Justin Hood (darts player)
| Justin Hood | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||
| Nickname | "Happy Feet" | ||||
| Born | 29 April 1993[1] Bath, Somerset, England[2] | ||||
| Home town | Glastonbury, Somerset, England[2] | ||||
| Darts information | |||||
| Playing darts since | 2008 | ||||
| Darts | 23g Target[3] | ||||
| Laterality | Left-handed[3] | ||||
| Walk-on music | "All the Small Things" by Blink-182[3] | ||||
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |||||
| BDO | 2019–2020 | ||||
| PDC | 2020–present (Tour Card: 2025–present) | ||||
| WDF | 2019–2020 | ||||
| Current world ranking | (PDC) 51 1 (22 March 2026)[4] | ||||
| WDF major events – best performances | |||||
| World Championship | Last 32: 2020 | ||||
| World Masters | Last 32: 2019 | ||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||||
| World Championship | Quarter-final: 2026 | ||||
| UK Open | Last 64: 2025 | ||||
| PC Finals | Last 32: 2025 | ||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||
| |||||
Justin Hood (born 29 April 1993) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Happy Feet", Hood gained a PDC Tour Card in 2025, having previously appeared at the 2020 BDO World Championship. He made the quarter-finals on his PDC World Championship debut at the 2026 event.
Career
In October 2019, Hood reached the last 32 of the World Masters, losing to eventual champion John O'Shea.[5] He qualified for the 2020 BDO World Darts Championship, beating former finalist Jeff Smith and Craig Venman to secure his place in the tournament.[6] He defeated Gabriel Pascaru in the preliminary round, before losing to Richard Veenstra 3–1 in the last 32.[7]
In April 2023, Hood won week eight of the MODUS Super Series by beating Canadian player Jacob Taylor 4–0 in the final.[8] In June 2024, Hood won his first PDC Challenge Tour title, defeating Dragutin Horvat 5–1 in the event fourteen final with a three-dart average of 107.24.[9]
At 2025 Q-School, Hood gained a PDC Tour Card for the first time, defeating Bradley Brooks 6–5 to win day two of the final stage.[10] Hood made his PDC European Tour debut at the 2025 Baltic Sea Darts Open, where he earned a 6–3 win over Joe Cullen before being eliminated in the next round.[11]
Hood qualified for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship, his PDC World Championship debut, and won his first-round match 3–0 against Nick Kenny.[12] In the second round, Hood claimed a 3–2 victory over world number six Danny Noppert, winning the match in a sudden-death leg. The match has been described as an "epic" and an "Alexandra Palace classic" due to its high quality and dramatic play.[13][14] Hood made it to the quarterfinals before being knocked out by Gary Anderson in a 5-2 defeat.[15]
Personal life
Hood's nickname, "Happy Feet", stemmed from an incident where he forgot to bring regulation black shoes to a darts event and had to borrow a pair of shoes much too large for him.[16][17] He previously worked as a night porter at a hotel with his wife Jessica.[17]
Hood has been noted in media interviews for his desire to buy a Chinese restaurant with his darts winnings.[18][19][20]
World Championship results
BDO
- 2020: First round (lost to Richard Veenstra 1–3) (sets)
PDC
- 2026: Quarter-finals (lost to Gary Anderson 2–5)
Performance timeline
Sources: [21]
BDO
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BDO Ranked televised events | |||||||
| World Championship | DNQ | 1R | |||||
| World Masters | 4R | NH | |||||
PDC
| Tournament | 2020 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDC Ranked televised events | ||||
| World Championship | Did not qualify | QF | ||
| World Masters | DNQ | Prel. | Prel. | |
| UK Open | DNQ | 4R | 3R | |
| Players Championship Finals | DNQ | 2R | ||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Season-end ranking | 201 | 162 | 50 | |
PDC European Tour
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Did not qualify | BSD 2R |
Did not qualify | GDC 1R | ||||||||||
PDC Players Championships
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 [nb 1] |
Did not participate | NIE 1R |
NIE 1R |
NIE 1R |
NIE 1R |
NIE 2R |
COV Did not participate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 [nb 1] |
Did not participate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 [nb 1] |
Did not participate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 [nb 1] |
Did not participate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 [nb 1] |
Did not participate | MIL 1R |
MIL 2R |
MIL DNP |
MIL 3R |
MIL 2R |
MIL 2R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 1R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 3R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 2R |
WIG 1R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 1R | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | WIG 1R |
WIG 2R |
ROS 4R |
ROS 3R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 1R |
HIL 2R |
HIL 2R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 4R |
LEI 2R |
LEI 2R |
ROS 1R |
ROS 2R |
HIL 3R |
HIL 1R |
LEI 2R |
LEI 2R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 1R |
HIL 3R |
HIL QF |
MIL 1R |
MIL 4R |
HIL 1R |
HIL 1R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 2R |
WIG 3R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 2R |
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR Prel. |
Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round |
DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded | ||
References
- ^ "Justin Hood results, fixtures". flashscore.com. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ a b "Justin Hood PDPA Profile". PDPA. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ a b c "Justin Hood". Mastercaller. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ "Ranking Tables". PDPA. 22 March 2026. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
- ^ "Results of World Masters 2019". Mastercaller. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ Gill, Samuel (29 October 2017). "Fullwell and Hammond among final qualifiers for 2020 BDO World Championship". Darts News. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ^ "Results of World Championship 2020". Mastercaller. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ Williams, Joe (2 April 2023). "Happy Feet Triumphs". Darts World. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (8 June 2024). "Scutt & Hood claim maiden Challenge Tour titles in Leicester". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ "Fallon Sherrock fails to earn PDC Tour Card at Q-School on Friday but remains in the mix ahead of weekend". Sky Sports. 10 January 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ Allen, Dave (11 July 2025). "Gurney shines on big-stage return at Baltic Sea Darts Open". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ Jones, Paul (16 December 2025). "Somerset darts pro Justin hood makes second round of PDC World Championships". The Somerset Leveller. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ Cartwright, Phil (23 December 2025). "Hood beats Noppert in epic as more seeds tumble". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ Stafford, Ali (23 December 2025). "World Darts Championship: Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson reach third round after Danny Noppert loses sudden-death epic at Alexandra Palace". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ "Fan favourite Justin Hood knocked out of World Championships in Somerset showdown". Yahoo Sports. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
- ^ Hudd, Ben (25 September 2024). "Somerset's Justin Hood on BDO World Championship debut, 'Happy Feet' nickname and PDC Q School plans". Darts Planet TV. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
- ^ a b Telfer, Alastair; Colman, Jonty (31 December 2025). "Living the dream - Hood plans to open Chinese with Ally Pally winnings". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
- ^ "Justin Hood: Who is darts' new star set to open Chinese takeaway after World Darts Championship". Sky Sports. 30 December 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ^ Wood, Kieran (23 December 2025). ""I wanna earn enough money to buy a Chinese restaurant!" - 'Happy Feet' Justin Hood sets out stall to become world champion in three years". Dartsnews.com. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
- ^ Cunningham, Jack (16 December 2025). "'Humphries said he'd buy in' - Darts star reveals Chinese restaurant dream". talkSPORT. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
- ^ "Justin Hood Player Profile". Darts Database. Retrieved 19 November 2025.