IRISH darts star Shane McGuirk said he was proud to qualify for a major PDC TV event in his first week as a professional player - and has made him hungry to experience more.
Monaghan man McGuirk came through a tough qualifying battle for the PDC World Masters last week, going on to take on Nathan Aspinall in front of a packed out crowd at the Arena MK in Milton Keynes.
While he might have lost that game to world number 14, Aspinall, The Arrow said the experience is sure to stand to him.
"Just getting through that mad qualifying series was an achievement in itself," McGuirk told Darts In Ireland.
"A lot of people had said to me that the chances of qualifying for the Masters were slim so I kind of went in with that notion that this was just a chance for me to dip my toe in the water and just get used to the environment with all these top players.
"I went in with no expectations but the next thing I was playing very well and got out of the group and I started getting a bit more confident about it and just kicked on from there."
McGuirk began his qualifying campaign with group victories over fellow Irishman, Niall Culleton, and Belgium's Stefaan Henderyck, before he went on to defeat Cameron Menzies, Keane Barry and Scott Waites to claim his spot in the World Masters.
He admitted that playing against his good pal Culleton, also a new PDC tour card holder, was more difficult a challenge than if he was taking on the world number one.
Shane said: "It was probably worse for us because me and Niall were rooming together and when we saw the draw we just said it was typical.
"But I think when we look back on this in years to come, we will know that the very first game we each played as professionals was against each other, which is quite nice I suppose. Luckily enough the game just went my way in the end too."
McGuirk said it will take him time to adjust to playing in front of such large and raucous crowds.
As the 2024 WDF World Champion, McGuirk has been used to playing under pressure in front of crowds at Lakeside, but admitted that the PDC venues are a different beast altogether.
He said: "I got rewarded by playing in front a massive crowd, with thousands of people there, against a great player like Nathan. It's something I'm not going to forget.
"It's a bigger venue than the likes of Lakeside would be and it's a lot louder. I was very nervous in the game, I'll admit that myself, but I was also happy with that environment and with a bit more experience I think I will grow to like it."
McGuirk began the game against Aspinall in superb form, taking out a brilliant 141 checkout to win the opening set.
However the Asp kicked into gear after that, rattling off the next three sets to win the game with an average of 105.
Of that great checkout, Shane said: "I wanted to do something to ruffle his feathers a little bit but in fairness he cracked on from there and it was going to be a lot to keep up with him.
"But I was very happy overall with how my week went. It has been a bust month, starting off with getting my card at Q School and then qualifying for the Masters.
"I've done all that before I've even played a pro tour yet so I'm very proud of what I've achieved so far."
McGuirk is now setting his sights for the year ahead, aiming to try win an event and qualify for the PDC World Championships at Ally Pally.
He added: "I do have a few goals I'd like to achieve. It would be great to win one of the floor events, a Players Championship, and maybe qualify for a couple of Euro Tour events.
"On top of that it would be good to get to the Players Championship finals and get to Ally Pally.
"But I won't be aiming overly high and I'm only starting out and just need to get the experience of playing at these events."
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