By Jack Hatton
Professional Merseyside barber Lewy Williams is looking razor-sharp after swapping his scissors for darts.
Williams, who made his TV debut earlier this month, has been brushing aside opponents for fun.
And after receiving heavy praise from prominent figures, he is confident he is not here just to make up the numbers.
After gaining his PDC tour card through Q School in February, the 19-year-old hair stylist has swept aside some big hitters including Michael Van Gerwen.
“It’s been a dream start to the tour this year,” he said.
“Big wins in my first pro tour event against Dimitri Van Den Bergh, Kim Huybrechts and Michael Van Gerwen.
“Since then, I’ve been on the up picking up even more wins to climb the rankings against the world’s best players.”
Soon after the Welshman moved from Swansea to Merseyside, he was putting down the razor and scissors and picking up his arrows to compete against the elite.
Despite a 6-4 first round defeat to ‘The Special One’ Jose de Sousa in Salzburg at the Euro Championship, he caught the attention of fans.
And he is now arguably part of the new crop of young players on the up, ready to sweep aside established mavericks of the sport.
Gutted not to have won that one obviously…scoring was definitely there but doubles at crucial times let me down😔But so proud to have played well on my TV debut and to have reached at least 1 major event on my first year as a professional🎯 Thank you all for the support💙💙 pic.twitter.com/89RtMlmxTq
— Lewy williams (@WilliamsLewy) October 14, 2021
“[It] was a dream come true to make my first TV appearance,” he said.
“The support I received from family, friends and other supporters of myself has been overwhelming and I couldn’t be prouder.”
It must also be said, Welsh darts could not be in a better place.
And it looks like it’ll be in safe hands for years to come.
Gerwyn Price, world number one and reigning World champion, and Jonny Clayton having arguably his best year, in the top 10 and adding to his array of titles just last week at the World Series in Amsterdam.
Williams has come from humble beginnings and is trying to build his own path in the infancy of his career and hails the path for young players in the modern game.
“I think it’s very exciting seeing all the young players including myself as it shows that the future of the sport is in safe hands.
“There’s so many youth tournaments and academies nowadays so the youth will just keep getting better and better.”
Though at the beginning of his career and having the World Championships to look forward to, the world number 92 wants to finish the season on a high.
“My goals for the rest of the year is carrying on enjoying my darts, pick up a few more wins on the pro tour and fingers crossed qualify for a few more TV events.”
