Willie O’Connor Explains Big Disadvantage Irish Darts Stars Have Compared To English Rivals

The 2026 PDC World Darts Championship has been underway for almost a week now, but the Irish interest in the tournament is set to be kicked up a couple of gears over the coming days.

Only a pair of players from the island of Ireland have featured up to this point. Fermanagh’s Brendan Dolan would win his opening round match against Tavis Dudeney, while Carlow’s Steve Lennon would come up short against Damon Heta.

Friday will see five Irish or Northern Irish players take to the stage, with Willie O’Connor, Keane Barry, Josh Rock, Daryl Gurney, and Mickey Mansell all play their first round match.

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O’Connor Explains Disadvantage Irish Darts Stars Have Compared To English Rivals

Darts has been steadily growing as a sport in Ireland, but there remains quite the challenge when it comes to players from this country attempting to make a living in the game.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Limerick’s Willie O’Connor summed up why Irish professional players often face more financial challenges than their English rivals.

Coming from Ireland, you don’t get the sponsorship opportunities you get if you are in Germany or England, where players are getting money thrown at them.

And that helps on so many levels. We are picking up the scraps in many ways and it can be very difficult.

The cost of living here, the cost of travelling and playing darts, that’s held me back. There are people out there who might be willing to be a business partner and give you a few quid, but they want a percentage back of your winnings, so it’s just not worth doing it at that point…

Even though it is possible to make a good living now, it’s still not easy. The price of everything else has risen as well and I’m talking about flights to England and hotels.

It’s crazy money. Everything is expensive these days.

Willie O’Connor has been a consistent performer in the pro ranks for quite some time, making his ninth consecutive appearance at Ally Pally this year.

He is also now ranked 41st in the world rankings, having earned £172, 250 in prize money over the last two years. Of course, that amount does not take into consideration the high expenses that O’Connor outlined above.

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