AS always in the Mainland Taxis Three Towns Darts League, the season was finished off with the prestigious Christmas Shop Masters.

Points are awarded throughout the season for players' performances within their League fixtures. At the end of the League campaign the top 32 players in the Masters ranking table all turn out at the Grand finals to determine this seasons overall Masters champion.

The Bar One in Saltcoats played host to this year's finals and players turned up with their hopes and dreams of becoming this seasons Grand Master.

It was to become a unique night in the TTDL Masters history, as in the opening round, for the first time ever, there was not one single upset to be seen. All of the top 16 seeded players, all came through their opening encounters which set up some great match ups in round two.

In round two, many of the fancied players continued into the quarter-finals.

However the highest seed to fall was to be the number five seed Bobby 'Mind Games' Crozier, who lost out in a last leg decider to 12th seed Peter 'Piper' McGuiness. Also losing out was sixth seed Bobby 'Bin Man' Stevely. He met an on-form Greg Coulter who progressed with a 3-0 win.

The quarter-finals again saw the top seeds prevail as the number one seed Kevin 'Big Mac' McKinney came through to book the first place in the last four with a 3-1 win over Peter 'Peaches' McGuiness Jnr. There he would meet fourth seed Jim 'The Ferryman' Reid, who comprehensively overcame Peter McGuiness Snr 3-0.

Defending champion Andy 'X-Factor' Boulton also continued through with a 3-1 win over Davie 'Bungalow' Brown. And it was the ever-improving 11th seed Greg Coulter, who denied the third seed Davie Tennant of a top-four clean sweep, as he came through, winning 3-0 to complete the semi-final line-up.

Both semi-finals ended up with scorelines that made them look like very one-sided affairs however in reality that was far from the truth. Jim Reid missed some early chances which proved to be very costly as Kevin McKinney claimed a 4-0 win to book a place in his first ever major League Singles Final.

In the second semi-final, a great battle was on show with some very high scoring, Greg Coulter hitting two 180's in the match - only to see Andy Boulton take out some clinical finishing to complete a 4-0 victory to set up a final which would see the number one seed take on the number two.

The final proved to be a top-notch affair with great scoring all the way. It was a showcase to the ever increasing standard within the Three Towns.

After sharing the honours in the opening six legs, it was going to take a deciding leg to determine the destination of this year's title.

Andy's excellent finishing in the semi-final, however eluded him at the close of the final, as he missed three crucial match darts at double eight in his quest for a fourth Masters crown. However Kevin stepped in and took full advantage, hitting the said double eight with his last dart in hand to claim his first Masters title and be crowned the 2017 Christmas Shop Masters champion.

A superb achievement from a player who has increased in standing and ability over the past couple of years and someone that a lot of players could learn from instead of hiding away in other leagues.

Results,last 16 (seedings in brackets): (1) K McKinney 3 v 0 B Baillie (16); (8) G.McConnell 2 v 3 P McGuiness Jnr (9); J. Reid 3 v 1 J.Hall (13); (5) B Crozier 2 v 3 P McGuiness Snr (12); (2) A Boulton 3 v 1 B Wallace (15); (7) D Brown 3 v 1 H Bell (10); (3) D Tennant 3 v 2 C Lynn (14) B Stevely 0 v 3 G Coulter (11)

Quarter-Finals: (1) K McKinney 3 1 P McGuiness Jnr (9); (4) J Reid 3 v 0 P McGuiness Snr (12); (2) A Boulton 3 v 1 D Brown; (7) D Tennant 0 v 3 G Coulter (11). Semi-Finals: (1) K McKinney 4 v 0 J.Reid (4); (2) A Boulton 4 v 0 G Coulter (11).

Final: (1) K McKinney 4 v 3 A Boulton (2).

2017 Masters Champion: Kevin McKinney.