THERE were celebrations in Cardigan darts circles after a former local league player Jonny Clayton was crowned world champion.

The 46-year-old thrower teamed up with 35-year-old Gerwyn Price, of Caerphilly, to beat top seeds England and capture the Betvictor World Cup of Darts title and the £70,000 top prize in Salzburg, Austria.

Clayton, who hails from Pontyberem, was a regular in the Hope & Anchor Singles Darts League in Cardigan, which attracted top players from various parts of west Wales.

During one competition at the town centre hostelry he hit a magical nine-darter.

When the league changed locations and became known as the Cardigan RFC Singles Darts Leagu,e the Carmarthenshire darter continued to compete against the likes of former Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championship semi-finalist Jamie Lewis of Cardigan and other quality players.

Clayton did not take part in the local league last season due to his heavy commitments on the PDC circuit throughout Europe.

Clayton, ranked 16th in the PDC Order of Merit, and Price, who is ranked third, were in sparkling form throughout the tournament as they brushed aside Russia, Scotland, Australia and Germany to reach the final, which has previously been won by England, Netherlands and Scotland.

In the final the Welsh duo took on 30-year-old World number four Michael Smith of St Helens and Hastings-based former World Champion 30-year-old Rob Cross.

Price got the underdogs off to a flying start with a 4-1 win over Smith and then Clayton set the scene alight as he sprang a 4-2 win over Cross and had a 105 average.

Wales continued to dominate in the doubles as they emerged 4-3 winners to lift the title for the first time with a sensational 103 average.

Afterwards an emotional Clayton said: "I'm the proudest man on the planet right now and to play with Gezzy, the best player in the world at the moment, I'm just so happy.

"The old Wales-England rivalry is massive in any sport you play, so to win that against England is a dream come true. It's a phenomenal feeling.

"This means the world to me, and to beat England in the final, I'm so proud."

Price said: “"I've won the Grand Slam back-to-back, the World Grand Prix, the World Series, but for Wales, it means a lot.

"It's the proudest moment of my darting career - I'm quite emotional.

"I've had some success recently for myself but to win this for Wales, this means so much to me. I know I'm playing well at the moment but this is a doubles game and I couldn't win it without Jonny. This is a team and we deserve it."