BDO star Wesley Harms reveals depression struggles in candid interview

The pressure of being the new BDO world number one is nothing compared to what Wesley Harms has already overcome.

Winning the Scottish Open and Slovak Open has propelled the lanky Dutchman up the rankings. With Glen Durrant and Mark McGeeney among those who have switched to the BDO, Harms now finds himself as a contender to be top seed at Lakeside in January. But it all could have been so different. Speaking to the , the 34-year-old revealed that depression and a car accident in 2017 almost ended his darting dream for good. "The depression came from a bad relationship. She said jump, I said 'how high'," he revealed. "I ended up crashing my car into a lorry, I stopped listening to my friends, I did everything for love. "Before I started darts I was a bit arrogant, a big mouth, I’ve still got a big mouth. I always said I’d make it to Lakeside, my friends said “fuck off” and I was there in two years. "I was always that arrogant cocky guy, but then it all changed and they noticed I was quieter, always on my phone. Normally we would go to the pub after darts, but then that stopped, I’d go to the hotel, do nothing and go to sleep."

Catalyst for change

Harms was lucky to escape with minor injuries after a crash which he says provided the catalyst for getting his life back on track.
"I was too tired," he said.
"I was driving on the highway on cruise control driving 130km an hour. There was a lorry with no lights on and I hit him.
"The car was written off, I came out of it, my muscles hurt the next day but I was lucky, I was happy with that. It was a wake-up call. I was like alright, I need to quit it. I couldn’t live with myself if I carried on, you need to live your own life.
"It’s a mental thing, you feel mentally right, it’s a blessing to play darts again."

Major goals

On the subject of darts, 'Sparky' was frank when asked about joining the PDC ranks. He may have performed well at the Grand Slam in November - - but does not feel the draw of the more lucrative darting code. The two-time Lakeside semi-finalist is much more focused on sealing BDO glory. "I wasn’t bothered at all about Q School, I like how I’ve got it now. "We’re all friends we travel together, we do everything together, I like that, I like to be a person, not a number. If you read things about moving over and start thinking about it, it’s nice to try but they’re all coming back depressed. So why try? I’ve already had one depression I don’t need another one. ‘Winning the majors is the next aim," he added. "It’s all on the day. I feel well, everything is alright so there’s no complaining there. ‘Being number one is already a surprise to me but we’ll see how it goes. I need to win the big titles, I’m done with the semi-finals."