Saturday 17 November 2018 09:46, UK
With Michael Unterbuchner the only remaining BDO challenger left in the hunt at the Grand Slam of Darts this year, Scott Waites describes mixing it with the best the PDC have to offer in Wolverhampton.
Waites remains the only BDO star to lift the Grand Slam title, and he regards his 2010 triumph as the most prestigious of his career.
'Scotty 2 Hotty' says that while being crowned champion of the world was always a personal ambition, he feels that the Grand Slam is the most prestigious title on offer given it brings together the best of the PDC and BDO.
"I think that's the most difficult to win out of all the titles I've ever won, the Grand Slam," Waites told Sky Sports.
"That's definitely the most prestigious one. I always wanted to win the World Championship. But at the time when I was growing up the Grand Slam never existed. So anything that brings two separate bodies together, I think that's bigger than any individual organisation competition."
The tournament comes at the right time of the season for Waites as he often found himself competing in the latter stages.
"I don't know why I'd done so well at the Grand Slam," he said. "But for me, at this time of year when the weather starts getting a bit colder, the darts start going a bit better. It just seems like it's the right time of the year for me.
"You start the focus, spending more time on practising this time of year, prepare for what would have been like the Grand Slam when you're playing in that and just before the Grand Slam we have our World Masters. Then we've got the Finder Masters in Holland, and then our World Championships in January. It's the time of year for darts."
The challenge of mixing it with the best the PDC has to offer was an added incentive.
"The standard of darts now for the PDC lads, especially the top eight in the world at the minute, their standard is a lot higher than the rest of the players basically," he continued.
"The BDO lads, we don't get enough live stage practice and televised tournaments as the PDC lads get. So for us, they're playing on stage every weekend and we're not, we only get two or three competitions a year where we can show off our skills. It's more because they're just there all the time."
"With a lot of top players there, if they give you a chance to take a leg, you've got to take that chance. If you don't, that's when they punish you. What can be a close game in averages, it can look miles away in the leg scores at the end."
Given the PDC stars have more experience in front of the bumper crowd, this could prove a challenge for the BDO contingent but Waites always found a sense of serenity on the big stage.
"The Wolverhampton crowd have always been great so I've got no complaints there. Everyone goes down to have a good time, including yourself when you play darts on stage," he said.
"It's going to be a bit rowdy. But I've got good focus and concentration. As daft as it seems, it's just if you can focus and concentrate on the task at hand - throw your darts at the dart board, then you just don't seem to hear the crowd even though it's really loud.
"All you hear is a few voices that you're used to. I could hear my Dad for instance to the side. If I'd miss a silly double, I'd turn around and look at him. He'd say well you can't hear me on that stage, and I'd say well you can because you hear one voice above everyone else, it's quite strange."
Biggest BDO wins at the Grand Slam
And while there is a sense that the players are representing their organisation, Waites made it clear that once on the oche, it's a simple formula of one on one.
"I don't think there's much added pressure getting up there, because at the end of the day, you're still playing for yourself," he added.
"No matter what happens in that tournament, it's only you. It's only you and your opponent. You haven't got the backing of any organisation, nobody else can help you out when you're on stage. It's just you and your opponent."
The Grand Slam of Darts continues on Sky Sports across the weekend with coverage of Saturday's quarter-finals underway on Sky Sports Action from 7pm.
Keep up to date with the news as the tungsten enters its busiest time of year with the PDC World Championships just around the corner get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation@SkySportsDarts
