World number one Michael Van Gerwen faces Shrewsbury brothers in charity darts match
Two Shrewsbury brothers who suffer from cystic fibrosis were invited to a darts event to raise money for charity – but little did they know they'd be facing world number one Michael Van Gerwen.
Tim Davies, 39, and his brother Jason, 29, have collected tens of thousands of pounds for charity over the years.
But when Tim was taken ill just after Christmas and rushed to hospital, a friend who works for Resorts World Birmingham decided to step in and do something to lift his spirits. An upcoming darts tournament was just the ticket.
Tim said: "We were invited by Resorts World to a charity darts evening to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
"We were honoured to be invited. I have only ever played two hours of darts before in my life but Michael was great – a really fun guy. It was quite surreal to be playing against him. Before I was not a fan of darts but that has changed now. I never imagined I would be playing the world's number one.
"I spent most of January in and out of hospital having caught flu influenza A.
"For nearly a week I didn't think I would even leave the hospital as I was extremely sick. I want to thank Dr Moorcroft, nurse Jill and all the staff on ward 233 at Stoke Hospital for their hard work. Without them I wouldn't have survived."
Successful
Tim said it was an amazing event to take part in.
"During the evening, Michael auctioned off his shirts to push the total even higher. With Resorts World also selling the signed dart board and doubling the amount raised we raised £4,250.
"For me this was an amazing event, pushing the money I have helped raise for charities over the last 20 years to over £80,000. We also want to thank Resorts World for choosing us and the CF trust for such an amazing and very successful night."
Cystic fibrosis is a life limiting condition that effects 10,500 people in the UK and over 100,000 world wide.
Currently only five per cent of CF sufferers live to see their 40th birthday.
