16-year-old Archie Self is making a huge impression on the oche, proving he is capable of challenging the more experienced and established names in darts. This was showcased at the MODUS Super Series by claiming the title during Champions Week of the fifteenth edition following an impressive week.

His performances have got many talking as he adds his name to the plethora of up and coming superstars in the sport. His nine-dart finish came after numerous near misses, becoming the youngest player to produce a televised nine-darter, superior to the likes of Luke Littler in this category.

He went on to win the entire thing, taking down former WDF world champion Andy Baetens 4-2 in the final. It was not a blistering performance by either of them with the Belgian averaging just over 80 while missing 18 darts on the outer ring in those six legs.

Self was also not at his best with an 84.51 average but dug deep and produced the goods on a very memorable night.

"It was rubbish, personally, for me"

An overjoyed Self found it hard to contain his happiness and excitement following the win. With the adrenaline pumping and heart racing, he spoke in the wake of his incredible achievement. "I just can’t find the words," he said on stage. "I was so nervous the whole way through. In my eyes, I couldn’t hit anything. Then I turned up towards the end."

The Englishman failed to continue his fine string of performances, but still found ways to win. "That break just made me reset again. It meant I wasn’t playing like I was this week. I had another practice session with Jordan on Friday, and it went a lot better this time. That got my confidence back again this week."

16-year-old Archie Self is a man on the rise in darts

It is a quick turnaround with a lot more darts to play. "Definitely. I feel a lot more confident now. I was waiting to see how this week would go before going into the Globals next week, and then the Pro Tour as well. So, yeah, I’m definitely confident."

He moved on to talk about the lavish support he had been receiving. "Oh, they’re special to me. All of them, every single one of them. They’re all special to me," he commented. "I did get a bit annoyed with them towards the end of that final because I didn’t want them shouting at me as I was going for a double. So I did make a couple of gestures to calm them down, but, you know, that’s darts, unfortunately."

Moving onto the performance, and Self was very critical of his final display. "It was rubbish, personally, for me," he remarked. "I know that. I was too nervous. I just couldn’t find anything. Everything was going high, and I had to find something and change a tiny bit. I just changed where I was throwing towards the stem, and it worked."

Ally Pally debut awaits

There are some big things on the horizon for Self. Most notably a debut venture at Ally Pally. He qualified for the PDC World Darts Championship via the Challenge Tour, finishing fifth, but a late surge by Tommy Morris in Players Championsip 32 got him in.

He will follow in the footsteps of Littler, although he will turn 17 when he makes his debut at the World Championship. The hype around him is already growing, and Self believes the bookmakers are going over the top a bit with their estimations.

"I got told I was about 21st favourite the other day, and I was like, 'How?' because I’ve only played four Pro Tours, and that’s it. But, you know, I’m looking forward to Ally Pally, and hopefully I can take this into that."