"Darts is in my blood so hopefully I’ll be around for a few more years yet" - Steve Beaton reacts to end of professional career after failure to qualify for Ally Pally
PDC
Sadly there will be no fairytale farewell to the legendary professional career of Steve Beaton. In his final season on the PDC Pro Tour before retirement, the 60-year-old Englishman failed to quality for the World Darts Championship via the last chance qualifier on Monday, bringing an end to his career.
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The 1996 BDO world champion at Lakeside, Beaton has been an ever present at World Championships for more than three decades, holding the record for the most consecutive appearances at the season ending showpiece of the darting calendar with 33 straight showings. After a last leg decider loss to Darren Beveridge in his opening match of the last chance qualifier for this year's edition, that legendary streak has sadly been snapped.
"Can’t really say much about today I’ve tried like always but life moves on," the Bronzed Adonis reflected afterwards in a post on his official social media. "Got to say a huge thank you to everyone for all the support as always. By the way I’m only slowing things down a bit - hate to say it but we all get older."
Whilst, as mentioned, this does bring an end to the professional career of Beaton, his time spent playing competitive darts is not yet complete. The 60-year-old has already been announced as a competitor at next year's World Seniors Darts Championship and given the fact Beaton did more than enough to keep his PDC Tour Card if he'd wanted, he'll surely start as one of the pre-tournament favourites.
"Darts is in my blood so hopefully I’ll be around for a few more years yet," he concludes. It seems also though, that despite his retirement, Beaton has completely shut the door on PDC darts. "See how 2025 goes maybe I’ll have to come back again," Beaton's message finishes intriguingly.
Darts is in my blood so hopefully I’ll be around for a few more years yet.
— Stevebeaton (@Stevebeaton180) November 25, 2024
See how 2025 goes maybe I’ll have to come back again x
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Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Good, absolutely no loss if we never see this dancing goof ever again......no that is not fair. He absolutely cannot and has never been remotely able to dance!richieburnettrocks10-11-2026
- Yes Phil,now the money in the game is bigger than ever,you'd play littler. Well so would I! Retire on your memory Phil,and your successful careerrick6709-11-2026
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
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- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026