Ahead of the 2026 PDC Paddy Power World Championship, the headline makers – or if you like, the usual suspects - were already written in thick black ink. They belonged, quite naturally, to the reigning monarch, Luke Littler. And when the teenage phenomenon wasn’t being lionised across tabloids, timelines and talking heads, attention simply swivelled to the usual constellation of elite names – Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Gian van Veen.
Justifiably so. These are the sport’s titans. The recognisable faces. The names even the most casual, pint-holding, once-a-year darts viewer can rattle off without hesitation. Not to mention, the men you expect to be posing with the Sid Waddell Trophy when the confetti settles. But sport, gloriously, rarely obeys expectation.
Step forward Mr Ryan Searle.
An arrow-smith of immense natural ability, Searle has spent years orbiting the elite like a celestial body just outside the main constellation. Close enough to feel dangerous. Not quite revered enough to dominate the discourse. Known. Respected. Rarely hyped.
History is thick with rebellion. With underdogs clawing their way out of obscurity and erupting into relevance. Phoenixes rising from the ashes while favourites stare on, stunned. And as this year’s World Championship edges ever closer to its defining chapters, the question lingers in the tungsten-heavy air – are we watching it happen again?
Scan the Devonian’s TV major CV and it doesn’t scream inevitability. A Players Championship Finals run in 2021. A couple of quarter-final appearances dotted elsewhere. On the surface, nothing headline-grabbing. But look closer and a pattern emerges. Deep runs. Consistent presence. Matches won under pressure. Progress measured not in explosions, but in accumulation.
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Then of course is the bread and butter – regular trips to the likes of Wigan, Leicester and Milton Keynes where players battle to reach the TV tournaments. The Player Championships – more commonly known as “the floor events”. This is where Heavy Metal has forged his reputation. One title every year since 2020. Then, just to underline the point, two more added this season. Seven in total. Seven. Winning one of these events demands elite quality. Winning seven is a billboard-sized statement of class, durability and mental fortitude. Add to that a glut of semi-finals and ten runner-up finishes, and the word consistency begins to feel woefully understated.
The Euro Tour tells a slightly different story. Still waiting for that elusive title, yes – but stacked with positive runs and near-misses. None more agonising than a last-leg defeat to Martin Schindler in the 2024 Swiss Darts Trophy. Painful. Yes. But also revealing. He belongs in those moments.
So when TV majors roll around – and Ryan Searle is almost always there – his name quietly slips into the dark-horse conversation. Not shouted. Mentioned. Nodded at knowingly. And now, as the World Championship barrels into its home straight, Heavy Metal remains. Untouched. Unruffled. Yet to drop a set.
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Somehow, remarkably, the 38-year-old has flown under the radar. Stealth mode engaged. But defeat the winner of the Jonny Clayton versus Andreas Harrysson clash and suddenly he’s a quarter-finalist. Win that next match to nil? The whispers become conversations. The conversations become conviction. Imagine that.
The bookmakers will tell you there are plenty more fancied names. They usually do. But when a player like Luke Humphries consistently sings his compatriot’s praises, perhaps its time people stopped scrolling and started listening.
Can Ryan Searle become World Champion? It would be his maiden TV major crown. But strip the question down to its bare components. Is he world-class? Undeniably. Is his form in this tournament elite? Absolutely. Does he possess the talent, temperament and composure to win a big TV event? Unequivocally yes.
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In truth, the arguments against Searle lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy feel thinner than those supporting the possibility. And in a sport where seismic shocks are not only possible but frequent, this would not top the surprise list.
As always, time will tell. One way of another, Ryan Searle will provide the answer.
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