The darts players with VERY normal jobs – who could rack up millions in prize money – including an Iceland delivery driver, sous chef and roofer
For many, darts is a game you play with a pint in hand at the local pub.
But for the top 96 players who take part in the World Championships every year, darts is a thrilling professional game which requires hours of dedicated training.
With a total of £2.5million on the line, rivals and underdogs compete with each other over 16 days for a new darts champion to be crowned.
This year Luke Humphries beat teenage sensation Luke Littler at Alexandra Palace in January to pocket a whopping £500,000.
Nicknamed Cool Hand Luke, the world number one has earned himself £1.8million in prize money over the last two years.
But these eyewatering riches are a world away from what Humphries, 29, is used to.
Born in Newbury in Berkshire, Humphries used to work as a roofer alongside his father, Mark, and brother, Stuart.
As darts is not as lucrative as other individual sports (until you win), FEMAIL takes a look at all the very normal jobs players have in order to pay the bills.
Luke Humphries, who used to work as a roofer, has earned himself £1.8million in prize money over the last two years
Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor: Barman
Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor has racked up 14 Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championship titles and held the top spot in the world rankings for an astonishing 13 years.
But before the greatest darts player in the world made it to the oche on some of the sport’s biggest stages, Taylor’s first job was making ceramics in a factory at the age of 16.
He also used to weld cars together and supplemented his income by working in a local pub in Tunstall over the weekends.
Michael van Gerwen: Tiler
The second-most successful player in PDC history, after Phil Taylor, is Michael van Gerwen.
Before turning professional shortly after his 18th birthday, van Gerwen was fitting tiles.
Speaking to The Mirror in 2020, the Dutch darts player said: ‘When I was fitting those tiles, I never thought I would be a millionaire by the time I was 24.
‘But it proves that if you work hard and do well at the major tournaments, you can make a good living out of being a professional darts player.’
Now, van Gerwen is worth around £6million.
Phil Taylor has racked up 14 PDC Championships. His first job was making ceramics in a factory at the age of 16
Michael van Gerwen used to fit tiles. Now he is worth around £6million
Micheal Smith: Farmer
In 2023, the PDC champion was Michael Smith – and you would be forgiven that his nickname ‘Bully Boy’ references his ability to hit the bullseye.
Instead the moniker refers to Michael’s days as a cattle farmer in Littleborough.
The job, which the player admitted was ‘hard graft’, included helping deliver baby calves.
‘That’s where I got my Bully Boy nickname – it was nothing to do with darts,’ he told The Mirror back in 2018.
‘When the cows gave birth, the farm owner got me to help with tagging the new-born calves. […] I got slammed in cowpats and cow’s muck.
‘They didn’t always like it and I had one on its back, my fingers in its nose, legs in the air.
‘He called me a bully, and that’s how the nickname stuck.
‘For the record, I’m not a bully or an aggressive person by nature – far from it – but when I needed a nickname, that’s what came to mind.’
Michael Smith won the PDC Championship in 2023
His nickname, ‘Bully Boy’, refers to his days as a cattle farmer in Littleborough
Robert Owen: Delivery driver
Robert Owen, from Bridgend in Wales, progressed to the third round of the PDC World Championship after defeating ‘German Giant’ Gabriel Clemens yesterday.
But even with £500,000 up for grabs, the 40-year-old loves his day job so much that he has said he won’t give it up if he wins.
Nicknamed Stack Attack, the father-of-three has worked as a delivery driver for Iceland Food Warehouse since June 2023 and juggles his part-time contract with three-hours-per-day arrows practice.
The Welshman said: ‘I work as an Iceland delivery driver on a part-time contract but I manage to cram it all in.
‘I practice darts three hours a day even if I work overtime and I also have a 14-year-old, a 10-year-old, and a seven-month-old baby, so it’s all go.’
The sporting hopeful says he feels like he’s living a double life and reports that many colleagues did not actually realise he is a professional darts player until he told them about his upcoming time off a couple of weeks ago.
He said: ‘I book the time off as soon as I know I’m going to be away [playing darts]. ‘I would definitely keep my job as a delivery driver at Iceland if I won the tournament because when I go to work, I don’t class it as work, I just enjoy it.’
Richard Walker, Executive Chairman of Iceland, has pledged to fit a ‘full practice arena’ in the staff room when the darts ace returns to work after the tournament.
Robert Owen has worked as a delivery driver for Iceland Food Warehouse since June 2023
The Welshman said: ‘I would definitely keep my job as a delivery driver at Iceland if I won the tournament because when I go to work, I don’t class it as work, I just enjoy it’
Gary Anderson: Builder and publican
Some of the greatest darts players in history began their careers in pubs including two-time world champion Gary Anderson.
The Scotsman was in the building trade before moving south of the border to run The Wellington Arms in Rooksbridge, Somerset on behalf of fellow PDC star Steve Grubb.
Along with his wife, he managed the pub for four years until he made it to the Premier League, which required him to be on the road for a minimum of 15 weeks in a year.
And the Flying Scotsman revealed he used to practice more while working as a publican than he does now.
‘I practised more when I had the pub than I do now,’ he told Inapub Magazine back in 2011. ‘I have a darts room back at home but it’s not the same.’
Noa-Lynn van Leuven: Sous Chef
In October, Noa-Lynn van Leuven made history when she became the first transgender woman to win a PDC Tour event which secured her a place at Alexandra Palace, affectionally known as Ally Pally.
When she is not throwing darts on the World Championship stage, van Leuven is whipping up pastries and desserts as a sous chef.
Gary Anderson managed a pub with his wife for four years until he made it into the Premier League
When she is not throwing darts on the World Championship stage, Noa-Lynn van Leuven is whipping up pastries and desserts as a sous chef
‘I’ve got two major hobbies,’ she said. ‘One of them is darts, and one of them is cooking. So I made both of them my job.
‘I’ve been working in kitchens now for like 12 years, and I’ve been out of them in between for like one-and-a-half year, and I really miss cooking.
‘So I’m not sure if I will ever go full-time on the darts. Maybe if it’s getting too busy, I will say I’m just going to focus on the darts, but for now, I enjoy my time in the kitchen.
‘It also is a bit of a stress relief for me. We all know Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen and sometimes it can be like that in our kitchen, but I enjoy working there.’
