A career in figures

What age did you become a pro-darts player?

I have been on the pro tour for the last year-and-a-half.

On tour?

Aye, when you tour you get to go to different countries, from England, Scotland and Wales to out foreign and when you play you get World ranking points.

Forgive me for asking, but what age are you?

I'm 23.

Is that not wild young for a pro darts player?

Well, it is, but there is probably people out there younger than me and they have been playing for years. There are probably professionals in Holland who are 12 or 13...

12 or 13 years old?

Aye.

Professionals?

Aye.

Playing darts?

Uh-huh. That's what their PE is in school, because it helps them with counting and stuff. Darts is a big sport in Holland.

Really?

Aye. I'm like an 'old guy' over there playing darts.

At what age did you start playing?

This is my 11th year now, so I've been going since I was 12 or 13.

How did you start playing?

My dad always played and then he needed a hand out practicing. He didn't like practicing on his own so I went out and helped him out in the garage. I'd last maybe 20 minutes before it got too cold, but he enjoyed the 20 minutes anyway.

Did your dad play in darts pub leagues and stuff like that?

He played in the North West League, he played for Villa's and he played for the Glebe there in Duke Street.

So he was a prolific darts player in his own right, too.

Aye, and he plays darts for a bit of fun, too.

Obviously when you started out at 12 you couldn't go into licenced premises, so where did you start playing?

I played in the house until I got to a certain age, about 14 or 15, and we went and played, but there was a time limit on it, so we played until we had to leave and we had no problem with that. We stuck to the rule and no-one ever told us to go out.

I'm looking round the room and you have a lot of trophies. Your family are obviously proud of your achievements. That's a particularly impressive one, what's that one for?

That's the World Individuals. I've won it this last two years, and it's on this Saturday again, to try and get my hat-trick, but I don't know...it's going to be a hard fight.

You have a lot of crystal gathered! What's on the table there in front of us?

There is an award there in front of us from the DoE for one of the Sports Personality of the Year - I got one in that. There is another plate in crystal from a team up in Strabane that I used to play for, for my first year of throwing in the Lakeside, they said 'well done'.

That was in 2009?

Aye.

What are the decanters for?

I got those while I was playing down in the Eglinton League for the DuPont Club. I used to play in three or four different Leagues in a week.

What team did you join first after you really got into the sport?

I joined Villas, Newbuildings. The North West League. I joined the B team for a year, but from then I joined Villas A and I have been throwing now for nearly 10 years with Villas A.

Right.

Then I moved to Eglinton, through the Cricket Club, I threw down there for four years. The I stopped that and went up to Strabane throwing for Joe's Bar and Burndennett Cricket Club.

The large mirrored trophy you have on display is the Kevin McGrath Memorial Trophy, is that the one you are going for the third time?

Aye.

Has anyone ever done a hat-trick in it?

Nobody with that trophy because that's only five years old this weekend. The first guy who won it won it twice and then I won it twice.

So you really want to go out and win this again, don't you?

Aye. The other fella won it two years and I beat him when he was going for his hat-trick, so I have won it for two years.

What would you say to someone who believes that playing darts is a sign of a misspent youth?

Oh no, I wouldn't think that. Everyone has their own thoughts on it. You can go out and play for fun in a bar or you can do what I have done and play professionally. I never drank at all when I was playing and I never actually drank at all until I was 19 going on 20. So, it depends what people's outlook on it is.

I think the image a lot of people have is that it is a game played in pubs and people are sitting watching the game with their pint in front of them.

Oh aye, there was a lot of that, but in the game now you have a lot of players who never drink. The top player in the World, Phil Taylor, does not drink at all.

As you say, too, the schools in Holland use darts to teach children to count...

That's it.

Obviously you'd like to take it further, so what's the next step for someone in your position?

To do the circuit more often. My sponsorship is limited, and it restricts me to England, Scotland and Wales. If I got more sponsorship I could get further up the ranking by going to Holland and Germany and Denmark and playing in the big Open events. Because I'm restricted to playing in England I have got to score World ranking points and if you don't it is a lot of money spent. Those other guys who are based in England only have to get a bus, train or car, I have to get a flight and a taxi and I am probably down 150 to 200 before I throw one dart, and that's not including my accommodation.

So, do you have a day job as well?

Well I am a plumber, but with the recession I have not work at it now in three months. Everyone is getting it tight at the moment in construction, but we will get past it.

So what's your World ranking at the minute?

I am 22nd in the World in the BDO (British Darts Open), so for the first year that's not so bad.

And you are worried? The only way is up really. I think you need to take your time or you'll get to No.1 too quickly!

A lot of people say for the limited number of competitions I went to that I did really well because I got more points than anyone else, but because they were going to more tournaments than me that's how they are in front of me, but I am very proud to be up there because 100 points are hard to come by and I think I ended up with 96 points in my first year and that was me only going to 11 tournaments. I was proud of that.

Is the money good in darts?

Only if you are winning!