The festive season...

Steve Beaton


Steve Beaton Birthday: 5. April 1964
Lives in: North Walsham, England
Born in: Coventry, England
Nickname: The Bronzed Adonis
Darts: 22 g Winmau Steve Beaton
Walk-on Music: Stayin' Alive (The Bee Gees)

Steve Beaton as well is one of the players who missed this PDC World Championship - a World Championship in which he took part from 2002 - 2024 every year. And Steve Beaton as well is one of the players who started his career in the BDO/WDF system and later switched to the PDC. But there is a difference to the other players I told you about - Steve Beaton announced in December 2023 he would end his career end of 2024. I am sure he hoped he would qualifiy for this World Championship but he didn't manage. But Beaton didn't lose his Tour Card, he ended the year ranked 54 in the PDC Order of Merit. Beaton decided to give it back.

Beaton played his first tournaments in 1984. In that year he reached the Last 32 of the World Masters. 1991 he stood in the final of the BDO British Gold Cup and 1992 he for the first time qualified for the BDO World Championship and lost first round. He was back in 1993 in Lakeside and this time he reached the semi-finals. On his way there he defeated players like Dennis Priestley and Bob Anderson. Beaton turned professional and decided not to join the group of players who split off the BDO and founded the WDC/PDC. Instead he won the World Masters 1993 and was 1994 and 1995 the BDO Number 1 but lost both years already in the first round of the World Championship. 1996 he finally won the BDO World Championship and defeated on his way to the title Co Stompe, John Part, Martin Adams, Andy Fordham and Richie Burnett. He couldn't defend the title, but lost a very close semi-final in 1997 against Marshall James as he couln't hit the Double 20 for a 140 Checkout. Four more years Beaton stayed in the BDO and every year took part in the World Championship. Already in those years he took part in a few PDC tournaments as well which was still possible at this time. In 2001 he reached the semi-finals of the World Matchplay. When the PDC changed the regulations Beaton in 2002 switched to the PDC.

Beaton never had the same impact in the PDC as he had in the BDO and went through several crisis of form. But nevertheless he did enough to qualify for every PDC World Championship from 2002 to 2024 - though never got farther then the Last 16 - and he stayed for many years in the Top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit. From time to time he stood in the semi-finals of a Major - 2004 at the World Grand Prix and the UK Open, 2010 at the Grand Slam. 2009 he reached the final of the European Championship and 2017 the quarterfinals of the Players Championship Finals. 2013 he won his only European Tour Event and in 2009 and 2017 a Players Championship. Beaton was popular with the PDC crowds and with his PDC colleagues, it really was a pity he didn't qualify for the World Championship to say good bye to the crowd - what a farewell would it have been! So his last PDC event was the last Players Championship 2024 on 31. October and at least his colleagues celebrated him.

Beaton is one of the last players of a bygone golden age of the sport who still is an active player and still plays quite a good level. Beaton announced he will stay active and play on the Seniors Tour and he hopes he will still be in demand for exhibitions - so far he can't and will not imagine a life without darts and he never lost his hunger for success. Of course he feels a little bit wistfull he tells in interviews, but he is looking forward to pass more time with his wife - all that traveling started to tire him anyway. His longlivity in the sport he explains with staying fit all the years with the help of cycling and swimming, with healthy eating, with not a lot of change in his technique and his equipment and with always returning to his basics when something went wrong to rebuild his game. As one hears he never was practicing a lot, one hour per day perhaps, and at the start of his career all his practice was going to the pub to meet his frieds to play some darts or in the League. When approached on the subject that he always looked like fresh from the sunbed - one part of his image which was caused by this interview - he answered that he never did see a sunbed from the inside all his life but that he always passed his holiday after the World Championship somewhere where it was warm - in Tenerife or at the Canaries.

I never managed to do an interview with Steve Beaton, though I even had all my questions ready at one time. Might be there will be an opportunity some day. And then I can finally ask him whether it is true what I read somewhere - that he is interested in horse races and from time to time visits the Galopp Rennbahn in Baden-Baden in Germany.

Here a videa from 2011 - a compilation of highlights from Beaton's darting career: Darts Montage/Tribute.






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