BACK IN THE DAY WITH: Mark Hylton who flew ‘Mile High’ to two major quarter-finals and has son making his name as a comedian
PDC
In this series, we regularly look back at the careers of darts players from the past. Today, it's the turn of Englishman Mark Hylton, who temporarily swapped his job as an airline steward for a career as a professional darts player.
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Born in London in 1966, Hylton spent many years competing on the amateur circuit before making his first notable breakthrough in 1997 by reaching the last 16 of the British Classic. His run came to an end against Phil Taylor, who proved too strong.
It then took until 2007 before Hylton made his television debut. At the UK Open, he defeated Ray Carver in the opening round before losing to fellow Englishman Mark Robinson.
From airline steward to Professional Darts Player
For many years, Hylton worked as an airline steward, but in 2010 he made the bold decision to dedicate himself to darts full-time.
Although he failed to qualify for the UK Open that year, he reached the final of a Pro Tour event in Australia later in the season, where he was eventually beaten by Dennis Priestley.
Later that year, Hylton secured a place at the Grand Slam of Darts through the ITV Wildcard Qualifier. In a qualifying tournament featuring more than 250 players, he claimed one of the four coveted spots.
On his televised debut, he was drawn into a tough group alongside Gary Anderson, Mark Webster, and Wayne Jones. Despite suffering three defeats, he gained valuable experience against some of the sport's established stars.
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World Championship Debut
Later that year came another major milestone. Thanks to strong performances on the Players Championship circuit, Hylton qualified for the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship, where he immediately caused a number of upsets.
In the opening round, he defeated former world champion Steve Beaton 3-2 in sets before eliminating ninth seed Colin Lloyd 4-2 to book his place in the last 16. His impressive run eventually came to an end against Mark Webster, but his performances earned widespread praise throughout the darts world. As a reward, Hylton received the PDC Best Newcomer Award for 2010.
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Two nine-darters and a breakthrough year
Hylton also began 2011 in outstanding fashion. At the Double16.com Cotgrave & Newark Opens, he threw a perfect nine-dart finish. Just six days later, he repeated the feat at an open tournament held at The Red Lion in Erdington, underlining his excellent form.
His strong performances continued at the biggest PDC events. At the UK Open, Hylton recorded impressive victories over Brian Woods, Geoff Whitworth, Andy Jenkins, Andrew Gilding, and Peter Wright, reaching his first televised major quarter-final. There, he was eventually beaten by Denis Ovens.
Mark Hylton in action.
Hylton also continued to impress on the Pro Tour. In Barnsley, he reached another semi-final after victories over Steve Beaton, Denis Ovens, Ronnie Baxter, and Michael van Gerwen, before Dave Chisnall ended his run.
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Those performances earned him qualification for the World Matchplay, where he faced the legendary Phil Taylor in the opening round. Despite producing an excellent display, Hylton narrowly lost 10-8 to the eventual champion.
Later that year, Hylton also qualified for the World Grand Prix. Although suffering from flu, he once again reached the quarter-finals after victories over Mark Walsh and fifth seed Simon Whitlock. He was eventually beaten 4-1 by Richie Burnett, but once again demonstrated that he could compete with the world's elite.
Difficult years
Following his breakthrough campaign, Hylton's career gradually began to decline.
At the 2012 World Championship, he was eliminated in the opening round by Vincent van der Voort. His Pro Tour form also dipped. Although he reached a handful of quarter-finals, he failed to qualify for the World Championship again.
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The downward trend continued over the following years. In 2013, he even missed qualification for the UK Open and earned just £2,400 in prize money throughout the entire season. His world ranking plummeted from 37th to 85th, costing him his PDC Tour Card.
Hylton attempted to regain his professional status through Q School but was unsuccessful. As an Associate Member, he continued playing in qualifiers and on the Challenge Tour. While he still reached several quarter-finals and one semi-final, he was never able to recapture the form that had made him one of the sport's most exciting newcomers.
After spending several more seasons on the Challenge Tour, Hylton decided to bring his PDC career to an end in 2017.
His career will primarily be remembered for his remarkable breakthrough in 2010 and 2011. In a short space of time, Hylton established himself as one of the most promising new players on the circuit. Although he never fully lived up to that early promise, his memorable World Championship victories, multiple nine-darters, and impressive performances on the biggest televised stages remain an enduring part of his legacy in the sport.
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Mark Hylton's World Championship Results
| Year | Result | Opponent | Score |
| 2011 | Third Round | Mark Webster | Lost (1-4) |
| 2012 | First Round | Vincent van der Voort | Lost (2-3) |
A short career, but a remarkable story
If we were to rank the greatest darts players of all time, Hylton would not feature particularly high on the list.
However, his story is one of those that captures the imagination. More than anything, it proves that you're never too old to pursue your dream of becoming a professional.
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Hylton was already approaching his mid-40s when he gave up his career in aviation to take a chance on professional darts. By reaching two PDC major quarter-finals, he also demonstrated that he possessed considerable talent.
His life story attracted significant media attention at the time. Ultimately, though, his career as a professional darts player was short-lived. Just as quickly as Hylton emerged on the big stage, he disappeared from it once again.
Brief comeback
Following the Covid-19 lockdown, Hylton returned to competitive darts. He once again won several local open tournaments and claimed a MAD title in the autumn of 2021.
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The last time "Mile High" was seen in action came during the qualifiers for the inaugural World Seniors Darts Championship, where he narrowly missed out on a place in the main event.
Son finds success as a comedian
Hylton is known not only as a former professional darts player but also as the father of stand-up comedian Alex Hylton. In 2020, Alex won the prestigious Best Show award at the Leicester Comedy Festival, one of the largest comedy festivals in the United Kingdom.
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- 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
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- 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
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026