Premier League Darts star Simon Whitlock has announced a deal to sponsor promising 20-year-old Keegan Brown.
Brown, who started 2013 ranked 86 in the PDC Order of Merit, is to be sponsored by ‘The Wizard’ with immediate effect.
The youngster has shown flashes of his ability since winning a tour card at the 2012 Qualifying School, winning a Youth Tour event and, perhaps more impressively, reaching the semi-finals of a Pro Tour event in the last twelve months.
Whitlock, the world number five, believes that Brown has the potential to become one of the sport’s top players in years to come.
“I am delighted to be in a position to sponsor such a promising young player,” said Whitlock, the reigning European Champion.
“Keegan has huge potential and is a great lad. He was the perfect fit for what I wanted to do.
“I know how important sponsorship is for a dart player so I wanted to help out and make sure Keegan is given every chance to achieve what I know he is capable of.
“I hope that my experience can help him become a full professional and go on to fulfil his ambitions in darts.”
Brown became the youngest ever male to play county darts when he made his debut for the Isle of Wight back in 2006.
He went on to play on the BDO circuit, qualifying for the Winmau World Masters, before going on to progress from Q-School comfortably.
Both Whitlock and Brown will be in action at the first UK Open qualifiers of the year in Crawley this weekend.
By Chris Murphy
Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC