Darts champion Michael Smith was catapulted to the top partly thanks to his mum's social club in St Helens.
Smith defeated Michael Van Gerwen in an incredible Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) final on January 3, dubbed by some as one of the greatest darts matches of all time. The world number one also saw glory at the Bahrain Darts Masters, defeating Gerwyn Price 8-6 in the final on Friday, January 13.
"Bull Boy's" stock has never been higher- but the 32-year-old hasn't forgotten his humble beginnings in St Helens.
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Michael's mum, Sandra Woods, has owned St Anne's & Blessed Dominic Social Club in Sutton for the past 12 years, and the 59-year-old claims the club has helped Michael reach the top of the darts world. One of the world champion's first stops after lifting the trophy, was back to his mum's club.
Sandra told the ECHO: "He's always been in the club practicing, even before we had this place, our family had pubs and he has just always been working so hard to improve, he still comes in the club a lot- when he's at home anyway. With us all growing up in the pubs, darts has always been there.
"It's amazing to see him do so well now, he has worked so hard to be where he is, and I think the club has helped him."
Alongside his mum's club, Bully Boy honed his skills at St Helens Darts Academy, ran by Karl Holden- the ECHO visited the academy in the wake of Michael's win. Karl claims he first met Michael as a 14-year-old at the academy.
According to Karl, Michael "wanted to be the best in the world" from day one. The 53-year-old said: "I first met Mike when he was around the age of 14, at a junior darts tournament that I would've been running on the day. I spoke to him in depth about darts and he said 'I want to be the best player in the world'.
"Obviously he's done very well since that day. He used to come here regularly, we sponsored him for equipment and that sort of thing, and helped him get to venues when he couldn't drive. And obviously he's just got better and better- and when you're that good you don't need my help, or anyone else's help."
The team at St Helens Darts Shop now work hard to nurture and support the next generation of local darts players with their training academy, and owner Karl believes Michael Smith's massive WDC win will inspire even more young people to get involved in the sport.
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