Rising star Chris Aubrey was rewarded for a promising breakthrough year by being named Young Sportsman of the Year at the Swindon Advertiser Sports Awards.

The 20 year old announced his arrival on the PDC circuit in style in 2011, with wins against world champion Adrian Lewis and former world number one Colin Lloyd. The Swindon youngster also reached three semi-finals on the PDC youth tour, and recently received the backing of Premier League star James Wade in the form of a sponsorship deal.

Aubrey was delighted to be recognised by his local community, he said: “For me 2011 was a superb year and it is great to have been given an award. I am used to winning trophies for actually playing darts so to get something like this is great.”

The youngster is aiming to add to his early success by qualifying for more senior tournaments in 2012, he added: “I got to the UK Open last year and I really want to do that again, then from there I would like to think I can make a real go of getting to the World Championships after I was not far off getting there last year.”

By Chris Murphy

James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld both fought hard to grab their first wins of the 2012 McCoy’s Premier League season at the Westpoint Arena in Exeter.

Wade took out three ton-plus finishes in an 8-6 victory over Kevin Painter whilst ‘Barney’ recovered from being 6-4 down to beat Andy Hamilton.

Simon Whitlock posted his highest average so far but was beaten by an in-form Phil Taylor, who broke his own record for the highest average in the competition with a staggering 117.35.

Wade took out 118 and 117 twice in his victory over ‘The Artist’ to get his first two points on the board. ‘The Machine’ was delighted to get the win after three successive defeats. He said: “It’s such a relief to win a game, the standard is so high. It has been frustrating for me because I know I have the ability, but I’ve always been a fighter and hopefully I’ll win a few more matches now.”

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

Van Barneveld continued his strong start to the season when he produced a brilliant fight-back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The popular Dutchman won the last four legs to complete a courageous comeback against Hamilton. ‘Barney’ said:  “It was a really good game and I’m very happy to come out with the win. Andy was finishing well but I still believe that I can do great things and I’m fighting hard. I have a great team around me, who believe in me and I believe in myself.”

Whitlock put in a strong performance, averaging 105, but could do little to prevent Taylor from powering to an 8-4 victory. The 15-time world champion’s imperious three dart average of 117.35 was not only the highest in Premier League history, but also the second highest ever seen on television.

In the night’s other match, reigning Premier League champion Gary Anderson beat world champion Adrian Lewis 8-1.

Wade and van Barneveld face each other in Brighton next week, where Whitlock will take on Lewis.

By Chris Murphy