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.
"It's SOUL DESTROYING…We haven't a chance. How do you break into the top 32?"
— Darts Now (@DartsNow) January 30, 2025
Willie O'Connor opens up on changes to European Tour and relentless nature of life on Tour pic.twitter.com/sgtD3Qp8bZ
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.
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.
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.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”I’ve had 21 jobs since leaving university and now I’m rubbing shoulders with darts world champion Luke Littler ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6367828978112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“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.”
[boxout headline=”Premier League Darts 2025: Dates and venues”]Night 1 – Belfast: Humphries beat Dobey 6-1
Night 2 – Glasgow: Littler beat Humphries 6-5
Night 3 – Dublin: Price beat Aspinall 6-3
Night 4 – Exeter: Humphries beat Littler 6-4
Night 5 – Brighton: Littler beat Aspinall 6-3
Night 6 – Nottingham: Price beat Littler 6-3
Night 7 – Cardiff: Littler beat Van Gerwen 6-4
Night 8 – Newcastle: Littler beat Humphries 6-1
Night 9 – Berlin: Bunting beat Price 6-5
Night 10 – Manchester: Aspinall beat Humphries 6-4
Night 11 – Rotterdam: Dobey beat Bunting 6-2
Night 12 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool – Thursday April 24
Night 13 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham, Thursday May 1
Night 14 – First Direct Arena, Leeds – Thursday May 8
Night 15 – P&J Live, Aberdeen – Thursday May 15
Night 16 – Utilita Arena, Sheffield – Thursday May 22
Play-Offs – The O2, London – Thursday May 29
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