Click here to follow Ben Hudd (@benonsport) on Twitter.
Alex Spellman and the legendary John Part happened to be sitting at the same table during the inaugural season of the North American tour. “I’d rather play good and lose than play bad and win,” Spellman expressed. “That means you’ll never be anybody,” countered the three-time world champion.
Spellman’s approach has never changed since that conversation eight years ago but his nurtured performance levels certainly have. Having often travelled lengthy journeys with little to no success, Spellman has blossomed into one of America’s finest talents courtesy of his perseverance and meticulous nature.
His elusive CDC Continental Cup success back in October capped off an arduous road into the upper echelons of North American darts. Spellman had reached successive finals on the CDC circuit and finished fifth in their rankings, although his New York triumph affirmed his status as one of his country’s most auspicious players.
“I had not played much in the direct days and weeks leading into the event so I was a bit anxious about where my game was,” Spellman expressed. “On the day of, I also woke up feeling very low energy, like I could fall asleep just standing up if I wanted to. That added to that anxiousness. You can actually see that in some of the pre-match interviews pretty clearly.
“But I had such a long year full of great experiences and pulling out matches even when I wasn’t my best, so I still had confidence heading into the event. I was able to pull through the first match, and allowed myself a quick nap after lunch to try and regain some energy. It didn’t help immediately in my second match against [Stowe] Buntz, but against David Cameron I finally started to feel better and more energetic.
“I started that match off really well, but it was when I stuck the 316 in six darts to steal a leg where he was at 81 after nine on his throw that made me gain the confidence that I could win the event. I was perhaps a tad too comfortable heading into the final against Boehm though and I came out flat.”
Spellman added: “Doug was the best player all day, but even down 5-2 heading into the break I still felt like my darts were too good to not have a shot at a comeback – I had just been unlucky they weren’t falling for me up to that point. I kept telling myself I can still give him two games to keep my confidence up. I would unfortunately lose two of the next three legs after the break to go down 3-7 and a leg away from defeat.
“I had generally already accepted my fate but I just tried to apply as much pressure as I could. From this point, my darts finally started landing for me and enough wayward darts from Doug allowed me to make a good run.
“I survived three match darts in leg twelve and it was from then that I believed I was going to win the match. With my confidence and throw feeling great, I was able to toss in legs of 13 and 14 to tie it up and, with throw in the final leg, I was able to finish off the comeback.
“With how I played on the tour all year, I wouldn’t say it was a surprise that I won. But heading into the day, I didn’t see any scenario where that was actually going to happen and it almost still doesn’t really feel real.
“What it did though was prove to myself not only could I win on the US’s biggest stage, but that I had learned how to win those events even when I wasn’t at 100 percent and that will pay dividends heading into future events. One of those events being the US Masters in June which I can’t wait for!”
Spellman has been a stalwart of the CDC system since its inaugural season eight years ago and during that evolutionary stretch, his transformation has been exceptional. He’s evolved from a novice who needed to qualify for each event to someone who’s habitually in the latter rounds and measured up against America’s most prominent.
Categorically, the North Carolina thrower hangs the coronavirus pandemic responsible for his remarkable rise and upsurge in capabilities, citing the enforced, prolonged periods spent at home without any real commitments as his window of opportunity to focus on the mechanics of his throw.
“Without all the lockdowns and being stuck in a room with nothing else to do but play darts, I don’t know that I would be where I am,” Spellman explained. “I have played at this level very sporadically for the last ten years, but I was relying on natural talent mostly and so I would follow up a 95 [average] with a 65. I just had no consistency.
“Being stuck at home I was able to learn how to practice proper, focusing mostly on my throw – learning how to break it up into components. What was my shoulder doing? My elbow? My wrist? Even now I am still always trying to find how to do something better.
“The boost in averages came from me learning how to play well in every leg, not just every other one. I think learning to manage my anxiety while playing has been huge as well. I’m never nervous about who I’m playing but I put expectations on myself that are probably a bit unfair.
“I don’t drink or do anything that can help combat that, so I’ve just had to learn to try and suppress all of that on my own. Most of the time I can but other times not so much. But the work I put into the consistency of my form is usually enough to get me through it. Even with where I finished, I believe without a doubt I can take it even higher.”
His steady 91.77 seasonal average was superior to anyone else on the North American tour. He recorded seven ton-plus averages last year alone, including a sumptuous 107.36 which became his personal best on the circuit, and played a role in countless top-drawer matches.
Spellman is now reaping the rewards following his previous investments into the prosperous CDC system. “I don’t really remember too much about the early days to be honest. I remember the commitment I made to the tour more than the play itself,” he recollected.
“It was not cheap, and I was often driving eight to ten hours after having just worked twelve hours just to make the event. I wanted to build the experience and gauge where I was at, so I wasn’t going to these expecting to win – just compete.
“I had some good wins against big name players and that always kept me engaged and hungry to come back when I would follow those matches with a complete dud of a performance. But I invested in the tour so it could help me grow and be there for me when I learned how to play the game the way I knew I could, and that has all come to fruition many years later.”
Now, Spellman embarks on the latest juncture in his darting endeavours as he sets sights on securing his professional tour card at PDC European Qualifying School. Hundreds of amateur hopefuls have the same intentions heading into the gruelling, intense seven-day slog.
Accompanied by fellow Americans Larry Butler, Jim Widmayer and Seth Steffano during his initial taste of overseas darts, the former CDC Shootout champion will accept his fate whatever the outcome and become devoted to the professional darts’ secondary tour should his Q School exploits unravel unsuccessfully.
“I think he could challenge for a tour card this year but beyond that I’m not going to place any expectations on a player who is really just coming into his own,” CDC chief executive Peter Citera commented. “He’s undeniably talented and his personality could really be a strength on tour.”
Spellman, meanwhile, was equally as level-headed ahead of his trip across the pond to Wunderland Kalkar in Germany. “I see this as an all around win, no matter the result,” he expressed. “It will be my first international play, so that is going to be great for building experience and comfortability.
“If I get my tour card then I get to play on tour and see where I stand against the world’s best. If I don’t then I will be dedicated to the Challenge Tour to continue building experience, I will still have the CDC to play in, and I may be able to find my way into the Modus [Super Series] or similar.
“I will probably have some anxiety going into the First Stage as I haven’t truly played a competitive game since the Continental Cup so, similar to that event, I don’t know exactly where my game is. But I know the level I can play at and I know that I’ll be giving it my all. I think once I settle in, I will have a very good shot. But if not this year then I’ll be back.”
Spellman is an appreciative employee of Epic Games away from the oche, who are an interactive entertainment company and provider of 3D engine technology, based in his home state of North Carolina. They operate one of the world’s largest video games in Fornite and provide a bumper salary.
Nevertheless, the reigning Washington Area Open champion, whose role involves working in information technology as a generalist, doesn’t foresee his lucrative day job combined with a potential professional darts career becoming a particularly troublesome scenario to juggle.
“I don’t think so at all. Perhaps I could become an even greater player if I dedicated my eight hours a day to that instead, but until I’m winning consistently the game won’t replace the generous pay and benefits I get from Epic,” an honest Spellman said.
“I have been working remotely ever since the first Covid lockdowns, so I can easily take my work with me and often times it may benefit the team since I will be in European time zones where I can provide some assistance to our offices here that I might not have been able to otherwise.
“I will actually being doing some work while I’m in Germany during some downtime. But I can’t say I haven’t thought about what a true dedication to darts could look like for my family and my quality of play.
“I have put up some monster numbers doing what I currently do. I wonder if I could grow that even more without the distraction of a day job? I’m not sure. I don’t plan on leaving Epic any time soon but I will let everything develop naturally and see where it goes.”
The glitz and glamour of the World Darts Championship at the iconic Alexandra Palace is the ultimate goal for Spellman. His Qualifying School preparation was spent watching the happenings unfold from the sport’s showpiece staging, including the respective victories for two countrymen in Danny Baggish and Leonard Gates.
“When you have nearly no experience playing international players, my only experience being Danny Jansen in Florida last August, it’s hard to gauge where you might lie competitively against them,” Spellman added. “I beat Danny 6-0 but he also didn’t play his best so it wasn’t a great measuring stick.
“When you see two guys that you play regularly [in Danny and Leonard] and have played well and had some success against do so well on the international stage, it definitely inspires you and builds that confidence that you can do it too.
“Though to be honest, I draw more motivation and inspiration from some of the negativity towards American darters, like the comments MVG made about his match with Jules [Van Dongen] at the US Masters. It motivates me to show them just how good we can actually be.”
Michael van Gerwen’s comments were deemed derogatory during his post-match interview in New York. “He doesn’t have 20 percent of the talent I’ve got,” the former world number one proclaimed. “With all due respect to him, that’s the facts.”
Van Dongen was amongst eight North American challengers who were pitted against the world’s elite as well as global sensation Fallon Sherrock in the Big Apple, with Spellman’s aforementioned Continental Cup triumph awarding him a New York bow this June in front of a boisterous American audience.
“I can’t wait. I don’t know what to expect so I don’t actually have too many thoughts on it – I’m just generally excited. I know the level of play I can bring to the table,” Spellman said as he envisaged gracing the famous Madison Square Garden stage.
“I’m hoping the next few months of experience, whether it‘s in the PDC or the Challenge Tour, will bring added comfortability and confidence to quell any anxiety I may have heading into it. I won’t be there to ‘take it all in, just have fun and be happy to be there’. I will be there to win because I know that I can.”
Spellman’s anticipated US Darts Masters debut will evoke excitement and eagerness. He could encounter reigning world champion and New York’s defending champion in Michael Smith after all. Nonetheless, Spellman will continue weaving his magic and who knows what he could conjure up between now and then.
