Mickey Mansell sealed a whitewash win in a potentially tricky test against Chinese qualifier, Xiaochen Zong who has dominated his tour back at home and is seen as a future star in the game albeit has been halted in recent years by travel restrictions.
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But now Mansell is through to the World Darts Championship second round with Brendan Dolan now awaiting in an all Northern Irish clash and he averaging around 96 in the final set, he believes he played well but shunned the notion of feeling confident.
"I thought I played pretty well. I didn't know what the statistics or averages were but I know whenever I get an opportunity bar I think one leg, I thought I played very well. I didn't know what I expect but whenever I got an opportunity I thought I took it," said Mansell post match.
"I definitely didn't feel comfortable at any stage. I was trying to have in my own headspace of doing my own thing and seeing how that evolved."
As well as quipping that you can never be confident of breaking new ground which he would if he won due to how the draw pans out in any case.
"You can't turn around and say you're confident of going to the second and third round. You have to look at what's in front of you and how the draw evolves. You've got no control over them situations. I just don't think you can sit and think you are entitled of being in the Quarter or Semi-Final due to who you are, the draw has a lot to do with the situation every year."
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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🗣️ "You have to look at what's in front of you and how the draw evolves."
We spoke to Mickey Mansell after his whitewash victory over Xiaochen Zong here at Ally Pally...