Nico Adams wins in Wales to become first Volts regional champion

Nico Adams – who only started playing darts earlier this year – has been crowned the first ever JDC Volts regional champion after he won the Wales event.

Adams, who is 14, joined the Family Darts Academy in Newport in January, and has shown rapid progress under the guidance of coach Neil Patterson.

“Nico is a really quiet lad who listens to the coaching and takes everything on board – and his improvement has been excellent throughout the season,” said Patterson.

“He’s had an excellent week or two, qualifying for the World Cup in Gibraltar and winning the Volts regional final. He even beat me for the first time this week – and beating your coach is always a big moment for the kids!”

Adams finished sixth in the Wales group – but peaked when it mattered at the regional finals in Newport last weekend.

He opened with a 4-1 win over Drew Bowen in the last 32, before beating Owen Alford by the same scoreline in the next round.

Another 4-1 win in the quarter-finals saw him overcome third seed Cynan Jones, before holding his own in back-to-back seven-leg thrillers against the players ranked first and second in the draw.

He beat second seed George Humphreys 4-3 in the semis, before another 4-3 win against the top-ranked player Lucas Milligan in the final.

Congratulations to Nico on his success – he certainly did it in the hard way and is now into the national finals on September 27.