Alan Soutar has switched up his walk-on song for the upcoming PDC World Darts Championship, opting for Gala’s much-loved hit, Freed From Desire. This will be Soutar’s third Ally Pally appearance as he takes on German qualifier Kai Gotthardt in the first round.
Having previously competed on the BDO, 46-year-old firefighter Soutar entered the PDC’s Q-School in 2021, securing a two-year Tour Card.
This feat appeared to have been the making of Soot, as he put Raymond van Barneveld to the sword on his televised debut at the 2021 UK Open and made it to his first PDC worlds later that year. In 2024, he’s back for more and has switched a few things up as he looks to make yet another deep run.
Soutar previously walked out to Bits and Pieces by GBX & Sparkos, before switching to a classic: Disco Inferno by The Trammps. He will keep with the firefighting theme with his new music, switching to the popular Freed From Desire by Gala.
Not only is it a bonafide hit, it also gives the Ally Pally crowd the chance to morph the chorus into a chant for Soutar himself. That’s after the Scotsman suggested on Twitter, now known as X, that fans sing: “Soots is on fire…”
Soutar has indeed been on fire at Alexandra Palace – despite missing the cut last year – and has reached the last 16 on two occasions. On debut, Soutar stormed past two seeds in Mensur Suljovic and Jose de Sousa, before finally being stopped by Callan Rydz 4-1.
The following year, after a quarter-final berth at the Grand Slam of Darts, the Scotsman yet again reached the fourth round after whitewashing Mal Cuming and Daryl Gurney. He also dumped out former UK Open champ Danny Noppert before Gabriel Clemens ended his run.
However, Soutar missed out on a trip to north London 12 month ago, much to his disappointment. However, he set about making things right by winning his first PDC title on the Pro Tour in June. Now, with a fresh attitude and walk-on song to boot – a number that is well-known and beloved among sports fans – Soutar will give any player he comes up against a tough tie.
His first clash against Gotthardt takes place on Monday, December 16, in the afternoon session, where James Wade will also be in action. Should Soutar prevail, then he’ll face a wait for his next round tie, which will be against Stephen Bunting on Friday, December 20.
