"They know who I am now - It's only made me want more" - Champion of Champions ready to take PDC stars by storm after impromptu Pro Tour debut

David Davies’ victory at the Red Dragon Champion of Champions, one of Britain’s biggest amateur darts tournaments, was already a career highlight. But for the 40-year-old Welshman, the triumph came with an unexpected bonus: a surprise invitation to compete at a Players Championship the very next day.

“It was so surreal,” Davies recalls in conversation with the Weekly Dartscast. “I was home for an hour, maybe an hour and a half at the most, and then a number I didn’t know was calling. I don’t usually answer them, but I picked up — and it was the PDC. They were asking if I could play on the Pro Tour tomorrow. My heart just sank. I thought, ‘What’s happening? Everything is coming at once.’”

Despite the shock, Davies tried to stay composed. “So coolly and calmly I said, ‘I’ve just got to sort a couple of things out, I’ll give you a call back in 15 minutes.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, fine, no problem.’ But really, all I did was put the phone down, not say anything to anyone, and just sit here where I am now thinking, ‘It’s happening. All the good things I’m doing are finally paying off. All the hours, all the years I’ve put in. You do want to be mixing it with the big boys.’”

Fortune was on his side: it was a bank holiday, so Davies didn’t have work the following day. He called back and confirmed he would play. “Yes, I’d love to. Is it all week?” he asked. “He said, ‘No, just for tomorrow. We’re waiting for a call off Gezzy Price about the Tuesday.’ I never thought my name and Gezzy Price would be in the same sentence, but I’ll take it — I won’t forget that.”

With a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Cardiff, Davies and his stepson Bradley set off Monday morning. “Just walking into the room was something else. I’d been to Pro Tours before as a supporter with Mark, but you don’t really think about it in the same way. Going there knowing you could be competing against any one of these guys in the next couple of hours — it felt real then.”

Support from friends and fellow players helped settle him. Adam Paxton, a friend from the Challenge Tour, saved him a seat at his table. “So I sat with him. I’ve met Jonny Clayton before and he came over saying, ‘Brilliant result on the weekend.’ Alan Soutar, Ritchie Edhouse, even Ricky Evans — players like that were coming up to me saying, ‘Well done.’ They know who I am now, through the Champion of Champions and maybe from the Challenge Tour as well. For players like that to come up and congratulate me — it’s just brilliant.”

The Pro Tour proved tough, and Davies lost his opening match 6-3 to Wessel Nijman. But the experience has left him hungry for more. “It was an amazing experience, even though I lost straight away. No one can take that away from me — and it’s only made me want more in the future.”

For Davies, the whirlwind week — from surprise call to rubbing shoulders with some of the PDC’s established names — is a reminder that hard work, persistence, and a little bit of luck can combine to create unforgettable opportunities. And for a player still cutting his teeth on the Challenge Tour, it is just the beginning.