As towns go, before Jack Tweddell started peppering trebles for fun, Swindon wasn’t exactly bursting with reasons to appear on Britain’s tourist bucket list.

Alright, it gave the world Billie Piper, but let’s be honest, she’s no Taylor Swift. Besides, the chances of the world’s biggest pop star abandoning sold-out stadium tours to accompany Doctor Who on the TARDIS are somewhere between slim and absolutely none. Even the Daleks would probably ask for a refund.

Just down the road, of course, sits Stonehenge. Every year, thousands of people travel from across the globe to stare in amazement at several exceptionally large rocks arranged in what can only be described as Britain’s oldest game of garden landscaping. If standing in a field with a collection of slightly unusual druids, crystal enthusiasts and barefoot hippies is your idea of a cracking weekend, you’ll feel right at home.

So, in many ways, Jack Tweddell has become something of a Swindon godsend. Naturally, I wanted to find out more. And where better to begin than family life – the foundation of almost every darts player. Well… some of them, anyway.

“I’ve been with my partner Ellen for thirteen years now and we have two daughters. Workwise, I’m a Data Analyst for Amazon.”

If you’ve ever wondered why your parcel occasionally arrives looking as though it’s spent a fortnight in a rugby scrum before being sat on by a particularly enthusiastic sumo wrestler, don’t blame Jack. He merely analyses the data. He’s not the bloke repeatedly launching your air fryer over the neighbour’s fence.

Right, enough Amazon chat before Jeff Bezos starts suing me. Let’s get onto the important stuff – darts.

Undoubtedly, Tweddell’s biggest career moment arrived last Christmas at the MODUS Live Lounge, where he claimed the ADC Global Championship and banked a rather handy £60,000. I was curious to know when he first believed he could actually go the distance.

“From Stage Two onwards it felt completely different. I won my first four games 4-0. I hadn’t really practised leading up to Stage One because I just wasn’t feeling great, both mentally and physically. I’ve had a few ongoing health issues.

“I almost forced myself to get on the board. The mindset was simply to turn up, average a ton every game and just get the job done. Those first four matches were all mid to high averages.

We’ll come back to those health issues later, because there is, believe it or not, a time and a place to stop taking the piss for five minutes.

Sticking with the ADC Global triumph, I asked Jack if he believes the organisation has now firmly established itself as the second force in world darts behind the PDC. He does:

“Yes for sure. But for me, I wouldn’t necessarily put my title above Lakeside, I see them on the same level. People had to choose between qualifying for one or the other because they couldn’t play both. There’s so much quality in both. Jeff Smith came to the Globals and didn’t even reach Stage Two, which shows how strong the standard was.”

“But I’d agree that the ADC is now second only to the PDC. The WDF gave everyone a starting point, but the ADC has done so much for the game by making it far more accessible.”

“I looked at trying to qualify for Lakeside last year, but I didn’t really understand how the qualifying system worked. There was an event in Weston-Super-Mare and even if you won it, it wasn’t classed as a Gold event so wouldn’t have gotten me in.

“When competitions run on the same weekends, it’s difficult. The ADC is simply more accessible for everyone through the Vaults and the MODUS pathways.”

Once you start planting major tournaments halfway across the planet, asking amateur players to re-mortgage the house, empty the kids’ piggy banks and take out the sort of Payday loan normally reserved for financial emergencies, accessibility doesn’t merely disappear. It straps itself to a rocket and heads for Mars. Which, judging by some of the travel itineraries, is only a stopover on the way to certain WDF events.

The ADC, by comparison, feels refreshingly grounded. There might not be a Vault event or Winmau Championship venue at the end of your road, but at least attending one doesn’t require a passport or visa, three connecting flights, two overnight hotels and a conversation with your bank manager that ends with everyone looking slightly uncomfortable.

Many moons ago, Tweddell was regarded as one of England’s brightest young prospects. Then life, as it has a habit of doing, rudely barged in without knocking. Health issues interrupted what looked destined to become a hugely promising career.

Being the naturally nosey journalist that I am, I asked exactly what had happened. Thankfully, instead of hanging up, Jack told me.

“Around five years ago I started suffering mini strokes – or more a medical term, Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA).”

I wasn’t entirely sure what a Transient Ischemic Attack actually was. I did, however, know enough to realise that anything with the word attack in its official title probably isn’t accompanied by desire and a certificate of participation.

“They weren’t epileptic episodes, but I had instances where I would pass out. I’m still under the care of a neurologist and have had medication changes. It’s been a bit of a grind.” continued Jack.

“I can’t drive, which makes a huge difference. If I could, with the opportunities available through the ADC, I’d be playing Vaults all the time. Unfortunately, without transport and with no venues in close proximity, it restricts the number of those events I can compete in.”

Subsequently, and under medical advice, the Swindonian – which still sounds suspiciously like the name of a Welsh mountain rather than someone from Wiltshire – doesn’t drink alcohol.

That immediately places him in an extremely exclusive club at most darts events. He’s the ideal person to include in your round because orange squash tends to be cheaper than lager. Mind you, if you’re hoping for a lift home afterwards, you’ll need a contingency plan. That’s where his usefulness rather falls flat on its arse.

Ultimately, though, Jack has his sights fixed firmly on darts’ promised land: a PDC Tour Card.

“Everyone says it gives you less options, but I don’t completely agree. It gives you the chance to play on the Euro Tour which is something that really appeals.”

You say that now, mate. Wait until you’ve got three thousand enthusiastic Germans whistling in perfect harmony while you’re trying to pin tops. It’ll either become the greatest experience of your life or the quickest route to discovering new swear words in a different language.

“Because I’m English and there are no Euro Tour events staged in the UK or Ireland, there aren’t any home nation qualifiers for me. I understand the reasoning from the players’ perspective, but I wish I could play in them because darts fans here want to see those events. The PDPA does a great job with the World Championship qualifiers though. That’s a genuine level playing field.”

That’s another bone entirely to chew on. A juicy one too. But we’ll leave it in the kennel for now. Instead, let’s get back to Jack, and break things up with a lovely picture of the lad holding his biggest prize. Smile!

After spending several years warming the substitutes’ bench through no fault of his own, Tweddell eventually returned to doing what he quite clearly does best – throwing pointy objects at a sisal fibre board with alarming accuracy.

Ironically, the catalyst for that comeback came courtesy of his partner, Ellen, who also inadvertently demonstrated exactly where not to shop for darting equipment. Bless her.

Mr Tweddell takes up the story.

“I actually started throwing again around 2023. At the time, I was on crutches going through rehabilitation and was getting frustrated with the physio.

My partner Ellen noticed that. So unbeknown to me, she went to Argos, bought a board with all the extras and put it up in the kitchen. She basically said, “Even on crutches you can still do this.”

“I started throwing at home, then played a few online competitions. I was playing well and winning a few games. Then Ellen said there was a Vault the following week in Royal Wootton Bassett. So I went along.

“There were only fourteen players there, including Johnny Haines and a few other local lads. I didn’t even realise who was playing until I arrived and thought, “What are you doing here?“

“Then first night back, I won it. I beat Johnny in the final and played pretty well.”

Who would’ve thought it? A genuinely heart-warming tungsten tale that began with a dartboard purchased from a shop best known for selling inflatable hot tubs in December, novelty lava lamps and emergency Christmas presents for relatives you’ve completely forgotten about until the send you a card.

Argos is many things. A wonderful place for bargain kettles, questionable garden furniture and watches that mysteriously stop working the week after the warranty expires. For darts equipment? Let’s just say Luke Littler probably isn’t popping in for a new board anytime soon. Face on the box or not.

Fast forward to this year and, thanks to a steady stream of PDC Tour Card holders deciding they’d quite like to preserve both their life expectancy and the whereabouts of their suitcase, many have opted to skip Players Championship events – with Hildesheim seemingly topping the list of places they’d rather avoid. That has opened the door for the leading names on the Challenge Tour.

Jack has been one of the biggest beneficiaries. He’s only missed three events all season and made an immediate impression in Germany at the season curtain-raiser:

“Yes. I made the quarter-finals. Good start alright. The first couple of weekends were good, then I became unwell, came back and played terribly.”

It’s all relative, though. What Jack describes as terrible would have some of the lads in my local pub sprinting around in nothing but their boxer shorts whilst doing shots off their mate’s arse. Perspective is a wonderful thing.

Onto current affairs. After topping MODUS Super Series Group A, Tweddell returns to Portsmouth on Saturday for Finals Night, revisiting a venue that already evokes fond memories after lifting the ADC Global Championship there. He may already boast one Live Lounge triumph on his darting resume. However, as of yet, the Super Series continues to remain frustratingly out of reach. If you’re reading this on Sunday and Jack’s won, ignore most the paragraph.

 “Still trying! This is my fifth appearance in the MSS and I’ve reached Finals Night on four of them. Yet to win though”

“My first time there was in October 2024. Standard wise, some line-ups are much stronger than others. For example, this week, I was told I had the fourth-highest running average for Group A in MSS history at 96.02 – and still only just won the group.”

That’s not a bad statistic when the only names sitting above you belong to Luke Littler… Luke Littler again… and the recently crowned Mr Invincible himself, Derek Coulson. Frankly, if you’re only losing statistical arguments to that pair, life probably isn’t going too badly.

At this moment, it increasingly feels less like a question of if Jack Tweddell earns a PDC Tour Card and more a question of when.

Managed by Luke Bodily and proudly represented by Mission Darts, Jack has an excellent support network around him. Not forgetting Ellen, of course, who almost certainly holds an Argos discount card.

Yes, there are days when Jack still relies on crutches. No, he’s probably not going to be leading a drunken rendition of Wonderwall in a karaoke bar at two o’clock in the morning after a tournament.

But here’s the thing. To become an outstanding darts player, you don’t need to breakdance, complete marathons or possess the vocal range of Adele. Those might make for entertaining television, but they don’t win leg after leg on the oche. Throwing exceptional darts does. Tweddell does exactly that.

Jack is very good at darts. Be like Jack.