LUKEMAN ADMITS TOUGH YEAR AFTER DART STRUGGLES

MARTIN LUKEMAN admits it has been a “hard” season after spending much of the year chopping and changing his darts in search of form.

World No.39 Lukeman fell to a heavy 5-1 defeat against Damon Heta in the Grand Slam, a far cry from the heroics that saw him reach the final of the major just twelve months ago.

‘Smash’ has endured a difficult campaign and has made just one quarter-final on the ProTour in 2025, at Players Championship 13.

Lukeman admits the constant tinkering of equipment has cost him dearly.

He said: “I haven’t had the best of years this year but I’m in this, I’m in the Players Championship Finals and the World’s so I haven’t played that bad.

“It didn’t hit me until I got here today and I got on that balcony. I was like it’s been a year now – hopefully I can crack on.

“It’s been hard. I have been struggling a little bit with my darts, swapping and changing.

“But I’m back with exactly the same darts as I used last year with the same flights, same stems and they’re going well again.”

Lukeman is in Group B, which includes former Masters champion Chris Dobey, world No.12 Heta and Dutch rising star Jurjen van der Velde.

The Hammersmith thrower insists he can still mix it with the elite and can qualify for the last 16 in Wolverhampton.

He added: “I’ve beaten the two top boys before – I can do it again. They are two great players but at the end of the day it is first to five in the group stage.

“I just need to get through either being one or two.”