“Q School? That is definitely a real option” – Steve Beaton prepares for a possible comeback

In Cheltenham, during an exhibition night full of entertainment and nostalgia, Steve Beaton showed once again why he remains a crowd favourite after more than thirty years in the professional circuit.

The Bronzed Adonis defeated Rob Cross with a brilliant 156 finish and, together with Simon Whitlock, proved that experience is far from written off in the world of darts. Yet behind the smile is a man struggling with the idea of missing the PDC World Darts Championship for the second year in a row.

Online Darts spoke with the 59-year-old Englishman, who spoke openly about his love for the game, his doubts, his future and his view on the new generation.

Beaton clearly enjoyed his performance. Not only did he beat Cross, he was firing in big scores as if it were 1996, the year he became world champion. “I must have hit seven or eight tonight, but some nights they go in and some nights you can’t hit them,” he said with a grin. “But this was one of those nights where everything came together. The crowd was great as well, they cheer you on. It’s brilliant.”

According to Beaton, a night like this is about much more than results. “The whole point is a bit of entertainment and all that. You want to show people you can play. There’s no good me going up and hitting 45, 60, 45. I still practise at home, try to do half an hour or an hour a day because I want to still produce the darts when I play.”

One subject visibly hits a nerve: missing the World Championship. “I actually hate it. I hated it last year not being in it, and I hate this year not being in it. It’s awful having to watch it.”

Still, he admits he needed to take a step back, mainly to spend more time at home. The tour is demanding, even brutal at times. After decades of constant travel, it takes its toll. “The circuit is so gruelling. Exhibitions are work, but it’s in my blood and I still want to play darts. I just want to slow down a little bit. But yeah, I miss it enormously, and I miss my mates on the circuit as well.”

It is a question he has been asked for months. Does he regret returning his Tour Card? “I don’t really know,” he admitted. “In a way I wanted to slow down, and in another way you look at that calendar for the year and you’re suddenly not playing, and you miss it. It is tough.”

It is a real conflict: the urge to compete versus the desire for a different rhythm of life. “You miss the competition, the adrenaline, the players. But I wanted to do other things as well.”

Beaton is not closing the door. In fact, between the lines, a comeback feels very possible. “They keep asking me this all year. If I was fortunate to go back and get a card, I wouldn’t necessarily want to play all the time. What I’d want is to pick and choose. If I got a card for two years, maybe go to a third of them or fifty percent of them, and still do exhibitions and slow it down that way.”

Even without winning a Tour Card, he sees opportunities. “Even if I don’t get a Tour Card, I could play on the Challenge Tour and things like that. If I’ve got a weekend free I can go and have a game with the lads.”

The Tour Card, however, comes with limitations. “When you get a Tour Card, you’re limited in what else you can do. That was one of the main reasons I wanted to do a bit more of different things.”

He smiles. “Me and Adrian Lewis have been talking. I don’t think Aidy’s going to do it. I just don’t know really. I’m going to wait and see.”

Although Beaton is not someone who seeks darts out on TV, he still sees plenty of it. “My wife loves it. She’s always got it on, so I end up watching it. I’m not really an avid viewer, but if it’s on she’ll have it on, so I watch it more now. The standard now is absolutely crazy. You just never know who’s going to win.”

He believes the sport is growing faster than ever. “What the sport has got to now is unbelievable really.”

Having played against Bristow, Taylor and Van Gerwen, he knows better than most what true talent looks like. He is full of praise for both Luke Littler and Luke Humphries. “I think the two Lukes have both been brilliant. They’ve fed off each other really. I feel sorry for Luke Humphries in a way because he’s been pushed to the back burner with Luke Littler being in the spotlight. But the two of them… if anybody asks me who’s going to win, I just say Luke now because it covers all bases.”

Beaton offers one striking caveat. “Luke Littler… how long he’ll last is the big question. Maybe four or five years and he’ll hang it up and say he’s had enough. I don’t think he’ll play long enough to match Phil’s sixteen.”

Beaton can hardly believe the sums now involved. “Two players on January 3rd are going to play a darts match for a million quid? That is absolutely bonkers. When Barry came in and said he was going to do this and that, we were all thinking, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.’ But what he’s done with the sport is unbelievable.”

He sees how Littler has brought in an entirely new audience. “You thought darts wasn’t going to get any bigger, and now it’s got even bigger again. Where it’s going to end up, who knows.”