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THE biggest St Helens darts event for almost two decades will take place in June with a top prize of £1,000 already guaranteed.

The St Helens Darts classic is the brainchild of PDC darter Stephen Bunting and will draw in players from beyond the town.

Entries have been flooding in - with Bunting among those competing.

Bunting said: “St Helens has always been a hotbed of talent so it is about time we have had a really big tournament to look forward to and this will hopefully going to run for years.

“With the backing of the hotel and the sponsors we have secured really good prize money and think the top prize will rise to close to £1,500.

“The way it is at the minute the last 16 will get £75.”

It is the biggest darts event in the town since Star Darts ended in 2001, and is the product of work put in by Bunting and fellow organiser Glenn Woodage.

There will be16 playing boards, with entries limited to 256, meaning the winner has to triumph in eight knockout games.

All the money coming in will be paid out, with Bunting playing an exhibition to cover the cost of the easels to ensure the pot is as big as possible.

Bunting added: “It is open, anyone can enter and we have got 20 entries from County Durham, I know Kevin McDine and Adam Hunt, who I have played on the tour, are both coming down.

“James Richardson has signed up too.

“The names are coming in - they are booking the hotel too, which is good for them and the town.

“It took a month to find the date, because of the busy darts schedule. It is still not ideal as it is on the World Cup weekend so we lose Michael Smith.

“I think Chizzy is coming down though so we are keeping a lot of the St Helens lads interested.”

Not only is the top prize proving an attraction - there is also the lure of playing against some of the game’s top darters.

Bunting said: “It encourages people. I am playing and we have had a few messages from people saying they would like to play me. They could play and beat me and that would be a claim to fame.

“And of course this is the first and that is always the most special to win.

"I have tried to bring a big tournament to town and we have some really great sponsors from businesses in the town.

I can’t wait to get it started."

Entry fee is £15 with players having to pay and register in advance.

Call Karl on 0144 739119 or call into A180 Darts Shop, 1a Folds Lane, St Helens, WA11 9NB.