DARTS: Ipswich-born darts ace Keith Deller must overcome another former champion if he hopes to be crowned king of the world – 20 years after he last lifted the title.

DARTS

IPSWICH-BORN darts ace Keith Deller must overcome another former champion if he hopes to be crowned king of the world – 20 years after he last lifted the title.

Deller shocked the nation with his World Championship triumph in January, 1983.

And he returns to to the Circus Tavern, Purfleet on December 27 when the nine-day battle for the coveted Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship gets underway.

Deller – handed a bye in the opening phase of the £250,000 event – is poised for a cracking second round clash with fellow ex-champ Richie Burnett, a match that is already being billed as England v Wales.

Matches between the two veterans have always produced outstanding contests that have crowds on the edge of their seats.

Deller, now based at Mildenhall, is still a strong presence on the PDC circuit. And he produced one of his best performances in recent times to reach the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay event in June.

The confidence boost Deller received from that run was shattered when he was drawn against ten-time World Champion Phil Taylor in the first round of the World Matchplay and crashed out.

However, Deller believes he has the ability and the experience to relive past glories and could knock Taylor off his throne at Purfleet.

And the former Ipswich Town ball boy is eagerly-anticipating his clash with Burnett when the event gets underway.

"It should be a belter," he admitted. "I know that it is going to be a close match but the support of the Essex home crowd will raise my confidence and get me through a tough match."