A sixteen-year-old student set a new age record by throwing a nine-darter live on British television, surpassing the previous milestone held by Luke Littler.
During the opening leg of his MODUS Super Series Champions Week Group A match against Daniel Ayres in Portsmouth on Wednesday, Archie Self achieved the perfect leg.
After landing seven consecutive treble 20s, the teenager easily hit treble 19 and closed out on double 12 to make history.
Demonstrating good sportsmanship, thirty-eight-year-old Ayres, who is older by twenty-two years, extended a handshake and a hug before the second leg began.
Self, who goes by the nickname The Archer on the circuit, is aged 16 years and 345 days, making him the youngest person to accomplish this feat on camera.
Two-time world champion Littler, now aged 19, was 16 years and 363 days old when he achieved perfection against Nathan Aspinall at the Bahrain Darts Masters in January 2024.
Additional youths who cleared 501 points in the minimum number of darts include Dutchman Michael van Gerwen, who was 17 years and 298 days old in 2007, and Pole Sebastian Bialecki at age 19.
Self originates from Thatcham in West Berkshire, began playing darts at age two, and belongs to a new generation of players arriving on the circuit recently.
Self, who celebrates his seventeenth birthday on November 17, previously faced world number one Littler, losing 6-2 at Players Championship 27 in Leicester in August.
Following a 4-1 triumph over Ayres, he secured the top spot in Group A, advancing to Saturday night's Champions Night broadcast live on Pluto TV via the MODUS Super Series Darts Channel.
Self also stated that he successfully threw another nine-darter backstage away from the cameras.
The 2024 WDF World Boys Champion at age 15 remarked, "I'm going to watch that nine-darter back so many times tonight."
He added, "I was shaking after that. I needed to calm down to win the game. I kept throwing and it flowed perfectly."
Self continued, "But then I feel I play so much better with nerves."
He noted, "I have threatened a nine-darter all week. You can ask some of the guys, I hit one in the practice room yesterday morning. So, I knew I had the capabilities to hit a nine."
Self stated, "To do it in front of the cameras was brilliant."
He also mentioned, "Last week I hit seven and then eight perfect darts in a row. It definitely felt on for me."
Self concluded, "I'm in the form of my life so Saturday night on Champions Week, hopefully it will be the same. I need to get to the semi-final. I went out in the group stage last time. I'm happy to be back."
