Under-21 Entries Prove Popular

MANY top young names have already entered the Rileys Qualifiers for the PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship.

The inaugural Under-21 World Championship will offer £30,000 prize money - including £10,000 to the eventual winner - as well as places in the Grand Slam of Darts and a PDC ProTour Card for the finalists.

The first of three stages will see players in the UK battling in knockout qualifiers to be held in Rileys DartsZones, with 46 different venues staging a qualifier.

Those winners will join a series of International Qualifiers and the leading eight Under-21s from the PDC Order of Merit in competing in the Last 64 at the Barnsley Metrodome on November 6, before the Final is played during the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

Several hundred young players have already signed up for the Rileys Qualifiers since the tournament was announced last week, with a further month to go before the entry deadline of October 1 2010.

The players include four who won through to the UK Open in June through the Rileys Qualifiers - Reece Robinson, Jamie Green, Ricky Evans and Alex Harrison.

Hull-based Robinson won through to the last 64 in Bolton, where he earned a clash with Simon Whitlock in front of the Sky Sports cameras, while Green - the son of former PDC player Robbie, defeated Harrison in their first round clash and Evans went out to Steve Beaton in round two.

"I'm delighted at the number of entrants we've seen so far for the PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship," said Rileys Chief Executive Maurice Kelly.

"There are some very talented young players using our clubs. I'll be watching with great interest to see how they progress in the competition.

"I hope that Rileys can help find the new Under-21 World Champion. There is a great prize up for grabs and it is a real shot at the big time for all of them."

Two players with PDC ProTour experience, Darren Whittingham and Adam Huckvale, will also be testing themselves in the Rileys Qualifiers.

"The response of so many young players already shows the great demand for this tournament and we're delighted that players are keen to take this opportunity," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.

"These young players will be the future of the sport and we look forward to seeing them in action in October."

Rileys Qualifiers - Entry Information
Entries for the Rileys Qualifiers must be made by October 1 2010, and can be made online through this link to the Rileys Website.

The Rileys Qualifiers will be held at the following venues:
Saturday October 16
Aberdeen, Bolton, Burton-on-Trent, Chester, Chesterfield, Coventry, Edinburgh, Hull, Inverness, Ipswich, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool (Birkenhead), Liverpool (Bootle), Loughborough, Manchester (Chorlton), Middlesbrough, Norwich, Peterborough, Scunthorpe, Solihull, Stafford, Stirling, Sunderland, Wigan.

Saturday October 23
Bournemouth, Basildon, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Colchester, Croydon, Exeter, Gillingham, Gloucester, London (Victoria), Oxford, Plymouth, Reading, Southend, South Benfleet (Essex), Stevenage, Taunton, Torquay, Wolverhampton, Worcester.

Update - August 27: new venues at Liverpool (Birkenhead) and Stafford added for Oct 16 and Reading and Southend added for Oct 23.