Alan Soutar will take on Mensur Suljovic on Thursday bidding to book a post-Christmas return to the PDC World Darts Championship.
The Angus darts ace, known as Soots, faces World No 26 Suljovic in the second round after his debut win over Diogo Portela on Sunday.
And in Day 2 of the Courier Sport behind-the-flights video diary, Soots has given us an exclusive insight into his match build up.
Soutar’s stepson Logan, who is at London with the Dundee firefighter, turned 18 on Tuesday and enjoyed some birthday shopping.
Soots also took an emotional walk past the city’s military monuments as he remembered fallen Iraq war hero Lance Bombardier Llywelyn Karl Evans.
Alan Soutar: I’ll always remember my former 29 Commando compatriot ‘Welly’
Nicknamed ‘Welly’, the Welshman who served at 29 Commando at the same time as Soutar.
Welly lost his life, aged 24, in a helicoptor crash in 2003.
“This always brings back memories of people who lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Soutar told Courier Sport.
“You have a little moment and think about them.
“Right now I’m thinking about Welly. Memorial things always take me back to him as I was really good friends with him.
“These kind of things are really important to me and should be important to everyone in the UK.”
Soutar ended his Tuesday night with a private practice session with 2018 PDC World Champion Rob Cross.
Cross is currently 11th in the world and faces five-times champion Raymond Van Barnevald on Thursday night.
🏆🔥🎯 “Voltage” Rob Cross is the 2021 European Darts Champion ⚡️
Rd 1 | 6-3 vs Keane Barry ✅
Rd 2 | 10-4 vs Brendan Dolan ✅
Qtr Finals | 10-5 vs Jose de Sousa ✅
Semi Finals | 11-3 vs Joe Cullen ✅
Final | 11-8 vs Michael Van Gerwen ✅🏆 pic.twitter.com/dIqzKdELWl— Darts Behind The Oche 🎯 (@DartsBehindThe) October 17, 2021
And Soutar added: “You aren’t going to get much better practice than with a former world champion.
“Rob is 11th in the world right now. It’s good practice for me but also for Rob as he plays Barney.
“I have a bit of friendship with him on the Pro Tour and we practice together.
“His manager is Scottish so we have a bit of link there. Away from the oche and TV cameras, Rob is a really good guy.”
