Compared to some of the other competitors, Bhav Patel is a relative newcomer to the world of darts, having only picked up the sport in the past few years.

While he took to the stage for the World Championships, by day he works in west London as a pharmacist – something that takes up most of his time.

But he got the chance of a lifetime with the World Darts Championships. Initially losing the Indian qualifying final to Prakash Jiwa, Bhav was drafted in when Prakash was disqualified from the WDC and later suspended from playing.

Speaking ahead of the series launch, Bhav talks about his career so far, his feelings at taking on the World Championships, and pursuing his passions while also balancing a normal 9 to 5.

What is it about the PDC World Championship at the Alexandra Palace that makes it so special?

It’s the biggest darts competition you can play in. There are thousands and thousands of players that would love to be on that stage, so to have had the privilege of being there was literally the best thing in the world.

It was a bit surreal. I found out two days before the draw was announced that I was playing so it was a whirlwind month.

It's taken a long time to fully appreciate what I accomplished. In terms of a specific memory though, it was being announced on stage by John McDonald. I've grown up watching PDC darts and heard John announce great player after great player, and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think it would happen to me.

In the Players’ Lounge, there's a board that lists every single person that's ever played at a PDC World Championship and to know that my name is going to be on that, and no one can ever take that away from me, is amazing.

I was like a kid in a candy shop! I’d watched games played there for years and to stand in the empty arena and have the realisation that, in just a few hours, I'd be on that stage in an absolutely packed room was a real goosebump moment.

This isn’t a dream, it’s actually happening. To have experienced it, I now have a drive to get back there, it’s like a drug.

You run five pharmacies away from the oche, what made you take the step to follow your dream of playing darts in a major tournament?

It was due to lockdown. With the job I do I worked every single day during that stressful time, so getting home and going in the loft and throwing darts at a dartboard was my release and an escape from reality. Over a few months I realised I could play a little and so once lockdown was over, I joined some local leagues and did quite well.

Through that I met a few other players of similar heritage to me, and they told me about the qualifiers for the PDC championships out in India and I thought I’d give it a go. So, from playing at home to being on the Ally Pally stage was only about 18 months!

As much as I appreciate running my own business, if you are given the chance to play the game you love and earn a living from it, then you’re going to do your best to make it work.

They are very different. In my job, my brain is always in overdrive, but in darts the best players aren’t over-thinking things and are instead really in the moment – almost on autopilot.

So, over the last few months, I've been working on the mental side of things and training myself to turn my brain off - and it really works. So not thinking is literally the opposite of what I do at work!

In the documentary, Michael Van Gerwen mentions missing kid’s birthdays and family events to be the best – what sacrifices have you had to make to get where you are?

What people don't see is the huge amount of practice that goes on in working men's clubs and pubs two or three nights a week and almost every weekend.

I get home from work around 6:30, I have maybe half an hour with my wife and baby before I have to be out the door. You could be playing all over the country, which means getting back home stupidly late at night too. So, you do miss a lot of family time – especially if you aren’t at the top and have to juggle a job and the game.

It's difficult, and to be honest, if you want to play darts successfully you won't have a work-life balance, you have to put everything into it. It’s all or nothing.

It’s great for the sport. After last year’s world championship and the Luke Littler story, it's totally out in the mainstream. He got so many people into it which brings new potential sponsors to the table. That’s so important because there are a lot of players that can't compete because it doesn't work financially for them.

The increased interest in the sport has also led me to start running a darts academy for kids. There are so many 10- and 11-year-olds who want to play now because they saw last year’s tournament – for them it's the biggest thing in the world.

We’re not the only ones. Most darts matches are played in pubs and social clubs who tend to say you have to be 16 or so before you can enter the league.

However, there's been so many kids wanting to play and pestering their dads or mums that loads have changed their rules to allow them in. That can only be a good thing for darts.

It’s amazing but I haven't hit one in a major tournament yet - I am stuck on ten! It’s a real adrenaline spike.

When you hit it, you feel like you’ve perfected the game in that moment, and then in the next leg it takes you 20 darts to finish and it’s so frustrating. That’s the love/hate relationship I have with the game.