‘It’s soul destroying’ – Gutted darts star says ‘we haven’t a chance’ as he opens up on struggles in sport

GUTTED darts star Willie O’Connor said “it’s soul destroying” and “we have got a chance” as he opened up on his struggles in the sport.

The Irishman, 38, is a top name in the world of darts.

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He won his first-ever PDC title in 2019.

And three years later O’Connor made it to the semis of the UK Open.

In December he failed to get past the first round of the World Championship with a 3-1 loss to Dylan Slevin.

And now he has opened up on the changes to the European Tour.

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The PDC announced earlier this month that “the Top16 of the Main Order of Merit will newly be seeded into second-round action.”

Meanwhile, “the Pro Tour Order of Merit’s Top16 will compete in the first round of European Tour events.”

But O’Connor feels this has made the challenge more difficult.

He declared the changes “soul destroying” while adding players of his standing “haven’t got a chance” of succeeding.

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O’Connor said: “It’s relentless, it’s so difficult.

“Like, the tour is, it’s soul destroying. You can go in and play in the best darts of your life and still go home with no money in the bank.

“So yeah, the tour is so hard, it’s the best players in the world.

“It’s not the best players in Ireland or England or Germany, it’s the best players in the world, and that’s what you’re against every week.

“The European Tour is such a huge part of the Pro Tour, and now eight qualify for the Pro Tour?

“I’m sorry for the Europeans, it’s like we haven’t a chance. How do you break into the top 32?

“How do you break in? I mean like whatever opportunity I have to pull it out from under you, and it makes it so difficult.

“So even if you qualify for one or two of those in the year, it’s going to be huge.

“You can’t catch the big boys. They are where they are and they’re going to stay there.”