CRABTREE OPENS UP ON FAIRYTALE JOURNEY TO GRAND SLAM DEBUT

CAMERON CRABTREE has revealed the heartwarming moment his dad was brought to tears after he secured his dream PDC Tour Card.

The 22-year-old won a Tour Card for the first time at PDC Qualifying School after finishing sixth on the UK Q-School Order of Merit in January.

World No. 78 Crabtree has continued to shine making the semi-final of Players Championship 22 and reaching a further two quarter-finals on the floor circuit.

Crabtree says it was an emotional milestone for the whole family to secure his future on the ProTour.

He told the Weekly Dartscast: “When I came off, my dad got emotional and nearly made me cry. It was a bit weird, because he doesn’t really get emotional.

“I wasn’t expecting that! I still wanted to try and win the tournament.

“I thought that if you can win a day at Q-School, that’s quite an impressive achievement. But my adrenaline was cranked on and I was quite excited.

“I couldn’t hit anything in the next game, so that was the end of that. I didn’t really care. I wanted to win the tournament, but I was quite happy to go home and celebrate.”

‘Shazam’ has continued to shine after dominating the Development Tour this year by picking up FIVE titles and topping the Order of Merit.

Croydon thrower Crabtee will be making his debut at the Grand Slam as a result and will be joined in Group H by four-times major winner Jonny Clayton, former UK Open champ Danny Noppert and German ace Lukas Wenig.

Crabtree admits the occasion still feels surreal as he prepares to compete at the major in Wolverhampton.

He said to Darts Corner: “It’s kind of surreal and nice to stop and think about.

“It just shows that anyone, if you put hard work in and are dedicated, you can achieve close to anything you want.

“It’s exciting but equally I have a job to do so I try and stay quite focused.

“I still want to go there and win, I don’t just want to be there.”