Brown on juggling work with darts with PDC World Darts Championship return: "My darts has come second and it's been really noticeable"

Keegan Brown sealed his first title in seven years in August winning a Players Championship which saw him seal his return to the PDC World Darts Championship and after a few years in which 'The Needle' has worked part-time and on the COVID frontline, he said that really reflected in his form.

"The difference has been practising," Brown told BBC South Today.

"The last couple of years where I've been working at St Mary's Hospital my darts has come second and it's been really noticeable at competitions."

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Missing out last year, Brown almost punished himself by watching every game to give him the hunger to get back to the showpiece.

"Every single darts player on the PDC Tour, all they want, is to qualify for Ally Pally and I'm over the moon to qualify for it this year," the world number 64 said.

"I felt absolutely awful when I missed out in 2021 so I made myself watch every single game to make myself realize how much I missed it."

This after the as alluded to two years in which Brown was well documented to be putting work first. "Being a part of the NHS the last couple of years has been tough especially the first six or eight months of the pandemic," he added.

"I think between March and August I only picked up my darts about seven times and playing was definitely on the backburner.

"But going to work keeps me grounded and I enjoy my job. It gives me balance. I go to work to work and now I come home to practice darts.

"I made sure I practiced enough this year and so far the results have gone my way."

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But he is buzzing to return to the cauldron that is Ally Pally and experiencing the atmosphere once more.

"I think we've had at least two or three prime ministers between my last two wins," he said.

"Seven years is a long time without a trophy but hopefully another comes soon. It shows that the game of darts is a marathon and not a sprint.

"Practice is going well heading into Ally Pally so it's literally in my hands.

"The atmosphere there is always second to none with 5,500 people chanting and cheering you on it's almost as good as a Christmas present - I'm buzzing for it."