Surprise Players Championship 8 winner Mickey Mansell revels in success

Mickey Mansell became the latest Pro Tour winner in 2018 on Sunday.

The Clonoe Cyclone blew away the opposition as he swept to surprise success at Players Championship 8. Mansell dropped just 11 legs in seven games in Barnsley. Kim Huybrechts, Gary Eastwood and Robert Thornton all succumbed to whitewashes in the early rounds. Alan Norris was thrashed 6-1, while Gerwyn Price and Josh Payne managed three legs. Adrian Lewis, the PC7 runner-up, was the Northern Irishman's opponent in the final. A 96.9 average and an 86 per cent doubles success rate helped Mansell to a 6-4 triumph. Victory secured the 44-year-old's first PDC title, and a £10,000 top prize. He became the 70th player to win a PDC event.
“I know I can play well but the problem is consistency, everyone here can beat everyone else but it’s consistency that separates the top guys from the rest,” said Mansell.
"Believe it or not but I think the best game I played was the first one against Kim, it set me up for the rest of the day, I put him under pressure and thought that was the best I played all day.
“I've had some great results against the top players before so I’ve got the experience and I've got that mentality that I know I can beat them.
“I’ve been struggling, there's no point saying anything different. It would have been great to say I made the final but to win it over all the amazing players is incredible."
After joining Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Michael Smith on the 2018 Players Championship winners' roster, he saved praise for his beaten opponent.
“For Adrian to make the final today after doing it yesterday is amazing and it shows what champions are made of," he said.