By:
Paul Kelly
Shane McGuirk is the last remaining Irishman in the 2026 Winmau World Masters Preliminary Rounds and is just one win away from Round 1.
‘The Arrow’ defeated Keane Barry in an all-Irish Last 32 contest, and is now just one win away from booking his place in the 32-man Winmau World Masters field.
Shane McGuirk Last Irish Hope In Winmau World Masters Prelims
Shane McGuirk is now officially just one win away from qualifying for the first round of the Winmau World Masters after advancing to the Last 16 of the Preliminary Rounds.
McGuirk is now the last remaining Irish hope, with four of the five Irish players confirmed for the prelims now eliminated.
Both Niall Culleton and Stephen Rosney were eliminated before reaching the first hurdle, crashing out in the Group Stages at the expense of McGuirk and Kim Huybrechts respectively.
Culleton won one of his group games, but was no match for McGuirk who won both his group games and therefore progressed to the knockouts alongside William O’Connor and Keane Barry.
https://twitter.com/benonsport/status/2016536261264130154
It was a disappointing Last 64 result for ‘The Magpie’, who was perhaps Ireland’s strongest hope of success on paper. O’Connor was beaten 3-0 by Patrik Williams, despite being ranked 15th in the world in the latest world darts power rankings.
There was success for both McGuirk and Barry in the Last 64, who defeated Cameron Menzies and Lukas Wenig respectively to set up an all-Irish clash in the Last 32.
Barry vs McGuirk went all the way to a fifth and deciding set, with the Castleblayney man holding his nerve to book his place in the Last 16 of the knockout stages.
Shane McGuirk vs Scott Waites for a spot in Round One of the World Masters.
Yes please.
— Jetze Jan Idsardi (@JJIdsardi) January 28, 2026
Shane McGuirk One Win Away From Winmau World Masters Line-Up
After defeating fellow Irishman Keane Barry in the Last 16 of the 2026 Winmau World Masters Preliminary Round knockout stages, Shane McGuirk is now just one win away from reaching the first round of the World Masters tournament proper.
‘The Arrow’ has been one of the standout players all day, averaging 92+ in each of his four games so far. The 2024 WDF World Championship winner will now face Englishman Scott Waites for a place in Round 1 of the Winmau World Masters.
McGuirk only earned his PDC Tour Card earlier this month after a strong display at UK Q-School, but is now just one win away from making the 32-man field of one of the PDC majors on debut.
https://twitter.com/dartingupdates/status/2016546364730069441
It’s been a successful start to life on the PDC for McGuirk, who has won his opening four games in Milton Keynes in both the group stages and knockout phase.
The 30-year-old may have been a relative outsider at the beginning of play in the Preliminary Rounds of the Winmau World Masters, but has already proved he has the bottle to mix it with some of the world’s best darts players.
McGuirk will go into his match against ‘Scotty 2 Hottie’ as the underdog, but has already proved he is a match for anyone and will be full of confidence of getting the job done and advancing to the last eight.
If he does, Shane McGuirk will have officially qualified for Round 1 of the 2026 Winmau World Masters where he will face Nathan Aspinall in a tantalising match on Thursday, January 29.
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