CLITHEROE ace Andy Gudgeon is waving bye-bye to the darts world.

But don't worry - he's not ready to retire just yet.

The accomplished arrow king has coasted into the next Embassy World Championships without throwing a single dart.

After hitting number seven in the British Darts Organisation rankings, Andy will bypass the two qualifying rounds for the prestigious international competition.

Andy received byes for the qualifying stages to be held in Lancaster and Stoke and goes straight into the finals.

Andy, who plays out of the Dog and Partridge on Wellgate in Clitheroe, rocketed up the charts following his recent performances at inter-county level. More than 700 darters are registered with the BDO and Andy's current seeding is his all-time personal best.

His impressive ranking also puts Andy in the hat for the forthcoming Winmau World Masters.

The Embassy World Championships at Frimley Green in Surrey kick off January 8th until 16th.....the organisers have been forced to put back the tournament due to Millennium staffing problems!

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