Teen darts star from Oxfordshire follows in Luke Littler's footsteps at World Junior Championships

  • WATCH: ITV Meridian's Jamie Green went along to find out how Faringdon is becoming a hotspot for darts

A 14-year old girl from Oxfordshire is preparing to compete at next month’s Junior World Darts Championships.

Lilly Wheeler from Faringdon will compete at the tournament in Gibraltar after becoming one of just four girls from across the country to qualify.

The tournament, which is open to both boys and girls under the age of 18, was won by Luke Littler last year.

Littler went on to reach the final of this year’s senior World Championships before losing in the final to Newbury’s Luke Humphries.

Lilly Wheeler has qualified for next month's World Junior Darts Championships Credit: ITV News Meridian

Lilly only started playing darts competitively a year ago, but the sport has always been in her family.

Lilly said: "All of my family play darts. My dad, my brother, my sister, my mum, their parents, they all play darts.

"I really enjoy playing and then… I started playing the big tournaments, doing quite well, I love it.

"When I found out (about qualifying for the World Junior Championships), I was really shocked because obviously it was my first year playing."

Lilly’s dad Joe said: "We were beyond proud.

"We hadn't really set any expectations for anyone and Lilly just blew every expectation we had out of the water."

Lilly's Dad Joe has started a darts academy in Faringdon Credit: ITV News Meridian

Earlier this year, Joe decided to share his love of darts beyond his household, by establishing a junior academy in Faringdon.

Joe explained: "We had an open day, which I was expecting 10-12 children to turn up to and I think we had 49 on four boards, which was hard work. But do you know what, everyone enjoyed it, everyone really enjoyed it."

A few months later, there are two weekly sessions attended by boys and girls of all ages, which Joe puts down to the ‘Luke Littler effect’

“Luke was absolutely amazing… everyone knows how well he’s done going into the professional side of the game. It’s a game that’s good for their hand-eye co-ordination, for their maths, and a lot of the juniors come for the social aspect of seeing their friends."

"It's a fun game that anyone can play. It's an easy game to play, but a hard game to play well."

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