Alan Soutar is under six days from the biggest darts match of his career at the £2.5 million PDC World Championships.
The Arbroath-based ace will take on Brazilian star Diogo Portela in the first round on Sunday in front of the Sky Sports TV cameras.
It will see him fulfil a dream that began with borrowed dart board in his kitchen during the first Covid lockdown.
And Soutar, who has taken the PDC by storm in his debut season, can’t wait to appear on the big stage.
A win over Portela will put him on the brink of the top 64 – just ten months after turning pro.
Soutar has taken several scalps in that time, including beating current world number 2 Peter Wright THREE times.
Alan Soutar: The darts room I hope will inspire me to glory
Soutar has used some of his £32,000 sporting earnings to create a darts oche that exactly replicates the one he’ll face at Alexandra Palace.
“The plan was to build a darts room,” said Soutar.
“But when we looked and saw nothing on the walls we decided to build up a picture of our lives.”
Soutar has given Courier Sport an exclusive guided tour of his set-up.
Soutar has spoken in the past about his military background and his full-time job as a Dundee firefighter.
He and partner Amanda are proud of their role as Guide Dogs foster parents.
A local hero, Soots has transformed the darts scene in the North East with the Angus Darts Academy, giving over 750 youngsters a chance to experience the sport.
That includes Nathan Girvan – Soots’ prodigy – who now stars on the PDC Youth Tour.
Girvan’s image adorns the walls of Soutar’s darts room.
And he hopes to inspire more youngsters to emulate his achievements when he hits the ‘Ally Pally’ stage on Sunday.
How life in a warzone prepared Dundee firefighter Alan Soutar for top-level darts
