Alan Soutar treated his Dundee firefighting colleagues to Christmas dinner after winning his World Darts Championship opener.
Soutar romped to a 3-0 win over Mal Cumming with 119 and 124 checkouts to claim a £15,000 prize.
That sets up a second round clash with world number 24 Daryl Gurney on Saturday as Soutar bids to emulate his last 16 exploits of 12 months ago.
And Soots paid tribute to his Dundee Kingsway East colleagues in his post-match Sky TV interview.
He also ensured they were well looked after by splashing out on a £200 Christmas lunch from The Stables in Brechin.
"I can win it, I've beat them all before!" 👀
A statement of intent from Alan Soutar 👊 pic.twitter.com/DgtKdL5rh5
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) December 16, 2022
“I paid for Christmas dinner for my shift at the fire station,” said Soutar.
“It’s not a token gesture, it’s something I wanted to give back to them for everything they do.
“I’m not there a lot of the time and they cover for me.
“My own watch at Kingsway East, Green Watch, are working but I really hope they got to watch that game and enjoy their Christmas dinner.
“I got a little bit of banter with Polly James in my Sky TV interview on stage and gave the guys a wee bit of a boost.
“Hopefully they got to see that.
Alan Soutar: I’m still a part-time darts player
“They are my work colleagues. I’m not like most of the top 32 who play this game full-time.
“They (firefighting colleagues) are my buddies, people I have banter with and play golf and other stuff with. If they are involved in my journey then I absolutely love that.
“The Fire Brigade have been great with me. They’ve actually granted me special leave for my first two games which is unheard of.
“They get a bit of positive media coverage from me being here but I’m grateful to them for all the support they give me.”
Soutar will be back on shift at Christmas – even if he sees off Gurney on Saturday afternoon.
Good luck the day @soots180 your missing a class dayshift #PDCWorldChampionship #greenwatch pic.twitter.com/uQDF1LxA8P
— Jamie Dean (@jambodean) December 16, 2022
Soots made the headlines last year as he dashed back home from London to fight fires in Dundee over Christmas.
And he will replicate that again this year with his third round tie – if he reaches it – scheduled for December 28th.
He added: “I’ll be back at work on the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th of December. But that’s my job.
“I’m way above where I wanted to be when I started out.
SUPER SOOTS SEALS IT! 🏴
Alan Soutar seals his second round spot with a 12-darter and a whitewash win over Mal Cuming!
Up next 👉 Boris Krcmar v Toru Suzuki#WCDarts | R1
📺 https://t.co/37DNuuK5Me pic.twitter.com/b4NjkQygmj— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 16, 2022
“My initial plan was to keep the tour card but now I’m so close to the top 32.
“You start thinking that you could maybe get in amongst the elite of world darts.
“I’m still a part-time dart player, come on. But if I practice as much as these guys then I can be better than most of them.
“I can win it. I’ve beat them all before, why can’t I win it?”
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