‘I’m taking part in within the World Darts Championship – I do not need to know who I’m going through’
The draw for the World Darts Championships has been completed…and I hope I don’t find out who I am playing for as long as possible.
That is the way I prefer it, not knowing who I am going to be coming up against. It has always been like that for me, a superstition I suppose I have developed over the years.
In some ways, I think it helps me to focus and that’s what I need to be doing to get fully prepared for when I step onto the stage at Alexandra Palace.
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It is easy to get preoccupied around this time of the year so for the next three weeks, as we prepare for the World Championships, I have got to focus.
The PDC Players Championship Finals at Butlins Minehead this past weekend was not a happy holiday for me and to be honest, I was pretty poor in my performance when I went out in Friday’s first round.
That is not to take anything away from my opponent, Stephen Burton, who deserved to go through and unfortunately for me, it is what it is.
The only comfort I can take is that I was not the only top 32 player who took an early bath; I joined a few others who were feeling a little washed up at the seaside.
Was it the same factors I mentioned in last week’s column? The fatigue that comes with the tournament schedule and other commitments away from darts?
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To some degree, yes. However, I also think that given it’s the tournament before the World Championship and some players are in different headspace as they become preoccupied with their preparation, it is definitely a factor as well.
For the two Lukes, it obviously wasn’t too much of a distraction. As he did in last year’s World final, Humphries came out on top against Littler and fair play to him for that, it is no mean feat beating the young man at this moment.
Just like Littler, Humphries is young, hungry and fresh – and he just loves playing darts. He is also a very calculated player, who is in good form and, by the looks of it in Minehead, he is ready to defend his world crown.
For me, the mantra for the next three weeks is practice, practice, practice. The World Championship will be with us sooner than you think and I need to put the work in.
