I felt it was just one of those nights last night. I felt good in the warm-up, but after that, just couldn't find a good rhythm .The draw didn't help either. I had Ryan Palmer who is a former Pro Tour player and Robbie Long, the current ADC Welsh champion. At least they were my first two games, so no pressure and could just throw my darts. Against Long, I did just that and pulled out a half decent average over 50, and wasn't much worse against Palmer, although he did batter me with an 88 average. So I knew that I had to win 2 of my last 3 group games to progress . On paper the odds were against me, but I had beaten all 3 of my next opponents before, although not on a regular basis.
My head got to me in the third game. I couldn't hit a treble. I was playing a very good JDC player, so I had to stick with him. I seemed to be applying more and more pressure on myself, which was making things worse. It was one of those games that you just want to end. I now had to win the last 2 games and my confidence was low.
My fourth game was different to the others, as I seemed to just relax. It helped a lot that my opponent was not at his best, but I didn't seem so tight or snatchy. Although my mind was still racing. Nothing in particular, but just a noise going through my head. In the third and deciding game, I was left with 93 and my opponent waiting on 40. It was the highlight of my night when I took it out in 2 darts. I didn't feel much emotion, other than 'why can't I do this all the time?'. I still had a chance to qualify, but I just couldn't relax. Maybe other things in life come to the forefront of the mind, or was I tired? As it turns out, I 've now got a flu bug, so maybe that was it?
Last game,again, was a case of my opponent playing below par. In normal circumstances I should have won comfortably, but I still kept missing the trebles and didn't put myself in a commanding position. My opponent won through instead of me.
Although a bit disappointed, I did feel I had learned something. I think the biggest obstacle in my game at the moment is in my head. I intend to do a lot of research on this. I know there
