Eddie Dootson calls Q-School success his best in 42-year career

Dootson won a Tour Card on day one of the qualifying event in Wigan, after two unsuccessful attempts. In fact, Dootson won more games in one day of play - seven - than in his previous two Q-School attempts combined. The St Helens man started with narrow 5-4 wins over Matthew Dicken and much-fancied New Zealander Cody Harris. Victories over John Goldie, David Pallett, Lee Turle, Simon Preston and Nathan Aspinall were slightly more straightforward. "This means the world to me. It's everybody's dream - you want to be one of the 128 players to play on the ProTour." said Dootson. "I've been playing for 42 years and this tops everything I've ever done in darts. It's fantastic and I've shown that I can compete with these young lads - but when you're heart is in the game you can compete." The veteran reserved special praise for Smith and his son, Daniel, who himself has competed in the Development Tour, and attended last year's Q-School. He said: "If it wasn't for Michael Smith I don't think I'd be here - we practice together all the time and we've taught each other so much over the years. "When I'm throwing with Michael and Daniel, I just want to compete with them, but for me to get a Tour Card today is unbelievable and it's a darter's dream." Dootson is setting his sights high for 2018, after the best possible performance at Robin Park. "I've been successful in that and it's absolutely unbelievable for me. I got to the last 16 in the UK Open a few years ago and hopefully this will spur me on now. "My next goal is to qualify for the UK Open in March and get back to Minehead again," he said.