The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Grand Slam Soots back on big stage
Arbroath ace Alan Soutar became an overnight sensation when he reached the last 16 of the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace last year.
Fast forward 11 months and the Dundee firefighter, known as “Soots”, is back on the big stage again and ready to star at three major TV events in the next two months.
Soots will face current world champion Peter Wright, world No 12 Nathan Aspinall and the Queen of the Palace, Fallon Sherrock, in front of the Sky cameras at this weekend’s Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.
He came through a 101-player Protour field to claim one of just eight qualifying spots for the £650,000 tournament – seeing off former Premier League Darts star Stephen Bunting in his final game.
Later this month, Soutar will feature on ITV4 at The Players Championships before taking centre stage on Sky Sports at Alexandra Palace in December.
It promises to be a whirlwind eight weeks, but Arbroath native Soutar is heading south in a rich vein of form.
“I’m still pinching myself when I think about it all,” Soots told Courier Sport.
“I had Sky Sports News on earlier and my name flashed up on the live ticker to say I was facing Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall and Fallon Sherrock in the Grand Slam.
“Those games will be absolutely massive.
“I’m on holiday from my job as a firefighter this week but was planning to pay back some of the shift swaps I’ve had and now I can’t. I didn’t think for a second I’d be at the Grand Slam.
“There were only eight places and I was in there with 101 players. James Wade, Jose de Sousa and Dimitri Van den Bergh were in the room but none qualified.
“I’m now guaranteed three matches on Sky – against two major winners in Peter and Nathan and then a high-profile game against Fallon.
“She’s one of the most talked-about, most-viewed players in the game and is perfect to raise the profile of the sport.
“On paper it’s a horrendously difficult group but I’m confident I can do well.”
Soots is now 42nd in the world and comfortably the third highest ranked Scot,
behind Wright and twotime world champion Gary Anderson.
He has beaten top 20 stars Dave Chisnall, Ryan Searle and Dirk van Duijvenbode in recent weeks and boasts a better head-to-head record against all three of his Grand Slam Group E opponents.
Soots has the upper-hand against fellow Scot Wright, having beaten him three times in five Protour meetings.
He beat Aspinall in their only previous encounter and, bizarrely, beat a then teen sensation Sherrock in a mixed triples event in Renfrew alongside his
long-term partner Amanda. He added: “Everyone will have Peter down as the favourite and Nathan as second favourite.
“If I can beat Nathan on Saturday night, then one more win could get me out of the group stage.
“I’ve only played Nathan once before – at a Protour in Bolton and I beat him.
“The game with Fallon will be really tough mentally. She can be brilliant on stage in front of TV and cameras.
“My partner Amanda and I have played against Fallon before at the Scottish Open around a decade ago.
“She was an
up-and-coming superstar for England Youth Darts. I played against her in the mixed triples in Renfrew – with Amanda and our Dutch pal Remco van Eijden. We won the tournament and beat Fallon en route to it.
“The Peter Wright game is a throw in the dark.
“I’ve not played him on the big TV stage but I have faced him five times on the PDC Tour and it’s 3-2 me. Let’s hope I can cause an upset and make it 4-2.
“I’d love it if Peter and I went through – two Scottish guys.
“But let’s see what happens this week.”