Announcements

PRIZE money of £3,000 has been guaranteed for Saturday’s St Helens Darts Classic, the town’s biggest darts event for two decades.

The tournament, which is the brainchild of elite arrows ace Stephen Bunting, will be staged at the St Helens Hotel on Linkway West - and there is still time to enter.

Entries have flooded in - with Bunting among those competing for the top prize of £1,000.

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.”

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.

“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,” he said.

Entry fee is £15 with players having to pay and register in advance. Email: st.helensdartsclassic@gmail.com with your name and contact number and they will advise you how to pay.

The runner up will take £500, the losing semi-finalists £250, quarter-finalists £130 and the losing last 16 take £60.

Spectators are welcome to watch at no cost.