Chris Dobey’s fortunes at the oche are mirroring those of his beloved Newcastle United, he tells Henry Beesley.
“I rocked up one night in a peaked cap, shorts and flip-flops and my mate just turned to me and said, ‘What are you, some kind of Hollywood superstar?’” While Chris Dobey may not have been a movie star at the time, the name stuck. And now his story is beginning to live up to the billing. It’s been a whirlwind year for the Geordie darts star, coming from nowhere to rocket to the top of the sport.
You’d have been more likely to find Chris – a lifelong Newcastle United fan – playing Sunday league football than throwing arrows when he was growing up. However, one evening he found himself making up the numbers at the oche in his local boozer. “I was in the pub with a mate of mine who fancied himself as a bit of darts player,” he says. “One of the lads was missing from the group who normally played, so I decided to fill in for them. Straight away, I really took to it.”
He quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the amateur darts circuit in the North East. “After maybe a couple of years playing socially, I realised that I was better than a lot of the local lads, many of whom had been playing for years. Darts really came naturally to me.”
After spending some time cutting his teeth on the social circuit, he began to realise this could become more than just a hobby. “I’d won virtually every big tournament in the North East in 2015, so I had ambitions of going to Q-school. There I had a chance to win a two-year exemption on the PDC circuit. After I got through that, I picked up my tour card at the first time of asking. That’s something I am particularly proud of.”
Having only taken up darts in 2010, Chris had made it to the PDC Tour within just five years – an astonishing feat. He then made a splash when reaching the quarter-finals at the UK Open in 2016 – his first major TV tournament – before continuing to progress through the professional ranks.
Earning your seat at the table is the easy bit; the real challenge is staying there. Throughout his career, he has earned a reputation for finding himself on the wrong end of a tough draw, often bumping into players who have produced their very best darts on the day.
“It’s incredibly hard when you’re playing well but feel as though you’re not really getting anything for it,” he says. “Fortunately, I’m not really someone that gets too down on myself. I’m always able to take the positives. I know that it’s going to take a good game to beat me these days, which gives me a lot of confidence.”
As for life on the road, he acknowledges the vast number of sacrifices that need to be made, notably having to spend time away from his family for long periods of time. “Of course, it’s hard to be away from my little lad, but I’m doing what I love to earn a good living. I’m confident he’ll understand in the long run. All the lads are great as well. We always have a good laugh away from darts too, so it’s nice and relaxed. Nathan [Aspinall], Joe Cullen, Jonny Clayton and Michael Smith are some of my best pals on the tour. We’ll always stick together out there and it’s a great laugh.”
“When practising, I’ll always listen to a bit of music. Between matches, for me It’s a case of trying to chill out. I take myself away from the intense pressure cooker on stage so that when the time comes to play, I’m ready and focused on the battle ahead.”
The past couple of seasons have seen Chris take his game to the next level. He signed off 2022 by reaching the quarter-finals of the World Championships at Alexandra Palace. This year kicked off with the PDC Masters in Milton Keynes, and changed everything for Chris. Despite most bookmakers pricing him up as the rank outsider of the field at 100/1, he felt he was well placed to have a serious chance of winning some games. “The Masters felt like a good opportunity for me to put a nice little run together. Going into it, my game felt great. I’d just registered, by far, my best ever performance at the Worlds and was playing some consistently good stuff.”
“I take myself away from the intense pressure cooker on stage so that when the time comes to play, I’m ready and focused on the battle ahead.”
In trademark fashion, he was handed a tough draw in round one, against Joe Cullen. He needed something special to get the upper hand, and at the perfect time he delivered a moment of magic that he’d so often been on the receiving end of over the past couple of seasons. “I broke him at 4-4 by pinning a 125 finish on the bullseye. That was one of those game-changing moments where I thought to myself, ‘Could this be my time?’”
Chris then edged out Luke Humphries to earn a quarter-final spot against Dirk van Duijvenbode. An accomplished performance set up a spine-tingling semi-final clash with Michael Smith, the world number one and reigning world champion. “It’s always tough playing against a good friend like Michael, but I felt I handled that side of things really well. I managed to get my head in front and stayed there to progress, despite some slightly shaking doubling at the end!”
Chris had booked his place in his maiden major final. How were the nerves? “It all seemed to happen so quickly. I only had about an hour to wait between the semis and the final and that actually really helped me. I didn’t have too much time to sit around thinking about the final.” Former world champion Rob Cross was waiting.
“The final couldn’t really have gone any smoother. It went exactly to the script. I wouldn’t say it really surprised me as I’ve always felt I can beat anybody, but I was a little shocked at how I was consistently outscoring Rob. I got a little edgy trying to finish the job that day – I was missing by a fair way in the closing stages. Ultimately it was just a relief to finally get over the line and get my hands on a big title.”
While it’s not ‘win and you’re in’ regarding a place in the Premier League, it was widely regarded that the Masters champ would have a great chance of filling one of the remaining spots.
“You always want to play with the best players in the world and the Premier League is the place to do that. I was at home the day after the final when my agent called me and said, ‘Do they fly direct from Newcastle to Belfast?’ I replied saying that I’d had a look and they did. He just said to me, ‘Well, you can get one of those booked now, Chris – you’re in the Premier League!’ That was obviously a huge moment for me and a really great feeling to get that call.”
In a thrilling Premier League campaign, the night on his home turf was Chris’s high point. “Hosting in Newcastle was obviously unreal. I managed to beat Michael [Smith] in front of all my family and friends. That was a really special experience and I guess it was all made possible thanks to that magical weekend at the Masters. I’ve learned so much from the experience. I know that I can mix it with the very best players in the world, and while this year it was all new, I wanted to really enjoy it. I’ll be much better prepared the next time it comes around.”
What’s next for Chris? “There’s still a lot of 2023 left and I definitely want to get another couple of titles under my belt – hopefully another major! That should set me up nicely heading into the World Championships.”
Away from the oche, Chris’ priorities are a little closer to home. “Whenever I’m not playing darts, I’ll be home or away following Newcastle. It’s been an unbelievable season for the lads and watching them in the Champions League next year will be incredible. I just hope it doesn’t clash with the darts. Hopefully, I’ll be able to combine an away day with a European darts event. That would be ideal.”
Chris Dobey to win the 2024 PDC World Championship and Newcastle to be the 2023/24 European champions? There’s a double we can get behind.
Chris Dobey is a Major champion sponsored by Fitzdares.
