A WORLD darting sensation claims he’ll keep his job as an Iceland delivery driver even if he wins the World Championship and HALF-A-MILLION-POUNDS.
Underdog Robert Owen defeated Niels Zonneveld to progress to the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship for the first time ever on Monday.
PARobert Owen has knocked Gabriel Clemens out of the World Championship[/caption]
He backed up that win by knocking out 27th seed Gabriel Clemens to reach the third round.
Thrilling sporting moments aren’t all that the 40-year-old delivers though, as he’s been working as a delivery driver for Iceland Food Warehouse since June 2023.
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The dad-of-three, whose darting nickname is Stack Attack, has revealed he juggles his part-time contract with three-hours-per-day arrows practice but embraces his busy schedule.
He claims that even if he won the prestigious tournament and its half-a-million-pound prize he’d keep his delivery job as he gets ‘more of a thrill of speedy deliveries than 100-plus checkouts’.
Robert says he feels he’s living a double life, with many colleagues not realising he was a professional darts player until he told them about his upcoming time off a couple of weeks ago.
Richard Walker, Executive Chairman of Iceland, has even pledged to fit a ‘full practice arena’ in the staff room when he returns to work after the tournament.
Owen, from Bridgend, Wales, said: “I work as an Iceland delivery driver on a part-time contract, but I manage to cram it all in.
“I practice darts three hours a day even if I work overtime and I also have a 14-year-old, a 10-year-old, and a seven-month-old baby, so it’s all go.
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“I book the time off as soon as I know I’m going to be away [playing darts].
“My manager, James, is great. I tell him all my dates that I’m away for and we work that into the driving schedule for me so that I’m still fulfilling my contract.
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“I would definitely keep my job as a delivery driver at Iceland if I won the tournament because when I go to work, I don’t class it as work, I just enjoy it.
“Finishing my deliveries faster gives me more of a thrill than checking out a ton-plus finish.
“In all the areas I deliver to, everyone knows me and now they all know me as a professional darts player too.
“One day I’ll show up and deliver their food, and then the next time they see me I’ll be on the TV – it’s quite surreal.
Owen, who is currently ranked 77th in the world, says his pre-match ritual is eating chocolate bourbons and that he keeps a pound coin given to him by a dart official as good luck.
He gleams that it was a dream to win a match at 3,000-capacity Alexandra Palace but he isn’t putting too much pressure on himself.
He said: “It felt amazing to win and it was a dream to play in Alexandra Palace.
“It’s the biggest stage in the world for darts for anyone all over the world and to have won as well, it was just great, especially with everyone there watching.
“In terms of my hopes for the tournament, I’d just be happy if I won my next round.
“I’m happy now because the last win will bring a nice payout for after Christmas but I’m playing well so as long as I put on a good performance, it’s all good!
“If I do, great, I’ll play in the next one. That’s the type of person I am.
“You win some, you lose some. It’s the only way to be, isn’t it?
“I think I could beat Luke Littler.”
Iceland’s Richard Walker has expressed how proud he is of his employee’s recent darts successes.
Owen said: “We’re thrilled that Owens is doing both us and himself proud so far at the World Championships and we’re excited to see how he progresses.
“Win or lose, we’ll be making sure he returns to a full practice arena in the staff room to support both of his careers.”
List of all-time Darts World Champions
BELOW is a list of Darts world champions by year.
The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once – Barney also won four BDO titles – and none of Eric Bristow’s five BDO titles are included.
1994 – Dennis Priestley
1995 – Phil Taylor
1996 – Phil Taylor (2)
1997 – Phil Taylor (3)
1998 – Phil Taylor (4)
1999 – Phil Taylor (5)
2000 – Phil Taylor (6)
2001 – Phil Taylor (7)
2002 – Phil Taylor (8)
2003 – John Part
2004 – Phil Taylor (9)
2005 – Phil Taylor (10)
2006 – Phil Taylor (11)
2007 – Raymond van Barneveld
2008 – John Part (2)
2009 – Phil Taylor (12)
2010 – Phil Taylor (13)
2011 – Adrian Lewis
2012 – Adrian Lewis (2)
2013 – Phil Taylor (14)
2014 – Michael van Gerwen
2015 – Gary Anderson
2016 – Gary Anderson (2)
2017 – Michael van Gerwen (2)
2018 – Rob Cross
2019 – Michael van Gerwen (3)
2020 – Peter Wright
2021 – Gerwyn Price
2022 – Peter Wright (2)
2023 – Michael Smith
2024 – Luke Humphries
Most World Titles
14 – Phil Taylor
3 – Michael van Gerwen
2 – John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
1 – Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries
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