Defiance dives deep into the world of professional darts through the story of Aaron Beeney, a prison officer who shocked the scene when he realised his dreams of becoming a professional.
Aaron Beeney is a 41-year-old Prison Officer who shocked the darting world when he became a professional player back in 2020. The piece aims to delve into his journey through the sport of darts and discover his story.
Although Beeney had played darts when he was younger, he actually started his route to becoming a professional darts player by competing in Prison Service darts events. The Prison Service Sporting Association (PSSA) allowed Beeney to showcase his talents to others. When speaking about these events, Aaron Beeney said: “I actually started winning everything.” These results didn’t go unnoticed by the Prison Service darts community, whom Aaron often describes as a darting family. After competing in Denmark, the Danish Prison Service offered to pay for his first attempt at Q-School in 2018.
Q-School (Qualifying School) is an annual event in which aspiring darts players compete for the chance to win a PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) tour card by either winning a day outright or by gaining enough points from results throughout the phase to qualify. A tour card allows you to compete in PDC events and grants you two years as a professional darts player. During those two years, you need to reach the top 64 in the order of merit (based on your career earnings/winnings over a two-year period) in order to retain your card; otherwise, it’s back to Q-school!
Beeney’s first attempt in 2018 wasn’t successful, as he said: “I went there and didn’t think I was good enough at all, but I actually won a few points and was around mid-table.”
Although he left, taking the positives from the event, he suffered during his season on the Challenge Tour. The Winmau Challenge Tour is the PDC’s second-tier system, open to players who competed in the year’s Q-School but did not win a Tour Card. The winner of the Challenge Tour Order of Merit will win a two-year PDC Tour Card and a place in the World Championship.
After deciding not to attend in 2019, the Danish Prison Service offered to pay for his return to Q-school in 2020; however, Beeney refused the offer, saying: “I said no, I’ve already wasted your money once, I’ll pay for it myself.”
Beeney’s Q-School return didn’t start off as he had hoped, falling short on the first two days of phase two. “I was ready to go home!”
Ahead of day three of the competition, Beeney told his friend Matt Finch, another darts player with whom he was sharing a room, “I’ll come to support you; I ain’t playing, I ain’t embarrassing myself anymore, but he convinced me to take my darts and throw anyway.”
Beeney’s decision to take his darts and play on day three after a confidence-knocking the first couple of days happened to be the best decision of his darting career. ” Yes, a miracle happened. I somehow won the event that day.”
Beeney went on to win every single game that day and win the event outright. This meant that Aaron Beeney was now a PDC Tour Card Holder for the next two years and had realised his dreams of becoming a professional darts player. The ‘mystery man’ who was on no one’s radar going into the 2020 Q-school had checked out 87 on the bullseye for a 12-dart leg against Jarred Cole, a promising young player, in order to get across the line. When Beeney was asked about that moment, he said: “Genuinely, the only thing that went through my head is, oh my god, what have I done.” “Because I still thought I was not good enough; what have I done here? I’m just going to embarrass myself in front of thousands.”
Beeney’s self-doubt in what he had just accomplished demonstrated the magnitude and importance of the moment. Although not many people had heard of Aaron Beeney nor seen him play darts, Beeney captivated the darting nation with his raw emotion during an interview with Dan Dawson (a darts enthusiast, broadcaster, and commentator) immediately after winning his tour card in which he noted that he was just a pub player who had completed the dream. It was clear that Beeney’s magical day resonated with the fans, as showcased when he said, “The day I won my tour card, within 48 hours, I had 1,700 friend requests on Facebook. It was just nuts.”
Life came thick and fast for Beeney once he hit the professional circuit, losing his first 15 games as a tour card holder against some of the biggest names in the sport, such as Joe Cullen, Stephen Bunting, and Dimitri Van Den Bergh. This is a testament to the competitiveness of the darting world and the challenges it presents for players like Beeney to remain within the professional echelon. Beeney said: “So many people wrote me off immediately.”
Although this wasn’t the start that Beeney had hoped for as a professional, he found himself beating former BDO (British Darts Organisation) World Champion Scott Waites during the PDC Summer Series, ending his unwanted streak following this block of events. Beeney was signed by Loxley Darts. Now, what does this mean?
Loxley Darts produces and sells darts, as well as sponsoring a variety of players on and off the tour. The majority of professional darts players will be sponsored by brands like Loxley, such as Mission, Target, Harrows, Unicorn and many more. These companies usually produce a dart specifically tailored to the player, as well as a uniquely designed shirt that often showcases the individual’s personality. It is every player’s dream to have a custom shirt and set of darts, and the fact that Aaron Beeney went from winning Q-School in a polo shirt to having his own custom gear within a few months exemplifies how inspiring Beeney’s story really is.
Loxley’s support for Beeney was evident. “My first ever night, I couldn’t sleep. I was so excited about being on the pro tour for the first time the next day. “Low and behold, those two brothers (Loxley’s owners) were at the bar, and I got chatting to them all night, and when they made Loxley, the first three people they invited was myself, Matt Edgar, Ryan Searle.”
He relished his time on the tour, growing as a player over the two-year guaranteed period. Beeney’s improvements during his second year on the tour culminated in a career-high moment where he once again defied expectations by defeating the then World Number 1 and World Champion at the time, Gerwyn Price. Beeney also found himself reaching the semi-final of a pro tour event, beating former World Champions Raymond Van Barneveld and Rob Cross along the way; this is a huge achievement for anyone in the sport and a massive standout in Beeney’s career. When asked about his growth during his time on the tour, Beeney said: “I owe a lot of that to the people I met.
“Everyone was just giving me tips; it’s a real family vibe. The other pros don’t care if they’re making you better, and they’re the ones that lose. They want to make you better.”
The power of the pro tour is really evident when you analyse Beeney’s career. Beeney, on paper, should never have made it onto the pro circuit. He had limited experience and a lack of sponsorship, yet by his second year, he was consistently competing with the sport’s best.
Unfortunately, after his two years on the tour, Beeney found himself outside of the PDC’s top 64 order of merit, which meant that he had failed to retain his tour card. He returned to Q-School that year but was unable to recreate the magic of his 2020 performance. When speaking about his time off the tour, Beeney said: “I am desperate, desperate to get back on tour and prove it wasn’t a one-hit wonder and it wasn’t a fluke.”
It is clear that Beeney’s passion for the sport still burns bright. He is still sponsored and supported by Loxely, and he is competing in this year’s Challenge Tour with the goal of returning to his previous level of performance.
Beeney’s career stands as a symbol of inspiration and opportunity within the sport. Hopefully, Beeney can regain his form, which we saw during his second year on the tour, and return to the top of the sport.
