Devon Petersen is one player who has been on form in 2020 with 'The African Warrior' impressing many with his brilliance especially on the ProTour (Players Championship) events earlier on this year.
As a result for Petersen, stopping darts suddenly due to the Coronavirus lockdown has it's good and bad parts but for the South African. He discussed in a recent interview, that while he remains ready, having the break away from the sport for a while, due to his upturn in form, is a help and not a hindrance.
"It's not the best situation obviously, but we make the best of a bad situation. I've been practising a lot, putting enough hours in on a daily basis. The online darts is taking off so we get a lot of online requests to play, and you can actually play anyone and everyone at different levels." said Petersen to
Darts Around the Globe Podcast."In the beginning, it was like that because it was so uncertain. Everyone was saying September is when we're going to return. I went through a few weeks of not putting in solid practice, but now I'm practising and think I'm playing next week. So just staying mentally focused all the time and just making sure I'm mentally prepared."
Changing equipment and thoughts on the break
Like alluded to for the South African, he is pleased of sorts with the break but spoke about his improved form and said it is down to another factor: a change in equipment.
"The consistency of form has started in 2020 and also playing ton averages are getting noticed by many people. I know that this has been in the works for the past two years. I've been practising well, but not putting it into the game.
Fortunately for me, with my new sponsorship with Trinidad and Condor, the equipment has elevated my ability. It is now coming to show my form basically. I think the stop came at the right time because I was at such a high and I had to comprehend what was happening, and make sure my level of consistency was maintained.
I can kind of hone my skills and get used to playing at that level consistently."