Darts is a sport that has already provided the West Midlands with a world champion, with Coventry born Steve Beaton prevailing back in 1996. The ‘Bronzed Adonis’ will hand in his PDC tour card at the end of the year as he transitions to the seniors circuit, but there’s still a chance that another Midlander could qualify for the World Championships in December and January. Jamie Hughes has a chance to follow up his win in the first round of the 2023-24 edition.
An Emotional Display
Any partisan fans from the West Midlands can back Hughes when they bet on World Darts Championship action, and they’re likely to get sizable odds of 300/1. Of course, the darts betting odds will favour the likes of reigning world champion Luke Humphries (3/1), former world number one Michael van Gerwen (9/1) and the in-form Gary Anderson (10/1).
Hughes, while yet to officially qualify for the event at the Alexandra Palace, is an interesting proposition for the tournament, having won on the big stage before and thrown the perfect nine dart leg in 2024.
That triumph, which came against Canada’s David Cameron last December, was an incredibly emotional moment for Hughes. It was a case of fifth time lucky for Hughes, who had lost all of his prior four games in the PDC World Championship, with the win reducing him to tears in front of the cameras.
The Perfect Nine
It would be fair to say that 2024 hasn’t been the best of years for Hughes, who has made just one appearance at a televised event and played in a sole European Tour excursion. However, he has battled away on the Pro Tour, a series of events played away from the TV cameras. As recently as October, Yozza threw the perfect nine dart leg at Players Championship 28.
NINE-DARTERS! 🚨
There have been two nine-dart legs in as many minutes at Players Championship 28!
Jamie Hughes and Callum Goffin have struck perfection against Niels Zonneveld and Jelle Klaasen respectively. pic.twitter.com/LtlrnbcLHj
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 16, 2024
Another player that is no stranger to nine dart finishes is Steve Beaton, who has now brought the curtain down on his illustrious career after failing to qualify for the World Championship.
The ‘Bronzed Adonis’ – much loved by his fellow pros – had one last chance to qualify via the special tour cardholder qualification route, but has unfortunately missed out on what would have been a remarkable 24th consecutive appearance in the PDC Worlds.
Prior to that, he was ever-present at the BDO version of the World Championship, which was essentially the pinnacle of the amateur circuit. Beaton famously won the world title in 1996, defeating three future champions – John Part, Martin Adams and Andy Fordham – on his way to a win over number one Richie Burnett in the final.
Beaton leaves darts fans with many happy memories, but sadly he won’t have the Alexandra Palace send-off that most were hoping for.
Article written by Ben Spencer
