AN IRVINE teenage darts start has said it was the "proudest feeling" representing his nation on the world stage.

Evan Williamson, 17, was one of four players who represented Scotland at the Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) World Cup in Gibraltar.

It has been the culmination of eight years of hard work for the teen, who began playing at just nine years old.

Now he plays out of the North Ayrshire Darts Academy, as well as competing locally in the Dreghorn and District Darts League with Irvine 8 Ball.

Speaking to the Times, Evan commented: "I was inspired by watching all the pros like Gary Anderson and Michael Van Gerwen and thought I would give it a go so i started practising with my dad.

"I’m starting to take darts a bit more serious, going to more tournaments with international youth players to improve my game and, hopefully, push me on to be a better player.

"I’ll hopefully be attending the development tour this year.

"Darts is a brilliant game to get into with a great group of friendly people from not only Scotland but from different countries.

"With hard work anyone could be the next big thing in darts."

Hard work played a big part in getting Evan through the arduous selection process to represent team Scotland at the JDC World Cup.

In events throughout the year, a points system was in place, with players rewarded for their tournament performances.

Evan was placed third in this system, earning him a spot in 'finals day', where eight players competed for the four spots on Team Scotland.

Four seperate tournaments were played on finals day, with the winner of each gaining a spot on the team - and even won the second event to secure his selection.

He said: "It’s the proudest feeling saying you’ve played for your country. I couldn’t be any more proud of saying i’ve represented my country against some of the best youths in the world."

In the tournament itself, Scotland performed admirably as they took on some of the top youth talent the world has to offer.

In the one-day event, they got off to the ideal start, beating New Zealand 4-2 in the best of seven legs match.

The next match saw them race into a 3-1 lead against eventual runners up England B but unfortunately it was a story of missed chances with six missed match darts resulting in a 4-3 defeat.

The day would end with a 4-0 defeat to semi-finalists Mongolia, and unfortunately this brought an end to Scotland's journey.

But Evan and his team can hold thier head high after what was an excellent performance, and proud moment representing their nation.

The tournament was eventually won by England A, defeating their second side in the final match.