"My head's not in the game fully at the moment": Callan Rydz still coming to terms with passing of grandfather, reveals shocking abuse

Callan Rydz openly admitted his head is still not fully in the game amid a tough time off the oche after the passing of his grandfather during the PDC World Darts Championship.

Rydz reached the third round at Ally Pally before falling 4-1 to Josh Rock but perhaps was in fact secondary to the passing of his grandfather and has continued to see him not set any sort of targets for the coming season as he aims to return to the oche at the World Masters.

But despite all of that, he is very much going to return and isn't going to take a break from the game despite what has happened. "Just see what happens, to be honest, mate. My head’s not in the game fully at the moment," he said on Instagram.

“But once a few things are out of the way, then I’ll decide. Just trying to keep my head above the water. But I’ll be playing 100%. I’ve made my mind up on that.”

He also spoke of the pressure of being a professional darts player as well as the shocking levels of abuse that he receives from people who bet on the sport and when he loses that heightens.

He said that he has to just deal with it and whether it bothers him or not, every player has to deal with it while some do better than others. Especially when he is going through his own personal issues, this of course is more difficult than most.

“The darts side is fine, but at the same time, when you lose and get people who think they deserve their money back off a bet and start mentioning family and stuff, it can be challenging not to say anything back.”

“Sometimes, yes, but when they say, ‘I hope you die and family die of cancer,’ it’s awful. But everyone gets it, but some deal with it better than others.”