‘Look at me’ – Premier League Darts contender worries ‘my face doesn’t fit’ elite competition alongside Luke Littler

Ryan Searle doesn’t believe that he would fit into the Premier League Darts line-up despite becoming a major contender to join.

‘Heavy Metal’ continued his incredible World Championship run with a 5-2 win over Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

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He was already playing in a deeper round than he had ever reached in the tournament before, but now he’s in the semi-finals.

Searle hadn’t lost a single set ahead of the Clayton clash, proving completely dominant on the Alexandra Palace stage.

His form has now seen him mentioned in the conversation for a spot in the Premier League, with picks announced this month.

But despite making clear that he would love to play in the competition in 2026, Searle has doubts about whether he will be selected alongside the likes of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries.

He said in his press conference after beating Clayton: “I’ve kind of said privately that the Premier League is something that I would like to do once, just to say that I’ve done it.

“Whether it’s this year or not… if you look at Chris Dobey last year, he kind of had a similar path to me, where in previous majors he didn’t do a huge amount and then got to the Worlds and made a semi and they put him in.

“Not sure whether my face fits for that, but we’ll see what happens.”

Searle was then asked to clarify his ‘face doesn’t fit’ comments and he gave a surprisingly honest answer back to the media.

“Oh, look at me!” he said before laughing. “It’s as simple as that. So, we’ll leave that there. Obviously, if they ask me, I’ll say yes. I’d snap my arm off for it, but if not, we’ll go with what we can do.”

Should Searle make the World Championship final, he’d move into the top four of the PDC Order of Merit, meaning that he wouldn’t need to worry about his selection, as he would automatically qualify.

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‘Do I feel like I deserve that?’

Searle’s impressive World Championship performances have not only boosted his chances of claiming a spot in the Premier League.

He has now risen up the PDC World Rankings, moving up to eighth in the Order of Merit by reaching the semi-finals.

Again though, the 38-year-old took a self-deprecating approach in his reply when asked how he feels to have jumped so high.

“Obviously, it’s a proud moment,” Searle said on New Year’s Day. “Do I feel like I deserve that? I’m not sure.

“Off of just one tournament run but… with the money the way it is, that’s what can happen. So we’ll see where we go from here.

“It’ll be nice to get some World Series call-ups and stuff like that, but we’ll see what happens.”

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Lack of care

Part of Searle’s honesty when it comes to his success in darts currently may be down to his lack of care for the sport.

On Sunday, after a 4-0 win over Martin Schindler in the World Championship, he made another shock admission.

“There’s probably two people on the tour that care less than me and one of them is Ryan Joyce, the other is Gary Anderson,” Searle said. “I don’t think there’s anyone else who cares less than I do.

“It’s just about focusing and getting your head right. If you can’t get your head right for £1million, at the end of the day, you shouldn’t be playing the game.”

He later added: “It’s more about focus than anything else. That’s something I’ve always struggled with, my focus, and something that I’m trying to work on even in my practice sessions.

“I was in the hotel practising on my own last night and just trying to stay focused in the sessions instead of throwing and not caring and it seems to be working.”