“I’ve suffered some truly terrible defeats here. I lost to Joe Cullen and missed about 40 darts at double. Stuff like that hurts." — Ryan Searle back in the last 16 at the PDC World Darts Championship

Ryan Searle continues to impress at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship. With a clear 4–0 win over Martin Schindler, the Englishman took another convincing step towards the quarter-finals. An average of 102.29, his highest on this stage, and still no sets dropped underline the level he is producing.

Yet afterwards, Searle sounded strikingly matter-of-fact. “Yeah, like I said earlier, if you’d told me I averaged 102 there, I’m not sure I’d have believed you. If you’d said I averaged 92, I’d have believed that. It didn’t feel like I was playing that well.”

That blunt assessment fits Searle’s understated personality, but it also points to how clinical he was when it mattered.

“If you’d asked me before I went to sleep last night how I wanted the game to go, that was probably it,” he said. “Martin missed a lot of doubles, and some of the sets were closer than they ended up being. But I felt pretty ruthless on the finishing, and I’m just happy to get the win.”

The fact Searle averaged 102.29 while insisting it did not feel special says plenty about where his game is right now. “It didn’t feel like I was playing that well, but obviously that’s a good thing,” he said. “And I just feel like I’ve got a lot more gears to go yet.”

It is also a notable shift for a player who has often found this stage of the tournament difficult. “I’ve lost some horrendous games in this round before,” Searle admitted. “I lost to Joe Cullen and missed about 40 darts at double. Stuff like that hurts."

This time, he felt he handled the moment properly. “You learn from those mistakes and where you went wrong, and you try to put it right,” he said. “Today, Martin didn’t really put me under any pressure, but I feel like if he did, I’d have been able to respond. That’s the confidence I’ve got at the minute.”

One of the key changes behind that confidence, Searle explained, has been a switch in equipment. “It’s just a completely new dart. Same weight, same shape, but the grip is completely different,” he said.

He also made clear the change was not about chasing a quick fix, but about pushing himself to work harder. “I felt like I needed a little change because I wasn’t putting effort in on the practice board,” Searle said. “That change made me go to the board and put more effort in, and I think it’s showing in my game now.”

For Searle, the issue has often been concentration rather than pure ability. “It’s more about focus than anything,” he said. “That’s something I’ve always struggled with, even in practice… I was in the hotel on my own practising last night, trying to stay focused in the sessions instead of just throwing and not caring. It seems to be working.”

He also pointed to the size of the occasion as an extra motivator. “I think playing for a million pounds helps,” Searle said. “If you can’t focus and get yourself prepared for this, then you probably shouldn’t be playing the game.”

Even his humour carried the same message. “There are probably only two people on tour who care less than me, and one is Ryan Joyce and the other is Gary Anderson,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone else who cares less than I do.” But, he added, “it’s about focus and getting your head right.”

Searle also had to deal with a lively crowd, with a noticeable number of German supporters inside Alexandra Palace. “It was a bit odd, because at the start they were cheering his name and I thought, ‘We’re in England, not Germany,’” he said. “But it’s kind of nice — you try and quieten them down a bit, and I think I managed to do that. They were cheering my name in the end, so that was all good.”

He believes crowd influence depends heavily on whether your own game is stable. “I think it depends on how well you’re playing,” Searle said. “If you’re playing badly, missing doubles, and they’re cheering for your opponent, it’s a hard place to be.”

Next up is James Hurrell, and Searle made it clear he is not overlooking him. “If you look at the way James played last night, he was fantastic,” he said. “To average 98 over seven sets is a really high standard. You’ve got to play well to beat that.”

Searle expects a major test for both players. “I know I’m going to have to play well to win the next one,” he said. “It’s probably the biggest game of both of our careers so far.”

He also downplayed any talk of shocks in Hurrell’s run. “I don’t know if it’s a shock for James, because I think he’s played well the whole tournament,” Searle said. “He’s been very solid.”

Despite producing his best average on this stage and cruising through in straight sets, Searle still would not dress it up as a perfect performance. “No,” he said when asked if it felt like the most complete display. “Like I said, if you’d told me I averaged 92 and he averaged 87, I’d have believed you. It didn’t feel like I was playing that well.”

That, he suggested, is not a negative. “When I’m in the zone I don’t really take too much notice of how well I’m playing,” Searle said. “And I think that’s only a good thing because I feel like I’ve got at least another gear to go.”

He even admitted there is one personal target still in his mind. “I really want to hit a nine-darter,” Searle said. “That would top off my tournament, but obviously winning the next game is the most important thing.”

Searle felt he punished Schindler for every missed chance. “Before any match starts you want to make your opponent pay for any little miss,” he said. “You want to put them under as much pressure as possible. I felt like I did that today.”

Afterwards, he had a brief exchange with Schindler as they left the stage. “We shook hands and I said to him, ‘You didn’t really turn up there,’” Searle said. “But it happens… We’re not robots.”

He finished with a simple note of respect. “Martin’s a nice guy and I wish him the best.”