"I went from really caring to turning up and just playing and hoping for the best" - Tavis Dudeney on the mental switch that earned him his World Championship debut
PDC
The second year as a Tour Card holder is decisive for many players. The novelty has worn off, opponents know your game, and the pressure to keep your place is palpable at every ProTour weekend.
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For Tavis Dudeney, that was perhaps even more true than average. After a difficult middle stretch of his debut year on the PDC Tour, the Englishman rediscovered his confidence toward the end of the season – with the absolute highlight being qualification for the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.
In conversation with Tungsten Tales, Dudeney looks back on a year that was educational, sometimes painful, but ultimately hopeful.
“The back end of the year was a big sort of boost in confidence, ready for the start of this year and hopefully for the whole year as well,” says Dudeney. “There’s a lot of work to do if I want to keep my tour card, but you know, just going to see how it goes and hope for the best.”
Those words sound optimistic, but the reality is that his first year as a Tour Card holder was anything but straightforward. “From where I was at the start of last year to the end of last year was good,” he reflects. “But the middle bit was the issue.”
That period was marked by uncertainty and change. “There was a lot of changing things and a lot of confidence dropped as well.” The consequences showed up quickly in the numbers: where he had previously lost matches while still averaging well, his level visibly dropped. “I was going from losing games with high 80s to mid-90s to then losing games with low 80s to high 70s. That can’t be happening. Something has to change there, 100%.”
The harsh reality of the ProTour
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The move to the ProTour circuit is a culture shock for many players. Dudeney, who in the preceding years was used to winning regularly, noticed the difference quickly. “There’s a lot of high-class, top-quality darts players,” he says.
At the start of the year it still felt familiar. “I think I won quite a few games at the start of the year, so it kind of still felt the same.” But once defeats became more frequent, it became mentally tough. “When I started losing — and I was losing well a lot of the time — it was really hard to take, because I was kind of thinking, ‘What am I doing wrong?’”
That led to changes — and eventually to a dip in form. “That’s where the changing came into it, and then the drop in form happened.”
Remarkably, the turnaround didn’t come from analysing more or pushing harder, but from letting go. “I’m not too sure, really,” Dudeney admits. “I think I kind of had such a mindset that I just didn’t care.”
That shift proved crucial. “I sort of went from really caring about wanting to win and do well to just literally turning up and just playing and hoping for the best.” The result was freedom. “I was so much more relaxed. I wasn’t putting the amount of pressure on myself like I was during the year.”
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Dudeney carried that mindset into World Championship qualifying — a day where everything is on the line. “I literally rocked up and I was just like, ‘You know, if it happens, it happens.’”
Even when he found himself 6–1 down in his opening match, the calm remained. “It was like, ‘Okay, that’s a decent one, nice one.’” But then something changed. “Something clicked, and I just felt like I’d got the fire back in me that I’d been needing for the last sort of six months.” That fire carried him through. “It just drove me to not give up, really.” By the end of the day, he was heading to Alexandra Palace.
Ally Pally: smaller than expected, bigger than ever
Playing at the World Championship for the first time is unforgettable. For Dudeney, it exceeded expectations. “It was incredible. I can’t really put it into words.”
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There was one surprise, though. “I was surprised at how the venue is. I thought it would be a lot deeper. I thought it would be so much bigger because of watching it on TV for so many years.” During practice he took it all in. “I sort of looked out to the seats and thought to myself, ‘It’s tiny.’”
Once the crowd arrived, however, everything changed. “The experience with the crowd and everything was immense,” he says. “It’s definitely something that will stay with me forever.”
In the first round, Dudeney faced Brendan Dolan and produced an encouraging performance. “The only thing that sort of let me down in that game was the doubles. The scoring was fine.”
Ironically, that’s usually his strength. “Usually it’s the other way around. Usually my scoring isn’t too great sometimes, but my doubles are normally pretty decent.” This time, it simply wasn’t to be.
Still, pride remains. “Brendan’s experience definitely gave him that extra boost,” he admits. “It showed how he’s been at the level that he has been for so many years now. But no, I’m happy with my performance.”
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The taste of the big stage has only fuelled his hunger. “I love playing on stages,” Dudeney says. “Even just when I’m playing county, I love being on the stage. I love being in front of everyone.”
For him, it’s about more than results. “I just want to put on a bit of a show. I want to play well.” Above all, at Alexandra Palace, there was one priority. “I didn’t want to make myself look silly or anything whilst I was up there.”
New goals: European Tour and experience
Looking ahead, Dudeney’s ambitions are clear but grounded. “I’d like to try and qualify for some EuroTours. I didn’t manage to do that last year.”
The motivation goes beyond rankings. “It’s not just because of the ranking money,” he explains. “It’s just to experience new countries, to actually travel a little bit.” So far, most of his time has been spent in familiar places. “I’m only ever used to going to Germany and now obviously Holland.”
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Ultimately, the focus remains on retaining his place on tour. “Hopefully I can string a bit of form together,” Dudeney says. “It only takes a couple of little runs to be able to boost the prize money.” The belief is there. “I’m hoping the back end of last year has given me that confidence to really try and do some damage this year.”
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
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- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026