Far North darts player Jaymie Hilton-Jones has scored a spot in the Professional Darts Corporation’s World Youth Championship in October and is fundraising to get there.
Far North darts player Jaymie Hilton-Jones has scored a spot in the Professional Darts Corporation’s World Youth Championship in October and is fundraising to get there.
Kaitāia darts player Jaymie Hilton-Jones has scored a coveted spot in the Professional Darts Corporation’s World Youth Championship, but first he has to raise the money to get there.
A fundraising night to support him to get to Wigan, the United Kingdom, for October’s event is being held at Kaitāia RSA on Saturday, from 5pm.
Like many young darts players growing up, Hilton-Jones dreamed that one day he could play on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit and earn big money playing against the world’s best.
Now Hilton-Jones is living the dream after being chosen as one of two New Zealand darts players to compete in the championship, a stepping stone to hopefully make the pro tour. He is looking for help from sponsors and backers.
The 24-year-old found out he had been chosen while playing darts for Mussel Rock in Kaitāia on a Wednesday night, and immediately rang his dad, Chris, who had spurred his interest in the arrows.
The news came only a month after he made the New Zealand Darts Team, having been runner-up to Mark Cleaver in the NZDC nationals in June.
Hilton-Jones said he couldn’t remember when he took up the tungsten and stepped up to the oche, and he’s looking forward to testing himself on the world stage against the best young darts players there are.
And he’s hoping the experience will progress him to the senior professional ranks so he can take on the likes of Michael “Mighty” Mike; Van Gerwin; Luke “Cool Hand Luke” Humphries; Peter “Snakebite” Wright; Michael “Bully Boy” Smith; Rob “Voltage” Cross; Gary “Flying Scotsman” Anderson; and Luke “The Nuke” Littler.
New Zealand is one of the stops on the lucrative pro-darting circuit, so he could one day be performing as a professional in his home country - “that would be amazing”.
Last year’s PDC Youth World Championship was won by teen darts sensation Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler, then 16, who is now a star on the professional adult PDC circuit.
Littler won last year’s PDC Youth World Championship as a 16-year-old and has since stepped up to be a major force on the professional circuit, winning a number of big tournaments and regularly beating some of the game’s biggest stars.
Littler has so far earned more than £303,500 (about $600,000) on the pro-circuit, and Hilton-Jones is keen to test himself at that level.
“When I got chosen for the New Zealand team I didn’t think I had a realistic chance beforehand, but dad was the first person I rang and I was in tears. I rang him and mum when I got chosen for the PDC youth champs and they are both so proud. They’ve been a big part of me getting this far. Also, the Far North darts community have been amazing in supporting me,“ Hilton-Jones said.
He’s still working for Laser Electrical in Kaitāia and he was thankful the company gave him time out to compete on the national circuit, and it helped that some of his workmates also loved their darts.
“I decided to give up playing rugby a while ago to really concentrate on my darts, and while I got a bit of flak from the boys, this shows I definitely made the right decision as it’s now paying off.“
And paying off is what pro-darts does big time.
The total prizemoney for the PDC World Darts Championship, held over Christmas and New Year at the Alexandra Palace, in London, is £2.5 million ($5.3m) with the winner taking home £500,000, and Hilton-Jones hopes he will one day make it to the ‘Ally Pally’ for the sport’s biggest event.
Hilton-Jones needs sponsors and support to get to Wigan. To help, email jaymiehiltonjones@gmail.com or head along to the Kaitāia RSA on Saturday to support his fundraising effort.
