Phill Nixon surpassed all expectations at the British Darts Organisation's World Championships by reaching the final and in doing so did the darts-mad North-East proud.

He was one of four players from the region who reached the latter stages of the prestigious competition with Tony Eccles, Gary Robson and Davy Richardson all starring in the televised tournament.

Eccles, from Hartlepool and Robson, of Seghill in Northumberland both reached the quarter finals while Richardson, from Gateshead, exited at the second round to eighth seed Ted Hankey.

But by far the biggest stir of the championship, held at the Lakeside, Frimley Green in Surrey, was unseeded Phill's surge to the final where he ended as runner-up to England No 1 Martin Adams in one of the most exhilarating sports finals in recent memory.

Durham County team-mate Ray Scott believes, such is the strength of the sport in the area, the achievement could have been accomplished by one of a number of players from the North-East.

Phill, from Ferryhill, Co Durham, who plays alongside Ray in the county's match at Berkshire this weekend, reckons Phill's heroics could encourage other players to follow in his footsteps.

"After the first round when the four North-East lads had won, our lass said 'the Geordies have come to town'," said Ray, from Spennymoor.

"I'm ecstatic, I'm more than proud for the lad. He's been magic and I think he's been absolutely brilliant. I watched every minute of it on television.

"I was in Bishop Auckland the other day and a fella' said 'hey Ray, wasn't Phill magic'. I didn't have a clue who he was but it just shows you, everyone was watching Phill.

"I was playing at the Penney Gill pub in Spennymoor last week and people were saying it just goes to show how far you can go in darts if you practice enough.

"Other lads in the Super League have a chance, if he can do it then so can we.

"It's not just Phil, there's plenty of other good players out there.

"There's me, there's Phil, there's Gary Taylor and Tony Nixon - we're all good county players and there's other lads too.

"County Durham has a few good darts players."

As he reached the semi-finals, Phill automatically has a place in next year's championships and is exempt from the 2007 qualifiers which Ray says is a tough process.

Ray said: "I thought he did well to qualify considering all the games he had. Just to get there was great as he had to qualify from his county.

"Then he went down to Derby, and then Bridlington and got past all that lot - that was absolutely marvellous. And then, to go as far as he did...unbelievable."

Ray has known Phill for around 15 years, playing alongside and against him in various local leagues and last year they teamed up for Ferryhill WMC in the CIU League to win the doubles.

They have also faced one another on countless occasions, and Ray admits Phill is a tough opponent

"I've played against him many times in the Super League with him being Ferryhill and me being Spennymoor.

"Phil's probably won about two or three or more. I couldn't tell you how many times we've played, it's a canny few though because we've played for 15 years.

"He stands out when he's playing for the county and wherever he goes because he's class. He's always been the same, he has to have an off day for you to beat him."

Ray has not seen Phill since Sunday's exploits, but expects to congratulate him early tomorrow morning as the Durham County team set off for Yorkshire.

He said: "I will see him on Saturday when we go to play for the county at Berkshire. I get picked up in Spennymoor at ten past five and then we go to Ferryhill which is where Phill gets picked up.

"The red carpet will be out for him to get on the bus!"