Angus darts wonderkid Nathan Girvan will return to the famous Lakeside stage in January to contest a world final.
The 15-year-old Forfar Academy pupil battled through tough competition at Bridlington Spa to book his place in the final of the BDO Lakeside World Youth Championships for the second time in three years.
Nathan beat England’s Connor Arberry 3-2 to set up a date with England’s Leighton Bennett in front of a worldwide TV audience of millions.
Nathan said: “To qualify for Lakeside once is special, but to know that I have done it twice now is incredible.
“I am proud to return to Lakeside to try and become world champion. “
Nathan has been throwing darts for as long as he can remember but things started to get serious when he joined the Angus Darts Academy, which is based at the Café Project in Arbroath.
He was unbeatable from the time he started playing every week at the academy which is run by Arbroath and Scotland darts player Alan ’Soots’ Soutar.
Soots started the academy to pass on his love of the game to the county’s youngsters and described Nathan’s success as incredible.
He said: “Nathan will return to compete in the Lakeside World Youth Final in January 2019 for the second time in three years.
“I am absolutely over the moon for Nathan. He has a bright future in darts. He’s incredible and he is only 15-years-old.”
Soots nicknamed Nathan ‘NvG’ as his scoring prowess reminded him of Dutch sensation Michael van Gerwen.
Nathan has a gruelling practice regime which he puts in place when he gets home from school each day.
He also studies some of the oche’s greatest players and is dreaming of making a career out of the sport which now produces multi-millionaires.
The Craichie lad will be given a tough test by Bennett who stunned the darting world in August by winning his first senior event aged 12.
In the semi-finals, the Lincoln schoolboy was a 4-3 winner over PDC world number 57 Ricky Evans, 28, who reached the last 32 of the 2016 world championships.
Bennett, who is already 5ft 10, started playing arrows aged eight and is eyeing turning pro like his idol Phil Taylor, the 16-time world champion.
The Lakeside final in January will be shown live on Channel 4 in the UK and screened across Europe.
Nathan was defeated by Holland’s Justin Van Tergouw when he competed in the final back in 2017.
He got off to a flyer but ultimately felt the heat under the lights of Frimley Green against the might and maturity of the 16-year-old Dutchman.
Since then he has continued to top the Scottish youth tables and has received praise from two-time world champion Gary Anderson.
