Ryan Searle is eyeing a dream World Final with Gary Anderson and a place in the Premier League.
Heavy Metal rocked into the last 32 with a rock ‘n’ roll display to dismantle Matt Campbell. Searle warmed up for the Ally Pally with extensive practice sessions with Anderson and fancies a repeat meeting in the January 3 showpiece. He said: “That’d be the dream Final for me, obviously. If you look at the odds for the tournament, I think anyone in my half has been written off with the two Lukes [Humphries and Littler] on my side. But you never know what can happen. There’s been plenty of shocks this season in other majors and there’s no reason why that can’t happen.”
Searle signalled his form against Campbell and said: “I’m not too worried about laying down a marker. I’ve been around long enough for people to know that I can play really well and turn anyone over on my day. It’s just being consistent.
“I’m actually really proud of the season. As a PDC Tour card holder, this is the best I’ve ever had. Six or seven years in, not many can say that. I started the season really well, I always have a dip around summertime. I don’t put as much effort in as I should.
“But I had a practice with Gary on Monday and the darts were flying in. I took confidence from that. I’ve just carried that on.
“The next step, it’s no secret, is to have more runs in majors. This season, the Euro Tour has been really good. It’s just the majors I need to improve.
“The game is there for me to win tournaments and I honestly believe I will win a major one day. It’s just when it happens, basically. I just need to believe in myself a bit more and get Gary out for more practice sessions. I treat the Worlds as every other major.”
Searle reckons he can nab a 2025 Premier League spot if he keeps firing at the Worlds and said: “I think the Premier League probably needs a little bit of shake-up and I think this season there’s going to have to be some new faces. The normal faces that fit in the game, they are not playing well enough to be in there. It’s as simple as that, really.
“I’m not saying I should be in over anyone, but if I do well enough in this tournament, maybe make a semi or Final or something, I’d love to be in it if I was picked just out of merit. There’s no reason why they can’t shake it up, get a few more new faces into it. They just seem to put the same faces in it every time and that can get boring. There’s plenty of other players who don’t necessarily deserve a spot, but it wouldn’t hurt to put them in.”