WITH literally just hours to go, Outlane darter Scott Waites has a major career decision to make.
Following his disappointing second round exit last week at the BDO Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship, Waites is now faced with the dilemma of whether to continue in the ranks of the British Darts Organisation, or whether to set his stall out to join the Professional Darts Corporation.
“The PDC are holding a qualifying school for anyone wishing to join, and they reportedly have 31 places up for grabs, but at the moment I’m undecided as to what to do,” reflected Waites on his return to Huddersfield, where I caught up with him when he was in action for the Dusty Miller at Longwood, on Monday night (he won 3-0).
“The problem is that today is the deadline for the qualifying school, and I still haven’t made a decision as what I want to do.”
The PDC is a full-time professional organisation, with a guarantee of £5m prize money on the circuit, while Waites, who has been doing quite well with the BDO in the last 18 months, with victories in the British Open, the World Masters and the WDF World Cup, is still employed as a joiner with Pennine Housing in Calderdale.
The 34-year-old, who as well as playing for the Dusty Miller in the Golcar Darts League, also plays for the Foresters at Crosland Moor in the Primrose Hill and Newsome League, for Lockwood Conservative Club in the Summer League and for Honley Socialist Club in the Super League, was in great form going to Frimley Green, having also won the Zuiderduin Masters in Holland in December, and he will be heading back to the Netherlands in a fortnight for the Dutch Open in Veldhoven which starts on February 3.
“It’s a real hectic weekend with the both the Singles and Pairs tournaments being completed in three days. The last time I won the Dutch Open in 2007, there were over 3,000 entries,” continued Waites, who as well as going for another win in the Singles, will also partner Garry Thompson in the Pairs event.
Following the Dutch Open, he is lined up for a County match with Yorkshire in Oxford the following weekend, and then on February 18, its up to Scotland for the Scottish Open, so he doesn’t have too much time on his hands to sit and reflect on his defeat to Ted Hankey at the Lakeside.
“I still can’t say what went wrong, which is really frustrating.
“I knew that if I could take the current form I had into the Lakeside then I would be very difficult to beat. I was averaging over 100 each throw, and the lad who eventually won it (Christian Kist) only averaged in the 90s, which says it all.
“There was quite a lot of concern among the players over the air-conditioning in the main room and the heat up there on stage, which last year somebody clocked at nearly 130 degrees. And although I’m certainly not using that as an excuse, because it was the same for everyone, no-one can take that sort of heat for long.
“The other thing was I was practising in the back room with Martin Atkins, and throwing perfectly well, but when I got out there on stage it was completely different, and it should really be the same conditions in both areas.
“I could so easily have beaten Ted 4-0 having got to a double before him on virtually every leg in the first four sets, but somehow I was finding the wrong side of the wire on my doubles which was really frustrating.
“I didn’t feel any pressure until we got level at 3-3 and then in the final set my game just dropped off and frustration finally set in and that was it.
“It doesn’t both me playing in front of a big crowd (there was 1,300 full house last Wednesday night) and the atmosphere is brilliant, because virtually everyone has come to watch darts and they are very supportive and well behaved.
“It was a bigger problem coming back home and playing with my teammates at the Dusty, and getting all the stick I had to put up with (one of whom cruelly suggested there was a spare place on the dominoes team)!”
Wherever he decides his future lays, be it the BDO or PDC, Waites, who is now at the top of his game, is sure to have plenty more big pay days and plenty more chances to set the record straight in televised tournaments.
