‘I just didn’t feel like it’ – World No20 darts star gives brutally honest reason for pulling out of tournament
DARTS star Ryan Searle has candidly admitted he pulled out of the Grand Slam of Darts because he “didn’t feel like it”.
The 38-year-old was among the big names who didn’t feature at the darts major in Wolverhampton last month.
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Ryan Searle admitted he pulled out of the Grand Slam of Darts because he ‘didn’t feel like it’Credit: PA
He joined the likes of Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Ross Smith and Dave Chisnall in missing out.
It was the second straight year Searle wasn’t involved on the billing for the Grand Slam.
The world No 20 secured two Players Championship titles this season but he still had work to do in order to qualify for the tournament – and decided not to go through with it.
He told Online Darts: “To be honest, I just didn’t feel like it. I was in the hotel, at the pro-tours and I was like, do I qualify?
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“Do I want another like, week in a hotel room on my own? I was like, you know what, I don’t fancy it so I pulled out.
“I think the qualification for that is not correct I think if you’re winning pro tour events you should be in and there should be less qualifying spots.
“That’s something that needs looking at in my opinion.”
Heavy Metal has won a total of seven PDC ranking titles, but has notably struggled in majors.
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He reached the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix in 2021 and the same stage of the World Matchplay in 2023.
Searle said his next goal was to finish as strong as possible at the World Darts Championship and said he was also targeting the quarter-finals – especially with the huge prize money on offer.
A record-breaking £5million prize pool is up for grabs, with £1m going to the winner.
Searle added: “The goal for me is to get back into the top 16 and then we don’t have to worry about [qualifying].
“I think now with the money from the worlds, that’s the main one to focus on. If you can do well in that, you’re flying.
“Obviously if you were to win that, that’s life-changing money. It’s life-changing for your rankings. You’re going to be in the top four for at least two years.
“It’s happy days for me for the next two years if I’m in all the majors. My goal this year for the worlds is to make the quarter-final.
“If you can make the quarter-finals it’s £100,000 and that makes a massive difference on your rankings.
“Obviously I wanna get further than that but we’ll see how it goes.”
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