The new event will give club and pub players the chance to take centre stage at January's World Championships and play to win a £15,000 prize for charity, £1,000-worth of games equipment for their 'local' plus a trip to Spain to play in the prestigious BDO Torremolinos Open tournament

Looking to mirror the success of the John Smith's People's Race at Aintree, the inaugural John Smith's People's Darts Final will take place on the main stage at The Lakeside, Frimley Green, on Sunday January 11th, immediately before the final of the BBC-televised BDO World Darts Professional Championship.

To enter, players will have to compete in darts events held at John Smith's pubs and clubs during September and October (go to www.johnsmiths.co.uk/peoplesdarts, ask bar staff for details or see posters in participating outlets).

Each venue will then nominate a house champion who will be entitled to play in a regional final of the competition in November with eight subsequent regional champions – representing Scotland, North East England, North West England, North Wales, Central, South Wales, Yorkshire and the South of England – going forward to the finals of the competition in January.

Bobby George, darts legend and BBC TV summariser, heads a team of expert mentors who will coach and prepare the 'Lakeside 8', hosting exhibition and tuition evenings at the pubs and clubs they represent, in the run in to the finals.

Bobby said: "It's great to be working with John Smith's once again and I'm really looking forward to seeing this event develop through the regional finals to the Lakeside. It's an amazing project to be involved with and a fantastic opportunity for amateur darts players to put themselves 'up there with the best'.

The quarter finals and semi finals will take place at Lakeside on January 6th, 2009 and five days later the two finalists face the extraordinary challenge of competing in the John Smith's People's Darts Final on the main stage before the BDO World Darts Final.

As with the John Smith's People's Race, the opportunity for participants to raise money for charity will play an important part in the event.

Each of the regional finalists will be invited to nominate a registered charity and the John Smith's People's Darts winner will receive £15,000 for their chosen cause (the runner-up will receive £2,500 and the other six finalists will win £1,000 for their charities).

The winner will also win a place in the BDO Torremolinos tournament in March along with flights and accommodation plus the invitation to compete in two other UK based BDO tournaments.

Gareth Turner, Senior Brand Manager – Ale, Scottish & Newcastle UK, said: "We are tremendously excited about the potential that the John Smith's People's Darts competition has to become a 'must do' event in the pub and club sports calendar and the unique opportunity it offers to ordinary players to perform on the biggest darts stage in the world."

Speaking for the BDO, Olly Croft OBE was equally enthusiastic: "The British Darts Organisation is delighted to be lending its support to this wonderful initiative by John Smith's.

"It reflects the very ethos of the BDO because, as the governing body for the sport, we look after darts from grass roots right through to national, international, professional and world levels.

"We are doubly delighted that the inaugural John Smith's People's Darts finals are being played at Lakeside, a venue that is widely recognised as 'the home of world darts'. The BDO has enjoyed a valuable liaison with John Smith's at Lakeside for a number of years and this initiative provides a fantastic opportunity to open up the unique World Championship experience to ordinary darts playing members of the general public."