"Everything was flowing - there are a lot of positives" - Barry

WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS Meath man through to round two on Sunday

TOM CLANCY

Duleek’s darting doyen, Keane Barry was in joyous and optimistic mood following a comfortable 3-0 opening round victory over Tim Pusey in his PDC World Darts Championship opener.

The victory was richly deserved and after a slow start where the Australian bagged the first two legs, before nine of the final 10 went the way of the Irishman, to ensure all sets were his.

“I am feeling good about my game, so it was good to go up there and have a relatively stress free night and get into the next round”, explained Barry.

“I am feeling confident, but I will worry about Sunday’s game on Sunday. I am feeling good and all roads lead to Sunday.”

Among the 3,500 strong crowd at the Alexandra Palace venue were a strong contingent supporting Barry. They threw every dart with him, celebrated the big moments and the youngster was quick to recognise their importance.

“It’s major (to have that support). Behind the scenes, they are the people that will pick you up when you are down, so it is nice to have everyone there – my mam and dad, my girlfriend, her family – so it is really, really, nice to be able to share the highs with them.”

Like all non-UK based players in the Championship, planning for round two could only begin immediately after winning. Barry knew that Sunday was on the horizon and means that he must stay in the capital city in preparation for Germany’s Martin Schindler.

“I will stay here on Saturday evening and be back here on Sunday. It is a great problem to have. Look, they are all tough opponents, there is never an easy game at the Worlds. I just need to go up, do what I did tonight and do what I need to do to win”, added ‘Dynamite’.

It is a seventh consecutive appearance at the World Championship, something that may go under the radar. While his record hasn’t been incredible, getting used to the venue, the stage and pressure of the most watched event of the year is something that players have struggled with. Barry, however, feels he was more than content with his performance under the spotlight this time around.

“That is probably the most comfortable that I have felt in all the times that I have played on the stage. It is a nice feeling. Everything was flowing, the scoring was good, the doubling was good, there are a lot of positives”.

With international colleague Willie O’Connor lighting up the stage earlier on Friday, it felt like a positive day for Irish darts, which will see Steve Lennon (Carlow) and Dylan Slevin (Tipperary) both officially lose their Tour Cards in the coming weeks.

Therefore, both O’Connor and Barry were determined to continue to fly the Irish flag on the global stage.

“Irish Darts is still in a really good place, the Pro Tour can be tough. If you have a bad few weeks or a bad few months, it can be hard to get back, especially if you are only after getting your tour card. There is a lot of talent there. Hopefully Steve (Lennon) and Dylan (Slevin) will get their tour card back in January and maybe some others can join the tour.”

Keane Barry faces Martin Schindler this Sunday, with the start time pencilled in for 7.10pm, with the clash live on Sky Sports.