PDC Tour: Hong Kong’s Kevin ‘Fat Beauty’ Leung refuses to give up after ‘terrible’ debut season on pro darts circuit
- The 37-year-old former equity broker says his family will join him in the UK in July as he attempts to make a name for himself on the PDC Tour
- Covid-19 played havoc with his debut season, though he did manage to score a memorable victory over 2020 world champion Peter Wright
Kevin Leung Kai-fan had quit his brokering job at the end of 2019 to pursue a career in professional darts. The Covid-19 pandemic played havoc with his debut season but the 37-year-old is refusing to give up and is determined to make amends in 2021.
The Hong Kong number one has been in the UK since June, unable to return home because of pandemic restrictions, so he is bringing his family to his base in Liverpool as he tries to revive his career.
“It was a terrible second half of the year in 2020,” said Leung, known as “Fat Beauty” in Hong Kong. “I did all right until the end of June, then nothing went my way.
“I missed out on one win that would have got me into the world championship, I couldn’t go back to Asia to play qualifiers and there are no competitions in Asia this year.
“I was supposed to go back to Hong Kong in December but all flights were suspended. So, the family will be coming over in July, I will sign with a new management company in the UK so I hope things go right for me in the upcoming season.”
Leung earned £11,000 (HK$118,000) in winnings last season compared to money list leader Gerwyn Price’s £1,317,500, the highlight of his season being a 6-5 victory over 2020 world champion Peter Wright in the Players Championship in Coventry.
The Professional Darts Corporation Tour starts on February 25 with a tournament in Bolton before events in Milton Keynes in March. The Tour then moves to Germany.
“The season did not go the way I wanted,” said Leung. “I was supposed to play tournaments week in and week out here in the UK. But with all the lockdown measures it seems very hard these days.
“Every player faces the same situation. So we need to find our own way to keep practising, such as online darts because during the lockdown it’s very difficult to practise with someone face to face.
“In the meantime, you need to protect yourself because you don’t want to get Covid and miss out on the tournaments.”
Leung said he was already looking at schools in the area for his daughter, who will be four years old in September when the new education year starts.
“We should know the allocation in April,” he said. “Going forward, we will be based in the UK no matter what my results are. It will be a new challenge for myself and my family.
“But there is still a lot of promise for the year ahead. I beat Peter Wright in Coventry. I averaged 105 and he averaged 107. So there are always possibilities and I showed I had the strength to compete with the big names when I have gained some experience and built more confidence.”
