Current PDC Challenge Tour topper Joe Hunt hasn’t just come firing out of the blocks this season like some hard-up-for-cash circus worker being shot out of a cannon, hurtling through the air at ridiculous velocity whilst reflecting upon his life choices.
Even as far away from civilisation as that poor bloke probably ended up, Joe somehow landed in a completely different postcode.
Not only is he milking the Challenge Tour with the same ferocity Keith Deller did his famous 138 checkout, he’s also heading off to every single Players Championship this season and cleaning up there too.
That’s what happens when you’re leading the pack on the secondary tour. That said, with so many players not being arsed about trips to Hildesheim or Leicester, it seems anywhere in the top ten earns you a phone call these days.
More on Hunt’s successes later. First, a bit of background. Being a dedicated darts fan and reporter, I already knew quite a bit about Joe. But I imagined he probably knew a little more than me on the subject. I was right.
“I’m still living on the Isle of Wight, but I wasn’t born here. I’ve got a partner and kids but workwise, the tours are keeping me rather busy I decided to leave my day job and focus on my darts.”
Yeah, I knew the Isle of Wight bit. Not to be mistaken for another particular isle whose flag depicts three amputated legs. Weird? Absolutely. Questionable? Without doubt. Somewhere in my imagination are three blokes hopping around in furious circles, demanding to know why losing a limb somehow became the price of appearing on a nice bit of fabric.
Before I even had chance to ask whether those ferry crossings ever become an issue, Joe chipped in with: “And yes, the ferry crossings are always an issue!”
I don’t even need to conduct an interview. Instead, I’ll just sit here and wait for Hunt to read my mind.
You’d have thought that, having mentioned he lives on the Isle of Wight but wasn’t born there, he might have told me where he actually was born. But he didn’t. Truthfully, it doesn’t really matter. If he didn’t mention it, it’s probably because the answer was Leicester or somewhere equally as embarrassing, so I chose not to probe further. Anyway, on with the chit-chat.
I asked him for three words to describe his year to date. Not because I wanted to test his vocabulary, but because I wanted to stop him rattling on for three paragraphs while I desperately tried to keep up with my typing. Much simpler this way.
“Unexpected, rewarding and exciting.”
Good words, Joe. Well chosen my son.
I have to say, as far as Isle of Wight folk go, I only really know Keegan Brown, and to be fair he’s quite a bright spark. Clearly there aren’t too many council estates over there where kids are more likely to burn your car than do their homework.
I noticed Joe had a twelve-year absence from the PDC between 2012 and 2024. Nosily, I asked why.
“That wasn’t really planned. Life took me in a different direction with work and family, and darts naturally took a back seat. I never completely fell out of love with the game though. Eventually I felt the time was right to give it another go, and I wanted to see what I could still achieve.”
Turns out it wasn’t witness protection after all. Joe could have gone full Lord Lucan on us, or pulled a Manic Street Preachers drummer, Richey Edwards and left everybody wondering where the hell he’d disappeared to.
Personally, I prefer to think he’s lying. My theory is that he was abducted by aliens who eventually returned him to Earth after a decade because he’d completely bored the arse off the little green blokes by repeatedly explaining the best checkout routes from 121.
And yes, there is a Premier League on a Thursday night on Mars. And it’s nowhere near as repetitive as the one on Earth.
As mentioned, it’s been a greyhound-chasing-an-electronic-hare sort of start to the season. But just how much of it has actually surprised you?
“It’s definitely exceeded my expectations. I knew I was playing well, but to have the results come as quickly as they have has been a real bonus.”
That’s the darts equivalent of opening the fridge expecting to find half a bottle of milk and discovering somebody’s left you a winning lottery ticket instead. Well… not really. But you get the reference.
Before the current campaign’s successes, Joe picked up a Challenge Tour title last August which, to many, seemed to come completely out of nowhere.
So mate, did it surprise even you, or did everything just suddenly click that weekend?
“It certainly surprised a few people, but I knew my game was heading in the right direction. Everything seemed to click over that weekend, and once I got on a run my confidence just grew with each match.”
Confidence in darts is a strange thing. One minute you’re averaging 72 and wondering whether Crown Green bowls might be more your game. The next you’re averaging mid-90s and eyeing up Luke Humphries like he’s nicked your parking space.
Also in 2025, the Isle of Wightian (probably not the correct term, but I’m having it) enjoyed a few ProTour run-outs. Did the taste of that dinner leave you wanting dessert?
“Getting the call-ups last year definitely gave me a taste for it. Playing against the top players is where you want to test yourself, and it made me even more determined to earn more opportunities.”
That’s the thing. One little taste. It’s like telling yourself you’ll only watch one episode on Netflix before bed and suddenly it’s half past two in the morning and you’re emotionally invested in a Korean crime drama you can’t even pronounce and before you know it, it’s 5am.
Right, Joe… onto this year. It was a brilliant start to the Challenge Tour season with two straight wins. Were you genuinely surprised, or had you put the hard yards in over the winter?
“I prepared well over the winter, so I came in feeling confident. Winning the first two events wasn’t something I expected, but it showed the work I’d put in was paying off.”
Proof – if anyone still needed it – that success generally arrives after months of hard graft rather than shooting stupid videos, acting like a total tool and labelling yourself ‘an influencer‘. More fool those who follow them, I guess.
I continued. Joseph, was the plan to fly out of the traps and basically force the PDC into giving you every ProTour call-up going?
“The aim was always to get off to a good start and put myself in the best possible position for Pro Tour call-ups. The more experience you get at that level, the better.”
It’s almost annoyingly sensible.
Personally, I’d have gone with, “Cause absolute chaos, annoy Mervyn King by scratching my plate with my knife and fork while he was eating, and see how many cans of lager I can get through before the ‘wannabe bouncer’ security lad with the pea-sized head catches me.”
Different approaches, I suppose. Now, I decided to chuck Joe a curveball.
This is something I actually raised in an earlier article. Steve West was dead against the idea, and as a former professional with a Tour Card I fully respected his reasons. However, Mr Hunt gave me a different answer when I posed the following question.
Should Challenge Tour call-ups be allowed into the Euro Tour qualifiers after the ProTour double-header? Especially when some Tour Card holders can’t even be bothered entering?
“I do think Challenge Tour call-ups should be allowed into the Euro Tour qualifiers after the Pro Tour double-headers. If places become available because players don’t enter, it seems fair that those already earning call-ups should have the opportunity.”
It’s difficult to argue with that. Watching byes being thrown into a qualification event because somebody couldn’t be arsed entering is a bit like booking a table at a Michelin-star restaurant, only to decide you’d rather stay at home with a microwave lasagne.
I ploughed on with my next question.
I’m guessing the dream is to earn a Tour Card without having to survive the annual Q School tungsten assault course?
“Definitely!”
Direct. Straight to the point. That one almost felt rhetorical anyway. Nobody enjoys Q School. It’s essentially four days of grown adults slowly descending into emotional ruin while trying to look calm enough to throw straight. Think The Hunger Games, except everybody carries tungsten instead of bows and arrows, and the coffee costs four quid.
I then asked Hunt whether the ProTour’s were daunting, or whether he and the other Challenge Tour lads simply viewed them as one massive free hit.
“I wasn’t really daunted by them. There’s always a bit of excitement, but I think most of the Challenge Tour lads look at it as a chance to prove themselves. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.“
Exactly. Nobody expects the Challenge Tour lads to walk in and start flattening seeds left, right and centre. Which makes it all the more satisfying for them when they do.
It was then I decided to throw a few stats Joe’s way. On the ProTour, you’ve got a 60%-win rate – 33 victories from 55 matches. You’ve only produced two ton-plus averages, which genuinely surprised me. You’ve also hit 119 maximums and, quite frankly, you’ve been comfortably the best Challenge Tour player on that circuit. But, of course, you already knew all that… right?
Cue the amazed facial expression. Nope. Turns out he hadn’t got a clue. He obviously suspected he was playing very well, but he’s clearly not a stats man.
I then moved on to aspirations and his ultimate goal for the season. As it happened, my prediction of his answer was spot on.
“Absolutely. My aim is to qualify for the World Championships. That would make everything worthwhile.”
Yes, Joe. I rather suspect it would. If I dreamt of being whistled and booed by several thousand pissed-up men dressed as bananas, traffic cones and inflatable dinosaurs, it’d probably be my dream too.
I only say that sarcastically because I know full well that, even against the Mongolian bloke who hits the marker instead of the board through sheer nerves, I’d probably still lose.
Finally, to wrap things up, I decided to become a sort of genie for a moment and metaphorically squeeze my arse into a lamp. On that subject, why, in Aladdin, he didn’t simply walk through a door or simply appear in a puff of smoke, I’ll never know.
Or at the very least appear in a dramatic puff of smoke instead of contorting himself into what must have been the mother of all chiropractic appointments. Anyway, I digress.
You have one wish, Joe. Darts-related, of course. I’m not made of Ferraris.
“I’d probably look at having one Challenge Tour event per day rather than doubling up. I’d also be in favour of Challenge Tour call-ups having more opportunities in the Euro Tour qualification system.”
Yeah… I can’t really disagree with that. Vasalined up to within an inch of my dignity, I somehow wriggled my way back into the lamp, ready for the next player to give it a rub and ask another darts-related wish. So, there you have it. Now you know a little more about Joe Hunt.
A man who is yet to choose a nickname, which means I’m officially launching a campaign to find him one. He doesn’t know this yet, but whoever comes up with the best suggestion will receive a signed Isle of Wight tea towel. Those things are worth their weight in gold. Pity they weigh bugger all.
A huge thank you to Joe for giving up his time and keeping his gardener waiting over an hour to get paid.
All the very best for the rest of the season and, in the immortal words of the musical gods that were S Club 7, I hope you “Reach for the stars, climb every mountain higher… Reach for the stars, follow your heart’s desire.”
Lyrical geniuses, those lot.
