Michael Mansell (born 31 August 1973) is a Northern Irish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.

Mickey Mansell
Personal information
Full nameMichael Mansell
Nickname"Clonoe Cyclone"
Born (1973-08-31) 31 August 1973 (age 51)
Dungannon, Northern Ireland
Home townClonoe, Northern Ireland
Darts information
Playing darts since1993
Darts25g Cosmo
LateralityLeft-handed
Walk-on music"Maniac 2000" by Mark McCabe
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO2006–2010
PDC2010–
(Tour Card: 2011-)
Current world ranking43 Increase 13 (17 November 2024)[1]
WDF major events – best performances
World MastersLast 128: 2006
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 64: 2013, 2015, 2021, 2023, 2024
World Grand PrixLast 16: 2014
UK OpenLast 32: 2013, 2019
Grand SlamSemi Final: 2024
PC FinalsLast 32: 2017
Other tournament wins
Ireland Autumn Classic 2009
Tom Kirby Memorial Trophy 2010

Players Championships

Players Championship (BAR) 2018

Career

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In October 2010, Mansell reached the semi-finals of a Players Championship in Dublin.[2] A week later, he qualified for the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship after defeating Stephen Byrne to win the Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay.[3] He was beaten 0–4 in the preliminary round by New Zealand's Preston Ridd.

Mansell qualified for the 2011 PDC Pro Tour as one of four semi-finalists from the third day of the Pro Tour's Q School.[4]

On 2 May 2011, Mansell won his place in the UK Open in June. He finished inside the top 96 after the 8 UK Open qualifiers were held.[5] At the tournament he lost in the last 64 to James Wade 2–9.[6]

He represented Northern Ireland with Brendan Dolan in the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts and together they reached the quarter-finals, where they were defeated by the Netherlands 0–4, having beaten Denmark in the second round.[7] Mansell had a good season in the new European Tour events by qualifying for three of the five tournaments.[8] He lost in the last 32 of the European Darts Open, and in the last 16 of both the German Darts Championship (beat Jamie Caven and Dean Winstanley, before losing to Wes Newton) and the German Darts Masters (beat Mervyn King and Paul Nicholson, before losing to Adrian Lewis).[9][10] Mansell played in his first World Grand Prix in October as he was one of the two Irish qualifiers. He was beaten by Paul Nicholson 0–2 in sets, averaging just 64.48 in the event where a double must be hit to start and end every leg.[11]

Mansell qualified for the 2013 World Championship by taking the 14th place of the 16 that were available through the ProTour Order of Merit for the highest non-qualified players.[12] In his second World Championship he lost to 15-time winner Phil Taylor 0–3 in the first round, as Mansell won only one leg during the match and averaged 78.46.[13] Mansell was ranked world number 51 after the tournament.[14] In his second World Cup of Darts with Brendan Dolan the pair were beaten 4–5 in the last 16 by the Croatian duo of Robert Marijanović and Tonči Restović.[15] Mansell reached the quarter-finals of a PDC event for the first time since October 2010 in May at the third Players Championship, but lost 4–6 to Paul Nicholson.[16] Mansell beat Co Stompé and Conan Whitehead to face Michael van Gerwen in the fourth round of the UK Open, which he lost 3–9.[17] Mansell was again a qualifier for the World Grand Prix and had a superb opportunity to achieve the biggest win of his career to date as he had three match darts against world number four Simon Whitlock in the deciding leg of the final set but missed them all.[18] Mansell later revealed how this match impacted his darts for the subsequent year ahead as every time he played it was on his mind.[19] At the Dutch Darts Masters he beat Tonči Restović and Gino Vos, before losing 6–4 to Kim Huybrechts in the third round.[20]

Mansell beat Ben Burton and Dean Stewart to reach the third round of the 2014 UK Open but there lost 9–1 to James Wade.[21] In June, Mansell and Dolan beat Peter Wright and Robert Thornton from Scotland in the quarter-finals of the World Cup of Darts. In the semis, Dolan edged world number one Michael van Gerwen 4–3, but Mansell lost 4–0 to Van Barneveld to send the match into a deciding doubles game in which the Dutch pair averaged an incredible 117.88 to progress with a 4–0 whitewash.[22] He won his first match at the World Grand Prix in three attempts by eliminating Ian White 2–0 (sets).[19] Mansell then met Gary Anderson in the second round and won the first set, but was ultimately beaten 3–1 after losing nine successive legs.[23]

Mansell suffered a 3–0 loss to Kim Huybrechts in the first round of the 2015 World Championship.[24] Mansell and Dolan met the Netherlands' Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld for the second successive year at the World Cup, this time in the quarter-finals. Dolan lost 4–2 to Van Gerwen, but Mansell defeated Van Barneveld 4–3 meaning a doubles match was required and, just like last year, Northern Ireland were thrashed 4–0.[25] Mansell qualified for four European Tour events and was knocked out in the second round in all of them.[26]

Mansell's four World Cup appearances in a row ended in 2016 after Daryl Gurney overtook him as Northern Ireland's second highest player on the Order of Merit, behind Brendan Dolan.[27] Three last 32 and three last 16 exits saw him qualify for the expanded Players Championship Finals and he lost 6–3 to Kim Huybrechts in the first round.[28] Mansell dropped out of the top 64 during 2016 and so played in 2017 Q School, where he finished sixth on the Order of Merit to reclaim his PDC place.[29]

Mansell lost his Tour card after season 2021, battling with injuries during that year. Immediately he regained his Tour card in PDC UK Q-School 2022 via UK Q-School Order of Merit, where he placed on 11th place with 6 points.[30]

In the opening 2024 PDC Players Championship series event of 2024, Mansell defeated Josh Payne 6–2 in legs. In his second round match against Krzysztof Ratajski, Mansell hit a nine-dart finish, en route to another 6–2 victory. In the third round he defeated Daryl Gurney 6–5. In the last 16, Nick Kenny beat Mansell 6–5.

In the 2024 PDC World Championship, Mansell faced fellow Northern Ireland player and his close friend Brendan Dolan. It was arguably the best game of the second round but unfortunately for Mansell, Dolan prevailed as the 3-2 victor.

World Championship results

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Performance timeline

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Tournament 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
PDC World Championship Non-PDC PR DNQ 1R DNQ 1R DNQ 1R 1R 2R DNQ 2R 2R
UK Open Non-PDC 3R 3R 4R 3R DNQ 1R 5R 3R 3R 1R 3R 4R
World Grand Prix Non-PDC DNQ 1R 1R 2R Did not qualify
Grand Slam of Darts Did not qualify SF
Players Championship Finals Non-PDC DNQ 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R DNQ 1R 1R DNQ
Non-ranked televised events
PDC World Cup of Darts NH QF 2R SF QF DNP
BDO Ranked televised events
Winmau World Masters 2R DNP 1R DNP 1R PDC NH PDC
Career statistics
Year-end ranking - - - 269 149 90 57 44 42 50 62 95 63 58 54 69 77 56

PDC European Tour

Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
2012 ADO
DNQ
GDC
3R
EDO
2R
GDM
3R
DDM
DNQ
2013 UKM
DNQ
EDT
DNQ
EDO
DNP
ADO
DNQ
GDT
1R
GDC
DNQ
GDM
1R
DDM
3R
2014 GDC
DNQ
DDM
QF
GDM
1R
ADO
DNQ
GDT
DNQ
EDO
DNQ
EDG
DNQ
EDT
1R
2015 GDC
DNQ
GDT
DNQ
GDM
2R
DDM
DNQ
IDO
2R
EDO
DNQ
EDT
DNQ
EDM
2R
EDG
2R
2016 DDM
DNP
GDM
DNP
GDT
DNQ
EDM
DNQ
ADO
DNQ
EDO
DNQ
IDO
DNQ
EDT
DNQ
EDG
DNQ
GDC
1R
2017 GDC
DNQ
GDM
DNQ
GDO
DNQ
EDG
DNQ
GDT
DNQ
EDM
1R
ADO
DNQ
EDO
DNQ
DDM
DNQ
GDG
1R
IDO
DNQ
EDT
DNQ
2018 EDO
DNQ
GDG
DNQ
GDO
DNP
ADO
DNP
EDG
DNQ
DDM
DNQ
GDT
DNQ
DDO
1R
EDM
DNQ
GDC
DNQ
DDC
DNQ
IDO
2R
EDT
2R
2019 EDO
DNQ
GDC
1R
GDG
DNQ
GDO
2R
ADO
DNQ
EDG
DNQ
DDM
2R
DDO
DNQ
CDO
DNQ
ADC
DNQ
EDM
DNQ
IDO
1R
GDT
DNQ
2020 BDC
DNQ
GDC
DNQ
EDG
DNQ
IDO
DNQ
2021 HDT
DNQ
GDT
DNQ
2022 IDO
DNQ
GDC
DNQ
GDG
DNQ
ADO
DNQ
EDO
1R
CDO
3R
EDG
2R
DDC
2R
EDM
DNQ
HDT
DNQ
GDO
DNQ
BDO
DNQ
GDT
DNQ
2023 BSD
DNQ
EDO
DNQ
IDO
DNQ
GDG
DNQ
ADO
3R
DDC
DNQ
BDO
DNQ
CDO
DNQ
EDG
DNQ
EDM
2R
GDO
1R
HDT
DNQ
GDC
1R
2024 BDO
DNQ
GDG
DNQ
IDO
DNQ
EDG
2R
ADO
DNQ
BSD
DNQ
DDC
2R
EDO
DNQ
GDC
2R
FDT
DNQ
HDT
DNQ
SDT
DNQ
CDO
DNQ

PDC Players Championships

Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
2024 WIG
4R
WIG
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
3R
HIL
1R
HIL
1R
LEI
3R
LEI
1R
HIL
2R
HIL
1R
HIL
1R
HIL
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
3R
MIL
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
2R
MIL
3R
MIL
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
2R
WIG
4R
LEI
2R
LEI
2R
Performance Table Legend
W Won the tournament F Finalist SF Semifinalist QF Quarterfinalist #R
RR
L#
Lost in # round
Round-robin
Last # stage
DQ Disqualified
DNQ Did not qualify DNP Did not participate WD Withdrew NH Tournament not held NYF Not yet founded

References

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  1. ^ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 17 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  2. ^ Caven's Dublin Delight Archived 6 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine PDC.tv
  3. ^ Mansell Seals Irish Matchplay Win Archived 19 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine PDC.tv
  4. ^ Qualifying School Day Three Archived 18 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine PDC.tv
  5. ^ [1] Archived 4 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine PDC.tv
  6. ^ "2011 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Cash Converters World Cup Quarter-Finals Round-Up". PDC. 5 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  8. ^ "Michael Mansell 2012". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  9. ^ "2012 PDC German Darts Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  10. ^ "2012 PDC German Darts Masters Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  11. ^ "PartyPoker.com WGP – Tuesday". PDC. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  12. ^ "2013 PDC World Championship Qualifiers". Darts Database. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  13. ^ "Ladbrokes WDC Day Two". PDC. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  14. ^ "Order of Merit on 1 January 2013". PDC. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  15. ^ "Betfair World Cup of Darts – Last 16". PDC. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  16. ^ "Brilliant Caven Triumphs in Wigan". PDC. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  17. ^ "Speedy Services UK Open – Fourth Round". PDC. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  18. ^ "partypoker.com World Grand Prix Day One". PDC. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  19. ^ a b "partypoker.com WGP Day One". PDC. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  20. ^ "2013 PDC Dutch Darts Masters Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  21. ^ "2014 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  22. ^ "bwin World Cup Glory For Dutch". PDC. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  23. ^ "partypoker.com WGP Day Three". PDC. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  24. ^ "William Hill World Championship Day Four". PDC. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  25. ^ "bwin World Cup of Darts Quarter-Finals". PDC. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  26. ^ "Michael Mansell 2015". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 3 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  27. ^ "2016 PDC World Cup of Darts Qualifiers". Darts Database. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  28. ^ "Michael Mansell 2016". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  29. ^ "2017 PDC Qualifying School Day Four". PDC. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  30. ^ "John O'Shea among five Irish players to win PDC tour cards". RTE. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
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