Brendan Dolan crashed out of the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship, losing 3-0 in his opening match to Callan Rydz.

The Belcoo man went into the match as the higher ranked player, but Rydz produced some of the best darts of his career as he eased to a convincing victory.

“I missed quite a few double opportunities,” admitted Dolan. “It was a bit disappointing in that respect, but at the same time when Callan was playing so well, I still managed to give myself the opportunities. It was not the worst I have ever played up there.

“Callan said it was the best he had ever played on TV, and I felt he was clinical with his finishing and his set up play was strong as well. I felt like I started legs strong enough, but maybe the set up and the finishing wasn’t quite what it should have been, but that’s darts for you.”

Dolan was frustrated at the nature of his defeat, given that he was coming into the tournament on the back of a good run of form. He had made the semi-finals of the recent Player’s Championship and was confident that he could carry that winning run through into the biggest competition of the season.

“This year, above all years, I fancied a long run, and in the back of my head I even fancied winning it,” he admitted.

“I had played well all year and had just come off a TV semi-final, and I felt, of all the years I have been playing, this was maybe the best I had ever felt going into the worlds, but it was just one of those things.”

Despite the defeat, Brendan is confident that he can continue to push his way up the world rankings after a successful 2021.

“My aim is still to get to the top of the game and there is no point stopping now,” he stated.

“I am starting to climb up the rankings again and everything is going in the right direction. I was a lot more consistent with my performances during the year. I finished ninth overall on the floor and third in the Europeans, and it was a lot better than the last five or six years.

“Now I have to add to it in 2022 and not just sit back and hope that was good enough. I have made great strides after falling away back in the rankings to 45 in the world. I’m back up to 22 at the minute, and hopefully next year I will be climbing into the top 16 and the top 10 with a good run at the start of the year.”

Brendan is optimistic his next outing will be the Masters at the end of January, but he faces an anxious wait to see how the World Championships affect the qualifying for the tournament.

The top 24 in the world earn the right to play in the competition, and with Brendan currently ranked at 22 he must wait to see if he is pushed out of the qualifying spots when the rankings are reassessed after the current tournament.