Steve West, a former PDC Tour regular who sat in the top 40 for a number of years before losing his Tour Card in 2022, has spoken candidly about the immense pressure that led to a dark period in his life. Now playing regularly on the MODUS Super Series, West admitted: “I would say this is probably the only place in the last 10 to 15 years that I’ve actually felt happy and comfortable playing.”
Explaining the difference, West said: “It’s the pressure, isn’t it? When I was on the tour, you’re constantly under pressure because if you don’t win, you can’t pay your bills and all that. But coming here, it’s more relaxed — the atmosphere, everything around it. It’s all just relaxed and nice and easy to play.” He also revealed that moving from Essex to the south coast was a personal decision: “People say, ‘Well, Steve’s moving down to Portsmouth because of darts’ but there’s nothing to do with that. We’ve got personal lives, you know? For a change of pace in life, this is the place to be. For me, for my wife and for the dog and everything, it’s just perfect for us.”
Reflecting on his early Super Series experiences, West recalled: “I thought it was strange actually, walking into a church thinking, ‘I’m going to play darts in here.’ Then I walked inside and saw the setup and it was like, ‘Well, you can’t play in more perfect conditions than this.’” He added that the venue has “changed a lot since those days and it’s only changed for the better.” Winning in his first week was unexpected: “No. I just came in hoping to play well and get used to the place. It turned out I did a really good job.”
West, who held a Tour Card from 2012-2022 and reached a Players Championship final, three major quarter-finals and three Euro Tour semi-finals, admitted the end of his PDC stint was difficult. “I want to be totally honest — if I’d carried on the way I was going, I wouldn’t be here now,” he said. “It was really dark. Obviously I met Michelle and things started to look up. She helped me out of a really dark space. Falling off the tour was probably one of the best things that happened to me mentally and for my health.” He also criticised the financial pressures: “I’d do it tomorrow if I had money behind me and no worries at all. But I don’t want to go back into it with the stress of not earning. They’ve increased the prize money over the last few years — from £500 to £750 and then £1,000 — but really they should’ve added money for first-round losers. Give first-round losers £250 and the winners £500. Then you’re actually a professional darts player. Until you get paid for it, you’re not really a pro.”
Despite the struggles, West cherishes his career highlights, including beating Phil Taylor in 2016. “Before the tournament started, Phil called me over after a ProTour event and said, ‘Come and sit down, we’ll have a chat.’ He started telling me how much money he’d got, how many houses he had, this, that and the other. I said, ‘Phil, really? I’m not bothered what you’ve got.’ I told him, ‘Monday, one of two things happens. Either I lose — which changes nothing because everyone expects me to lose — or I win and it makes my career.’ Monday came and that was that. Brilliant.” He also recalled the 2007 Dutch Open final, where he lost to Scott Waites in a field of 4,500 entries, calling it “one of the biggest stepping stones in my career,” and beating Michael van Gerwen on TV in the European Championship. West concluded: “I think I massively underachieved in my career. The closest I got was a ProTour final against Michael van Gerwen. It was 5-5, I was sat on 110, he hit something huge to leave a finish and I hit a big five. Those moments stick with you forever.”
