"If I can stand up there once a year, enjoy myself and have fun, then that’s enough for me" - Zoran Lerchbacher cherishes return to Euro Tour despite defeat

Zoran Lerchbacher could not mark his return to the European Tour with a win. He was defeated 6-2 by Peter Wright at the Austrian Darts Open, but this would not prevent him from being very happy and positive after a delightful day out back on the main stage.

After taking the lead, Wright ticked off four consecutive legs to give himself a definitive advantage. Lerchbacher kept his hopes alive by reeling back in one of the breaks but Wright would not be fazed, seeing the tie out and booking his spot in the second round.

While darts is not his main profession anymore, Lerchbacher still felt at home on the stage and enjoyed his time playing against the two-time world champion in front of a home crowd. "It was absolutely wonderful for me. Once a year, I take the time for it. As I’ve said before, I stopped professionally about three years ago. I still enjoy playing darts, but I have different priorities in life now," he told Dartsnews.com after the match.

"I actually felt very comfortable out there today. It took me a while, but I just couldn’t translate it into my performance. That’s probably down to my lack of practice. Still, it was an honour to stand up there with Peter Wright and play a bit of darts with him.

"We all know he hasn’t been playing at his highest level recently, but for me it was simply fantastic. And I’ll say this for you guys too: even though I lost, and even though you can see there was more possible if I were really playing properly, you just have to accept it. If I can stand up there once a year, enjoy myself and have fun, then that’s enough for me."

It was hugely important for him to return to this event, one he is cherished at by many Austrian darts fans. "These are my people, my Styrians. They always push me and motivate me. They really try to carry you through the match. Of course, it hurts a bit when you feel like you’re disappointing people who are cheering so passionately for you. But I’m only human — what can I do? I can miss darts just like anyone else."

Lerchbacher has had a very solid career in the sport. When boasting a Tour Card, he appeared in the PDC World Darts Championship on four separate occasions, reaching the second round twice, while also making it to the quarterfinal in the World Cup of Darts back in 2019.

He has had a lot of experience on the big stage against the best players in the world, but not any recently due to him slowly moving away from the sport in terms of a professional point of view. This might have made the feeling for him walking back on stage a nerve-wracking one, but it was the complete opposite.

"Honestly, that surprised me today — there really wasn’t any nervousness at all," he admitted. "I genuinely enjoyed it and soaked it all in."

He explained his real issues on stage. "My issue has always been the setup around the stage. The practice boards are brightly lit with spotlights, exactly how a dartboard should be. Then you walk onto the stage and suddenly everything feels dark. Even little details matter to me — the practice setup is maybe five centimetres higher, the stage board eight centimetres. These are tiny things, but mentally they affect me."

He continued to talk about the lights and cameras and how they affect him on the oche compared to backstage on the practice board. "The brightness of the board has always been a topic for me. I understand it has to be that way because of the cameras, but when I’m backstage playing brilliantly and seeing the darts perfectly, then I walk on stage and it feels like I’m throwing in the dark, it creates uncertainty for me."

Nevertheless, that was just a minor complaint. "But overall, I still enjoy it. And especially against such a strong character like Peter Wright — someone who is exactly the same person on stage as he is backstage — I’m just happy I got the chance to play him."

Today was one example of Lerchbacher still competing at the top level of darts, albeit that is very sparse these days. Despite this, he has not called it total quits on the sport.

"As I said, I stopped seriously after COVID, around three years ago. The whole situation also took away my motivation to travel," he explained. "At some point, I had to make a decision for myself. I have darts, I run an online shop, I have a physical store, I have a café, I have a wife, two children, and a grandchild. If you spread yourself in every direction, you only give 10 or 15 percent to each thing, and in the end you don’t do anything properly."

A long career in the sport with a lot achieved gave him the peace to walk away with no regret. "After 28 years of playing, I realised I honestly don’t need the attention anymore. So I decided to step away a bit, focus on other things, and build security for myself and my family through business. Thankfully, that’s been going really well."

He is focusing his attention away from the oche in terms of a darts point of view, still travelling to events but not competing. "I also have a darts club connected to my venue with nearly 60 members. I still take time to travel to tournaments with motivated players from the club. I don’t play that many events myself anymore. Sometimes I play steel-dart events, and apparently I’m third in some ranking somewhere — I honestly didn’t even know that, because tomorrow I’m back at work again. That’s just how it is now. I play darts whenever I have the time and whenever it fits."

When he does play, he still makes an impression. The reigning Styrian state champion, Lerchbacher is not of the opinion that those events aid his time back on stage. "Honestly, I really see those events as leisure time now," he said. "These days it’s hard enough finding staff, and we run two businesses with basically three and a half people. There’s a huge amount of work."

Darts is still, and possibly will always, be a big part of his life. "So when my wife tells me, 'Okay, you’ve got a day off,' then I enjoy it with my people. Maybe I go play a steel-dart tournament or travel somewhere for a day just to relax and not think about work. But I also want to stay visible because I own a darts business, I’m still part of the darts scene, and I sell darts equipment. You need to maintain a presence. For me, those appearances are also a form of promotion — people see that the owner is still involved and still competing now and then."