Turnout in memory of Jordan Lonergan proves darts is moving in the right direction

Last weekend, the Jordan Lonergan darts tournament took place in Waterford. The event organised by Andrew Ryan, Dean Finn and Jim Long saw over 109 players compete, with another 60 to 80 people involved. The prestigious event took place in memory of Lonergan, who sadly passed away at the age of 23.

Speaking about the tournament, Andrew Ryan, was delighted with how it went.

“It was a brilliant event, in memory of Jordan. 109 players took part. People came from all over Ireland to take part in it. A guy from Mayo actually won it out. His name is Ultan McDyer. He funnily bet a lad from Galway in the final. That Galway lad travelled with him to the event, and they ended up playing each other in the final, which was incredible. We also had two male professionals join us as well as two female professionals. We felt it was important to have professionals from both genders, to show young girls you can become a professional darts player. The two male professionals, Steve Lennon and Dylan Slevin were actually beaten in the semi-final of the competition, by the two lads. It was incredible for our amateur players to get to play those guys.” 

Ryan is a talented darts player himself and says he is re-energised by the number of young players joining the sport.

“The amount of young people taking up the sport is incredible. A lot of that is because the playing only darts in the pub is going down. It’s all academies now, academies in sports halls. The Luke Littler effect is huge; young people are seeing this teenager and are inspired by it. The last time Waterford Youth’s darts had a full panel was when I was playing about 12 years, until now. There were 35 youths on the panel last year. Those players are between nine and 17 or 18.

“The amount of darts games on Sky Sports is huge for the sport. The sport is going in the right direction. There are tons of opportunities for young darts players now. The JDC, the Junior Darts Corporation, is going well also; they are run by the PDC. We have competitions in the Mansion House every Thursday, for over 16’s. Those under the age of 16 can visit the JDC Ireland website and social media pages for any upcoming competitions. There are some brilliant young darts players in the county who have huge potential. I don’t want to put pressure on anyone, but young Jack Caulfield is coming on the scene; he’s a brilliant player.”