Thatch are the Ulster champions of champions

The local lads, captained by Bryan McWhirter, clinched the title after a tense final, beating Ballymena champions Connollys 13-10 in the Primacy Sports Bar, Bangor.

Eligible teams from NIPA- affiliated leagues battled it out for the championship.

Thatch stalwart Alan Johnston won all five of his games in the final, including the all-important 23rd frame.

It was a gallant effort by the runners-up, who had beaten a strong Shooters Sharks double-winning team from the North Down & Ards League and the equally strong Rockers, who are champions of Carrick & District League, to reach the final.

It had looked like an all-Ballymena final as in the other semi-final Thatch trailed Michelin Masters right up to the 25th and deciding frame, but Bill McIlroy Sr took out a precision finish, much to the delight off his team mates.

Darts League

Meanwhile, the Larne Premier Darts League is inviting teams to apply to join, doing so in writing by July 19 to the league secretary at 7 Bank Road, Larne, BT40 3AJ.

The Larne league standard is top drawer. It boasts several county players and Colin McGarry, skipper of the Northern Ireland international team, who has also won three major pro vincial titles.