Dartslegende Steve Beaton heeft aangegeven na 2024 te stoppen met darten op professioneel niveau na een carrière van ruim 30 jaar.
Beaton, de Lakeside wereldkampioen van 1996, voegde zich in 2001 bij de PDC. Hij haalde drie ranking halve finales op TV, was de runner-up het EK van 2009 en nam deel aan 23 PDC WK's op rij.
In zijn interview na zijn overwinning op Wessel Nijman in de eerste ronde van het Paddy Power World Darts Championship gaf Beaton aan dat 2024 zijn laatste jaar zal worden het het PDC-circuit.
BEATON: "Next year will definitely be my last, however this tournament goes.
I’m 60 next year and it’s a gruelling circuit.
I’ve been married 30-odd years now and my wife hardly sees me, I’m only home half of the year.
People don’t understand what you have to do to carry on with the darts.
It’s great if you are a youngster, I would have been buzzing if it had been like this when I was 21. But it’s quite draining and it will be nice to spend a bit of time at home for a change.
I thought this year was going to be my last, but I started off really well."
Beaton zal het tegen Daryl Gurney opnemen in de tweede ronde van het WK. De 59-jarige is vastberaden het beste te maken van zijn laatste wedstrijden op de grootste podia ter wereld.
BEATON: "Even if I won the Worlds, I’d still have to sit back and think I can’t keep going.
Wouldn’t it be a good way to go out by winning the Worlds!
Walking up to the stage here I still get the same buzz, it’s unbelievable. That’s what you play for.
You are not going to get that buzz anywhere else. The fans don’t let me down, they were great again.
Things like winning here really encourage me. It shows that I’m not finished yet. That’s what keeps me going.
It’s Daryl next, I’ve played him loads of times and it will be tough. I know how capable he is.”
© Foto: Professional Darts Corporation (PDC)