BLACKBURN'S Bradley Brooks claimed glory in the 2020 PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship final with a dramatic 6-5 win over Joe Davis on Sunday night in Coventry.

The 20-year-old, who is a massive Blackburn Rovers fan, scooped the £10,000 title and secured a place in next month's William Hill World Darts Championship.

Brooks, nicknamed 'Blackburn Boy', held his nerve to take the title in only the second World Youth Championship to go to a deciding leg.

The pair had secured their spot in Sunday's final at the Ricoh Arena at the end of September, when the early rounds were staged in Barnsley, and could barely be separated across 11 captivating legs.

The lead changed hands five times during the contest as the pair battled to succeed Luke Humphries as champion, with Brooks posting a match-high 104 finish in leg two.

Davis was first to reach five legs as he posted tops in leg nine, with Brooks hitting the same bed to force a deciding leg.

The Blackburn thrower initially wired tops for the title, but Davis was unable to finish 103 to give Brooks a second chance, which he gratefully took on tops to seal the win.

"It's amazing," said Brooks, who two years ago visited Brockhall Training Camp to throw arrows with his Rovers hero Bradley Dack. "I'm really happy to win the trophy.

"If you look at the players who've won it previously, they were all world-class players.

"I felt really good in practice and when I got on stage it wasn't really going for me.

"I'm not too happy with the way I played - I don't think it was more nerves, it was more trying too hard to impress people but luckily I got away with it in the end."

Both players will also compete in the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts, while Brooks' debut World Championship appearance at Alexandra Palace will cap his third year on the PDC ProTour.

"I've got just over two weeks to prepare myself for the World Championship and hopefully it can push me further," said Brooks. "It's a massive thing for me and I can't wait to play.

"I feel I've been on the tour for long enough now, even though I'm only young I know the ropes and need to start producing on tour so hopefully this is a push in the right direction for me."

The final was held prior to the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals where Michael van Gerwen returned to winning ways on the big stage with a dramatic 11-10 defeat of Mervyn King as he claimed the title for a sixth time.

The world number one endured over eight months without a televised title since winning the UK Open in March, but completed a brilliant weekend in Coventry by retaining the Players Championship Finals crown in a sudden-death leg.

The success saw Van Gerwen claim the Players Championship Finals title for a sixth time to become only the second player in history, behind Phil Taylor, to win a televised event more than five times.