Darts Hero reveals Bolton roots

UK OPEN darts finalist Gary Mawson has revealed his parents are both from Bolton and he lived in the town for two years before moving to America.

Mawson became a cult hero at the Reebok this weekend, beating Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-finals before losing out 11-7 to James Wade in last night^s final.

Mawson, who was born in Canada but lives in Ohio, was a 250-1 outsider before the tournament began - but wowed the crowds all weekend with some classy displays.

And, the 45-year-old was cheered on all the way by the home crowd after revealing his Bolton roots.

"My dad is from Bolton and my mother is from Farnworth," said Mawson. "I moved to Bolton when I was three and had a couple of years here and moved back to Canada a few years later.

"I played a bit of darts in the UK in 1989 but the sport was going through a bad patch and I went back to Canada. Now I^m living in the States, my wife is from America and I^m going to represent them in the future."

In fact, it was a good job that Mawson does have Bolton roots - or he wouldn^t have been allowed to compete in the UK Open.

"I left my passport in JFK airport (New York)," admitted Mawson. "And I didn^t realise that until I arrived in Manchester.

"I have a British passport and they kindly let me in and everything^s fine now - I^ve had the other passport sent to me!"

Results Quarter-finals W Jones 6 Mawson 10; van der Voort 10 Thompson 5; van Barneveld 10 Taylor 9; Wade 10 Tabern 6.

Semi-finals Wade 10 van der Voort 4; Mawson 10 van Barneveld 8.

Final Wade 11 Mawson 7.

l Phil Taylor hit a nine-darter in his victory over Jamie Harvey on Saturday.

Story By: Marc Higginson, The Bolton News