Slevin heading back to the Ally Pally

Dylan Slevin has qualified for the PDC World Darts Championships once more.

By Shane Brophy

The Borrisokane native took one of the final four qualifying places for the biggest tournament in darts in the final qualifier in Wigan, England last Monday.

The 22-year-old performed brilliantly under pressure, averaging over 100, in his 6-4 opening round win over Jitse van der Wal, whilst also averaging over 100 in a 6-0 last 16 clash with Berry van Peer.

Slevin won his final match 7-5 against Martijn Dragt, checking out 111 for the victory to seal his spot at the Alexandra Palace for a second straight year. The win also means that Dylan will retain his tour card for 2025.

The draw for the World Championships was made later on Monday night with the world ranked 67 Slevin handed a mouth-watering first round clash against fellow Irish-man, the experienced world ranked no. 48 William O’Connor, who hails from Cappamore in Limerick.

The match will take place in the evening session on Friday, 20th December, with the winner progressing to a second round tie with world number 11 Dimitri Van den Bergh two nights later on Sunday, 22nd December.

The World Championships begin at London's Alexandra Palace on Saturday, December 15th and runs to Friday, January 3rd, with Slevin among 96 players competing to win the iconic Sid Waddell Trophy and the £500,000 top prize.

Dylan Slevin, nicknamed Oceans Slevin (in homage to the film Ocean’s Eleven) with his stage walk to the music of Crazy Nights by Kiss, made his debut at the World Championships last year, losing to Florian Hempel in the first round but performed well, including a 167 check-out, and should be much better for the experience.