Carlow's Steve Lennon won his first round match at the PDC World Darts Championships in dramatic fashion this afternoon, battling back from 2-0 to defeat Owen Bates at Ally Pally.
The Irishman came up against a hostile crowd at the London venue, with the vast majority of fans cheering on his English opponents. Chants of 'God Save The Queen' and 'England' could be heard throughout the match.
Lennon initially struggled, especially when it came to hitting doubles. He missed a huge numbers of shots on the outer ring in the first couple of sets, finding himself 2-0 down.
However, he was not out of it just yet.
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Steve Lennon ignores boos to complete remarkable comeback
Just as the English crowd was at its rowdiest, Steve Lennon began to slowly grow into the game.
He would get back to 2-1 by nailing a 118 checkout.
LENNON FIGHTS BACK!
A 118 finish from Steve Lennon to close the gap on Bates and clinch the third set 3-1.
Brilliant checkout against the darts too!
📺 https://t.co/f3RU9WTIoD#WCDarts | R1 pic.twitter.com/jc82rnSRko— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 20, 2023
That was just the start.
Lennon continued to improve in the fourth set of the match, this time finishing off a score of 50.
LENNON LEVELS!
It's six out of the last seven legs for Steve Lennon to level this tie at 2-2!
📺 https://t.co/f3RU9WTIoD#WCDarts | R1 pic.twitter.com/BsGxwdLy8Z— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 20, 2023
With the momentum behind him, you always got the sense that Steve Lennon was going to complete the comeback from that point onwards.
While Bates would hit a big finish at one point in the final set, it soon became apparent that the Irishman was going to win the match. He did so rather convincingly in the end.
LENNON COMPLETES THE COMEBACK!
What a comeback that is from Steve Lennon as he wins nine out of 11 legs to recover from 2-0 down to beat Owen Bates!
What a fightback, a win that probably keeps his Tourcard!
📺 https://t.co/f3RU9WTIoD#WCDarts | R1 pic.twitter.com/wzvlPBah47— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 20, 2023
Speaking after the match, the Carlow man admitted he had no idea how he managed to come out on top in this one.
I don't know how I won that. At 2-0 down, even when I was fighting back, he hit so many good finishes. I'm just speechless, I don't know how I won that...
I was panicking deep down, but because of the set play you forget about the two sets that you lost and just treat it as first to three legs and keep going that way.
Obviously when I got ahead in the last leg I knew that if I didn't win that leg it was over.
This was a hugely important win for Steve Lennon. Not only did it book his place in the next round of the World Championships, but the victory also ensures that he will keep his tour card for 2024.
He will now face Jonny Clayton in the next round.
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