TICKET TO THRIVE
Bus driver Radek Szaganski is on a 17-year voyage that has brought him from Poznan to Limerick to Cork and now to the biggest stage in world darts...
THE Christmas period brings its traditional offering of festive entertainment – be it the tense drama of the Home Alone films or the pure theatre of The Phantom of the Opera.
Want a blend of both? Look no further than the PDC World Darts Championship. Mass crowds are set descend on Alexandra Palace this week in North London for three weeks of thrills – as will a familiar crew of Irish hopefuls dreaming of upsetting the odds on the biggest stage in the sport.
Limerick’s Willie O’Connor – Ireland’s leading thrower for the last decade – will lead the charge, with Steve Lennon and youngster’s Keane Barry and Dylan Slevin among those in pursuit. North of the border, the talent pool remains strong with latest superstar Josh Rock among a contingent which includes multiple major winner Daryl Gurney and the popular, soft-spoken veteran Brendan Dolan.
But this year, there is a new name on the bill of Irish interest, a certain Radek Szaganski. While he hails from Poland and plays under the Polish flag, he is unquestionably a product of Irish darts, having spent nearly two decades in this country. A driver for Bus Eireann in Cork, Szaganski’s ascent to the iconic ‘Ally Pally’ stage has not been a routine one. From pastry chef to bus driver to professional darts champion, it has been a long and circuitous voyage by the 44-year-old Cobh resident. Eager to raise money to fund his wedding, Szaganski took a punt on Ireland off the back of the advice of his friends in 2006. He figured it would be a shortterm switch, but 17 years have passed and Ireland is now very much his home. He marked that milestone by winning his first PDC title – Players Championship 27 – in October, beating major winners Jonny Clayton and Dimitri van den Bergh en route to glory.
It’s that victory that catapulted him into qualification for the World Championship – the biggest tournament of his career to date. It is also one that has put fans on notice.
Stunning the world of darts was not on Szaganski’s agenda when he moved from Poznan to Limerick after acquiring his bus licence.
A chance game of soft-tip darts upon meeting his sister’s new boyfriend – ‘he hammered me’ – kickstarted his unlikely ascent.
‘We went for holidays to Poland and my sister had a new boyfriend and asked us to go to the pub to meet him,’ Szaganski recalls.
‘They had a soft-tip darts machine, and he asked if I wanted to play. I did not know he had been playing for so many years, so he absolutely hammered me.
‘I came back to Ireland, bought a board in Argos, started practicing and in six months I went back to Poland and beat him!
‘Then I looked for competition here in Ireland, so I joined the county team in Limerick before I changed job and moved to Cork.
‘I won some competitions then and thought “oh I might be good” and saw my progress going up slowly. I can see still myself going up because the results are there now, and this is the end of my second year in the PDC.’
PDC tour cards are handed out on a two-year basis, with players then tasked to retain them by finishing in the top 64 of prize money in that period.
Szaganski, whose maiden season on tour did not go as he would have hoped, looked destined to lose his card until he found a new level of performance this season – as demonstrated by his maiden title win.
He remains in a battle to save his spot and avoid a return to ‘Q-School’ but knows what he must do at the Worlds – where a potential meeting with five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld awaits. First, he has the challenge of overcoming Finland’s Marko Kantele – a clash he is expected to win. Then he will need to defeat the legendary Dutchman to ensure his place on tour.
Doing so is certainly his aim. ‘That is my target, to keep the tour card. I know I can beat Marko and if I do, then we will see what happens against Raymond. Obviously, he has more experience – but I will try to do my best.
‘The last time I played him he beat me 6-4 but it was close. I missed three darts to go 5-4 up so my confidence is there that I can beat him.’
Will he be daunted by playing a five-time champ?
‘I don’t think about him (Van Barneveld) that way because I try to play the board not the name.
‘That is what I have learned in two years playing in the PDC. Do not play the guy and think what he wants, just play the board. I don’t even look at what the other player is doing. That is how I treat every game.’
The prospect of a Bus Eireann driver sending a five-time world champion packing in front of millions of viewers might seem ludicrous, but that is the beauty of darts.
This is the sport where electrician-turned-darts pro Rob Cross won the title on debut in 2018 and where women and men compete on an even playing-field – as trailblazers Fallon Sherrock and Beau Greaves have shown.
The reality is not as bizarre as the narrative either. Szaganski is less than two points behind ‘Barney’ in the seasonal averages, a strong indi
Do not play the other guy and think what he wants, just play the board
cation he is playing to a similar standard. He is also a reigning champion, unlike the 56-year-old who is without a title for almost three years.
He does not share the same liberties as some of his fellow competitors, however. For Szaganski it is ‘always family and work go first and darts second’.
Consequently, family duties, fulltime work and travel to-and-from events limit his opportunities to jump on the practice board.
His bus routes take him all over the Rebel County, from Skibbereen to Charleville to Clonmel in Tipperary. Shifts can be early in the morning or late in the evenings, on weekdays or on weekends.
That said, he would not be able to pursue his darts dream if Bus Eireann were not so accommodating.
‘The company really help me so if it was not for them, I would be going nowhere. When I got the PDC tour card, I spoke to my boss and he said they would help me.’
While Szaganski cannot play under the Irish tricolour due to regulatory reasons, he will pay homage to the place he calls home when the Sky Sports cameras are rolling.
He has had new playing shirts designed for the event – a common practice from players ahead of the biggest major in the sport.
‘I have new shirts for Ally Pally and on my collar on one side will be Poznan, my city, and the other side will be Cork.
‘I have had two designs made, one that is green with red and another red and green – so they are like a mix of Ireland and Poland. The logo is ‘RS’ and you have the Polish eagle on one side and the Irish shamrock on the other.’
Perhaps it is those smaller details that will garner a second glance from Irish punters when the darts dominates TV screens at home and in pubs up and down the country, as it always does amid the annual festivities.
Despite facing a battle to keep his tour card, it feels like Szaganski’s best days in darts are still ahead of him.
In fact, they could come at Ally Pally in a matter of days.
One thing is for certain: Unlike so many of his opponents, he will have the benefit of two nations cheering him on.
My logo has the Polish eagle on one side, the Irish shamrock on the other