Arrows ace John ready for World Championship bid

HUNTLY darts ace John Henderson will launch his bid for World Championship glory tomorrow.

Henderson is aiming to blast his way through the International Play-offs at The Spa in Bridlington, Yorkshire.

The prize for five qualifiers is a dream spot in January’s World Professional Darts Championships at the legendary Lakeside Country Club.

Henderson has reached the finals once before, in 2005, when in losing to Martin "Wolfie" Adams he set a new championship record of hitting 12 maximum scores of 180 in a five-set match.

The 35-year-old would love nothing better than to return to the Lakeside and beat his own high scoring feat.

He said: "It’s every darts player’s dream to play at the Lakeside.

"The atmosphere is tremendous and I thought I would be a bit nervous when I played there in 2005, but I seemed to handle it not too badly.

"After what I did with the 180s, I want to go back to try to beat it.

"I imagine I’ll have to work through six or seven games to qualify and it’s a straight knockout, so if you don’t win your first match then that’s it over with."

Masada Bar ace John left Huntly at 3am this morning to head for Bridlington.

While there, the Scotland international will also compete in the Winmau World Masters which runs from Friday to Sunday.

That competition also offers the winner a place in the prestigious World Championships.

Henderson said: "If I don’t get to the Lakeside through the qualifiers then I can still make it by winning the World Masters.

"If I can qualify tomorrow though, then I can relax and enjoy the Masters."

Henderson won the British Open in September by beating fellow Scot Gary Anderson in the final and would love to finish 2008 on a high.

He said: "It’s been a great year, and if I could round it off by qualifying for the Lakeside, it would probably be the best ever."

If he is successful in reaching the Lakeside, Henderson could come up against the likes of reigning world champion Mark Webster.