A decade of darts will be celebrated this weekend when the Sheppey Classic takes place at Merlins.

Top players from the island will be mixing it with stars from the British Darts Organisation.

For the first time, BDO ranking points will be up for grabs, along with a £7,000 prize pot for Sunday’s Open finals, in what will be the 10th year of the annual competition.

Organiser Tony Cox (pictured) believes this year’s could be bigger and better than ever before.

He said: "The entries have been coming in quicker than normal and we should be up on what we normally have.

"Interest levels are definitely up and I have received a lot of calls from people who missed the cut-off point for the deadline to apply.

"£7,000 is bigger than most BDO events that are not on television and I am pleased we have managed to keep that level up and unlike last year, I haven’t had to dip into my own pocket to make up the shortfall.

"Last year everyone was doom and gloom because of the recession and, although things still aren’t great, people seem to be more positive this time around.

"It has certainly been a lot easier this time, as last year was quite stressful. But thanks to Steve March and his partner Sam, the pressure has been taken off my shoulders a lot."