"Hopefully this is just the start for me and I can make many more finals" - Ryan Joyce makes real Euro Tour breakthrough at European Darts Trophy

Ryan Joyce fell just short of claiming his first European Tour title on Sunday evening. The 39-year-old Englishman lost 8-4 to Nathan Aspinall in the final of the 2025 European Darts Trophy. Despite the defeat, Joyce was filled with pride over his performance.

Joyce had an excellent Sunday in Göttingen, defeating Rob Cross in the round of 16, Cameron Menzies in the quarterfinals, and Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals. However, he never reached his best form in the final and ultimately had to concede victory to Aspinall. 'Relentless' has previously won two Players Championship tournaments, but he will have to wait a little longer for his first European Tour title.

“I’m over the moon to get to my first European Tour final,” reflected Joyce in his post-match interview on stage afterwards, finding it easy to see the positives of the weekend, despite his final defeat. “I have really enjoyed this weekend, and hopefully this is just the start for me and I can make many more finals. I was just outclassed in the final, so fair play to Nathan. He’s a terrific player and he completely outscored me tonight.”

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One of the reasons this is only the first final Joyce has ever made on the Euro Tour, is because the Englishman has a noted fear of flying. With his darts career somewhat forcing him to overcome those fears step by step however, more success on the continent could be a very welcome reward for the man who memorably pushed Luke Littler all the way at the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship.

"I really wanted to play a little bit better than that to be honest. If I'd have played like I can, I'd have won 8-0!" Joyce joked. "But no, I've enjoyed this European Tour more than any other. Gottingen has been fantastic and the crowd have been really, really good so thank you very much."

Thanks to his impressive run to the final, Joyce made a significant jump on the world rankings, rising to 26th place. He is now just over £33,000 behind 25th-ranked Daryl Gurney.

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