Beaton has not yet given up retaining his Tour Card: 'I don’t think I’m finished yet'

Steve Beaton faces a tough battle to retain his Tour Card. But the 58-year-old Englishman has not given up hope yet.

Beaton is currently 61st in the world rankings, only the top 64 are sure of retaining his Tour Card. “Every point is going to count now, so I’m fighting in every game'', he told the Darts Show podcast.

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“I think I was thrown out of my routine with Covid. I am so used to doing exhibitions and then playing on the tour at the same time, and that was my practice.

“I am not one to be at home every night practising, so I found that quite hard, but I was also defending a lot of money on the European Tour, and suddenly that came off and I was out of the top 32.

"The draws get worse obviously because you’re not a seed. I got thrown right out of my routine, but I’m trying to hold on to my Tour Card and hopefully get in the Worlds."

Despite his age, Beaton still has a lot of ambition for the future. “I’m coming to tournaments to win. My consistency is not the same as it used to be, but I can beat anybody. If I honestly thought that I couldn’t beat these players, I wouldn’t bother carrying on. It’s just about putting that run together. If I can keep my Tour Card and qualify for the Worlds, hopefully I can start afresh next year.”

The Bronzed Adonis has already participated in a World Championship 31 times. ''I don’t think I’m finished yet. If I can have a few more years at the top [level] I will keep going. I don’t think I would go out of darts completely. It’s just how this year is going to go which will tell me what I’m going to do in the future.”

Beaton gets the chance to add more prize money to his rankings this weekend, as he competes at the Belgian Darts Open in Wieze.