IT was a huge weekend for one rising Ayrshire sporting talent as they competed at the highest level on the national stage.
Kilwinning boy Kyle Davidson battled his way to the final of the first ever Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) Scotland National Championship final.
The showpiece match was played on Saturday, December 3, in Alloa, in front of an amazing crowd of around 500.
Kyle faced off against another young talent in Logan Gilmour, in what turned out to be an outstanding evening of top tungsten action.
The event was sponsored by an emerging talent in the professional game, Scot Alan Soutar. The 44-year-old, nicknamed ‘Soots’, only earned his PDC tour card for the first time in 2021, and impressed on the global stage when he made the PDC World Championship last 16 in 2022.
While Soutar, who still works as a fireman, found professional darts later in life - he saw two top talents ready to reach the top soon in Saturday’s big match.
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Kyle got off to a great start in the best of seven legs match, as he hammered in the high scores in the opening leg, earning himself a 1-0 lead when he finished in only 16 darts.
While the scoring calmed down in the second leg, an outstanding 117 checkout from Kyle put the Kilwinning youngster 2-0 ahead.
Though leg three would prove to be the turning point as Logan Gilmour notched a 180, his second of the game, and despite a few missed darts at double, eventually got his first leg on the board.
The next three legs would go to Logan in 18, 19 and 19 darts but Kyle was in every single leg and also got a 180 on the board.
It meant a 4-2 loss for Kyle, who can keep his head held high after a very impressive performance.
The darts on display were very impressive and both the youngsters have shown that they can go a long way in darts.
They left a lasting impression on some of the large crowd, who came to see ‘main card’ matches on the night.
One fan commented: “Both boys played absolutely superbly. I’m not just saying this but they were way better than a few of the ‘main’ players! Great game – they should be really proud of themselves.”
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