Tom Sykes firmly put his name on the map at the Slovak Darts Open. The Englishman enjoyed a dream debut on the European Tour in Bratislava, reaching the semi-finals at the first attempt. His impressive run was finally ended by former world champion Rob Cross, who secured a 7-2 victory.
On his way to the last four, Sykes recorded impressive wins over Niko Springer, Martin Schindler, Cameron Menzies and Jermaine Wattimena. For the current world number 82, it marks another step forward in a remarkable sporting journey that began on the football pitch.
Before taking darts seriously, Sykes dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. The Englishman came through the youth systems of Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday, where he was regarded as a talented winger. 'I was a left winger, so I was pretty quick when I was younger, and I can’t say that now, but I’m not very quick at the minute,' said Sykes to Weekly Dartscast. He spent a year at Leeds United and then a year at Sheffield Wednesday. 'I played for a year at Leeds United Academy, played at Sheffield Wednesday Academy for a year. I played to a decent level to be fair, but yeah, obviously I didn’t make it.' According to Sykes, he was given a reason he has heard many times in football: 'I got told I was too small, but that’s like the standard excuse nowadays, isn’t it? For footballers and stuff.'
The switch to darts did not happen overnight. Sykes continued playing football for a long time, despite people around him telling him he should focus more on darts. 'Mainly people telling me to stop being stupid because you’re never going to make it as a footballer now because you’re now 25 and that were it basically.' His father, in particular, kept encouraging him to commit fully to darts. 'They were all telling me just to stop playing and concentrate on darts really. My dad mainly, my dad used to tell me every week, he used to ring me every Saturday morning, “Are you playing darts today?”' The answer often disappointed him as his father tried to make him go the opposite direction. 'And I’m like, no, I’m playing football and he’s like, what are you doing that for?' Sykes kept hearing the same message from others as well: 'Obviously you got people telling you, you’ve got this ability in darts, you need to pursue it further.'
Eventually, Sykes himself began to realise that those around him might have been right. 'I sort of fell out of love with football a little bit as well. It sort of switched, so I sort of started playing more darts than football and then playing football in the winter. Being a 26-year-old knowing that I’m not going to do anything with it, it was just like, yeah, I suppose they’re probably right. So, I suppose I needed to start knuckling down and start playing darts properly.' The decision has certainly paid off. Whereas he once never went anywhere without a football at his feet, his life now looks completely different. 'Plus, nowadays I couldn’t think of anything worse than putting a pair of football boots on and walking out onto a football field. Whereas before I was absolutely obsessed with it, you’d never seen me without a football at my feet. So yeah, it sort of switched on its head just like randomly, but yeah, it’s all worked out. So I’m happy.'
