Whitehaven's rising darts star dreams of playing at Alexandra Palace

Whereas some kids fall in love with football and dream of playing for their favourite team, Devon's ambition is to claim victory on the Ally Pally stage. 

Though just 12 years old, Devon is no stranger to competitions, with experiences at a number of events, including a Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) competition in Blackburn in May 2022. 

More recently, Devon has been showing off his skills in the Annan Youth Darts League.

This league began in February 2023 and Devon instantly became one of the frontrunners, cementing the top spot in League One.

On Sunday, July 2, this league came to an end with Devon narrowly missing out on the league title, being defeated 4-2 by Flynn Dalglish in the final.

However, Devon did not go down without a fight, recording a maximum of 180 and showcasing his talents.

Devon has been passionate about darts for several years, something that his mum, Bianca Hardie, puts down to a family holiday.

She said: "We went to Lanzarote in 2014 and there was magnetic dart boards in the shop and we bought him one of them and from then on it has just taken off.

"He has gone from playing on a magnetic one right up to, well he has had who knows how many boards now and I think what it is, it's all the maths in it, because his passion is numbers as well so it all the adding up and taking away."

Bianca has embraced her son's passion for darts and has made sure that Devon has the ability to compete in competitions.

However, a lack of local youth leagues and events has forced Bianca and Devon to venture north of the border, and she spoke about she has tried to encourage the formation of a group that is closer to home. 

She said: "It has not been easy.

"I even put feelers out through social media to see if we could start something in and around Cumbria and nobody really got back and that is why we took it upon ourselves to contact the Annan Youth Darts and that's when they said they had a place for him."