"I don't take it for granted, I take it very seriously" - Huw Ware on the pressures of taking over from Paul Hinks as PDC referee

Over the last few years, the PDC has been making a concerted effort to refresh their referee ranks. One of those relatively newer faces is Huw Ware, who has since become an integral part of the PDC's referee team.

"I'm very lucky. I'm really, really lucky and that's how I feel," the Welshman says of his role in conversation with Online Darts from the recent Champion of Champions event, won by Ware's compatriot Nick Kenny last weekend. "There's so many good refs out there you know, and my attitude is that there's always somebody else around the corner who can do it better. So I don't take it for granted, I take it very seriously and yeah, it's going very well."

Taking over from the legendary Paul Hinks as part of the PDC's so-called 'Big 4' of referees, Ware had big shoes to fill when he first stepped into the PDC scene on a full time basis following Hinks exit in 2021. "Oh big time there was pressure yeah," Ware admits. "Paul is one of the iconic referees with an iconic voice, iconic 180 and all the rest of it."

"I remember refereeing with Paul in the PDC. Then I obviously took a step up and yeah, it was pressure and I feel like I've had to develop my voice over the years because if I watch videos of myself from two years ago, I feel like my voice is different now than what it was," Ware continues. "The demands of the job are, as a professional referee, you really do have to be flawless. The players are concentrating and you don't want to break them out of their rhythm by making mistakes because then you can become a distraction in that way. So the pressure more than anything is going up there and knowing you have to be perfect."