INTERVIEW - Labanauskas ahead of Lithuania’s World Cup of Darts debut: ‘I am very proud that we made it in’

Darius Labanauskas will make his debut as one half of team Lithuania at the World Cup of Darts next week.

Switzerland were taken out late which opened the door for them and for Labanauskas he sees it as special and even better after missing out originally.
‘Making a debut in any tournament is a big deal, it is even more special playing for my country in the World Cup. I am very proud that we made it in; it was something that was very important to me.’ said Labanauskas to DartsNews.com.
‘I was disappointed when the teams were first announced and Lithuania was not a part of the tournament; but after it was announced that Switzerland would be missing out and we were replacing them, it was a special moment.’
Labanauskas will team up with Mindaugas Barauskas, a relative unknown for the darts fans. It may hold the edge for the team as they practice together and play pairs together.
‘I know Mindaugas very well, we have played in many pairs tournaments together, he is also my practice partner; as we both often play in the same club and only live 30 kilometers apart.’
Labanauskas has endured a brilliant month or so reaching a final on a ProTour; and ‘Lucky D’ admitted Spring is usually the time he plays his best darts.
‘It may be a coincidence, but I usually play my best darts in spring. Hal Open, Denmark Open, Polish Open; Lithuanian Open, Estonian Open, all of those are tournaments I won in Spring before; not to mention five qualifiers for Euro Tours and two PDC Nordic & Baltic tournament wins last spring alone.’
‘The trend continues this year, as I made a semi-final on the pro tour not so long ago, followed by my first final. Knowing that I have had so much success at this time of the year does help my confidence at least a little bit.’

Doing better than expected

The standard on the ProTour has improved massively and Labanauskas can’t believe he is in this select group and that he’s doing better than expected. ‘The Pro Tour is really tough; the best players in the world compete here and I am one of them, which is hard to believe. Where players of such high level meet; luck is bound to be a factor, ‘However, I do believe that the second year is more important for a 2-year Pro Tour card holder; so I did not set any big goals for this year', Labanauskas continued. He added: ‘All I wanted to do is to get used to playing on the Pro Tour and improve my game. Needless to say, I am doing better than expected and I hope to keep it up moving forward.’