Martin Lukeman will make his debut at the World Darts Championship this year at the age of 37, having gone through a slow build before a late burst onto the scene.
Smash has been throwing arrows for years, but it took the pandemic for him to turn into the player he is today, one that is emerging as a genuine threat at tournaments.
He won a two-year tour card at Q School in January 2021 and after a quiet first year on the pro circuit he has enjoyed a brilliant 2022, qualifying for the Matchplay and Grand Prix, while also reaching the German Darts Grand Prix final.
While always having the talent, he didn’t have the time to let it shine, but lockdown provided that for him.
‘I’ve been playing for a while, I won my first Challenge Tour in 2015, but I just fell out of love with the game, not really taking it seriously,’ Lukeman told Metro.co.uk.
‘Then through lockdown, I got laid off work and just hit the board for a year, I started playing really well and one of my friends said he’d put me in for Q School, then the rest is history.
‘I was using Dart Connect so you got to see your averages, it weren’t like going down the pub and playing your mates. I could see my averages being 85, maybe the odd 90. Then it was 95 and the odd 100, then they became more regular and I thought, I’m playing alright here.
‘I had been to Q School before and some years I got close, some I didn’t get a point. Working 50-60 hours a week it was a bit hard.’
Winning matches on the big stages in darts is no easy task, but Lukeman much prefers it to the hours on building sites he was putting in for his previous job.
‘I was a banksman, working with cranes and lorries on building sites,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to be getting up, opening sites up at 5 in the morning anymore, I want to be a dart player.’
Focussing on darts as his full-time job has not dampened his passion for the sport, quite the opposite, as he found it harder when he was turning up for matches after long days at work.
‘I think it was more that I found darts more of a chore before,’ he said. ‘Now I want to go to Super League, I want to go to open competitions, I want to go and throw, whereas before I was like, “eurgh, I’ve got darts tonight.”
‘I was thinking of ways to get out of it and the buzz wasn’t really there. I’m looking at darts in a completely different light, it’s my job now and I’m loving it.
‘Last year I didn’t really do a lot. I was playing alright but results weren’t really coming my way. I was competing, but I was just missing something extra.
‘Back end of last year I got to a Pro Tour semi-final and something just clicked. This year I think I’ve played nine European Tours, that’s kick started me off.
‘The final in Munich opened so many doors. The Matchplay, Grand Prix, it’s been a chain reaction.’
Having finishing working, Lukeman has found himself with more spare time than he was used to and he has filled it up by filling up fish tanks in his house.
The ‘side hustle’ is keeping him busy and may start bringing in some extra income when he starts selling his amazing collection of marine life.
‘I’ve got a tropical fish room, I built it up this year. I’ve got 11 tanks now,’ he said. ‘I’ve always like fish and that. I needed a pastime, a little side hustle.
‘I just thought I’m going to start breeding some fancy guppies, plecos, stuff like that, cherry shrimp, mystery snails, I’ve got loads of stuff in there.
‘I got my mate round, converted my shed, got an electrician round, that’s sorted. Now I’m just getting my licence so I can start selling them.
‘When I stopped working I just thought I need a pastime. Last year I was throwing eight, nine hours a day and it didn’t really work for me. This year I’m throwing two or three hours a day, the practice I am doing is good practice, I’m not picking up bad habits, The rest of the day I’m doing the fish room or keeping myself busy with other stuff.’
He will be hoping to be very busy at Alexandra Palace this winter where he is going to do some damage on debut, taking on Nobuhiro Yamamoto in the first round, who he admits he doesn’;’t know much about.
‘Honestly nothing, I can’t even pronounce his name properly!’ Lukeman said. ‘But I can’t take nothing for granted. I’ve got to go there, do a job and hopefully play Martin Schindler in the next round.
‘I’m not bothered who I’m playing. I know I can beat them all. I’ve had 107 averages against me and won convincingly, 106, 108 and I’ve beaten them, Averages don’t really mean anything. If I’m scoring well and hitting my doubles, the players know they’re going to have to play well to beat me.
‘I can’t wait. Looking forward to it. I’ve never been before even to watch, but I’m looking forward to it. I’ve had a lot of stage experience this year, which I think will help me. Hopefully I can just win my first game and go on from there.’
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