Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Mission Darts - Getty Images
Topics: Darts, World Darts Championship
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Darts, World Darts Championship
Scottish firefighter and former British Army commando Alan Soutar pulled off a remarkable feat after being handed "the world's heaviest darts" for a YouTube video.
Soutar, who is widely regarded as one of the fittest men in the sport after serving in the army for most of his life, prepared for this year's World Darts Championship by taking part in a fascinating experiment.
Appearing on YouTube channel Mission Darts this month, the 47-year-old Scot was handed three 72-gram darts – believed to be the heaviest in the world – to see what score he could achieve with nine attempts.
A handful of professionals took part in the video, including Ryan Joyce, Ryan Meikle and Cam Cabtree, but "Soots" came out on top after recording an impressive score of 327, beating runner-up Martin Lukeman by 27 points.
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In fact, Soutar managed to hit a 180 with his last visit, chanting "Scotland get battered, everywhere they go!" as he celebrated an achievement that took many by surprise.
Fans in the comments section were taken aback by his ability to throw such heavy darts.
One wrote: "This is actually a very interesting video. Throwing the heavier dart really shows off their stroke and how important the forward motion is compared to the backstroke. Each and every one of them has a good transition and a very smooth and strong forward momentum to their stroke."
A second commented: "Good video! The way the board was moving wow. Alan fair play for hitting a 180 with them," while a third said: "Big up Soots for the 180."
A fourth added: "To get them to the board, I’d have to throw them like a javelin."
As per the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) rule book, darts must not exceed an overall maximum length of 200mm (approximately 7.87 inches) or weigh more than 40 grams.
Of course, the ideal weight of your dart will depend on a number of factors, including your throwing style, but most professional and amateur players use darts between 20 grams and 26 grams.
That being said, Ryan "Heavy Metal" Searle famously uses darts weighing 32 grams, which are the heavyweight on the PDC Tour.
"It's just something that I've always felt comfortable with," Searle told PDC Europe when discussing his heavy darts. "I've changed my points three times but I've not quite found what I'm comfortable with. I'm going through a spell where I seem to have a lot of darts falling onto the floor."