The commentators were talking up Mervyn King from the word go but Brendan Dolan could not have cared less.
They talked about him taking this one, they even talked about him making it to the final but before they got carried away about their own English man, they should have first considered that he'd have to get through Fermanagh's finest Brendan Dolan to get there and when the history maker is darting like he has been this last week, that's one hell of a task.
The Belcoo bullet bombed out to his iconic walk-on-tune, Shipping up to Boston and he looked as serene and as at ease with himself as he had been in the last two rounds.
And when he's looking like that, confidence isn't hard to come by, even for the hopeful onlooker.
19th seed must have known Mervyn King was in for it.
To his credit, he settled into things very quickly taking the first leg of the match, but that was no more than a false dawn. Dolan lined him up and broke him and he had the first set to his name after four legs, four snappy, business like legs and he walked off the stage pointing his head as if to say this is only the start.
It was only the start.
https://twitter.com/OfficialPDC/status/1076844619550212096
Because Dolan was about to ramp it up again.
King, who has a history of crying off with back injuries began wincing with the darts going against him. Many darts fans weren't buying it though, they'd seen this type of thing from him before.
https://twitter.com/Paulo3207155835/status/1076848182401875968
https://twitter.com/UKPro/status/1076849320564011015
Then Dolan took the second set, closing out with a steely double four and he was in the driving seat in this one.
King though, wasn't having it and leaving the stage, he muttered "he can't play like that anymore" according to the PDC Darts Twitter page.
https://twitter.com/OfficialPDC/status/1076848679925862412
Initially, he looked to be spot on with his prediction. Dolan tightened up a little, missed a couple of doubles and King took the net set, and the next one again.
https://twitter.com/OfficialPDC/status/1076855714562199557
This one was going to go the whole way but Dolan had more in him and he took the fifth set of the day with a clutch double eight on his last dart.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/1076859598001324034
And he took the game in the sixth, shutting King out of it and finishing it off ruthlessly. The 46-year-old into the fourth round for the first time ever.
https://twitter.com/OfficialPDC/status/1076862478577852416
All of this from a man who once kicked a left footed sideline kick off the ground in the swirling wind to beat Aughdrumsee by a point in a Div 2 league match up in Fermanagh.
https://twitter.com/fastpictureshow/status/1076848510211903489
Some man he is.
