CHRIS DOBEY is no stranger to the Premier League Darts at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena. Normally, though, he has a four-pint pitcher in his hand.

In the past couple of years, the 28-year-old has made the short trip from his home in Bedlington to watch the opening round of Premier League action with his mates. Tomorrow, though, he will be swapping the table seats for the oche.

With Gary Anderson having been forced to withdraw from the Premier League because of a back injury, the PDC opted to invite nine different players to the opening nine rounds of matches. After his breakthrough performance at the recent World Championships, when he powered through matches against Boris Koltsov, Steve Beaton and Vincent van der Voort before losing in a classic against Anderson in the fourth round, Dobey was an obvious choice to line up in Newcastle.

“I’m used to being there, but not like this,” said the Northumbrian. “I’ve sat in the crowd at the Arena for the past few years, watching the Premier League. It’ll be a bit different this time.

“It’s a dream come true really, especially with it being in Newcastle. I’ve played in a few local exhibitions and stuff, and it’s great to have the crowd on your side, but this is going to be at a completely different level. I’ve got a load of mates who were going anyway – they’ve had tickets from the moment they came out – so it’ll be nice to know they’re there.”

Dobey started playing darts when his mates were short of a player for their team at the Ridge Farm in Bedlington, and while the pub might not exist any more after it was knocked down for housing, its most celebrated son goes from strength to strength.

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His winning run at the Worlds has opened the door to a number of lucrative ranking tournaments over the next 12 months, and by the time the identity of the Premier League line-up for 2020 is announced, he hopes to have been selected on merit rather than as a one-off wildcard.

“I feel I did myself proud at the Worlds,” he said. “I did well, although there’s always a little bit of you that thinks you could have done better. I missed a big number late on in the game against Gary, and then I missed three darts at a double that could have made things a bit different.

“I set myself a target before the tournament, and I reached it. Once I’d done that, I wanted to make sure I put in a good game against Gary, and although I came off a bit gutted because I missed my chance and probably could have gone on to win the match, I was happy with my overall performance. I’m just looking forward to the new year now.”

The next 12 months will see him form part of a strong North-East contingent that is hoping to put the region at the heart of the darting map.

Fellow Geordie, Ryan Joyce, also impressed at the World Championships, beating James Wade and Alan Norris before succumbing to Michael van Gerwen in the last eight, while three-time BDO World champion, Glen Durrant, will play as an invited player at next week’s Premier League event in Glasgow after successfully securing his PDC tour card following his switch from the rival tour.

“It would be nice to think we could all really kick on,” said Dobey. “You’ve had some top players up here before – Paul Nicholson won the Players Championship and Kevin McDine was a tour player – but they’re not longer on the tour at the moment so you’ve got a new generation coming through.

“Glen’s come on to the PDC, and you’ve got Ryan Joyce and Adam Hunt as well. There are a few of us doing reasonably well.

“I support the lads and hope they do well, but it’s a funny sport darts, you can’t support them too much because at some stage, you know you’re going to be up against them.”