Nigel wins amateur darts title

Nigel won the event hosted by world number five Daryl ‘Superchin’ Gurney in the Titanic Hotel, Belfast,

The Newtownabbey man lifted the inaugural Four Star Pizza trophy after a convincing 6-1 win in the final over Jonny Allen from east Belfast – earning himself an opportunity to test his darting skills against Daryl who took a break from his busy schedule to meet and greet players from around the province at the one-day, winner-take-all tournament which was compered by Jackie Fullerton.

Unfortunately ‘Superchin’ was in no mood to take it easy on Nigel, giving him a taste of his own medicine with a resounding 6-1 victory.

However that did not detract from the magnificent darts thrown all day by Nigel who, as well as walking away with a very impressive piece of silverware, also won an overnight break in Dublin with tickets to watch Daryl competing in the World Grand Prix, an official signed playing shirt from Daryl and, best of all, a year’s supply of Four Star Pizza!

A triumphant Nigel said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to lift this wonderful trophy, given the quality of the darts players here today. It was a hard slog but I played really well and thankfully got there in the end.

“It was amazing to play a match against Daryl who unfortunately showed me just why he is one of the top darts players in the world. You don’t get to world number five by accident and, against me, he showed that he is true class – as a player and as a man. He’s a legend!

“Given the form he’s in, I think I actually did well to win a leg as Daryl showed everyone the high standards we need to reach to become a professional darts player. Hopefully some of the lads playing here today will go on to do just that.”

Speaking after the event, Daryl said: “We’ve had a fantastic day at the first ever Four Star Pizza NI Darts Challenge and I have to say that the quality of darts on show was brilliant throughout.

“We have a lot of excellent players here at home and I’m very proud to fly the flag for Northern Ireland on the international darts scene. I’d like to congratulate Nigel on winning the competition.”