THREE young dart players based in Gwent have been selected to represent their country at a international competition later this year. 

Since Newport dad Paul Rogers launched his JDC darts academy at Out Out Bar and Grill in February,  alongside coach Neil Patterson, the interest has rocketed in just six months. 

According to Out Out owner Matt O'Brien, he says the response has been "amazing", and there are already waiting lists full of people waiting to join. 

In the space of a few months, from May last year when Mr Patterson first approached him with the idea, to February this year, the number of dartboards being used has skyrocketed from four to ten. 

The Junior Darts Corporation academy is the same one that Luke Littler attended before his explosive rise to fame following his senior debut at the World Darts Championship at 16.

The academy set up in Newport has become widely popular with children between the ages of 8 and 18 hoping to become the next Littler.

Prehaps the biggest and most promising sign of a replication of this kind of success is that three of the academy's young dart players have recently been selected to represent Wales' junior world darts championship in November as part of their B team. 

Alfie O'Brien, 12, alongside 17-year-olds Joshua Jones and Abbie Brewster, are set to fly out to Gibraltar alongside their coach, Neil Patterson, to compete later this year. 

However, the competition is not funded, and so Matt, alongside his family and the academy, have set up a fundraiser to help the children realise their dream of competing, in what he has described as "a huge opportunity" for the three young dart players. 

Matt and his team have set up raffles alongside their GoFundMe, and have contacted a number of local businesses in a bid to look for sponsorship for the children, to enable them to go and have "the best experience". 

Matt says he and his wife are "the proudest parents ever" of son Alfie, 12, who is the youngest of the three selected for the championships. 

He explained: "For us, we are just the proudest parents ever.  Alfie is very shy, so to see him be able to join in with the other young darters, and even in some of the adult dart competitions, is just amazing for his confidence. 

"We are so proud of him for being selected and we just hope he and these other young talented players will be able to go to Gibraltar and have this amazing experience."

If there are any businesses out there that would like to sponsor these young dart players, and help to fund their trip to the junior world championships, Matt has asked that they get in touch with him at Out Out Bar and Grill. 

Any members of the public who would like to help with the fundraising can do so by donating to their GoFundMe here.