Jack Drayton is a name to remember. The 19-year-old is currently enjoying some brilliant form on the oche, making an impression on the Development Tour while also appearing on the MODUS Super Series and Challenge Tour. With a Tour Card the overall aim, he continues to improve while being starstruck by the situation he is currently in.
Born in 2006, Drayton has fully committed to darts and is making huge strides in the sport. “I know, I’m playing well. I think it’s kind of come out of nowhere, really,” he told Online Darts. “I went to a few Development Tour events towards the end of last year just to see what it was like, and I kind of thought I belonged there in a way, with the way I was playing and throwing my darts. Then I went to Q School. Q School didn’t go great, but I went to the Challenge Tour after that. I didn’t get the results I wanted, but my game still felt really good. I just couldn’t wait for the Development Tours to start. Then I started off with two wins in the opening weekend, and it’s just kind of kicked on from there.”
He would continue to pop up in big tournaments, honoured to be playing on the MODUS Super Series after making his debut. “It was unreal,” he exclaimed. “I think in my first game I was quite nervous because I didn’t know what the atmosphere or the setup would be like. But I settled in quite quickly and relaxed after the first few games. Once I knew what to expect, I managed to enjoy the week as well.”
On top of darts, Drayton has other talents. An extremely good golfer, he was set to prioritise the sport by making the trip to the United States, but darts has got his priority for the time being following a promising spell. “I’m seeing things on social media about me, seeing my name in Development Tour posts and things like that. It’s surreal in a way because you don’t think about it. This time last year, I didn’t think I’d be doing any of this. I was hoping to go to America to pursue my golf career while giving darts a go, and now look where we are.” He explained his journey in golf and his overall level: “I’m off scratch — around plus 1.5, something like that. I’ve been playing forever, since I was five or six years old. My dad got me a little plastic set, and then I moved on to a proper men’s set and just kept playing. I’ve had a few really good wins over the years. It’s a bit like darts. If I was as good at golf as I am at darts, I’d probably have a good chance of getting on tour. But where I’m at now, it’s tough. The standard on the golf tour is unreal — same as darts.” Being a professional golfer could have been his pathway in life, but to get on the tour would be a very tricky process, even if he did devote his life to it. “If I didn’t have darts at all and was 100% committed to golf, I reckon I could have got on tour, but it’s very, very hard,” he admitted. “The pros are practising six or seven hours a day. You’ve got to come through three or four tours before you even get to the main tour. People would say I’m good because I’m off scratch, but local amateurs around my area are off plus four or plus five. You think they’re good, but they’re nothing compared to the pros. That’s just the standard of professional sport these days. To be a pro, you’ve got to be very, very good.” When asked to pick between Augusta or the World Matchplay, he pondered: “I don’t know. The Matchplay is probably one of my favourite majors, apart from the World Championship, but I don’t think I could turn down Augusta.”
Currently second in the Development Tour Order of Merit behind the winning machine that is Sebastian Bialecki, Drayton has certainly made a huge impression and a statement of intent for the future. The Tour Card is the overall aim, something that he is currently in a good position to get via the Development Tour. “Yes, I do believe I’ve got the talent,” he confidently stated. “I’ve shown it in recent matches on Modus, the Development Tour, and the Isle of Man events. Everywhere I go now, especially on the Development Tour, I feel really confident when I walk up to the board. I feel like I’m going to win the tournament every time, even though I don’t. I still know I’ve got the game to do it. You can’t force anything. But seeing my name second on that leaderboard is crazy.” He acknowledged that it would be nice to earn it via the Development Tour: “If I got it through the Development Tour, it would show that I’ve earned it and worked harder for it than just a couple of days at Q School. It would show that I’ve been consistently really good across 24 or 25 events.” Drayton outlined his plans for the rest of the year: “Development Tour events in June and then back again in July. I’ve got another week on Modus in June and another week in August. Then I think my last Development Tour events are in September. Those are my main priorities, along with a few local competitions like today.” Another possible tournament he could compete for is the World Youth Championships. Gian van Veen is the two-time reigning champion after defeating Beau Greaves in the final. She got the better of Luke Littler en route to that final in Minehead, showing how strong the field is. That has not fazed Drayton who senses an opportunity: “Yes, definitely. I think I had a really good chance last year. I was 4–1 or 5–1 up in one of my matches and ended up losing. But now I believe I can do it. I’ve won two Development Tour titles, and I believe I can get to the World Youth Championship final and win it. I’m playing against the same players that I know I can beat week in, week out. So we’ll give it a really good go this year.”
