Friday December 24th 2021
Alan Soutar’s mega comeback
How a firefighter rocks the Darts World Cup
From Kevin Schulte
Alan Soutar is the man of the hour at the Darts World Cup. The Scot is making his third round debut after an epic comeback. Instead of a Christmas break, the 43-year-old now has double shifts as a firefighter on the plan.
No question, the famous Scottish darts players are different: Peter Wright, 2020 world champion and currently second in the world rankings, plus of course Gary Anderson, 2015 and 2016 world champion. But in the shadow of the two grandmasters, a third is currently writing his own story. Alan Soutar, 43 years old, from the small Scottish port town of Arbroath, firefighter, guide dog trainer and successful darts player. His victory over the Austrian Mensur Suljovic on Thursday evening will appear in every World Cup review.
The victory in itself is not a sensation. Former top ten player Suljovic has been too inconsistent on the professional tour over the past three years. Alan Soutar’s first year among the best darts players in the world went too well. The game will go down in history because it took a completely grotesque course and a winner for whom darts is just a lucrative hobby.
Soutar makes a mega comeback
Suljovic, world number 26, has no problems with his opponent, who is listed in 77th place, in the first two sets. Set one goes 3: 1 to “The Gentle”, set two even 3: 0. At the latest when Suljovic wins the first two legs of the third set, nobody believes in Soutar anymore. But the Scot does not pour any darts, presents himself combative and seems to believe in his barely any chance of victory.
Soutar at least gets his second leg after 40 minutes of play. And would still go down in darts history as a footnote if Mensur Suljovic had used one of his two match darts on the double eight two minutes later for a smooth 3-0 set win. But both darts land relatively far from the double field.
Soutar cannot be asked twice, snatches the leg to make it 2-2. And because Suljovic throws another dart on double in the decision leg, this time past double 18, the Scot wins the whole set.
Set four takes a similar course: Suljovic plays well, leads 2-1 and then has the next chance to win the match with 120 points remaining. The 49-year-old Viennese hits first the triple 20, then the single 20, but puts the decisive dart just below the double 20 field. Match dart number four missed. Soutar accepts the pre-Christmas present, “checks” 66 points for the next set win.
Soutar “survived” eight match darts
20 minutes after Suljovic’s first chances of victory, everything is back to zero. In the decisive set, however, you need two legs ahead of victory at the World Cup. At first, that doesn’t seem to be a problem for Suljovic. He quickly takes a 2-0 lead, but Soutar turns his back to the wall again, equalizes to 2-2 and thus saves himself in “overtime”.
It’s quick at first, Soutar takes the lead for the first time and suddenly has two match darts in the next leg. And miss both. Suljovic “survived” the critical moment and got the game turned on his side again, took the lead 4: 3 and earned four (!) More match darts. First Suljovic missed double 16, then three times double eight. Soutar equalizes to 4: 4 and turns the game one more time. With 5: 4 legs for Soutar, Suljovic cannot withstand the pressure again and misses the possible 5: 5 equalization. Instead, Soutar comes back on board and ends an epic match with an outstanding 144-point checkout.
“In my head I was already dead and buried in sports and then it just clicked,” said Alan Soutar after the game. “I can’t describe this match at all.” When he was 2-0 down in sets and 2-0 down in the legs, he actually no longer believed in victory, “but rather in when an Uber will bring me to the airport tomorrow morning.”
Christmas on duty as a firefighter
Soutar had planned the return flight from London to his Scottish homeland on the morning of Christmas Eve for good reason: The World Cup debutant has to work double shifts in his job as a firefighter over the holidays. 30 hours on two days – 14 hours on Christmas Eve, 16 hours on Christmas Day.
House fires and traffic accidents instead of preparation for the third-round World Cup match against world number seven José de Sousa on December 29th. “Christmas is a completely unknown quantity. I’ve been involved in major house fires on Christmas morning and in traffic accidents on Christmas Eve. Hopefully this time I’ll have a few quiet shifts. We pray in our job that we don’t get caught up in something because it often turns over a person’s life goes on, “said Soutar at the press conference at the” Ally Pally “.
If the Scot succeeds in the next surprise victory at the World Cup, there is a risk of roster chaos at the fire department in Dundee. “I’m supposed to go back to work on December 30th and I don’t know what’s going to happen in this tournament,” says Soutar with a smile. “The guys in the fire department will now be expecting cake. I think I can afford that.” Alan Soutar has already earned the equivalent of around 30,000 euros in prize money at the Darts World Cup.
Soutar trains dogs to be guide dogs
Besides darts, Soutar has another time-consuming hobby. The 43-year-old trains guide dogs with his wife Amanda. “We spend a year turning a dog into a guide dog. It’s great when we can help other people with it,” Soutar said “The Courier”. The volunteer work makes the firefighter proud: “At the age of 43 I already had many good feelings in my life, but this is a completely different level.”
Training with the dogs also helps Soutar to distract himself. “I often put on headphones and walk the dog five kilometers. I think about life, but also about darts. It helps me relax completely.” Not unimportant in the mental sport of darts. Maybe there will be some time for a walk between double shifts at the fire service and his next game at the World Cup.