A courier driver from Darfield, who began playing darts by chance as a teenager, will take on the biggest names on a regular basis after winning a PDC Tour Card.
Carl Wilkinson has been given a contract for two years which will allow him to play in many of the PDC events in Britain and overseas against the top stars of the sport.
The tour card was secured in a qualifying event in Wigan last week which saw the 34-year-old finish second out of 400 on average score over four days of intense competition.
It means that Wilkinson, who is used to competing in the Barnsley leagues at pubs across the town, could take to the oche against the likes of Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson at arenas in the UK and overseas.
Wilkinson said: “It’s the highlight of my career so far and it’s a really big step forwards for me. “To have the chance to play against the best of the best like Michael van Gerwen week after week is everything I have wanted for a long time.
“I am going to keep my job as a courier for now but the dream would be to be a fully professional darts player. In the future I would love to go far in some of the big competitions like the World Championships and get on the Sky Sports shows every week.”
Wilkinson began playing darts regularly when he was 15 and a junior cricketer at Darfield CC. He said: “I had just finished a cricket training session and I was walking through Darfield Village Club. There was a darts team that was a player short so I played and my love just grew from there.
"I played regularly but it was only in the last five or six years that I took it a bit more seriously and had a lot more success. I have been playing in bigger events and travelling into Europe quite often.”
Wilkinson’s previous best achievement was winning the Polish Cup last year while he has had success in many local and regional events. He knows the opposition will be much tougher from now on but thinks he will improve because of that.
“I am a big believer in the idea that anybody can beat anybody. We all have the same equipment and I believe I have the same ability as any of those top players.
“I am not a fool – I know my game needs to improve a lot. But I believe that it will because I will be playing against the best players every week for two years.”
The PDC regularly visits Barnsley with the likes of world champion van Gerwen often playing in behind-closed-doors qualifying events at the Metrodome.
The venue is due to host three days of competition from February 22-24 before returning in April, May, July, September and October.
Wilkinson said: “That will be brilliant for me, to have such big events in my hometown. It will be great not to have to travel far.
“Hopefully one day there will be an event at the Metrodome which lets spectators in so all my friends and family can come and watch me.
“It’s good to fly the flag for darts in Barnsley. There are a lot of very good players in this town and hopefully I can help to take it to the next level.”
Although he has reached the top level of the sport, Wilkinson has not forgotten his roots. He still plays for Darfield Village Club on Fridays and Sundays in the local Barnsley leagues as well as Darfield Cross Keys on Mondays.
“I will carry on doing that, 100 per cent. I am a big believer that you need to remember where you started.
“It’s a chance to play with my best friends and I enjoy it. The day after I won the PDC tour card, I was playing for the Cross Keys.”
