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Lewy Williams: Rising Welsh star relishing the big time in impressive first year on the PDC Pro Tour

Rising darts star Lewy Williams chats to The Darts Show Podcast, discussing his whirlwind start to life on the PDC Pro Tour, ambitions for the coming years, and leaving his career as a barber behind.

LADBROKES UK OPEN 2020.BUTLINS RESORT,.MINEHEAD,.PIC;LAWRENCE LUSTIG.ROUND 4.LEWIS WILLIAMS V STEVE WEST.LEWIS WILIAMS IN ACTION
Image: Lewy Williams is on an upward trajectory

Life is good for Lewy Williams right now.

After winning his PDC Tour Card for the first time at Q-School in 2021, the 19-year-old Welshman has kicked on and adapted to life at the top table.

The qualified barber put his razor and scissors to one side and is now hoping to make the cut and take his place amongst the elite of world darts.

"It's mostly the darts I'm doing now, concentrating, every day I'm doing at least four or five hours on the board, so there's not much time for anything else" he said on The Darts Show Podcast, explaining his decision to put his career as a barber on hold.

And his labours are beginning to bear fruit.

"I was going into Q-School with a lot of confidence coming off the Challenge Tour, with a victory over Richie Burnett with a 117 average, getting to a final against Jim Williams," he reflected.

"But then I went into Q-School, I lost in the first round on the first day. I didn't let my head drop. I got to semi-finals on the second day and semi-finals on the third day. I came away with enough points to get my Tour Card. The relief was unreal. It's everyone's goal to be on the tour. It was a dream come true really."

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And it didn't take him long to start making waves. He shrugged off initial nerves to defeat Michael van Gerwen in his opening Pro Tour event.

"On my first day on the tour, I thought 'wow, do I really deserve be here, being this young?' Looking at all the lads you've seen on TV, your Michael van Gerwens, Gezzy Prices," he explained.

"I didn't have too many ambitions at the start. I just thought, 'right, just go out there and enjoy it, throw your darts. You've made it onto the tour. Don't put too much pressure on yourself'.

"But as I was getting into it, I was beating Michael van Gerwen on the first day of the Pro Tour, I was thinking 'OK, here we go then'.

"Since then I haven't looked at it through ages or anything like that. I just feel like I definitely deserve to be there. The likes of Keane Barry, Adam Gawlas, I think we're all quality players now. I think we all fit in really well and I think we all deserve to be there."

And he is set for another landmark this weekend, when he makes his televised tournament debut at the European Championship Finals, getting drawn against Jose de Sousa in the first round.

And he is not found wanting for ambition.

"Recently, I've been putting a lot more effort in than I usually have," he noted.

"[The aim is to] get a couple more scalps on the tour. I've made a quarter-final, the next thing to do is make a semi-final, then a final, then to win a [Pro] Tour eventually. Then to carry on, I'm loving darts at the minute. So I'm just going to take it as it comes.

"Just try to qualify for as many TV tournaments, Euro Tours, etc, and already my first year I've qualified for the European Championship Finals. I've done well on my first Euro Tour in Budapest, touching the World Championship [qualification], so fingers crossed. It's all going well, and hopefully there are a few TV tournaments to come as well."

And with Welshmen currently dominating the top table, Williams is hoping that those trends will continue.

"It's awesome to see. It's safe to say that Welsh darts is in the best place it has ever been," he said.

"What Jonny [Clayton] and Gezzy are doing is absolutely phenomenal. It's an inspiration for everyone all over the world.

"Especially where Jonny is coming from. He's burst up in the last two years and started winning majors. He's up to seventh in the world now obviously. Gezzy himself has only been on the tour six or seven years, but he's now world No 1. It's massive for Welsh darts. It's definitely in a safe place at the minute.

"I've been really close friends with Jonny since I was about 13/14.

"We only lived about half hour from each other. Every local competition I'd go to, Jonny would be there. And he'd be exactly the same guy, laughing and joking. He's such a wonderful bloke."

BOYLE SPORTS WORLD GRAND PRIX.MORNINGSIDE AREA,.LEICESTER.PIC;LAWRENCE LUSTIG.FINAL.GERWYN PRICE V JONNY CLAYTON.JONNY CLAYTON IN ACTION
Image: Welsh players are dominating the darting landscape right now, currently holding the World Championship, Premier League and Grand Prix titles

Ten months into his professional career, Lewy Williams is just getting started.

"Darts is definitely all I want to do now. I can definitely see a future in it," he outlined.

"I've loved darts all my life, watching on TV with my dad, always playing, going down the pub having a couple of games of darts against the locals.

"But it's only the last three years I've started knuckling down a bit really. I've started focusing on it. Now that I'm on the Tour, I can make a really good living out of it."

Listen to the full interview on the latest episode of The Darts Show Podcast.

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