Tony Cole is a bank business adviser who never played a game of darts against anyone, but on Friday, 30th October that changed, as he took on the darts world champion and the number one ranked player in the world Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler.
Cole faced off against the darts sensation on Netflix’s ‘Beat Luke Littler’, which was streamed live on the platform and broke into its top 10 shows.
Cole was the second person to face off against Littler on the night after Kasey Smith was defeated. Cole’s betting odds of beating Littler were 1/10.
The unknown player got the chance to reflect on the experience as a whole. “Whirlwind of a day. It was mental, it was completely out of the order. It’s not your normal Thursday and Friday, is it? It was it was unforgettable.”
Cole went on to speak on the process of appearing on one of the biggest darts events of the year. “It was done over stages, so you pass the first stage, then you get told, ‘Right, we’re going to take it a bit further’.”
He continued, “Then they invite you up for what they call the myth interviews, where you do your bits of filming and your gladiator shots, when you’re doing the bits for the camera, for the TV, and we still didn’t know then. I thought it was a possibility, but you’re still not sure, and I found out about two weeks before the show that I was going to be on it.”
Cole smiled as he said, “Obviously, little things have changed. The production, the way they work. The show was constantly moving, but, yeah, when I found out, it was nuts. It doesn’t happen to people you know, especially not Netflix. It’s on that scale, isn’t it? It’s a huge company.”
“Playing darts in an arena is tough enough, but when you have millions of people watching from home there may be some added nerves”, said the 39-year-old. “The last figure I heard was that 20 million people tuned in to watch it. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done and the scariest thing I’ve ever done all rolled into one, it was absolutely terrifying. It was terrifying and I don’t get shook. I was sweating. I was pale.”
The bank business advisor said, “I’ve got a newfound respect for Luke and the pros, how they go up there and do that, especially with the backlash Luke gets on the European tours. How he gets up there and still performs, that’s incomprehensible.”
If the 20 million people added pressure to Cole, no doubt the family and friends in the arena added even more. Cole revealed, “My daughter, my dad, my nieces, his mrs. were there, and then I think we had about 10 or 12 people that came up from Wales to watch me in the crowd as well.”
With his life changed forever, Cole reflected on what Netflix had done as a whole. “They brought darts to a lot of people that have never watched the sport. If that’s the first time you’ve watched a darts show, with the production and everything like the big, animated screen behind where the board is with the photos and things, you’d love it. That’s never been done in a dart show before.”
“They’ve brought it to the masses now, so no, I’m just thankful to them for giving me the opportunity to be one of the ones up there, to put myself on the line. I didn’t realise how nerve-wracking it was going to be as soon as I got up there”, he continued.
“It’s a hell of an experience. I don’t think the controversy and the backlash they’ve caused is warranted, if I’m completely honest with you, and that’s coming from the amateur that was one of the only amateurs there. So, I think they’ve done a brilliant job”, smiled Cole.
