“Before he plays, he always sniffs smelling salts” – Luke Woodhouse unveils unusual ritual of fellow darter

James Hurrell has a striking ritual to fire himself up for matches on the Pro Tour. The Englishman uses smelling salts right before his games, a method more often associated with weightlifters than with darts players.

The unusual ritual was revealed by fellow pro Luke Woodhouse, a good friend of “Hillbilly” on the PDC circuit. Before the World Championship, Hurrell risked losing his Tour Card, but he recently impressed at the PDC World Darts Championship. There he defeated, among others, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting to reach the last 16, before being beaten 4-0 by Ryan Searle. Thanks to his strong run at Ally Pally, he climbed to 48th on the Order of Merit and secured another year on the Pro Tour.

Woodhouse explained Hurrell’s habits during a discussion about life behind the scenes at Players Championship events on PDC caller Huw Ware’s Tops and Tales podcast. “But on generally sort of Pro Tours, Players Championships, I sit with Callum Rydz, James Hurrell, Jim Williams when he was on the tour. said Woodhouse. “It’s a good table. We’re always practising together on the board. Then we go out for food, play some pool or snooker, and go out to watch the football."

He then touched on Hurrell’s ritual: “James has this thing where, before he plays, have you ever tried smelling salts? That’s not that nice, but every time before he plays, he smells them. They’re like what weightlifters use, or what paramedics use to bring people around."

According to Woodhouse, Hurrell doesn’t always stop there. “He’s got a thing where, when you’re not looking, he opens it and puts it in front of you, and you’re like, ‘Oh.’ It’s just like an ammonia smell, I think, really, but it’s not the nicest thing in the world. It’s not for me. Like I say, we always sit together and yeah, it’s good.”