"I’ve received hundreds of messages saying things like, ‘Go kill yourself’, ‘You’re s**t, get a real job’" - Robert Owen explains how he uses social media abuse as motivation

Since 2023, Robert Owen has been a prominent member on the PDC Tour, but is in a fight to remain among the elite darters in the world. His ability on the oche seemingly is the less of his concerns as he looks to qualify for all the big events as he has his say against the social media abuse coming regularly his way.

Away from the oche, Owen has a lot on in his life. A part-time delivery driver by trade, the Welshman opened up with pride about himself and his family.

“I’m Rob Owen, just a normal guy from the Welsh Valleys and very proud of where I’m from," he told Bang on Target. I’m married to my awesome wife, Robyn, who is a Band 6 Senior Occupational Therapist within the NHS. We have three children: Freya, who is 15, Jack, who is 11, and Imogen, who is 2.”

Admittedly a very busy man, he is still able to create time for his family and enjoys switching off from the competitive scenery on the PDC Tour and the pressures that come with that. “In my spare time (which is very limited), I like to spend as much of it with my family as possible. Taking my son to karate and taking the kids swimming are things I really enjoy,” he said.

“We do a lot of family activities whenever we can, just to spend some quality time together. We all love going camping, which we’re looking forward to doing again next month. When I’m at home, I just like to be Rob and Dad and not care too much about the darts side of things.”

Going back to the darts, Owen was happy with his progress this year. “My year so far on tour has been quite good. I’ve had quite a few quarter-finals and last-16 finishes on the floor, and I’ve qualified for three European Tour events, so it’s pretty much the same as I do every year.”

Two quarter-finals on the floor in PC13 and PC17 along with two last-16 appearances have earned him a decent chunk of change that has been crucial for him in climbing up all the rankings and orders for the other tournaments.

This has also been helped with his appearances on the European Tour. He has played in the Austrian Darts Open and the recent European Darts Open, reaching the second round in both of those tournaments while narrowly missing double 12 for a nine-dart leg in Leverkusen. He has aspirations to qualify for more, but acknowledges it is tough.

“I find the Euros really hard to qualify for, though, as there are only 10 spots available. There’s still plenty more to go for. I’ve defended all of my money from two years ago so far this season, so in the second half of the year I’m just going to try and put my foot on the gas even more and climb the ladder. I’ll just focus on me, myself and I.”

Keeping his Tour Card is crucial for Owen. The prior couple of years have seen him keep his card, but it has been tight, relying on qualifying for the big TV tournaments like the PDC World Darts Championship.

Owen is ranked 64th in the Tour Card race. For the time being he is safely in the positions to qualify for Ally Pally and Minehead which will give him a boost on his ranking and the possibility of earning even more.

“I don’t really want to think about losing my Tour Card because I believe I deserve to be on the tour," he confidently stated. "My results over the last few years have shown that, along with some of my records against the top players.

“I’ve done the two years off tour before and, financially, it was very good for me a few years back. But I have no intention of slipping off the tour again. I believe I can now start progressing up the rankings with the level of play I’m producing at the moment. There’s not much difference compared to a few years ago, but my confidence to beat people is now quite high and the self-belief is there. If you don’t believe you can win on tour, you’ll be wiped aside by everyone.”

However, if his Tour Card is snatched away from him, it is not all doom and gloom. “I think these days it’s not the end of the world if you’re off the tour," he said. “There are many other avenues to take. I’ve done that myself, playing MODUS, the Challenge Tour and WDF events. I’ve won titles in all of them and also played Pro Tours at the same time as a top-up player, which I was quite successful at.”

Recalling a prior time away from the PDC Tour, the financial pressure was reduced thanks to Owen's positive performances but it is a tough place to be. “During those two years away from the tour, I was probably away from home for nine months of the year. That’s not for everyone and, financially, if you don’t do well, it can cripple you. For me, I was one of the lucky ones and did very well. It puts stress on the family and stress on your bankroll. But like I said, I was lucky, and I don’t really want to be doing that again.”

Social media can be a very toxic place at times. Professional darters can be at the forefront of some torrid abuse, and that goes for Owen who cited gambling as the main reason for this.

“Social media absolutely sucks," he bluntly said. "There is so much hatred these days that it’s almost at a point where it can affect sportspeople. Most of it is probably due to the amount of gambling that goes on in the world.

“I’ve received hundreds of messages saying things like, ‘Go kill yourself’, ‘You’re s**t, get a real job’, and ‘I can do better on a Friday night in the local’. Those phrases are mild compared to some of the things we as darts players receive.”

While being 'thick-skinned' has its advantages, the 41-year-old used this example in a different scenario. “If you walked into someone’s office and blurted out some of those obscene comments, you’d probably be arrested. For me, though, I’m thick-skinned. I don’t care what people say. I can laugh it off and carry on with my day as if nothing has happened.

"On the other hand, if they want an argument, I can quite happily oblige. The problem is that these people hide behind fake profiles and don’t want to be seen for what they are — absolute scumbags."

This can be used as motivation. "You’ve seen some of the crap that was being posted this week. It’s laughable for me anyway. To be honest, it just pushes me further in the direction I want to go. Proving people wrong motivates me even more. I turn it into a positive.”

Owen aims to continue improving his craft on the oche and to put himself in the position where in 2027 he can call himself a PDC Tour Card holder once more. “For the rest of the year, my goals are simply to keep motoring on as I have been, keep adding to my Order of Merit earnings as much as I can, and hopefully be where I need to be by the end of the World Championship,” he commented

“It’s one game at a time. For me to take the next step, it’s all about fine margins — just a few doubles here and there and maybe being a little more consistent. In my eyes, that’s very achievable. When you’ve got the best darts management in the PDC behind you, anything is possible”

Adding to that, he concluded by stating what he wants to do away from the oche, cherishing his loved ones. “Lastly, all I want to do this year is spend quality time with my wife and kids and make memories. After all, if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be doing this. They’re what push me on and make me strive for bigger and better things.”