'Ashes of darts' exhibition goes to the wire
Darts top dog Glen Durrant rubbed shoulders with fans in Wolverhampton and will return to the city on a big stage later this year.
The BDO No 1 featured with the PDC's Kyle Anderson and walk on girl Tanya Pickering at an exhibition at the Cleveland Arms Sports Bar, writes Craig Birch.
And Durrant will be travelling back down from Middlesbrough in November to take his place at the Grand Slam, again taking place at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
The ninth edition of the cross-company tournament will come hot on the heels of the Civic's reopening, after a year-long refurbishment.
Durrant is certain of a place, having qualified through the semi-finals of the 2016 BDO World Championship, and the 45-year-old council worker already feels at home.
He said: "I had a fantastic time, as I always do with any exhibition. It went great and it seemed like Wolverhampton could be my second crowd!
"The people were really behind me and I hope to see them again at the Grand Slam. To be one of the BDO players going up against the PDC really excites me.
"I've kept moving forward since the worlds, but my dream is still to take that title at Lakeside. I've got the World Masters to defend first, then it's the Grand Slam.
"I'd love to play Phil Taylor (16-time world champion) on that Wolverhampton stage. He's an amazing player and no one will ever beat what he has done."
Aussie Anderson, from Subiaco in Perth, is a full-time professional based in Nottingham. He visited Wolverhampton before heading to Blackpool to take part in the televised World Matchplay.
The 28-year-old is capable of outstanding form, hitting a nine-dart finish in a 2014 World Championship tie and racking up a staggering 134.84 average in a Players Championship game.
He said: "It was a good night of darts and it's the first time I've worked with Glen. I had a laugh with the audience and we put on a good show."
Durrant and Anderson played a leg against six people each, from an audience of 150, before contesting a light-hearted 'Ashes' head-to-head tournament, under a first-to-seven format.
Punters were nearly treated to a repeat of Anderson's perfect leg after he threw two successive 180s, but he missed treble 19 with his eighth dart after landing treble 20 again.
Durrant led 5-4 at the time and held off his opponent to take the trophy with a slender 7-6 victory, after a high-quality game where both players posted three-figure averages.
