1/12
Josh Rock is one of the big figures at the Darts World Championship.
Cedric HeebEditor Sports
With the equivalent of almost 560,000 francs in prize money for the winner, the World Cup is the best endowed darts tournament. If you just make it to the round of 16, you have at least CHF 39,000 ready to collect.
For example, for Josh Rock, who played in the top 16 on Tuesday, but then had to give up on Thursday evening. The world number 47 was considered one of the secret favorites, especially since the bookmakers had missed him the sixth-lowest betting odds before the tournament started. Amazing, especially because the Northern Irishman has only been a darts professional for around three months. The 21-year-old previously worked on a chicken farm.
“My job was to help the chickens scald before they go to the farmers and grow there – and before they end up on your plate,” Rock describes his work for The Sun. Now he is a full-time professional, and since the beginning of October alone, around 65,000 francs in prize money have been collected.
Firefighter over Christmas
However, he is not alone with this special profession, other darts stars also have one. For example Alan Soutar, who secured the round of 16 ticket on Wednesday. The 44-year-old Scot just had his hands full over Christmas.
Instead of spending the holidays at home with loved ones, the firefighter always had to be ready for an emergency. “I had a day shift on the 23rd and 24th, night shift on the 25th and 26th,” he said after his second-round victory on December 17th.
“Went through a hundred times worse”
Before his time as a firefighter, the world number 36 served. in the British Army. According to his own statement, he belonged to the troops that were the first in liberated Kosovo in 1999 and that stopped events in the capital, Pristina in particular.
The time in the army also helps him for darts, to concentrate on the stage: “If you’re on stage and the audience boos you, that’s nothing. I’ve been through a hundred times worse in terms of misery.” But darts is nothing more than a “cool hobby”, his job remains the top priority.
window cleaners and tilers
Other players also stayed true to their jobs. The Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode (30) continues to work on his eggplant farm.
But now many players who regularly take part in PDC tournaments can live off the prize money. Professionals such as Raymond van Barneveld (55, postman) or Ryan Searle (35, window cleaner) therefore gave up their jobs.
Superstar and three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen (33) is a trained tiler, but never practiced this profession. He was already earning prize money with darts when he was 14, and when he was 18 he bought his first car – he paid in cash.