Ryan Searle aims cheeky dig at Ally Pally crowd as World Championship practice session helps inspire emphatic win

Ryan Searle has jokingly called out the Alexandra Palace crowd for cheering on German rival Martin Schindler during their World Championship meeting.

The 38-year-old booked his place in the fourth round with a scintillating 4-0 win at Alexandra Palace on Sunday.

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‘Heavy Metal’ went into the match seeded in 20th spot for the tournament – seven places below Schindler.

But he was a class above his opponent, having dropped just two legs in the contest. The match also saw Searle win nine legs in a row and hit 12/25 checkout attempts.

Averaging 102.29, the Devon native has now equalled his best performance at the PDC World Championship.

He now turns his attention to James Hurrell, where victory will see him compete against either Jonny Clayton or Andreas Harrysson in a first quarter-final outing.

Searle-y not

And he will be hoping to have the fans on his side next time out having felt that the spectators were rooting for Schindler.

Discussing his epic performance to talkSPORT, Searle said: “He started the match with a 180 and I thought, ‘Oh, here we go, we’re going to be in for a game here.’

“The crowd were cheering his name, I thought, ‘We’re in England, not Germany.’

“It was a great atmosphere and I thought the crowd was really good.

“He missed a lot of doubles there and he let me in and that only gave me confidence, I just sort of put him away.”

Searle continued: “Honestly, if you said to me at the final set, I was averaging 91, I’d believe you because it didn’t actually feel like I was playing that well just the way that I’ve been throwing on the practice board and backstage.

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“I’ve been playing so well, so to average 102, which is my best average ever in the Worlds, is great and I feel like I’ve got loads more in the tank.”

Searle has also declared that his pre-match practice session with two-time World Champion Gary Anderson helped inspire his victory.

He remarked: “We had a little game of 121 and I think we got to about 133 and then he had to go do his interview.

“It sort of ended there and he just said, ‘Good luck,’ to me and I went off and played my match.

“But if he gets through, we’ll try and have a few sessions in the hotel for our next game for sure.

“It’s the biggest tournament of the season, there’s a lot of pressure around it and it’s very hard.

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“So that bit of familiarity always helps and just to make you feel comfortable.

“I feel like I’ve got so much more to give than what I showed today, so that’s only a positive for me.”

As Searle was preparing to face Schindler, Anderson was getting ready to battle Dutch star Jermaine Wattimena.

And fortunately for Searle, another practice session could be in the offing as Anderson emerged victorious as he edged out a seven-set thriller.