UNKNOWN Felix McBrearty became a local hero by taking victory in the Ireland Open Classic Players Championship with a 3-1 defeat of Chris Mason at the Dromore Leisure Complex.
McBrearty, who hails from Dromore, came through a qualifier just to win a place in the £20,000 PDC Pro Tour event, but swept through the field to claim the £5,000 first prize.
He overcame Tony Ayres, Kevin McDine, Colin Osborne and Michael van Gerwen to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament, before defeating Andy Hamilton 3-2.
He then defeated Colin Lloyd in straight sets, with all three sets ending 2-1, before meeting Mason in the decider.
Mason took the first set without reply, before the three-time Co Tyrone champion took six successive legs to sweep to the title.
Mason ended as runner-up in a Players Championship event for the third time this year, and included in-form Alan Tabern, Alex Roy and Mark Walsh among his victims in the tournament.
Lloyd won through to his first PDC Pro Tour semi-final since April's Antwerp Darts Trophy with wins over Nigel Peden, Owen Caffrey, Mick McGowan and Robert Thornton.
Mark Walsh reached his second semi-final of the year to take a further step towards winning one of the qualification places in next month's Sky Poker World Grand Prix.
The event saw qualifier Aodhagan O'Neill overcome Roland Scholten and Colin Monk to reach the last 16, while Kevin Painter was a first round victim of Ireland's Jacko Barry's.
Ireland Open Classic Players Championship
Preliminary Round
Dave Honey 3-1 Campbell Jackson
Roy Baillie 3-1 Paul Mein
Jamie Caven 3-0 Sean McMurray
Andy Howarth 3-0 Steve Cusick
Paul Dillon 3-1 James Deery
Martyn Turner 3-0 Justin McGuigan
Shane Lennon 3-0 Mark Summerville
Andrew Davies 3-1 Daryl Gurney
Felix McBrearty 3-2 Tony Ayres
Ian Jopling 3-0 JR Docherty
John Quantock 3-2 Brian Cathcart
Gary Welding 3-0 Brendan Dolan
Owen Caffrey 3-2 Dave Ladley
Peter Wright 3-0 Ian Branks
First Round
Denis Ovens 3-0 Declan Cunningham
Chris Thompson 3-0 Eamonn McGovern
Mark Walsh 3-1 Alan Caves
Dave Honey 3-2 Adrian Gray
Jacko Barry 3-2 Kevin Painter
Tony Eccles 3-0 Roy Baillie
Mervyn King 3-0 Jon Archer
Matt Clark 3-0 Jamie Caven
Alan Tabern 3-1 Ben Burton
Steve Maish 3-1 Andy Howarth
Chris Mason 3-0 Geoff Wylie
Wes Newton 3-0 Paul Dillon
Aodhagan O'Neill 3-1 Roland Scholten
Colin Monk 3-2 Martyn Turner
Co Stompe 3-0 Andy Jenkins
Alex Roy 3-0 Shane Lennon
Andy Hamilton 3-1 Ray Farrell
Steve Brown 3-2 Martin Burchell
Andy Smith 3-0 Francis Mellor
Wayne Jones 3-0 Andrew Davies
Colin Osborne 3-0 Brendan Scullion
Felix McBrearty 3-1 Kevin McDine
Mark Dudbridge 3-1 Darren Johnson
Michael van Gerwen 3-1 Ian Jopling
Ronnie Baxter 3-0 Ricky Dunlop
John Quantock Bye (Alan Warriner-Little)
Robert Thornton 3-1 Vincent van der Voort
Gary Welding 3-2 Steve Beaton
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Nigel Peden
Owen Caffrey 3-2 Lionel Sams
Barrie Bates 3-0 Robert Watson-Lang
Mick McGowan 3-0 Peter Wright
Losers £75
Second Round
Denis Ovens 3-2 Chris Thompson
Mark Walsh 3-2 Dave Honey
Tony Eccles 3-2 Jacko Barry
Mervyn King 3-2 Matt Clark
Alan Tabern 3-0 Steve Maish
Chris Mason 3-2 Wes Newton
Aodhagan O'Neill 3-1 Colin Monk
Alex Roy 3-0 Co Stompe
Andy Hamilton 3-1 Steve Brown
Wayne Jones 3-1 Andy Smith
Felix McBrearty 3-2 Colin Osborne
Michael van Gerwen 3-2 Mark Dudbridge
Ronnie Baxter 3-1 John Quantock
Robert Thornton 3-1 Gary Welding
Colin Lloyd 3-0 Owen Caffrey
Mick McGowan 3-0 Barrie Bates
Losers £150
Third Round
Mark Walsh 3-1 Denis Ovens
Mervyn King 3-1 Tony Eccles
Chris Mason 3-2 Alan Tabern
Alex Roy 3-1 Aodhagan O'Neill
Andy Hamilton 3-2 Wayne Jones
Felix McBrearty 3-2 Michael van Gerwen
Robert Thornton 3-1 Ronnie Baxter
Colin Lloyd 3-2 Mick McGowan
Losers £300
Quarter-Finals
Mark Walsh 3-0 Mervyn King
Chris Mason 3-1 Alex Roy
Felix McBrearty 3-2 Andy Hamilton
Colin Lloyd 3-2 Robert Thornton
Losers £600
Semi-Finals
Chris Mason 3-2 Mark Walsh (2-1, 1-2, 0-2, 2-0, 2-0)
Felix McBrearty 3-0 Colin Lloyd (2-1, 2-1, 2-1)
Losers £1,250
Final
Felix McBrearty 3-1 Chris Mason (0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0)
Winner £5,000
Runner-Up £2,500
News Updates
Preliminary Round
Andy Howarth overcomes Steve Cusick, a quarter-finalist in the Kitchener Open Players Championship last month, 3-0.
Andrew Davies defeats qualifier Daryl Gurney 3-1, the second time in a week the youngster has lost to a Welshman, after losing to Mark Webster in the Europpe Cup final.
Gary Welding opens up with a 3-0 win over Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan.
Ian Jopling's win over JR Docherty sets up last 64 meeting with Michael van Gerwen.
First Round
Local qualifier Aodhean O'Neill defeats Roland Scholten 3-1.
Wins for Denis Ovens and Chris Thompson over qualifiers Declan Cunningham and Eamon McGovern mean they will meet in the last 32.
Mervyn King begins his challenge for a second Pro Tour win of the year with a 3-0 win over Jon Archer.
Andy Hamilton defeats Northern Ireland's Ray Farrell 3-1, with Mark Dudbridge winning by the same scoreline against Darren Johnson.
Mark Walsh sees off Alan Caves 3-1 to move into last 32.
Ireland's Jacko Barry defeats number eight seed Kevin Painter 3-2 to progress.
Matt Clark's straight sets win over Jamie Caven earns him clash with King.
Chris Mason defeats Northern Irishman Geoff Wylie 3-0, while in-form Alan Tabern is 3-1 winner over Ben Burton.
Holland's Co Stompe defeats Andy Jenkins in straight sets, and meets Alex Roy in the last 32.
Steve Brown's narrow win over Martin Burchell earns him a clash with Hamilton.
Colin Osborne, Andy Smith and Ronnie Baxter reach last 32 with 3-0 wins.
Robert Thornton produces some finishing of the highest order to see off Vincent van der Voort 3-1 - taking out finishes of 164, 161, 158 and 154 when the Dutchman was sat on a double.
Colin Lloyd defeats Nigel Peden 3-0, while Barrie Bates moves into second round with straight sets win over Robert Watson-Lang.
Dave Honey edges past Adrian Gray 3-2.
Qualifier Felix McBrearty defeats Kevin McDine 3-1.
Gary Welding is 3-2 winner over Steve Beaton, while Ireland's Owen Caffrey defeats Lionel Sams in five sets.
Second Round
Denis Ovens defeats Chris Thompson in five sets to reach last 16.
Ireland's Mick McGowan wins 3-0 against Barrie Bates.
Michael van Gerwen edges out Mark Dudbridge in five sets.
Ronnie Baxter and Robert Thornton set up third round meeting with 3-1 wins over John Quantock and Gary Welding respectively.
Andy Hamilton overcomes Steve Brown 3-1.
Mark Walsh edges past Dave Honey 3-2, with Chris Mason seeing off Wes Newton by the same scoreline.
Aodhean O'Neill reaches last 16 with 3-1 win over Colin Monk.
Qualifier Felix McBrearty continues his run with a 3-2 defeat of Colin Osborne.
Alex Roy sees off Co Stompe in straight sets.
Wayne Jones sets up meeting with Hamilton thanks to 3-1 win over Andy Smith.
Colin Lloyd defeats Owen Caffrey 3-0 to set up clash with another Irishman, Mick McGowan.
Third Round
Robert Thornton is first man into quarter-finals, following 3-1 win over Ronnie Baxter.
Colin Lloyd defeats Mick McGowan in a deciding set, and now meets Thornton in the last eight.
Felix McBrearty wins through to quarter-finals with 3-2 win over Michael van Gerwen.
Andy Hamilton will meet McBrearty for a place in the semis following his five-set win over Wayne Jones.
Alex Roy ends Aodhean O'Neill's challenge with a 3-2 win.
Chris Mason defeats recent Peachtree Open Players Championship winner Alan Tabern in five sets.
Mervyn King reaches a second successive PDC Pro Tour quarter-final with 3-1 win over Tony Eccles.
Mark Walsh will meet King in the quarter-finals with 3-1 defeat of Denis Ovens.
Quarter-Finals
Mark Walsh defeats Mervyn King in straight sets.
Colin Lloyd edges out Robert Thornton 3-2.
Felix McBrearty takes another big name with a narrow win over Andy Hamilton.
Chris Mason sets up semi-final with Walsh thanks to 3-1 defeat of Alex Roy.
Semi-Finals
Felix McBrearty, the current Co Tyrone champion and a local Dromore star, defeats Colin Lloyd in straight sets to reach the final.
He took all three sets 2-1, and included a pair of 11-darters in his success.
Chris Mason comes from 2-1 down to defeat Mark Walsh in five sets to reach his third Players Championship final of the year - taking the final four legs without reply.