A WARRINGTON business has cheekily asked St Helens darts world champion Michael Smith if he would change his nickname for them.

The Paddy Power World Darts Championship gets going today with the 2022/2023 winner Michael 'Bully Boy' Smith on stage this evening to start the defence of his crown.

He will take on the winner of Match 1 between Dutch professional Kevin Doets and Grand-Slam quarter-finalist Stowe Buntz.

And tied in with today's start, he has announced his partnership with Heatable, award-winning boiler and solar panel installation providers.

The deal comes at a crucial time for Smith, who has a renewed sense of hunger.

He told the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC): “When I won the World Championship, I said I had completed darts… Now it’s about adding a second, a third and a fourth [World Championship] title.”

He added: “I’ll be very proud when John McDonald announces me as the reigning and defending champion, but I’ll also be sad as well because I don’t want it to end. I’m not quite ready to be called the former World Champion yet!”

Sam Price, joint co-founder of Heatable, said: “We were talking about sponsoring a darts player, and I joked just get the best one - and the marketing department did!

"We didn’t realise we’d get to actually sponsor the current world champion! As you can tell, we’re very excited and incredibly proud. It’s created a great buzz in the Heatable office.

"There’s even been discussion about whether he’d be willing to change his nickname from ‘Bully Boy’ to ‘Boiler Boy’. The answer was no!"