World Darts Championship hero quit job and spent entire savings on a hotel

Justin Hood quit his job as a hotel porter and spent his life savings to chase his dream of becoming a professional darts player. The man from Glastonbury was the surprise package of this year's World Darts Championship, reaching the quarter-finals against the odds. He beat the likes of Danny Noppert, Ryan Meikle and Josh Rock before eventually falling at the hands of Gary Anderson.

Hood earned £100,000 for reaching the last eight at Alexandra Palace, allowing him to achieve his goal of opening a Chinese restaurant. However, it could have been so very different if he hadn't gambled his life savings on becoming a professional player. Speaking last month, the 32-year-old revealed that he walked away from his day job to play at Q-School two years ago.

"I first worked in a warehouse on night shifts," explained Hood, who is among the smallest players on tour at just five feet and four inches tall.

"I did that for 10 years and then me and my missus, we moved into a hotel and we were the night porters there. So I'd do four days, she did three days. We'd stayed above it. I jacked that in, in the middle of November 2024, for Q-School.

"I took the gamble, spent all our savings on a hotel down Milton Keynes for eight weeks and it paid off. It wasn't the best experience in the cheapest hotel I could find, but I said, we've got to take the gamble. I put all my time into it and it has paid off."

Hood, who often celebrates by wagging his tongue at the camera and lifting his shirt to reveal his belly, also has an unusual nickname.

He is known as Happy Feet, after the penguin film character, because he once needed to borrow oversized shoes for a county game when he was a teenager.

"At county, you've got to wear black trousers and black shoes," explained Hood, who is now based in Weston-super-Mare.

"I went up there with trainers on, and wasn't allowed to wear them. I've got size nine feet. I had to borrow my mate's size 13. Went on stage, toed the oche, and it looked like flippers.

"They just bent back. Ever since then it was Happy Feet and it's just stuck, after the film with the penguins."

Hood is now looking forward to opening his very own Chinese restaurant but has admitted that his love of the food could put him out of business within a week.

Speaking before his victory over Rock, he said: "I haven't looked into it (the finances) properly yet. We might be out of business in a week, the amount of food I eat.

"I wanted to stay in London over Christmas because the Chinese around here are top-notch. I love eating it all the time."