BEN Ward has set his sights on the professional circuit ahead of the start of the new PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour.

The 24-year-old, who hails from Dorchester, is set to travel to the Barnsley Metrodome for the opening round this weekend and has high hopes that 2013 will prove a breakthrough year.

Following the success of the Youth Tour, which was first introduced in 2011, the PDC has expanded the circuit into a Challenge Tour for players aged under-25 and Ward is determined to try and profit from the development.

The Dorchester ace told Echosport: “I am looking forward to it a lot – in fact, I cannot wait to get started.

“Hopefully it will start opening up a few more doors and help me to progress towards the professional circuit.

“They have only just introduced the Challenge Tour this year. They used to have a Youth Tour for under-21s but now they have revamped it for under-25s, which is going to make it a lot more competitive.

“All the top up-and-coming players will be competing in it and there are quite good rewards at the end of it, including qualification for the World Championships for the top-two in the rankings.

“It will be held on six weekends throughout the year with three competitions being held over each weekend, two on the Saturday and one on the Sunday.

“It is all being done very professionally and it’s a great chance for players to make a bit of a name for themselves - hopefully I can be one of them.”

When asked about the level of competition, he added: “I played against a lot of the guys when I used to play for Dorset Youth, so I know the majority of them very well.

“However, with the age ranging from 14 upwards, there may well be a few younger ones I haven’t come across, which will just make it all the more interesting.

“The standard will be very high but these are the type of competitions you want to be a part of in order to test yourself.”

The 2011 Southern Counties Open winner went on to say: “I am currently playing Monday nights in Weymouth, which is a really good standard, and I will soon be starting Friday nights down there too. I am also still playing Superleague for Dorchester.

“I have just been trying to play as many competitions as I can without overworking myself.

“I feel prepared and ready, and hopefully I can go to Barnsley this weekend and put on a good performance.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring Ward can contact him on 07810175641.

PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour, Weekend One (March 23-24): Barnsley Metrodome.

Weekend Two (April 20-21): Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan.

Weekend Three (May 11-12): Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan.

Weekend Four (July 13-14): Barnsley Metrodome.

Weekend Five (September 28-29): K2 Centre, Crawley.

Weekend Six: Date and venue to be confirmed.

Prize Money Breakdown (per event): Winner £500, runner-up £300, semi-finalists £200, quarter-finalists £100, last-16 £75, last-32 £50. Total: £3,000.