GLEN DURRANT will be swapping Huntington Working Men’s Club for a worldwide stage on Sky TV this weekend.

Officially ranked number one in the world by the British Darts Organisation (BDO), Durrant was one of the star attractions at last weekend’s Huckleberry’s YDP Masters in York. He lived up to his billing and duly scooped the £1,000 first prize but, afterwards, the Middlesbrough-based player admitted that his main incentive for entering the tournament had not been financial.

“It was a last minute decision but I had seen the quality of the field, which included the Lakeside world champion (Scott Waites), a former Premier League player (Wes Newton), and some of the best players in Yorkshire, so I knew it would be the sort of warm-up I needed for the Grand Slam. It was a well-organised event and I never had an easy game all day. I was delighted with the way I played so, all in all, it was a great mock exam!”

The SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts, which starts on Saturday in Wolverhampton, is the biggest televised darts tournament to bring together players from both the BDO and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Staged over nine days, the 32 players start the event in groups before progressing to a knock-out stage. Durrant, 45, is making his first appearance in the Grand Slam – one of eight BDO players up against the cream of the PDC led by Michael Van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, and Phil Taylor.

“I don’t think I have felt this level of excitement ahead of a tournament since my first appearance at Lakeside in the World Championships,” he said. “I can’t wait. It will be the first time I have really mixed it with the PDC players on TV and I don’t want to let myself or the BDO down. I have no other expectations. I just want to enjoy it and do myself justice.”

In York last weekend, Durrant was one of 124 players divided into eight groups for the one day competition organised by York Darts Promotions. Pub players locked horns with full internationals, women took on men, and a schoolboy from Lincoln (Leighton Bennett, aged just 10) looked every bit a champion of the future as he won two games and checked out on 114.

Durrant beat Newton on his way to winning Group 1. Waites lost in the Group 4 final to Brian Dawson. York’s Richie Corner was beaten by Group 8 winner Justin Hobson while PDC rising star Chris Quantock, from Strensall, won Group 3. The other group winners were Graham Elvidge, Allan Edwards, Shaun Rutter, and Dave Prins. After beating Elvidge in the quarters, Durrant inflicted a 6-0 whitewash on Quantock. His opponent in the final was Prins who beat Hobson and Edwards in the knock-out stages. Durrant threw four 180s in the final on his way to 7-2 win.

A full-time housing officer, he currently has no plans to go full-time pro. He has, however, looked at the possibility of switching to the PDC but is still driven by the desire to win the BDO World Championship, which is being broadcast by Channel Four for the first time in January.

“Darts took over my life about four years ago – when something just ‘clicked’ – but I don’t travel as much as the rest of the players and I like the balance I have got in my life,” he explained. “It would be great to play against the likes of Van Gerwen or Taylor this weekend. If you can’t get excited about that, you shouldn’t be playing this game!”

Results: Huckleberry’s YDP Masters at Huntington WMC

Final: Glen Durrant 7 (13, 16, 17, 16, 14, 13, 18, plus 4 x 180s) Dave Prins 2 (13 plus 1 x 180).

Semi Finals: Glen Durrant 6 (11, 16, 18, 15, 17, 15; 180; 100co, 144co) Chris Quantock 0; Dave Prins 6 (14, 19, 21, 16, 17, 18; 3x180) Allan Edwards 3 (19, 12, 20; 2x180;121 co).

Quarter-finals: Glen Durrant 5 (16, 16, 15, 18, 15) Graham Elvidge 2 (17,18;180,138 co); Chris Quantock 5 (16, 14, 14, 15, 20;180) Brian Dawson 4 (17, 15, 18, 18); Allan Edwards 5 (17, 15, 17, 19; 142 co) Shaun Rutter 2 (15, 21;180); Dave Prins 5 (16, 16, 15, 21, 18) Justin Hobson 2 (17, 15).