One by one the big guns have stepped up only to be shot down by Kirk Shepherd. The qualifier was not born when Keith Deller stunned the darts world by dethroning Eric Bristow 25 years ago, but tonight the young man from Kent will eclipse him if he can beat John Part in the final of the Ladbrokes.com PDC World Championship.

Even Shepherd has been caught on the hop by his amazing journey. He brought only two pairs of boxer shorts to the tournament because he expected to be back home by now and Emma, his girlfriend, has been hand-washing his underwear in the hotel bath. His mother, Debbie, was also on hand with a sewing kit when he split his only pair of stage trousers, lurching into the crowd after his quarter-final victory on Friday.

Shepherd, though, will be able to afford a new pair tomorrow, with the runner-up at Alexandra Palace in North London guaranteed £50,000 and the winner twice as much. Shepherd, at 21 the youngest ever finalist, whose PDC career earnings stand at £2,000, will then have to decide whether to report back to work, making brass hooks and screws in Ramsgate.

His dream is to give up his £8,000-a-year job, which he has had since leaving school at 16, to turn professional. He practises for two hours each night and his employer gives him time off for competition, but Shepherd was working the day before his first-round victory against Terry Jenkins.

He has to walk two miles to work after he wrote off his Ford Fiesta last year - he has not been able to afford a replacement. His parents, to whom he pays £18 rent a week, take him to tournaments. Scott, his brother, is a guide on a London tourist bus and Stephanie, his sister, works in an office. Emma works for Revenue & Customs. “My mum is a diamond,” Shepherd said. “I wouldn’t survive living on my own. Now I will start to give back something – starting with a holiday after the tournament.”

He took up the sport eight years ago when his father, Keith, bought him a dartboard, which was hung on the bathroom door. Shepherd threw from the other end of the landing. “Mum had a go once when I missed the board and smashed a window,” he said. “I dreamt about being on a major stage.”

The final reckoning

Kirk Shepherd

Nickname Karate Kid
Age 21
Took up sport 13
Home town Ramsgate, Kent
Significant honours British Teenage Singles Champion 2004 and 2006
Website kirkshepherd.co.uk
Route to final: First round Terry Jenkins 3-2 Second round Mick McGowan 4-3 Third round Barrie Bates 4-2 Quarter-finals Peter Manley 5-4 Semi-finals Wayne Mardle, 6-4

John Part

Nickname Darth Maple
Age 41
Took up sport 21
Home town Toronto, Canada
Significant honours: World champion 1994 (BDO) and 2003 (PDC); Las Vegas Desert Classic 2006
Website johnpart.com
Route to final: First round Charles Losper 3-1 Second round Mensur Suljovic 4-1 Third round Alex Roy 4-0 Quarter-finals James Wade 5-4 Semi-finals Kevin Painter 6-2

Final odds (Ladbrokes.com) Part 4-11 (from 33-1 at start), Shepherd 2-1 (from 500-1)

Prize-money £100,000 to winner, £50,000 to runner-up

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