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After abruptly lifting the eminent North American Darts Championship in July, Danny Baggish hosted a four-stop tour celebrating his success – which led to him securing a William Hill World Darts Championship debut at Alexandra Palace.
Hundreds of spectators and players flocked inside various venues across the state of Florida in order to meet their champion in the flesh, alongside the prestigious trophy.
Guam-born Baggish held his nerve in a closely contested final against defending champion Jeff Smith, having previously seen off Elliott Milk and Leonard Gates during an impressive run.
“It felt amazing,” said Baggish. “It has obviously sunk in at this point and the love and support I have received after winning such a prestigious event means the world to me. It’s a feeling I will never forget.”
The Florida-based ace was one of only eight shooters – as they say across the pond – to come through the gruelling, intense qualification event.
“I have never played in an event like that, so for the first two qualifiers I didn’t really know how or what to prepare myself for,” Baggish added. “I played well but I got tired. I paced myself well in the third qualifier and was lucky enough to come through a tough field.”
Before taking to the Sin City stage in a triumphant North American Darts Championship campaign, Baggish unfortunately endured a brief stay in the US Darts Masters – where he lost out to the major champion, Daryl Gurney.
“Nobody likes to lose,” he stated. “I understand the mountain I had to climb while playing such an incredible player like Gurney.
“Nothing is impossible and I went in knowing that. I felt that I scored well and played good. I had a couple of missed darts, and it could have been different had I not had those misses.
“Daryl didn’t make it easy and it just wasn’t my day. I was happy with my performance, but of course I always want to win.”
His success in Las Vegas led to a phone call from Target, and soon enough, Baggish was added to their ever-growing USA team.
“They have been wonderful,” he said. “We all know how huge Target is and for me to be part of such a great team is and honour. It’s actually mind blowing to me.
“Garry [Plummer] and Target have treated me well and I look forward to making them proud. I plan to continue to remind them why they chose to sponsor me, with my performance on the board.”
It was a lengthy but victorious journey across the states for Baggish, and one which brought great prosperity. However, he alluded to his BDO-ranked Cherry Bomb International triumph as being the catalyst to his Las Vegas jubilation.
“It helped massively,” Baggish stated. “I had been playing very well over the previous few months. The Cherry Bomb had a lot of high-quality players there and I hoped the challenge would allow me to see how my game would stand up. I was happy to see my game stood up very well.”
Since then, the 36-year-old has made his Championship Darts Circuit debut, in which he lifted one title during a weekend double-header in Philadelphia.
After being denied in Event Nine by Danny Lauby, despite averaging 112.2 in whitewashing former world champion John Part a round prior, Baggish was triumphant on the following day.
He defeated players in the calibre of Dave Richardson, Chuck Puleo and Joe Huffman during a blistering display, riddled with persistent consistency as he recorded a tournament average of 95.14.
Baggish added: “Philly went great! A few 100-plus averages and the darts were flying fantastic. “I did the same thing as I did in Vegas with the qualifiers. I got tired in the first one and didn’t perform as well as I should have. I then had a good nights sleep, regrouped and was fortunate enough to win Sunday’s event.”
London – the Alexandra Palace specifically – is the next step on the journey to stardom for the American as he takes to the World Darts Championship stage.
“These are what dreams are made of,” Baggish expressed. “I have dreamed about that moment forever. And [winning through in Las Vegas] was the first sign that my dream was starting to come true. I’m going to enjoy the moment but I’m not going there to settle. I’m ready to compete!”
He says his preparation will remain the same: one to two hours on the practice board each day in the run-up to his major debut.
A plane journey across the Atlantic between London and Florida is one many tourists make annually, though, those tourists almost certainly will not end up with a hefty cheque embedded in their pocket come the conclusion of their trip.
Having never visited the European continent, Baggish and his family will be fabricating a time to remember out of their stay during the festive period, however, his attention remains solely on the major tournament in hand.
“I have never visited Europe at all,” he said. “In December, we will be making a vacation out of our trip, so we’ll have to see how much time we have for some sightseeing.
“My concentration is on the World Championships, though, I don’t want to lose focus.”
Baggish will become the twentieth darter of American descent to participate in a PDC World Championship. Darin Young, who will also be heading to North London this December, was one of many countrymen to offer their advice to the Floridian ahead of the biggest tournament of his career.
“They have been kind enough to pull me aside and give me advice and pointers,” said Baggish – who will face Andy Boulton in the first round at Alexandra Palace.
“Darin Young, Larry Butler, Dave Cameron, Jim Long and John Part have all spoken with me. There have been many, and I’m probably forgetting to mention some.
“It’s awesome to know that I have their support and that they will be cheering me on.”
Whatever the outcome at the World Darts Championship, whether he defeats Boulton or not, Baggish will head to Wigan in January in order to pursue his chances of winning a coveted PDC tour card.
He has been competing in – and winning – events in North America for over seven years, so what makes now the time to shine for Baggish?
“Like everyone else, I have a past, he stated. “Unfortunately, I suffered a few struggles in my personal life that made it difficult to focus on my darts interests.
“Fortunately, things have been looking up for me over the past three-four years. I’m now able to spend more time playing and practising, and subsequently, I have been playing very well because of it.
“My happy personal life makes life in general much easier and my struggles much less. Now is the time because I am finally able to concentrate and maintain a focus on my darts and have fun, despite the hard work involved. I’m ready!”
