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01 Oct 2025
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01 Oct 2025
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Aidan O’Hara (second from left) and Jack Courtney won a dramatic and exciting final against the Turkish pair in South Korea
Clonmel and Tipperary are celebrating a new world champion, after Ireland claimed a gold medal at the World Darts Federation World Cup in the Open Youth Pairs.
Clonmel’s Aidan O’Hara and Carlow’s Jack Courtney beat the Turkish duo of Toprak Aras and Kerem Calikiran in the final in South Korea.
The Irish pair pipped their opponents in a thrilling decider by 5-4, averaging 73.96, at the Kintex Hall in Seoul.
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They had to come from behind to win World Cup gold, sparking wild celebrations amongst the Irish contingent at the event.
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The final didn’t start too well for the Irish boys as they fell 2-0 down early on, with Turkey also missing chances at doubles to move into a 3-0 lead that might have proved a bridge too far for the Irish pair.
Having won that crucial third leg, Courtney and O'Hara then levelled up a match that remained tight from there on in.
Turkey again appeared to have taken a crucial advantage when they broke the Irish boys’ throw to go 4-3 up, but Courtney and O’Hara didn’t panic as they blitzed through the next two legs in just 37 darts to be crowned World Cup champions.
They had beaten Australia and South Africa in the quarter and semi-finals en route to their historic success.
17-year-old O’Hara also reached the Boys Singles final, where he was defeated by Canada’s Peyton Hammond.
The World Cup victory continues his meteoric rise in the sport and represents his second major success in the space of just over a year, after he helped the Irish team to win the WDF (World Darts Federation) European Boys Youth Cup in Riga, Latvia in July of 2024.
Another Tipperary player, Ballingarry’s Aoife McCormack, was on the Ireland women’s team that reached the World Cup final in South Korea after knockout wins over Wales, the Netherlands and Philippines.
However their great run ended when Ireland, the defending champions, lost to Australia in the decider.
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