SEARLE ADMITS TO FALLING OUT OF LOVE WITH DARTS

By Aaron Nijjar  

RYAN SEARLE has admitted he has fallen out of love with darts. 

‘Heavymetal’ defeated Cameron Menzies 6-2 in round two of the German Grand Prix with a modest 90.07 average on Saturday.  

But Searle’s run in Munich was cut short as he was thumped 6-1 by Michael van Gerwen who hit a nine-darter on the way to victory in their last 16 bout. 

World No. 18 Searle won the Players Championship Four earlier this year. 

However, since that triumph Searle’s form has dipped with just one quarter-final appearance on the ProTour.  

And he has not reached the last eight of a major since the 2023 World Matchplay. 

The Devon thrower said: “In the last week I have fallen out of love with darts a little bit.

“It was nice to get home from Rosmalen and get the call to say I am a seed for the German Grand Prix so I could have an extra day off.  

“I haven’t touched my darts till the day before the tournament began and I think that reset helped me.”  

Searle remains unbeaten against Menzies in three meetings. 

He added after their match: “I was expecting a bit more from Cammy to push me on but it was just one of those games where we both underperformed.  

“It’s nice to get through when you are not playing at your best because my last couple of games that I have lost on the Euro Tour I averaged over 100.  

“Everyone knows it’s not easy to play on big stages like this but when the fans are cheering for you and showing their appreciation it makes it a bit easier.” 

Despite the dip in results, Searle has maintained high scoring levels throughout 2025.  

He ranks 15th on the tour for 100+ averages, hitting the mark in 15 of his 51 matches so far this year. 

The 37-year-old has racked up six PDC titles in his stellar career but a major triumph has eluded him.    

Searle came agonizingly close in 2021 when he lost 11-10 to Peter Wright in the final of the Players Championship Finals.    

Image by Taylor Lanning.