Isle of Man wheelchair darter Darren Kennish performed well at the Budapest Open and Winmau Wheelchair Classic recently. 

The Manxman, who celebrates his 52nd birthday today (Tuesday), competed in the wheelchair classic section at the Hungarian event. 

He began with an impressive round-robin stage where he secured three consecutive 2-0 wins, displaying his dominance on the board.  

Advancing to the semi-finals, Kennish claimed a commanding 4-1 triumph against Dirk Sampers of Belgium to progress to the final.  

There he went up Arnost Hladky of the Czech Republic and, despite a fiercely-contested battle, the Manxman held his nerve to claim a dramatic 4-3 victory to win the competition.  

The following day, he took part in the wheelchair masters category at the same event and once again he remained undefeated in the round-robin stage, securing three consecutive 2-0 victories.  

In the semi-finals, Kennish continued his good form with a solid 4-2 win against Bradley Zefara of Malta. 

There was no stopping him in the final as he romped to a resounding 4-0 victory against Sampers to complete an impressive double triumph in Hungary. 

The Winmau Wheelchair Classic proved to be a much tougher event. Despite claiming several notable victories in the round-robin stage, including wins against Mick Jones of Wales and Richard Green of England, Kennish suffered a setback with a narrow 3-2 loss to Kevin Stringer of England in the quarter-finals.  

The overall winner of the event was his regular friendly rival, Vincent D'Hondt of Belgium. 

Kennish would like to thank everyone who has supported him, particularly his family and sponsors Horizon Darts/Laserdarts, JP Corry Isle of Man plus Mike and Lorraine Callaghan for all their help and support. 

Whilst in St Helens for the Winmau event, Kennish met the mayor of the Merseyside town and was also interviewed by a Granada film crew. Kennish would like to thank the Cidac Club St Helens venue for hosting the event.  

Darren is still looking for sponsors - anyone interested please email [email protected]