Ex-world champion darts player expected to come out of retirement – 'I'm pretty certain'

Matt Edgar has backed Steve Beaton to make a remarkable comeback to thePDC this year, despite the veteran surrendering his Tour Card in 2024. The 61-year-olddartslegend, who holds the record for 33 World Darts Championship appearances, brought the curtain down on his three-decade-plus stint on the main tourat the end of last year.

Beaton currently competes on the MODUS Super Series alongside the seniors circuit. However, Edgar, 38, has publicly tipped a return to darts' elite level during an appearance on theLove The Darts podcastlast month with Sky Sports presenters Emma Paton and Abigail Davies.

While the 1996 BDO world champion willingly surrendered his PDC Tour card, Edgar believes the additional investment flooding into the sport, combined with the expanded Paddy Power World Darts Championship format coming to Alexandra Palace later this year, will prove irresistible for the Coventry ace.

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"With the increased ranking money next year, if you're going to have a bad year and miss the big events, you can get away with it this year because you can make it back up again in the previous year and the following year when you're not defending anything, you've got this heightened prize money, you can make the jump quite significantly," Edgar explained.

"Those sorts of players that are looking that they be missing out on some of the big events or they could be going down the rankings like Michael Smith and Dimitri Van den Bergh, this is the year to have a slip because you can get away with it this year to the point where it's not going to ruin you for the four-five year plan.

"How many people out there has this really inspired and encouraged because it's two big announcements. We've given you access and opportunity not just in the World Championships but the World Masters now.

"You're guaranteed the UK Open so realistically you think, 'Well, if I just have an okay season I should be in three potentially big events.'", reports the Express. "That's great for your sponsorships and the prize money going up, this is right now a very good position for any darts player."

Davies then expressed her hopeful thinking that Beaton would be amongst those players motivated, to which Edgar boldly declared: "I think he does, I'm calling it now. I think Steve Beaton's at Q School this year. I am pretty certain of it."

Q School is a qualifying tournament for players who compete against each other to earn a PDC Tour Card, which allows them to play on the professional circuit. Despite Edgar's prediction, it was only last month that Beaton revealed it was simply time for him to step back from such a demanding darts schedule.

"You've got to move on. I'm 61 now," he shared with Online Darts regarding his choice to retire from the PDC. "I can't keep playing darts all the time. I do watch them and I feel for them you know, they're on the clock all the time. It's great when you're younger. But once you get older it's harder."