DARTS: Swindon duo bid to reign in Spain (From Swindon Advertiser)

DARTS: Swindon duo bid to reign in Spain

8:50am Friday 27th January 2012 in Other Sport By Andy Warren

CHRIS Aubrey will be looking to put the disappointment of missing out on a PDC ProTour Card behind him when he jets off to Spain for the first leg of the PDC Players Championship in Benidorm.

The youngster, along with experienced Swindon thrower Dennis Smith, will fly out today to join a field of 150 players, including the likes of his new mentor James Wade, former world champion Raymond van Barneveld and Premier League players Simon Whitlock and Kevin Painter.

Two separate tournaments will be held at the Media Hotel tomorrow and Sunday, both with a £35,000 prize fund, and Aubrey is looking forward to mixing it with the sport’s best after falling short at Qualifying School in Barnsley last weekend.

“It is great to be able to get out there and playing straight away, and I hope I can put in a much better performance than I did at Q-School, because I was not pleased with how that went really,” he told the Advertiser.

“I spoke to James after it all, and they both know how well I can play at the highest level, because that is whey they offered to help me. We are all not looking at it any different now.

“By missing out on the tour card the only thing I can not really do is the Players Championship event in this country, but if the card holders do not all take up their places I still could do some of them too, which would be good.

“These events are funny ones, because if they go well they go well, and if they don’t, they don’t.

“I have been there before and know what to expect, and I am looking forward to getting started.”

Smith is an experienced campaigner having been on the circuit for more than 15 years, but still gets excited when the start of a new season comes around.

“I am looking forward to it, because it is the first event of the season and I want to get started,” he told the Advertiser “You need to go out there and not expect too much, because you do not want to get carried away. But I am playing well so there is no reason I can’t put a good run together.

“It is going to be quite an event, too, because there will be a load of new players out there including some from the BDO like Ted Hankey.

“The event is full of good players so you will need to play well.

“My priorities for this year are to start well in the Players Championship, because over the last few I have not had the greatest start and have often been playing ctach-up for the rest of the year.

“This time I want to build up some points early on, and with some of the new players not able to get to this tournament, there is a good chance.”