JOYCE: I’M FIGHTING FOR MY TOUR CARD
08/05/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
RYAN JOYCE admits he feels like he is battling just to save his Tour Card.
Relentless snapped his miserable run of form with a 6-3 victory over Gabriel Clemens at the Austrian Darts Open to book his place in round two.
The Newcastle thrower sealed the win with a superb 118 bullseye checkout despite averaging just 87.70 in a scrappy contest.
The world No.26 has endured a difficult start to the season, reaching only one ProTour quarter-final at the Belgian Darts Open while crashing out in the first round of his previous three Players Championship events.
Joyce admitted the pressure has started to build during his poor spell.
He said: “Every break of throw feels good, especially when you are really struggling for form. I have had a really bad run lately.
“I lost to Gabriel recently in the first round of a ProTour event. I wasn’t looking forward to this game.
“The pressure is on. It’s really tough. I have been in half-decent form for a long time, but when you hit a bad patch every game feels like massive pressure, whether you are in the Matchplay or not.
“I feel like I am just fighting to keep my Tour Card at the moment. I am playing that badly. So that win is huge.”
Joyce returns to action in Graz on Saturday and will face former World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker.
