From Pub Player to Professional: The Road to Becoming a Professional Darts Player

 

Every darts fan has imagined it.

The winning double. The walk-on music. The packed crowd. The television cameras. The dream of earning a Tour Card and competing against the world's best.

But how realistic is it?

The truth is that every professional darts player started exactly where most of us are now – playing in local leagues, pubs, clubs and county events. Nobody begins as a professional. The journey starts with a single dart.

Step 1: Learn the Basics

Before thinking about rankings, averages or Q School, you need a solid foundation.

Focus on:

• A repeatable throw
• Consistent stance and grip
• Basic scoring
• Finishing doubles

Many new players obsess over 180s. In reality, doubles win matches.

A player averaging 60 but finishing well will often beat a player averaging 70 who cannot hit doubles.

Step 2: Play Regularly

Improvement comes from competition.

Practice is important, but match experience is where players truly develop.

Look for:

• Local pub leagues
• Open tournaments
• Youth events
• County competitions
• Darts Atlas events
• ADC events

The more different opponents you face, the quicker you learn.

Step 3: Track Your Progress

One mistake many players make is relying on memory.

Keep records of:

• Averages
• Win percentages
• Highest checkouts
• 180s
• Tournament results

Statistics reveal strengths and weaknesses that you may not notice during matches.

This is one reason grassroots ranking systems such as Q4QS are becoming increasingly valuable. They allow players to measure progress against others in their area and across the country.

Step 4: Build Consistency

The biggest difference between a decent player and a top player is consistency.

Most players can throw a brilliant leg.

Far fewer can do it for an entire tournament.

Professional players produce quality darts week after week, month after month, year after year.

Consistency is built through:

• Regular practice
• Match experience
• Confidence
• Mental resilience

Step 5: Raise Your Average

As a rough guide:

• 40-50 average: Beginner
• 50-60 average: Developing player
• 60-70 average: Strong local player
• 70-80 average: County standard
• 80-90 average: National level
• 90+ average: Professional standard

These figures are not exact, but they provide useful milestones.

Remember that averages alone do not tell the full story. Finishing and matchplay are equally important.

Step 6: Travel and Test Yourself

Many players become comfortable winning locally.

The next challenge is travelling.

Playing different venues and different regions exposes you to stronger fields and different playing conditions.

It also helps build experience under pressure.

The players who improve fastest are usually those who seek tougher competition rather than avoiding it.

Step 7: Develop the Right Mindset

Talent helps.

Mindset matters more.

Every successful player experiences:

• Bad form
• Heavy defeats
• Missed doubles
• Tournament exits

The difference is that they keep turning up.

Progress in darts is rarely a straight line.

Some weeks you feel unstoppable.

Other weeks you cannot hit a double.

Keep playing.

Keep learning.

Keep improving.

Step 8: Consider Q School

For many ambitious players, the ultimate target is Q School.

The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) Q School offers players the opportunity to earn a Tour Card and compete professionally.

However, success at Q School usually follows years of development, competition and experience.

Most players who succeed have already built a strong foundation through local, county and national competition.

The Reality

Very few players will become full-time professionals.

But that should not stop anyone trying.

The journey itself is rewarding.

You make friends, visit new venues, experience memorable matches and continuously challenge yourself to improve.

And every professional darts player once stood exactly where you are now.

The road starts with one dart.

Where it ends is up to you.

Time for a Reset

Tonight was one of those nights.

I didn't win a single leg.

The strange thing is that my average wasn't completely terrible, but the results certainly were. Walking away without a leg win is never enjoyable, and it has forced me to take a long, hard look at where my game currently stands.

The truth is that I know I'm capable of better. I've shown flashes of it. I've had good legs, good spells, and good tournaments. The problem isn't a lack of ability. The problem is that I'm not currently doing anything focused enough to solve the issues that keep appearing.

If I'm honest, this isn't just a darts problem.

It's something I do in life generally.

I overwhelm myself with ideas, projects, plans and possibilities. Instead of focusing on one thing and improving it, I end up trying to tackle everything at once. The result is that progress becomes slower than it should be.

So it's time for a rethink.

Not a dramatic one. Not because I'm angry or depressed about tonight. Quite the opposite. I'm actually feeling quite positive about it.

I think I need to strip everything right back to basics.

Physically, that means rebuilding my throw from the ground up. Looking at stance, alignment, grouping and consistency. No shortcuts. No miracle fixes. Just simple, deliberate practice.

Mentally, it means getting my head in the right place again. Finding focus. Removing noise. Concentrating on the things that actually matter instead of worrying about everything at once.

I've even started thinking about whether Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) might be useful. Not specifically for darts, but for helping me organise my thinking, improve focus and gain better perspective. The lessons could easily transfer onto the oche.

This isn't a blog post about giving up.

It's a blog post about starting again.

The good news is that I know I'm not alone. Every darts player seems to hit these periods where they know there's more in the tank but can't quite unlock it. Every player has moments where the game feels harder than it should.

So over the next few weeks I'm going back to basics. I'll document what I'm doing, what works, what doesn't work, and whether the changes make a difference.

And if I manage to find something that genuinely helps, I'll make sure I share it.

Because I suspect there are plenty of players out there standing exactly where I am right now.

Wednesday Night Under 55 Average Tournament – Browns Bar, Bristol

 Last night (Wednesday) I played in the Under 55 Average Comp at Browns Bar, Bristol. It was a bit up and down overall, but I’m happy with my scoring. The big takeaway? My head was in a much better place than it’s been for the past few weeks.No overthinking, just enjoying the game.

I definitely need to practice my doubles more, but mentally I felt solid. Lost focus a little in the Last 16, but I’m fine with that. Tonight is an open tournament, so the goal is to keep this upturn in form and mindset going.

Stats from Wednesday

Result: Last 16

Match Average: 45.74

First 9 Average: 53.79

100+ scores: 7

Legs Won: 7

Legs Lost: 6

Breaks: 4

Reflection

Scoring was decent, but finishing let me down. Still, the mental side felt strong, which is a big win for me right now.

Darts Counting – Maths or Memory?

 I’ve always enjoyed numbers, and I think that’s one of the main reasons I’ve always enjoyed darts. As a sports fan in general, numbers are everywhere.Stats about form, points needed to win a league, or what’s required to clinch a game. But darts is unique because every throw can be planned, and that plan is built around numbers.

Snooker is similar, but in snooker, the position of the white ball often dictates sacrificing a higher-value shot to keep a break going. In darts, the goal is simple:score 501 points and finish on a double, in as few darts as possible. There are exceptions, like setting up a shot when you have a big lead, but generally, the aim is maximum efficiency.

My first interest in marking darts games came when I was about eight or nine. At my local youth club, older lads would pay me in crisps or soft drinks to mark their games. I quickly noticed certain scores kept coming up. They were amazed I knew what 17 × 3 was, but I wasn’t adding it up,I just knew that segment was worth 51 because I’d seen it often. 

The real challenge was adding three darts together and subtracting from the total. That took some maths at first, but after many games, it became second nature.

Fast forward to today, and I still love marking games. It’s fascinating because I’m always learning new finishing routes and setups. I’ve been lucky enough to mark on all the PDC Tours, and that sharpens you up fast. You need to call out totals almost instantly and, if asked, tell a player their finish just as quickly. Rhythm matters.

So, do you need to be a maths genius to do this well? In my opinion, no. People ask me that a lot, and I explain why: it’s mostly memory. You need some interest in numbers because memory works best when you care about the subject. When I was a competitive quizzer, I could remember Olympic champions or Oscar winners easily because I liked those topics. Birds and flowers? Not so much.

Marking darts is more about pattern recognition,almost like muscle memory. Do it enough, and it sticks. I know three treble 20s is 180 without adding 60 + 60 + 60. A more complex example: single 20, single 19, treble 18. I’ve seen it so often I know it’s 93 instantly. Over time, you build up a library of patterns. Oddly, I get caught out more on low numbers because they come up less often. The better the players, the easier it is because their scoring is more predictable.

The hardest part is telling players what they have left. That’s less about memory and more about quick subtraction. Tablets have made this easier compared to chalkboards, but speed still matters.

Predicting where a player will go next helps too. If someone has 116 and starts on 19, they’ll probably go treble 19 next (leaving 97). If they hit another single 19, they’re on 78, likely aiming for treble 18. Sometimes they surprise you with something like treble 14 to leave 36, so you add that to your mental playbook.

Players evolve, and routes change. Treble 17 is more popular now, and treble 14/double 14 pops up more often too. Like the game itself, marking takes practice. The more you do it, the more natural it becomes. Some players hate this part, which is understandable, but if you want to improve, there’s no shortcut - just keep doing it.