Justin Hood has been the shock package deal of this yr’s World Darts Championship.
Justin Hood gambled his life financial savings on turning into knowledgeable participant (Picture: Getty)
Justin Hood stop his job as a resort porter and spent his life financial savings to chase his dream of turning into knowledgeable darts participant. The person from Glastonbury was the shock package deal of this yr’s World Darts Championship, reaching the quarter-finals in opposition to the chances. He beat the likes of Danny Noppert, Ryan Meikle and Josh Rock earlier than finally falling by the hands of Gary Anderson.
Hood earned £100,000 for reaching the final eight at Alexandra Palace, permitting him to attain his objective of opening a Chinese language restaurant. Nevertheless, it might have been so very completely different if he hadn’t gambled his life financial savings on turning into knowledgeable participant. Talking final month, the 32-year-old revealed that he walked away from his day job to play at Q-Faculty two years in the past.
“I first labored in a warehouse on night time shifts,” defined Hood, who’s among the many smallest gamers on tour at simply 5 ft and 4 inches tall.
“I did that for 10 years after which me and my missus, we moved right into a resort and we have been the night time porters there. So I’d do 4 days, she did three days. We’d stayed above it. I jacked that in, in the midst of November 2024, for Q-Faculty.
“I took the gamble, spent all our financial savings on a resort down Milton Keynes for eight weeks and it paid off. It wasn’t one of the best expertise within the most cost-effective resort I might discover, however I mentioned, we’ve received to take the gamble. I put all my time into it and it has paid off.”
Hood, who typically celebrates by wagging his tongue on the digital camera and lifting his shirt to disclose his stomach, additionally has an uncommon nickname.
He is called Completely happy Toes, after the penguin movie character, as a result of he as soon as wanted to borrow outsized footwear for a county recreation when he was an adolescent.
The person from Glastonbury was the breakout star of the World Darts Championship (Picture: Getty)
“At county, you’ve received to put on black trousers and black footwear,” defined Hood, who’s now primarily based in Weston-super-Mare.
“I went up there with trainers on, and wasn’t allowed to put on them. I’ve received dimension 9 ft. I needed to borrow my mate’s dimension 13. Went on stage, toed the oche, and it seemed like flippers.
“They only bent again. Ever since then it was Completely happy Toes and it’s simply caught, after the movie with the penguins.”
Hood is now trying ahead to opening his very personal Chinese language restaurant however has admitted that his love of the meals might put him out of enterprise inside per week.
Talking earlier than his victory over Rock, he mentioned: “I haven’t seemed into it (the funds) correctly but. We may be out of enterprise in per week, the quantity of meals I eat.
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“I wished to remain in London over Christmas as a result of the Chinese language round listed below are top-notch. I like consuming it on a regular basis.”
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