“We were the first people in Kosovo when it was getting liberated.
“I remember going down the street there as a young boy of just 20 or 21.
“I had a loaded weapon with a breaching round. Flowers were being thrown at us and people were going crazy because we had saved them from the horrendous stuff that was going on over there.”
Arbroath-based darts player Alan Soutar has endured some harrowing life experiences in over 20 years of working in the armed forces and as a Dundee fireman.
He helped to secure the war-torn streets of Kosovo, along with his 7 Commando Battery colleagues, when it was liberated at the end of the bloody Balkans battle in 1999.
Over the last 16 years, he has rescued countless people from house blazes and serious road traffic collisions as a firefighter.
By living through these life-changing experiences, Soutar has developed the steely resolve needed to take on the world’s best darts players in his debut year on the PDC circuit.
Soutar only secured his two-year PDC card in February but has already shot 49 places up the rankings to 79th after taking the scalps of several former world champions – including Raymond van Barnevald, Peter Wright and Adrian Lewis.
𝗧𝗢𝗡-𝗢𝗨𝗧
Superb start from Alan Soutar who breaks Van Barneveld's throw in the opening leg with a lovely 100 finish…
Watch 📺 https://t.co/8PfZGUoJCC
Results ➡️ https://t.co/rdB19RdTBe pic.twitter.com/PGxS5xtzi7— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 27, 2021
The chance to star in front of the Sky cameras at Alexandra Palace for the PDC World Championships at the end of the year is no longer a pipe dream, it’s a realistic goal.
As one of the few players on the PDC circuit with a full-time day job, Soutar often rushes to London on the back of four shifts at Dundee Kingsway Fire Station.
But it’s his ability to get the job done – be it in a war zone, tackling a house fire or in the heat of a darts battle in Milton Keynes – that sets him apart.
“One thing I’m very good at is blocking out everything else. I tell myself that I’m just there to do a job.
“The feeling you get from that and from spending six months away in the likes of Kosovo, Bosnia, Northern Ireland is like no other,” said Soutar.
“I’m quite the military geek. I still read books about it. World War II is one of my favourite things to read about.
“I like the history of the military. I love reading about the 7 Commando Battery regiment I was in – the marines, the paras. I love reading about what the guys did in the Falklands.
“Some of the stuff I did was as you’d expect from the military. I think it gives you something up top that helps you to shut off from the reality of what is going on around you.
“I’ve always had that ability and the rest of my life has blended into a career that’s exactly the same – where you need to block out things that you see.
“One thing I’m very good at is blocking out everything else. I tell myself that I’m just there to do a job.
“It’s the same at the fire brigade.
“A lot of my colleagues won’t talk about what they do and what they see. I don’t talk about it at home with my long-term partner Amanda.
“I’ve been there for almost 16 years and during that time I’ve seen a lot of fatalities, a lot of fire deaths and RTCs. Car crashes are the worst.
“I’ve always had the ability to switch on and off. When I finish my shift, I leave my work in the Fire Station.
“It’s the same with darts. No matter the stage, I’m just there to play darts. I can just block it all out and play.”
At 43, Soutar is ambitious, driven and focused.
He’s also humble and immensely proud of the Arbroath upbringing that saw him honing his darts talents inside his grandparents’ old Skate Inn bar before causing major upsets on in the local Monday night pub league as a plucky teenager.
He has travelled the globe, visiting 47 countries through his time in the forces and as a World Cup-winning darts player.
But no matter how far he goes, there is no place quite like home.
An immensely popular figure in Arbroath, Soutar is revered just as much for his amazing community work as his darts achievements.
The Angus Darts Academy he helped to set up in 2012 has been attended by over 750 kids in Angus. Ten, including emerging PDC youth star Nathan Girvan, have followed 50-times capped Soutar in representing Scotland.
‘Soots’ fully expects to be lining alongside Girvan on the main circuit one day soon, having beaten his protege on the day he claimed his two-year PDC circuit.
He’ll be back on that circuit this weekend as he travels to Germany for PDC Super Series 3 bidding to build on the success that has seen him catapult 49 up the rankings just over two months after securing his two-year card.
He is one of just three players on the PDC circuit to have successfully won all eight first round matches in The Players Championship to date.
*updated* Former/current Premier League players Alan Soutar has beaten in his first three weeks on the PDC tour
Adrian Lewis
Dave Chisnall
Peter Wright (x2)
Nathan Aspinall
Raymond van Barneveld
Stephen Bunting
Glen Durrant
Daryl Gurney🔥🔥🔥
— Weekly Dartscast (@WeeklyDartscast) March 17, 2021
However, he also purrs with delight at the prospect of seeing more stars of the future emerging from the Angus Darts Academy.
“When I was a young kid, Arbroath was full of people that I looked up to and admired,” added Soutar.
“Dinker Mostyn, Peter Anderson, Bobby Dall, Clive Jones, Bob Beattie, Richard Torrie, even Colin Watt. I used to watch all these guys in the pub and think: ‘Wow, how can they play as well as that?’
“The most amazing thing is the eight-year-old kid that scores 180. You just stand back and say: ‘Wow’.
“Some adults would see me and think: ‘He’s only a kid.’ Then I’d beat them and you’d see an instant change in the reaction from everyone in the pub.
“I’ve always wanted to give something back so in 2012 my old forces pal Steve and I formed the Angus Darts Academy. We used local trades people to help us create something special.
“We’ve had over 750 kids from Angus during that time and I’m proud that ten have had the same feeling of pride I’ve had 50 times by wearing a blue and white Scotland shirt.
“The most amazing thing is the eight-year-old kid that scores 180. You just stand back and say: ‘Wow’.
“I’ve seen them make 170 check-outs and then go up to bang out ton, after ton after ton.
Great to see Alan Soutar @soots180
at Mission HQ yesterday! (Socially distanced & Covid safe of course!) Some exciting plans being made. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for an interview coming soon! https://t.co/lQhwCGbZzq#TeamMission #ForTheWin #OnMission #Darts #DartsNews pic.twitter.com/MVK41zgAEV
— MissionDarts (@MissionDarts) April 16, 2021
“To them I’m just ‘that guy from Darts Academy’ so it would be incredible if I could get to Ally Pally and they could see me on TV.”
Soutar spent lockdown practicing darts every day at a makeshift oche in his kitchen.
He didn’t even own a dartboard during the first lockdown in March 2020 but quickly acquired one from a cupboard in the Angus Darts Academy’s Arbroath base, the CAFE Project.
However, it was during lockdown that he began to realise his dreams of shifting over to PDC.
His time was spent between work, fostering Guide Dogs and playing darts.
Soutar practiced almost every day for a year, taking part in a series of virtual events including JDC Virtual which saw youths, amateurs and pros from across the globe timed scoring game on Facebook live.
He is the world record holder at JDC Virtual and his online exploits gave him the confidence needed to have a crack at making it into the elite PDC.
“My biggest achievement to date is playing for Scotland 50 times and winning the World Cup,” says the former WDF darts player. “The feeling you get from representing your country is incredible.
“During lockdown I practiced every day in the kitchen. I became addicted to JDC Virtual and beating my score became a daily challenge.
“I’m not going to say I’m going to make it to Ally Pally and win the trophy – that would be stupid. But to get there and see a crowd by December would be incredible.
“The world record was 1997 but I registered 2,309. That record still stands today and given the fact that a good average is 1400 that score was stratospheric.
“Going to Q School to try and get into PDC emerged from lockdown.
“I’d spoken to Gary Anderson about it in the past and never gone for it but this time I had tremendous backing from Big 5 Sports Management.
“They offered to pay for it all. I’m just a ‘poor firey’ but they backed me to have a roll of the dice.
“Since then it’s been a bit of a dream. My name is alongside Barry Hearn’s signature on a contract to say I am now a professional darts player.
“But I never rest there. I’ve never been one just to make up the numbers – I always want to be the best.
“It took me ten days to beat Barney, albeit he beat me on the Saturday before, and I’ve shot up from 128th to 79th in the world in the space of a few weeks.
𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬
Alan Soutar is on the brink of victory here and he's just one leg away from eliminating Van Barneveld! pic.twitter.com/5JFrENPtCb
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 5, 2021
“I’m not going to say I’m going to make it to Ally Pally and win the trophy – that would be stupid. But to get there and see a crowd by December would be incredible.
“If I make it, I’ll try to take everyone with me. The sponsors who have always backed me – R. Lindsay’s, Smith Services, Wrightline Roadmarkings, Esk Glazing, Townhouse Hotel and Mission Darts – will all get an invite.
“I’d also love to get tickets for my friends, family and Westport Bar team-mates – Clive, Bobby, Andy and Mike.
“I work with a guy who used to be in the Black Watch and he’s brilliant on the bagpipes. What a dream it would be to get fired up by the pipes before going on stage to my walk out music.
“There’s a lot of hard work ahead and I don’t want to hit a road bump but let’s keep going and try to make it to Ally Pally. Let’s put the foot down and go for it.”