Dobey admitted though that it's a shame he can't play in front of his home crowd in Newcastle where he would have received a raptous reception. He hopes to build form after missing out on the World Matchplay though.

"It's obviously good to get some more playing time; but I'm gutted I'm not playing the Premier League in front of my home crowd. I did it last year and I'll hopefully get that chance again," said Dobey to Darts World.

“I haven’t played for a few weeks now, I missed out on the Matchplay; so the other players have had that experience of the no crowd system.

I thought that worked well though; it’s hard to watch when you’re not playing in the event. It was a bit painful. But as long as we’re back playing darts I’m happy."

“It’s been up and down obviously. I did OK at the start of the year in the UK Open and playing well carrying on from the end of last year. I’d started making really progress with the two semi-finals. Now hopefully we can get going again, get a few good results and really kick on."

“It’s better to gradually get better and better. You see the likes of Rob Cross winning the World Championship in his first year and now he’s expected to win all these things. It must be hard for him having that pressure on his shoulders."