"I need to make sure I’m in London in December" - Soutar aiming to be seeded at World Darts Championship

Alan Soutar is currently 32nd on the seedings list for the PDC World Darts Championship. Therefore, the Scot knows what he has to do in the coming months.

Indeed, Soutar is keen to start at Alexandra Palace as a seed. “To stay there I need to finish ahead of Madars Razma. It would be an incredible achievement to go to London as a seed and it brings a lot of benefits. But I’m 32nd and I’m lucky enough to reach the third round then I’ll be up against someone like Michael Smith. That’s in the future. My focus has to be to get my head down at the Pro Tours. I need to make sure I’m in London in December.”

As a result, Soutar is playing with a lot of pressure. “I put a lot of that pressure and expectation on my own shoulders,” said the 45-year-old Scot, who works as a firefighter in everyday life. “When you get into the top 32 people expect you to kick on and make an assault on the higher places. It’s not easy and I’m still getting my head round the fact I’m losing money off my card."

“But I can’t go into events thinking I’m defending big money in them. When you do that then it gets to you. I’d rather go into them with a clear head and perform. My manager Paul Brown works it out and lets me know if I need to," he concludes. “I’m not like Peter Wright. He’ll be defending £500,000 at Ally Pally this year. That’s pressure.”