“Had I got that PDC Tour Card a few years later…” – How Covid-19 ruined darting dream of Sweden's ice-cold threat

Anyone watching Daniel Larsson for the first time doesn’t see a man who looks under pressure. He radiates calm, control and a kind of grounded pragmatism. But behind that composed exterior is a player who has been a constant figure in Swedish darts for more than twenty years, playing a key role in the sport’s growth across Scandinavia.

In a detailed conversation during the Modus Super Series, Larsson speaks openly about his career, his highlights, the challenges of travel and family life, and his love of the Swedish shirt.

Larsson grew up in a tiny village of just 300 people, somewhere “in the middle of nowhere”, as he puts it. Winter sports were always available, but if you wanted to play football you had to travel 30 kilometres. When the local community tried to set up a karate school, the children were excited at the prospect of finally having something new to do. The trainer never showed up.

So the chef at the local inn asked to use the freshly renovated basement of the town hall for something else: putting up dartboards. It started with three, but after two months there were eleven. Young and old were throwing darts there every day; the basement became the social heartbeat of the village. “For us young kids it was the place to hang around with the older guys. It was fun.”

For young Larsson, that basement became the start of a lifelong bond with the sport. He threw his first darts at nine, and by thirteen he was selected for the Swedish youth team. He wouldn’t leave the national squad for the next fifteen years.

One striking thing about Larsson is how he sees himself. He doesn’t describe himself as a natural. “I’ve always been the kind of person who isn’t good when I start something. It takes me a while, then I get pretty good at it.”

His first 180? After a year. Winning three matches in a row? Two years. But once it clicked, he knew: this was his game.

That patience and persistence took him far. His international breakthrough came in 2008, when he won the BDO World Championship international playoffs, beating Steve Farmer and a young Stephen Bunting on the way. The reward: his debut at Lakeside in 2009. “I was over the moon. It’s a memory I’ll carry my whole career.”

Lakeside remains a magical place for him: warm, intimate, steeped in history. But he doesn’t hide the fact that the PDC world is bigger, more professional and offers more opportunity. He played Lakeside twice, but for him the true grandeur of darts lives at Alexandra Palace.

The second major push in his career came after his 2015 Lakeside appearance. From then on he travelled more intensively across Europe. Where he previously stuck mostly to the Nordic & Baltic Tour, he now visited England, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands far more often — the places where the real ranking points are earned.

That step up was necessary but tough. Travelling from Sweden costs time, energy and money. But it paid off: better performances, a better ranking and eventually, in 2020, a coveted PDC Tour Card.

“Had I got that PDC Tour Card a few years later…” Because as soon as he earned it, the pandemic hit. Travel became nearly impossible, especially for Swedes — a country that faced heavy international criticism for its COVID policies. “We needed extra tests just to get on the plane, and extra tests when we landed. It was tough.”

The tournaments themselves were clinical and lonely: play your match, go back to the hotel room, wait. No conversations, no social rhythm, none of the usual tournament energy. Exactly the things that make darts enjoyable.

And there was something else: he was the only Swedish Tour Card holder at the time. No travelling as a group, no team dynamic, no compatriots to spend time with. “Now we have four players living in Stockholm with Tour Cards. They’re travelling together and they’re having a really good time. I’d like to be part of that group.”

Although he has some fine individual achievements — his World Championship debut win over Robert Thornton being one of his favourites — Larsson is above all a team player. His absolute number one memory?

The deciding double thrown by teammate Andreas Harrysson against the Netherlands at the Europe Cup Teams. “When we won the Europe Cup Teams, Andreas hit the deciding double. That’s maybe my best memory yet.”

Representing Sweden at the PDC World Cup of Darts, which he has done seven times, also means a great deal to him. The Swedish shirt lifts him. “I like to have the Swedish shirt on me, it makes me grow.”

Except, he adds jokingly, when playing Germany: then you have the entire crowd against you.

According to Larsson, darts in Sweden is currently “in better shape than ever.” The quality at the top is higher than even in the 1980s, when names like Stefan Lord and Magnus Caris made their mark internationally. But one thing is missing: numbers. “We have too few players, too little new blood. That has to grow.”

Media attention is crucial for that growth, he says. Fortunately there are initiatives such as Dartpodden, a Swedish darts podcast that is reaching more and more people. More visibility means more sponsors, and more sponsors mean a stronger future for the sport.

With his own company and two young children, life is more hectic than ever. He spent a lot of time away during their early years, and that bothered him. Now he chooses consciously: the Nordic & Baltic Tour and a few Modus weekends a year. That’s all he can manage at the moment — family comes first.

At the end of the conversation he gets the classic question: what is your greatest darts moment ever? Larsson smiles. Not one highlight, but many. A career filled with memories — from a basement with three dartboards to stages all over the world.

What stays is his determination. The calm Swede who slowly but surely grew into one of the key faces of Scandinavian darts, and who is far from finished.