threw some incredible darts on his way to becoming this year's Billy Brooks snr individuals champion 2023!
Last 16
Pearse Maguire 3-1 Dan Cahoon
The first match of the round of 16 was a great game to watch with high quality scoring and checkouts. The first leg seen Pearse fire in a 180, a 60 checkout and an 18 dart leg. Dan Cahoon then hit back with a 21 darter before Pearse firing in his second 180 of the match in the third leg and taking it in 20 darts. Pearse then checks out 108 for a 24 darter to win the match.
Conor Teer 3-0 Mick Bonar
Conor was the better scorer in this match which proved the difference as he took the first two legs in 24 and 23 darts. Mick tried his best to battle back but Conor held his nerve and took out double 10 for a 3-0 win.
Colm Steele 3-0 Gavin Mawhinney
Both players struggled to get going in this match but a few ton plus scores at crucial times helped Colm Steele get to the checkout first in each leg and secure his place in the quarter-finals with a 3-0 win.
Hugh McShane 3-0 Joe Russell
Big Hugh has been having a great season so far and this continued in this match as he swept aside Joe 3-0 with 100% on the doubles. He has now secured his place in the quarter-finals where he has the chance to continue his great form.
Conor Hanna 3-2 Dan Sloan
Glenpark Celtic teammates and great friends Conor and Dan went head to head in this match. Even though they are great friends, they put that aside as they had a high quality match which could have went either way. Not one leg stayed on throw. Conor took out tops for a 22 darter in the first leg before Dan hit double 10 in the second to level the match. Conor's scoring continued in the third leg winning the leg in 22 darts. Dan once again levelled the match with an 83 checkout and a 23 darter. Both players scored well in the final leg but Conor checked out 57 for a 20 darter to seal his place in the quarter-finals.
John Mahon 3-2 Kevin Murphy
Up next was childhood friends John and Kevin. This match had a nervy feeling to it the whole way through from start to finish. The first leg was a leg of missed doubles but it was Kevin who finally hit the double to make it 1-0. John then hit back by winning the next two legs to take a 2-1 lead. Kevin then rallied and checked out 54 to take the match to a last leg decider. John's scoring was better than Kevin's in the final leg as he took out double 10 for a 28 darter to book his place in the quarter-finals
Seamy Roberts 3-2 Daniel Haywood
This match turned out to be a classic between Seamy and Daniel. Seamy took out double 7 for a 23 darter in the first leg before Daniel hitting back with a 30 and 19 darter to turn the match around. Seamy then improved his game in the next two legs by checking them out in 24 and 25 darts to win a very close match 3-2.
Gary O'Connor 3-2 Daniel Anderson
The final round of 16 match was another nervy match which seen a lot of missed doubles. Daniel took 60 out in the first leg to go 1-0 up. Gary then fired in a 171 in the second leg for a 24 darter before going on to win the third leg to make it 2-1. After Gary missing match darts in the fourth leg to win 3-1, Daniel took his chance on double 4 to level the match and take it to another final leg. Both players scored well in the deciding leg but they struggled to hit the winning double. Gary held his nerve and hit double 2 top win the match and advance to the quarter-finals.
Quarter-Finals
Gary O'Connor 3-2 Pearse Maguire
The first of our quarter-finals went all five legs. Gary came out of the blocks flying by taking the first two legs both in 22 darts each. Pearse did not let this deter him so he improved his game. This worked well as he went on to win back-to-back legs in 27 and 28 darts. With it down to one leg to move on to the semi-finals both players had to hold their nerve and it was Gary who held his nerve taking out double 8 for a 29 darter and a 3-2 win.
Colm Steele 3-1 Conor Teer
Conor Teer started this match well with a 28 darter for a 1-0 lead but Colm hit straight back with four ton plus scores in the second leg taking it in 23 darts. The next two legs was a game of missed doubles but Colm hit the double first in both legs to win 3-1 and advance into the semi-finals.
Seamy Roberts 3-1 Hugh McShane
Defending champion Seamy Roberts came up against in form player Hugh McShane in the third quarter-final. Seamy knew he had to start strong if he was going to win this match and that is what he did. He checked out the first two legs in 22 and 23 darts to go 2-0 up. Hugh the stepped up and threw a 26 darter to get a leg back back but Seamy then resumed his top quality scoring in the fourth leg taking out double 10 for the match.
Conor Hanna 3-0 John Mahon
The fourth quarter final was a slightly one-sided match. In the first leg John missed 12 darts at a double to go 1-0 up before Conor hit double 10 for a 28 darter. The missed doubles seemed to get to John as he struggled to find his form in the next two legs. Conor then found his form with two incredible dart legs of 16 and 21 to secure his semi-final place.
Semi-Finals
Seamy Roberts 3-0 Colm Steele
In the first semi-final, Seamy took on teammate Colm. Colm has had a great run to this stage of the competition but he knew he needed to up his game to get pass defending champion Seamy. Both players scored really well throughout this match but it was Seamy who got the better of Colm in each leg taking them out in 21, 26 and 26 darts. He now gets the chance to win the Individuals for a second year in a row.
Conor Hanna 3-0 Gary O'Connor
Conor has had an amazing season so far and is sitting second in the player of the year table, so he is looking to win the individuals for the first time in his career. Gary O'Connor stood in his way though and he has been throwing well throughout the competition so this wasn't going to be easy for Conor. Conor knew he was going to have to score well and that is what he did and he won the three legs in 21, 26 and 26 darts same as Seamy Roberts in the other semi-final. This set up what was looking like it was going to be a great final.
Billy Brooks snr Individuals Final 2023
Conor Hanna 4-1 Seamy Roberts
The final saw defending champion Seamy take on in form player Conor. The first leg saw both players score well and it was Conor who got to the double first to check out double 10 for a 25 dart leg. Conor then showed some power house scoring in the second and third leg winning them in 19 and 22 dart legs for a 3-0 lead in a first to 4 race. Seamy did not give up though as he won the next leg with a 68 checkout and an 18 darter to start the comeback. Seamy struggled to get his scoring form started in the fifth while Conor scored well and sets up double 8 for the win. With the whole of Ligoniel quiet, Conor steps up, wires double 8 with the first dart and then hits it with the second for the 4-1 win and to be crowned Billy Brooks snr Individuals Champion 2023. Commiserations to Seamy who put in a hard fight defending his title but just came up short in the end. A massive congratulations to the champion Conor Hanna on his excellent win!
I would also like on behalf of the committee to thank Ligoniel Working Mens Club for hosting the event and an even bigger thanks goes to Aidan Braniff for running this incredible prestige competition.