THE world of darts has seen an explosion in popularity following last months thrilling PDC World Darts Championship.
And darts influencer Sarah Milkowski is one personality hoping to cash in on darts festive surge.
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Hailing from Dusseldorf in Germany and nicknamed “Sapphire”, Sarah already has more than 90,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok.
Her path into darts started out as a hobby with soft-tip electronic darts down her local pub in Germany in 2016 before making the leap to regular steel tip darts in 2018.
Speaking to Darts News, she explained how photos she posted online gained attention which helped her get bookings and requests to play in exhibition tournaments in Germany and the UK.
She said: “I realised very soon that the pictures got a lot attention in the darts community and I started to post more about it and my journey in darts. I never expected this to be such a big thing.
“When I was close to 10,000 followers at beginning of 2020 I thought this is amazing and the most I’ll ever reach…
“I got a lot of bookings and requests for playing exhibitions or visit dart clubs and shops for a meet & greet. I’m grateful for all the interest and opportunities to do what I love.”
However, despite her growing presence online helping her rub shoulders with the pros, she insists darts is – for now at least – only a part-time job.
She said: “It is definitely a part time job. My personal goal is to make a living from it.
“But I also want to focus more on my game, practice harder and improve to achieve better results in official tournaments to show I’m more than just a social media person.”
The 31-year-old added: “I get recognised by players very often. Not everyone in the darts scene know me but I would say a lot heard my name yet. The reactions are 99 per cent positive.
“They say I’m doing great work for the darts in Germany, to reach more young people and females to get their interest for the sport and maybe stick to it and be part of the growing community.”
Among those she has met is one of her two idols in Fallon Sherrock, regularly competing against the English thrower in the PDC Women’s Series.
Sarah said: “My idol is Gerwyn Price. It’s inspiring how he managed to be a professional player in no time.
“And only needed seven years to become the world champion and world number one and that’s absolutely spectacular.”
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“And for the ladies it’s definitely Fallon Sherrock. What she achieved for herself and of course for all female players is huge.
“In my eyes, she deserved all the publicity and support from the PDC as she gained big attention all over the world for the PDC circuit.
However, Sarah admits she still has a long way to go before she can think of winning a tournament despite becoming a regular on the streaming boards.
She said: “I’m one of only two German starters from the very first day of the PDC Women’s Series.
“It was a dream come true to compete with all those great ladies in a tournament and also play on stream from time to time.
“At the moment I’m struggling a lot with my confidence but I’m sure I can get it done step by step.
I get recognised by players very often. Not everyone in the darts scene know me but I would say a lot heard my name yet. The reactions are 99% positive.
Sarah Milkowski
“Playing on a streaming board for the first time in the mental situation I was last year, was too much for me to handle.
“I couldn’t get any straight darts on the board. The second time, last month in Leicester, was a lot better for myself.
“I managed to win the bull and also won a leg. That’s something I can build on.”
Sarah regularly pulls in tens of thousands of views on her TikTok videos.
Content she posts on there ranges from clips of her playing darts, interviews with darts stars such as PDC Champion Luke Humphries and behind the scenes of her 2024 calendar shoot.
And while she is yet to earn big bucks – which her glamorous calendar helps her to top up – from darts she is determined to be a force for positive change in the field.
She added: “I want to use my reach to inspire more people and especially women from Germany who maybe need some help to understand how the PDC is working and to get more professionally into it.
“We have so many great female players in Germany and I don’t like the fact they don’t try because of language issues. So I’m explaining and helping with registration (for events).”
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