Heydon, who represents Warwickshire in the British Inter-County Championships, finished third in the county averages last season after winning all nine of his games and is the current Leamington singles, pairs and mixed pairs champion.

Now, thanks to the backing of This is Darts, a Birmingham-based darts retailer, Heydon will join the professional ranks, kicking off with a trip to Gibraltar for the Eddie Cox Memorial Players' Championship on February 6.

"It's nice to get the opportunity to have a year at it," said Heydon.

"A lot of players as good as me don't get the chance.

"The aim is to get myself into the top 50 in the rankings and try to get to Bolton for the UK Open. I've been told I'm capable of doing it."

Heydon, who will continue to work for John Taylor Funeral Services as he dips his toe into the world of professional darts, is not fazed by the thought of mixing with the world's best, having already beaten the number one and two ranked World's Darts Federation players this year.

"I meet a lot of the players on the county scene and I've beaten Tony O'Shea and I recently beat Daryl Fitton in an exhibition.

"I need to get my three-dart average to 95 - it's currently around 90 - but it's coming and I just need to sort out my finishing to bring my average up."

Ryan Richards, who is one of the directors at This Is Darts, believes Heydon has the potential to join two of the company's current charges, Andy 'the Pieman' Smith and Wayne Jones, among the sport's elite.

Smith is currently ranked 27 in the PDC rankings with prize money of £73,258, while Jones has picked up £79,897 to put him 23rd in the rankings.

"We've got big, big hopes for Nigel," said Richards. "We got to know darts players around the area and Nigel Heydon's name was constantly mentioned. He was always there performing to really high standards and he really stood out.

"We believe in giving people a chance and it's a great opportunity for Nigel. We think he can easily get into the top 25 in the world and even the top 16 in time."

Meanwhile, Steve Beaton suffered a disappointing exit in the second round of the Grand Slam of Darts at Wolverhamton Civic Hall last Friday, going down 10-1 to Australia's Simon Whitlock.

The Southam thrower qualified for the last 16 after coming second in his group following wins over Co Stompe and Kevin McDine.

However, Beaton was blown away by The Wizard, losing the first seven legs before landing double one to get on the board.

Whitlock sealed the win in the 11th leg, hitting a 180 to set up double 18 for a 13-darter.

"I wouldn't say I played too poorly but Simon took every chance he got," admitted Beaton.

"Going into the first break 5-0 down was a killer and your head goes down, and I was on the back foot from then."

World number one Phil Taylor claimed his third successive Grand Slam of Darts title with a 16-2 demolition of Scott Waites in the final.