ST HELENS will be heavily represented at the sold out 2015 William Hill World Darts Championship which kicks off on December 18 .

For not only does the town provide three of the sport’s top 32-ranked players for the £1.25m tournament at Alexandra Palace but it also contributes a key member of the commentary team.

So while all eyes will be on Stephen Bunting, Dave Chisnall and Michael Smith when they put their toe on the oche for this massive showpiece event, the voice viewers will be hearing will be that of proud Sintelliner Stuart Pyke.

The 14-day tournament is massive – so much so that all 50,000 tickets across 20 sessions for the prestigious London venue sold out in record time.

And on top of that the sport will take over a whole TV channel, with Sky Sports Darts running for the whole festive period until the finale on January 4.

Pyke, in his 11th year of darts commentary, cannot wait for the tournament to start especially having seen interest in the sport explode globally.

He said: “My first World Championship was 2004 when Phil Taylor beat Kevin Painter at the Circus Tavern.

“The sport was popular when I first started commentating but next season the World Series could be five events – Dubai, Sydney, possibly Perth, Auckland, Singapore and Japan. Darts is going global and everyone wants a slice.”

But for now the immediate attention is on Ally Pally – with the tournament providing a daily sporting fix.

Pyke will be keeping the viewers up to speed – responding quickly to keep the viewers updated at key checkouts of each game.

But he admitted that knowing what the players are throwing for to finish is not purely down to his knowledge and good maths – he has the support of legends.

“Eric Bristow and Keith Deller are employed by Sky as spotters. Although I know most of the checkouts – you don’t know how they are going to go, so in the truck sat next to the producer and behind the director we have Bristow and Deller ‘telling’.

“It means that the commentators, producers and cameramen can all hear – so everyone knows where to go. Those two are absolutely invaluable.

“But for me, I try to do my commentary as a chat about darts – and tend to use the experts for their analysis.

"For the man on the street who loves the darts it is a great watch,” he said.

Bunting, Smith and Chisnall will ensure that there is plenty of local interest – and Pyke has hopes that all three can do well.

BDO Lakeside champion Bunting, playing in his first PDC World Championship is sixth favourite for the tournament at 16/1 and that is a mark of how well he has played since he switched earlier this year.

Pyke said: “If you speak to Stephen Bunting – he looks around and thinks how on earth did I not do this before. But he really has done the right thing by coming over to the PDC.

“Bunting was the best player in the BDO by a country mile and last year when he won Lakeside nobody was going to touch him.

“He won £100,000 at Lakeside and can now call himself a World Champion and in the next five years he could join a very exclusive club.

“By this time next year I expect him to be in the top eight in the world – what he has achieved in 10 months is unbelievable.

“To win a tournament on his first weekend helped him qualify for every event, to get to Sydney for the masters and to beat Phil Taylor in the European Championships when he nearly hit the nine-darter.

“With Bunting, I am convinced he will get a wildcard to the Premier League next year because I think he adds to it.

“Chizzy needs a good Worlds – he should have won the Grand Slam but needs to believe in himself a lot more and is capable."

Hugely talented youngster Michael Smith defeated Phil Taylor in the competition last year - but in recent tournaments has suffered a dip in form.

It is a hole Pyke believes Smith is more than capable of getting out of.

He said: “Michael is young man with a lot going on – a baby and new house.

“I have no doubts he will be one of the best players in the world this next two or three years because he has huge natural ability, but maybe he over thinks it and possibly practises too much.

“Smith can be anything he wants to be – such is the talent."