Friday, January 10, 2025
Column CM142
Steve Beaton
Birthday: April 5, 1964
Lives in: North Walsham, England
Born in: Coventry, England
Nickname: The Bronzed Adonis
Darts: 22-gram Winmau Steve Beaton
Walk-on Music: Stayin’ Alive (The Bee Gees)
Steve Beaton is another of the players who missed this PDC World Championship – a World Championship in which he took part from 2002 – 2024 every year. And Beaton as well is one of the players who started his career in the BDO/WDF system and later switched to the PDC. But there is a difference from the other players I have recently about – Beaton announced in December 2023 that he would end his career at the end of 2024.
I am sure he hoped he would qualify for this World Championship, but he didn’t manage. But Beaton didn’t lose his Tour Card – he ended the year ranked 54 in the PDC Order of Merit. Beaton decided to give it back.
Beaton played his first tournaments in 1984. In that year he reached the last 32 of the World Masters. In 1991, he stood in the final of the BDO British Gold Cup and 1992 he for the first time qualified for the BDO World Championship but lost first round.
He was back in 1993 at Lakeside and this time reached the semifinals. On his way he defeated players like Dennis Priestley and Bob Anderson.
Beaton decided not to join the group of players who split from the BDO and founded the WDC/PDC. Instead, he won the 1993 World Masters and was in 1994 and 1995 the BDO #1 – but lost both years in the first round of the World Championship.
In 1996, he finally won the BDO World Championship and en route to the title defeated Co Stompe, John Part, Martin Adams, Andy Fordham and Richie Burnett. He was unable to defend his title in 1998, losing a very close semifinal against Marshall James (as he failed to hit the d20 for a 140 checkout.
For four more years Beaton stayed in the BDO, and every year took part in the World Championship. In those years he played in a few PDC tournaments (which was still possible at this time). In 2001, he reached the semifinals of the World Matchplay.
When the PDC changed the regulations Beaton 2002 switched to the PDC in 2002.
Beaton never had the same impact in the PDC as he did in the BDO and went through several crises of form. Nevertheless, he did enough to qualify for every PDC World Championship from 2002 to 2024 – though never got farther then the last 16. For many years he stayed in the Top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit.
From time to time, he stood in the semifinals of a Major – in the 2004 World Grand Prix and the UK Open and in the 2010 Grand Slam. In 2009, he reached the final of the European Championship and in 2017 the quarterfinals of the Players Championship Finals. In 2013, he won his only European Tour Event and in 2009 and 2017 a Players Championship.
Beaton was popular with the PDC crowds and with his PDC colleagues – it really was a pity he didn’t qualify for the World Championship to say goodbye to the crowd…
What a farewell would it have been!
So, his last PDC event was the final 2024 Players Championship on October 31. At least his colleagues celebrated him.
Beaton is one of the last players of a bygone golden age of the sport who still is an active player and still plays quite at quite a good level. He announced he will stay active and play on the Seniors Tour, and he hopes he will still be in demand for exhibitions. So far, he can’t and will not imagine a life without darts and he’s never lost his hunger for success.
Of course, he feels a little bit wistful, as he says in interviews, but he is looking forward to passing more time with his wife – all the traveling to tournaments started to tire him anyway. He credits his longevity in the sport with staying fit with the help of cycling and swimming, with healthy eating, with relatively little change to his technique and his equipment and with always returning to his basics to rebuild his game when something went wrong. Reportedly, Beaton was not one to practice a lot, an hour a day perhaps. At the start of his career all his practice was going to the pub to meet his friends to play some darts or in league.
When approached on the subject that he always looks like fresh from the sunbed (one part of his image which was caused by this video) he answers that he’s never in all his life seen a sunbed from the inside – just that he always passed his holiday after the World Championship somewhere where it was warm – in Tenerife or at the Canaries.
Don’t miss this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=469Eebe2tEM
I never managed to do an interview with Steve Beaton, though I even had all my questions ready at one time. Perhaps there will still be an opportunity someday… then, I can finally ask him whether it is true that he is interested in horse races and from time-to-time visits the Galopp Rennbahn in Baden-Baden in Germany.
Here is a tribute to Stever Beaton’s career: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMkNIqR4mL0
