Nov 16,2024
Mickey Mansell held his nerve to beat Cameron Menzies in a deciding leg and book his place in his first major ranking semi-final at the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.
The 51-year-old from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, battled back from 4-0 down to force a decider and took out his first dart at double top to clinch a nail-biting 16-15 win.
It was another stunning performance from Mansell which earned an instant social media message from Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill, who described his win as "incredible".
Mansell had seen off Dutch favourite Danny Noppert in the previous round but his form looked to have deserted him as Menzies, who had won a decider against James Wade, strode into a commanding lead.
But Mansell, who would hit 11 maximums during the contest, drew level for the first time at 8-8, and although Menzies quickly restored his two-leg lead, three in a row from Mansell put him in front for the first time at 11-10.
At 12-12, Menzies regained the initiative by breaking with a 130 checkout to go 13-12 in front, and looked to have made the decisive move when he extended his lead to 14-12 before Mansell stormed back to clinch a dramatic victory.
Qualifier Martin Lukeman sunk former world champion Rob Cross to set up an unexpected clash with Mansell.
Lukeman, the world number 45, came on strong in the later stages to pull away from his opponent and seal a 16-11 win and book his place in his first major semi-final.
It continued a remarkable run for the 39-year-old who had won all his matches in Group C, including a 5-3 win over Cross last weekend.
His luck seemed to have deserted him when he fell 5-1 behind to Cross - who looked set to build on his ruthless last-16 win over Ritchie Edhouse, when he nailed 10 of his 12 attempts at doubles.
But Lukeman, who delivered a best finish of 144, turned that hefty deficit into an 8-5 lead and despite being pegged back to 10-10, reeled off six of the next seven legs to go through.
