Having lost the first seven legs to a Jim McEwan who was averaging around the 109 mark, few would have given Painter much hope. "Jim blew me away the first two sets," Painter admitted in his post-match interview. "He played absolutely fantastic and I just had to fight and give myself a bit of pride. I've always had that fight in me, I just can't bang in them 100 averages on a regular basis."
After Painter halved his deficit by taking the third set, set 4 went all the way to a deciding leg. McEwan missed a dart for the match and up stepped Painter to sink a sumptuous 140 skin saver, via two double tops. "It knocked the stuffing out of him," Painter explains.
Over the years, the Circus Tavern has been a place of many good memories for Painter. Could he top it off with a Seniors World Championship win this weekend? "I do play well here. I enjoy it, and there's just something about walking on the stage that brings the best out of me to be fair."
In the next round, pre-tournament favourite, John Henderson lies in wait for Painter. "John's a lovely fella and he's great dart player. If I play like I did in the last three sets, anything can happen."
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.