A new year offers darts stars a fresh chance of securing a PDC Tour Card at Q-School, but one challenger almost saw his bid ended before it’d begun with his community coming to the rescue
The UK’s recent snowfall nearly froze darts star Devon Petersen’s hopes of securing his PDC return.
The 38-year-old was among the many Brits caught out by the significant snow dump in the north this week. As scores of flights were axed due to the icy blast, Petersen’s own plans were thrown into chaos by the snow.
His trip was not just delayed, it was on the verge of being cancelled outright. The South African-born player, who now calls Bradford home, had to make his way to Milton Keynes to compete at Q-School.
However, before he could tackle the three-hour, 150-mile-plus journey, he discovered his car was snowed in. In a heart-warming turn of events, Petersen’s local community rallied, shovels in hand, to help the ‘African Warrior’ hit the road again.
In a clip shared with his fans on X, donned in a hefty coat and beanie, Petersen expressed his gratitude to those who pitched in to fight off Mother Nature, as well as to his social media supporters.
He said: “So we’re in Bradford and I couldn’t get out. Now we’ve dug out that bit there, that’s my car. The entire community came out to make sure that I get to Q-School.
“It’s got to be the way in which I get this Tour Card. It has to be. Can’t dig out the snow, mad days. Hopefully everybody’s driving safely on the roads and getting to Q-School. I’m digging my way to Q-School.”
Petersen’s social media update has garnered over 1,000 likes at the time of writing, accompanied by messages of goodwill from fellow players Damon Heta and Nick Kenny.
Regrettably for Petersen, his tournament run in Milton Keynes suffered an early blow. He was on the receiving end of a crushing 5-0 defeat at the hands of Jarred Cole, following a victory over Jack Male in the preceding round.
This loss will undoubtedly sting, given the promising form he had been demonstrating prior to this. Just last month, he clinched the Amateur Darts Circuit Championship title, besting Adam Lioscombe in the final and pocketing the handsome £25,000 top prize.
Petersen has earned his stripes at the PDC World Darts Championship seven times. His standout performances were in 2014, 2019 and 2021, when he made it to the last 16 at Alexandra Palace on all three occasions.
Darts enthusiasts might also remember his impressive semi-final run at the European Championship in 2020, as well as his quarter-final appearances at the UK Open in 2015 and 2021.