Steel tip versus Soft tip

Steel tip versus soft tip

I have been fortunate enough to travel the world playing both traditional steel tip darts and electronic soft tip darts at the highest level.

I was able find success in both games but it was not easy. It is always funny to me when I talk to diehard steel players and they ask, “why do you play that toy game of darts?”

The thing is, it is that arrogance that hurts steel tip players when they try to give soft tip darts a chance! They walk in and think, “this is going to be easy.” But there have been very few PDC or top WDF players who have come to play soft tip and had any success.

Players such as Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, Colin Lloyd, Jelle Klassen and Scott Mitchell are among those who have tried. The only player to win on the first time of asking was Stephen Bunting.

There have been some, such as Adrian Gray, who have had some good years playing soft tip once they figured it out. But being good in steel does not automatically mean you will be good in soft tip.

Going from soft tip to steel there have been several players who have excelled prior to their steel success – players such as Jules van Dongen, Leonard Gates, Jose De Sousa, Boris Kcmar, Mensur Suljovic and Royden Lam to name the most notable.

It is true they are both dart games but they are vastly different at the highest level. It would be like saying because you are good at snooker you are going be great at 9-ball. Both have sticks, balls and are played on a table but they are completely different games with completely different stars.

The major difference between the two darts variations is that steel tip is about what you hit and in soft tip it is about what you miss. Yes, the targets are larger, and everyone hits more but that is the point. Everyone hits more, so when you miss it is magnified dramatically.

At the top level of soft tip, you must be perfect 98 per cent of the time. It would be like saying you need a 12-darter with a few nines thrown for steel every match you play.

Your mentality is important in both games but in soft tip you are ALWAYS under pressure.

This why I often tell players that playing both games will help you succeed in both of the games. Soft tip hardens your mentality without a doubt faster than steel. The darts used in soft tip are an 18-gram or 20-gram maximum weight (depending on machine used) with flights and points on which adds a challenge to some steel players as well.

Soft tip has many remote tournaments so you could play for money every day if you wanted with players all over the world. The number of soft tip players around the world dwarfs steel players immensely so there are always events going on around the world, either live or online.

So, the next time you think “toy darts” is a waste of time, go try to win a tournament and see.