Preston North End's Paul Gallagher is king of the oche

Gallagher showed himself to be Premier League class on the oche when he won the PDC’s Darts At Home: Footballers’ Special.

He beat Leicester City’s James Maddison, Declan Rice from West Ham and West Bromwich Albion striker Charlie Austin.

The competition was based on the PDC’s popular ‘Darts At Home’ concept, which has seen PDC players around the world playing each other remotely via a live video broadcast.

It was a best-of-three-legs format where each leg started on 301 instead of the traditional 501.

Gallagher took on Austin to start with and won 2-0. That featured a 108-checkout against the Albion striker.

The 35-year-old then edged out Maddison 2-1, coming from behind to claim the victory.

Gallagher made it a clean sweep and collected the title, beating England international Rice 2-0.

Austin finished second after wins over Maddison and Rice, with the West Ham midfielder propping up the table after three defeats as part of an event to raise funds for NHS Charities Together.

The event was broadcast live on the PDC’s YouTube channel.

Gallagher, who averaged 75, said:“I’m over the moon, it’s all about the finishing.”

He has sharpened his darts skills over the years in the canteen at the Springfields’ training ground – before it was shut.

A dart board has been set up for years, with the players using a game of arrows to relax after training.

Gallagher will now hope to get back on to the football pitch as soon as possible to display his talent there.