Dylan Slevin emerged victorious from an all-Irish first-round clash at the World Darts Championship on Friday evening.
It was a Munster derby at Ally Pally, with Tipperary man Slevin facing off with Limerick's William O'Connor during the evening session for a place in the second round.
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22-year-old Slevin would come out on top in a tight game, winning out 3-1 in sets after a nervy moment at the beginning of the fourth set.
It was a brilliant moment for Irish darts though, after the game, Slevin admitted he had found it tough playing against a compatriot on the biggest stage.
There was some talk about the Tipperary native's style as the game progressed, with several users taking to social media to point out the aggression with which Slevin's darts were hitting the board. At some stages, the points of his darts appeared to be close to causing damage to the board at Ally Pally.
Earlier this year, the Darts Regulation Authority announced that tournament directors would have the discretion to ban aggressive points if they believed that the darts were "unduly damaging the dartboard."
Stephen Whitlock was among the most prominent players seemingly targeted by the rule, with the 2010 World Championship runner-up saying he felt as much when the rule was first announced.
Eyebrows were raised during Friday night's all-Irish clash when Dylan Slevin's points appeared to be causing some marks to the board. After his first-round victory, the Irishman admitted that he would be making changes to his equipment next year in response to the rule changes.
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Dylan Slevin responds after board worn down by darts at Ally Pally
Speaking after overcoming fellow Irishman William O'Connor, Dylan Slevin was asked about the aggressive points on his darts and admitted it had been playing on his mind during Friday's game.
You're thinking like, oh, are you gonna get in trouble and all that, like.
But no, like, I'm going to try and change up my equipment for next year. I've always been basic, standard flight, stem and whatever point I like.
Whatever darts he was using worked well for Slevin, who claimed his first ever World Darts Championship victory to progress to a second-round meeting with Dimitri van den Bergh on Sunday evening.
When speaking to the press, Slevin said that he was still "shaking," but that his focus would immediately shift to Sunday's second-round matchup after his success against O'Connor.
I don't think I've played Dimitri this year. I think I was meant to play him last year if I got through the first round. We'll regroup myself for tomorrow, I'll forgot about this game today, I'm still even shaking.
Hopefully I can bring my A game on Sunday evening.
Irish fans will be hoping that Slevin can go even further after claiming his maiden World Championship victory, though it will be a tough ask against the experience of van den Bergh.
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