No Maiden title for Owen as he thinks big
Teenager Owen Maiden is dreaming of the BDO's 'big two' after making it a hat-trick of boys ranking titles in the England Open last weekend.
He now has enough points to compete in the qualifiers for the World Masters while the World Championship counterpart is open entry,
The 15-year-old, from Ashmore Park in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, claimed glory for winning five games at the Bunn Leisure Park in Selsey, Sussex.
He came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 in an exciting final against Danny Key, the fellow West Midlands prospect from Stafford who is two years his senior.
The Coppice Performing Arts School pupil first took the Welsh Open last year, which he then dropped 3-1 to Key as the defending champion a month ago.
Maiden bounced back to win the International Open two weeks ago and has now added England honours to his stash, which he hopes will catch the eye of the international selectors.
He's hoping to be picked for the national Under-18 side next year and, in the meantime, will continue to represent the West Midlands at county level in the same age bracket.
He said: "There were a lot of officials at the England Open, which supports the national team. I couldn't have done much more to impress them.
"I took out 103 under pressure, as my opponent was on a finish, in my very first game and it was a great match against Danny, with me coming back to win.
"The final was on the main stage, too, but I'm getting used to that environment from youth county. I am used to going up against grown men, too.
"Some of them don't enjoy that, as I have found out. They think it's going to be easy, I've heard some of them say 'I'm only playing a kid,' and they don't take losing well!
"I'm looking forward to having a go at making the big events in the autumn. I got to the quarter-finals of the Lakeside (worlds) qualifier last year."
The young thrower has won all seven county matches so far this season and plays men's darts for Wednesfield, out of the town's football club on Amos Lane, in the West Midlands Super League.
Maiden, who is approaching his last year of school, has been playing since he was 11 after his Dad, Mark, bought him his first set of arrows.
Owen recalls: "They were cheap Red Dragon darts, but I thought they were great. I actually started out throwing them at a board on the floor.
"I was only small and my parents didn't trust me enough them to have one on the wall, as they were worried about all of the holes I would make.
"They've hung one up in the spare bedroom now. I practice for an hour-and-a-half a day, or for 45 minutes if I have a game that night."
