This article was originally published in Darts Planet TV’s monthly magazine. Click here to purchase the September 2020 issue.
From Robert Lewandowski to Mariusz Pudzianowski, Poland has unearthed many sporting supremos over the years, and reigning Gibraltar Darts Trophy champion Krzysztof Ratajski is quickly becoming one of those.
Having unsuccessfully appeared over a decade ago at the iconic Lakeside Country Club in Surrey, a number of years were needed for Ratajski to find his feet in the upper ranks of the sport following his prosperous transition from the soft-tip side.
An irresistible season in the Eastern European Qualifiers for the European Tour three years ago saw Ratajski unexpectedly qualify for the European Championship, shortly after lifting the prestigious World Masters in Bridlington.
He has since progressed from strength to strength and mounted a serious charge into the world’s elite, claimed seven ranking titles and trousered almost half-a-million pounds in prize money.
A significant number of budding professional’s careers commence in the corner of their local pub, and Ratajski’s beginnings were no different, though, hours were spent engaging in electronic darts instead of the version of the sport he now plays for a living.
“I started my adventure with darts when they put a dart machine in the pub where I went with friends,” said Ratajski. “We played for up to eight hours. I began to like the game pretty quickly.
“It was 1999, in Poland, and there was actually only an electronic dartboard. There were quite a lot of national tournaments and I played practically everybody.
“I played in the various forms of electronic darts, from English to American. I won the vast majority of them, and thanks to that I participated together with the national team in international tournaments of various federations. There were also many wins in these tournaments, I remember those years very nicely.”
After impressing on the soft-tip scene in the early noughties and reaching three major finals, Ratajskieventually got over the line and secured success at the 2005 European Championship as well as €8,000 in prize money.
The then 28-year-old defeated Mensur Suljovic in the final, and now regularly shares the oche with the Austrian on the world’s biggest stages 15 years on from their soft-tip encounter.
Ratajski added: “At that time, Mensur was considered a sizeable favourite in this tournament as well as in other tournaments that took place during each soft darts championship. Winning against such a respected player was a big surprise and gave me a lot of joy.
“It has always been my dream to compete with the best players in the world. Mensur managed to achieve it quite quickly and I regret that I had to wait so many years. But the most important thing is that now dreams can come true.”
Both Ratajski and Suljovic have mastered the transition from soft-tip to steel-tip and claimed major accolades in a lucrative switch across the border between the two forms of the sport.
Krakow-based Ratajski adapted with relative ease, saying: “It wasn’t particularly difficult for me. At the beginning I even played using the same darts, I only replaced the tips.
“I also started going to steel darts tournaments. At one of the first, I won the Denmark Open – which led me to qualification for the BDO World Championship Qualifiers and then to the main championships themselves.”
Ratajski brushed aside the likes of Nandor Bezzeg, Marko Kantele and Geert De Vos – all of who have qualified for the World Championships in recent years – to reign victorious at the 2008 Denmark Open.
By virtue of his triumphant exploits in the Scandinavian country, Ratajski would travel to England for the first time in his career to compete in the BDO World Championship Qualifiers. The Pole would prevail alongside Dave Chisnall, Daryl Gurney, Ross Smith and Daniel Larsson.
“The Denmark Open was one of the first steel darts tournaments I went to,” Ratajski added. “The win was definitely unexpected the more that I remember it, and the tournament was very well organised and gave me a lot of faith in my own skills.
“This was the biggest successes of my career so far, and thanks to winning in Denmark, I was able to play in the world qualifiers and then in the BDO World Championships themselves.
“At that time, Poland did not even belong to any darts structures in the world – our country was a place without coverage on the darting map.
“Participating in the championships was an amazing experience. I regret that I played below my current level then and lost my match 3-2 in sets. The nervousness on stage was enormous, especially when throwing at doubles.”
After suffering a hard to swallow loss to Dutchman Edwin Max on his World Championship debut, Ratajski would endure an eight-year qualification drought, before walking through the Lakeside doors once again to commence a year that would change his career for the better.
Following victories over both Willem Mandigers and Wesley Harms in Surrey, Ratajski would narrowly lose out at the hands of Darius Labanauskas, before months later the Pole would exceed expectations at the BDO’s second largest tournament.
The likes of Cameron Menzies, Richard Veenstra, Mark McGeeney and three-time world champion Glen Durrant were ousted by an impressive Ratajski- who equaled Phil Taylor, Eric Bristow and Raymond van Barneveld in having lifted the prestigious trophy.
“It was a huge success for me,” expressed Ratajski. “I must admit that I was very happy with the financial rewards and those allowed me to finance my next darts plans.
“It was definitely a great match for me against Glen. When we played this match, he was the current and two-time world champion. In addition, it was his attempt to win the title of the World Masters for the third time in a row – he was the big favourite.
“But I remember that in this match and throughout the whole tournament, I played at a very high level and with great confidence thanks to which I was able to lift the trophy at the end.
“Experience in PDC during the European Tour events certainly allowed me to achieve this success – that same year I won eleven out of twelve qualifications in Eastern Europe.”
Fast forward three months and Ratajski was left with an enormous decision, and would disregard his place in the BDO World Championship as the reigning world master in order to make his debut at the Alexandra Palace.
He said: “Of course I was very happy to play at the biggest darts tournament in the world, but I was not happy with my game. I was very disappointed that I was eliminated after the first round. I am still waiting for a successful performance in the biggest tournament.”
His exploits at the World Masters and at Alexandra Palace meant Ratajski was recognised, firm contender heading into his Qualifying School debut.
Ratajski somewhat surprisingly fell short of the cut, and was beaten by Tytus Kanik in becoming the first Polish player to secure a coveted professional tour card.
Nevertheless, his maiden PDC ranking title would arrive weeks later at the Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan as the Pole would defeat Daryl Gurney in the final, before claiming back-to-back Players Championship accolades later in the season.
“It was a great surprise for me as well as for many other people,” said Ratajski whilst reminiscing on his trailblazing 2018 campaign on the ProTour.
“After all, in 2018, I didn’t even have a professional tour card. Thanks to these good performances and participation in the World Championships, I advanced to the top 64 in the rankings and didn’t have to participate in Q School.
“[Winning back-to-back titles in Barnsley that year] was really important above all for the reason I already mentioned, they significantly helped me get into the top 64 and win my tour card.
“In addition, I was also promoted into the Players Championship top 64 and could therefore participate in the finals of this competition. They also gave me faith in myself and my potential as a professional.”
Three ranking titles and a number of appearances in the sport’s biggest tournaments would lead to ‘The Polish Eagle’ breaking into the world’s top 64, and therefore securing a two-year tour card without needing to attend the gruelling, intense Q School.
Since sealing Barry Hearn’s golden ticket, Ratajskihas always had a fellow Polish countryman alongside him on the professional circuit, with Tytus Kanik and now Krzysztof Kciuk also emerging from Land of Fields.
”I’m very happy that someone from Poland has a tour card beside me, but at the same time, I would like to see as many people as possible,” Ratajskiproclaimed.
“Travelling is much shorter when you can speak to someone. It’s the same when you can talk to someone in the hotel after the tournament or go to eat at a restaurant. There is also the financial aspect, hotel and taxi costs are half as much.”
Ratajski made his World Cup of Darts debut by the side of his good friend Kciuk, and the former BDO World Championship qualifier was in attendance once again when his country’s greatest player reigned triumphant in Gibraltar.
Kciuk would celebrate in the crowd alongside a small group of friends who travelled across from Poland, following the storming success of Ratajskiat the Gibraltar Darts Trophy as he saw off Dave Chisnall in the final.
“I remember this tournament very well because of winning,” smiled Ratajski. “Finally I was able to play a great tournament on the big stage. I hope that this tournament will also start good performances on the biggest darts stages.
”Such a win adds confidence and so it was in this case. Unfortunately, despite a very good game and an average of 105 in one the next tournaments played on the stage that took place, I lost my first match.“
In spite of winning six ranking titles in such a short period of time, Ratajski felt that he could reach that next level in terms of performance and his manufacturing sponsors, Bull’s Darts, developed a new dart to satisfy his demands.
After enduring a difficult first weekend with his updated equipment, Ratajski would secure his seventh title, fending off a comeback from Ian White at Players Championship Four in February of this year.
“It’s definitely not easy after a full day of playing but I am the type of player who, as he sees the finish line, concentrates even more and forces more effort,” he said.
“The new darts work great and I’m convinced that they can definitely help me to improve. First of all, they are a bit heavier – which gives me a more reliable throw.
“Until now, I often switched across sections due to the fact that I was afraid of bounce outs from those already thrown. Now I throw more 180s often instead of 177s or 174s.”
Often the slightest of amendments, whether that be equipment or approach, can have the most significant of benefits.
His run to the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay provided further evidence of Ratajski’s desire to succeed in the televised tournaments. Can the Pole secure that elusive major accolade in the professional game?
“Yes of course. If I didn’t believe that I could successfully compete with the best players, it would be hard for me to achieve anything,” he expressed.
“I have a professional tour card for the second year and seven titles to my name, so far only in ProTour events, but why can’t I win a title on major title on the big stage? I believe that I will experience this also.”
It could arrive at the World Championship when the final is often contested on New Year’s Day – the same day that sees Ratajski celebrate his birthday.
“I got a great birthday present just over six years ago when my younger son was born. Winning the World Championships would also be a reason for great joy,” he laughed.
“I have dreamed about it many times whilst watching the broadcast of the final on my birthday, and I‘m still waiting for this dream to come true.”
