Angus darts hero Alan Soutar will fight fires in Dundee at Christmas – just 24 hours after an explosive PDC World Darts Championship win.
Soutar will jet back to Scotland on Friday morning to begin his work at Dundee Kingsway East Fire Station at 6pm.
The Arbroath hero will work back-to-back 14-hour and 16-hour shifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – little more than 24 hours after claiming a £25,000 prize for his stunning 144 check-out win over Mensur Suljovic.
Soots fought back from two sets down to win a tie break 6-4 with two treble 20s and a double 12.
That sealed a third round tie with world number seven Jose de Sousa at Alexandra Palace.
𝗦𝗢𝗢𝗧𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗦 𝗜𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗧𝗬𝗟𝗘!
Alan Soutar produces the most magnificent of match winning finishes, pinning D12 for a huge 144 checkout and he defeats Mensur Suljovic in a tie-breaker!
Soots survived EIGHT match darts and he's into Round Three!#WHDarts pic.twitter.com/YAfQznfGFo
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 23, 2021
But he could now face fires or road traffic accidents before returning to London for the third round on December 29th.
“I’m going to be working 30 hours over the next two days,” said Soutar.
“I now have a 14-hour night shift on Christmas Eve and a 16-hour night shift on Christmas Day at the Fire Station.
“Christmas is a total unknown quantity.
“I’ve been in major house fires on Christmas morning and road traffic collisions on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
🗣 "𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲!"
We caught up with Alan Soutar after his dramatic tie-breaker victory over Mensur Suljovic… pic.twitter.com/lVlKTs8IOi
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 23, 2021
“You just don’t know what’s going to happen.
“We pray in our jobs we’re not going into anything because that’s someone else’s life or troubles.
“Hopefully, I have a couple of quiet shifts and everyone is safely with their families enjoying Christmas.
“Look, it’s my job. Whatever happens happens and we go and deal with it.
“My big issue is swaps again. I’m supposed to be back in work on December 30th and I don’t know what’s going to happen with this tournament!
“The guys will expect cakes now. I suppose I can afford some from Clark’s!”
Alan Soutar: I thought I was going home
Meanwhile, Soots admits he feared he was out as he lost the first two sets.
Suljovic missed EIGHT match darts before Soutar silenced a partisan English crowd with his winning throw.
“I felt at 2-0 I was going to lose,” added Soutar.
“What are you thinking at that point?
“It’s ‘what time is my Uber booked to take me to the airport tomorrow?’
“But seriously, leg-by-leg I pulled him back and started to believe.
𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗹𝗷𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻!
It twisted and turned, but Alan Soutar eventually gets over the line 6-4 in the tie-break, beating Mensur Suljovic 3-2 in sets.
The Austrian missed EIGHT match darts, but Soutar sealed victory with a 144 finish pic.twitter.com/IaG4rLvorF
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 23, 2021
“I looked up to see it was 2-2 and 2-2. I wasn’t even aware it was going to a tie break.
“It’s such an incredible feeling and there’s no limit to where I can go.
“If you can get through a game like that against the world number 26 then you can beat anyone.
“But let’s look at the next game. The next guy has to play me, I don’t have to play them.
“I’m here on a free run.”
