Childhood friends Nicholas Cripps and Conor Harkness are about to hit the stage in one of the oldest darts tournaments in the world.
The two of them have qualified for the World Darts Federation (WDF) World Masters in Budapest, Hungary, in October. Both will be competing in the youth division, the last year they will be eligible to do so.
The tournament has been around since 1974 as an adult tournament. Boys and girls divisions were brought in for 1999.
The two John F. Ross grads share similar origin stories, picking up the game at the age of three from family members in Guelph.
“My grandma was doing laundry and she was throwing darts, waiting for the clothes to come out of the washer and I asked her if I could throw a few,” Harkness, 17, said during a practice round at the Raging Bull Dart Lounge and Banquet Hall.
He joined the Guelph Youth Dart League at the age of nine and his love of the game hasn’t stopped since then.
For the 18-year-old Cripps, it was his older brother who first got him involved.
“He’s about five and a half years older than me, he started playing it first in the Guelph Youth Dart League, and me and my brother are very similar,” he said.
“I picked up the darts when he did.”
Cripps didn’t play in any leagues for years, just shooting in the basement. Things changed at age 10 when he joined the league and began competing.
“I just love the competition of it, and just the learning and getting better of it.”
Since then, both of them have competed against each other, teamed with one another and have travelled far and wide.
Harkness is the 61st ranked youth boys player on the WDF circuit.
Hungary will be a new adventure, but competing internationally isn’t new for both Harkness and Cripps.
Harkness placed second at the Las Vegas Classic Youth 2024 tournament in January to qualify for Hungary.
“It was surreal,” Harkness said when he realized he qualified.
“Finally being able to represent my country overseas.”
Cripps had to wait for his invite. While he was happy for his friend in the moment, he was “a little bummed” because he didn’t think he was going to go.
“When it came to other tournaments in the NDFC (National Darts Federation of Canada) ranking, I was ranked very highly and that’s why I got my invite,” he said. “When I got it, I was really happy.”
As of July 24, Cripps is ranked second in Canada among what the NDFC call senior youth.
They both compete regularly in the United States.
“It’s definitely not easy,” Harkness said of making a living off the game. “In North America, there’s a lot of travel fees and stuff. It’s not very easy to travel throughout North America to go to all these tournaments because we’re so spread out.
“In Europe, it’s a lot easier to travel and making a living off of it, it’s a lot cheaper. I’m thinking later in the future, I might move over to Europe and pursue it then.”
Cripps can see himself playing competitively into his later years, citing there are some in their 40s still competing, but is also interested in a career working on cars.
But wherever the game takes them, both Cripps and Harkness are prepared to cross paths for many years to come, whether that be on the same team, or matching up on the sport’s grandest stage.
“It’s crazy. We’ve been playing together for eight, nine years now,” Harkness said. “It’s been pretty crazy finally being able to travel and see him succeed, see me succeed and do all these things that we never thought we would be able to do when we were nine, 10 years old.”
