“I got away with murder there – but I’m back, and it feels fantastic” – Superman Matt Clark completes heroic return to Lakeside after 22 years away

After a staggering 22 years away, Matt Clark finally stepped back onto the iconic Lakeside stage. The English veteran, once a familiar face at the biggest BDO events in the early 2000s, marked his long-awaited return with an immediate victory — though he was the first to admit it didn’t all come smoothly.

“I’ll take that all day long. I got away with murder there,” Clark said with a smile in his post-match interview. “I missed doubles in the first set and thought: he hasn’t missed, this is going to be nothing for me. And then he started missing — thank you very much!”

He added that the nerves didn’t play out how he expected. “I actually felt more settled in the first set than I did in the other sets. Maybe I was too relaxed… or too many painkillers, I don’t know.”

Clark looked visibly emotional reflecting on the long, winding journey to this moment. “I was just trying to get through that one game. I started here 30 years ago, played eight years and then left. Coming back now… I just wanted to win. I didn’t care how, and I got away with it.”

The now-experienced Englishman famously made the switch to the PDC in the 2000s, though he stresses it wasn’t for financial reward.

“People assume you joined the PDC for money, but when I joined, that wasn’t the case — the PDC didn’t have much more to offer than the BDO. There were political issues going on in the BDO that I just didn’t want to be involved in. The PDC then became quite lucrative, but yeah… then I got too old,” he laughed. “Luckily, the WDF has opened new doors for me. I still feel I’ve got something to offer.”

Clark also revealed just how close he came this past year to the end of both his career — and potentially his life.

“Midway through the Seniors Tour, I got a life-threatening blood clot. In a not-very-pleasant place,” he admitted. “For the TV events I’d qualified for, I was actually undergoing hospital treatment, but I kept it quiet because you can’t use that to make excuses. It was palmed off as me having a bad leg.”

At the start of 2025 he wasn’t even allowed to leave the country. “I was under strict hospital guidance and wasn’t allowed to travel or fly. The doctor literally said: ‘If you do anything that moves, you’re dead.’ Either a brain haemorrhage or a heart attack — simple as that. That puts everything in perspective. I only started playing again once I was discharged in February.”

Clark has recovered, though not everything is completely fixed yet. “There are still some side effects that need time. And now my back’s gone — from sitting on wooden benches at the World Masters, believe it or not. But my back brace works a treat. I’ll deal with it.”

Despite the turbulence, Clark’s form exploded this summer on the WDF Tour.

“Don’t ask me how or why, but I was playing probably the best darts I’ve ever played in my life,” he said. “If you’d asked me in the summer how I’d do here, I’d have said I’m probably going to win it. But treatments and physical problems catch up with you.”

Even so, the belief remains intact. “If that form comes back, then there’s nobody here I can’t beat.”

Clark carries more than three decades of experience, something he says still counts for plenty on the Lakeside stage. “Experience-wise, there aren’t many players — even in the PDC — who can match that. But the youngsters coming through… I didn’t pick up a dart until I was 19. They’re 14 and 15 and playing as good as I ever did at my peak. It’s unbelievable.”

He referenced both PDC star Luke Littler and WDF prodigy Mitchell Lurorry. “Those windows didn’t exist when I was playing. If a guy in his early twenties was good, that was a phenomenon. Now it’s the norm. And they’re going to make me retire early,” he joked.

Despite everything, Clark’s mindset is stronger than ever. “On the stage, especially when the big cameras are here, my experience will carry me through a lot of legs and sets. Whether it wins me matches — that’s down to the luck of the gods. But I feel good.”

Lakeside has its old warrior back — and whatever happens next, Clark is determined to savour every minute.