New season, new start for Mr Magic (From Echo)

New season, new start for Mr Magic

7:00pm Thursday 26th January 2012 in Other Sport By Paul Alton

STEVE Maish heads to the opening event of the Professional Darts Corporation season admitting it is like a fresh start.

The Southend player had a disappointing 2011 campaign which culminated in him failing to make the World Championship last month.

But he is now competing with Pitsea’s Paul Barham on the tour and reckons the 22-year-old has been a breath of fresh air.

“Things have changed for me over the last year,” said Maish (pictured right), who will be contesting the first two rounds of the Players Championship in Spain.

“I split up with my wife and have got a new girlfriend and an 18-week-old daughter. The darts went on the back burner but now I’m determined to come out fighting.

“Not qualifying for the World Championships was a bummer because I dropped out of the top 50 and with only the top 48 keeping their tour cards this year, it means I will have to knuckle down to keep my card.

“And Paul has been great help. It’s boring practising on your own and when you have someone else it’s much better.

“He’s making his debut on the tour – but it feels like a fresh start for both of us.”

Maish, 48, feels in confident mood ahead of this weekend’s action in Melia Benidorm and he puts a lot of that down to Barham.

Maish, nickamed Mr Magic, admitted it was a drag training in the past, with his typical day comprising “lounging around, a couple of hours in the betting shop and half hour on the board”.

He first met Barham (pictured below) at a competition in a Southend club several years ago and watched him bang in 180s during the warm-up.

The pair met in the semi-final where Maish beat the then teenager 3-0. But Maish spotted the former James Hornsby School pupil’s potential and asked if he would like to practice with him.

“To be honest, he gave me a kick up the backside,” added Maish. “He was so keen he would be banging on my door to start practising, and that certainly helped.”

Now they pair are on the practice boards from 11am to 5pm, usually at Pockets or The Railway pub in Southend, and then play matches in the evenings.

And after spending so much time with Barham, Maish in confident the player – who finished second in the Youth Tour order of merit last year – has a big future ahead of him.

Maish feels his young protegee would have benefited from another year in the youth ranks in order to establish himself further.

But after a year on the junior tour, Barham’s age meant he had to move up to the senior level.

He was invited to take part at the World Championships at Alexandra Palace in north London in December and lost 4-2 to Hong Kong’s Scott Mackenzie in the qualifying round.

“Paul has the ability to go far,” said Maish, who splits his time between Southend and Wigan, where his girlfriend Marie and daughter Jessica live.

“He has not beaten me in a competitive game but he is keeping me on my toes. I know he’ll beat me one day but I can’t let the boy beat me, so it’s spurring me on.”