Petersen welcomed Coronavirus break despite successful start to 2020: "It definitely helped me to improve my efficiency on the board"

PDC
Monday, 10 August 2020 at 10:00
Devon Petersen3 1 scaled

Devon Petersen has found a new lease of life in terms of his game in 2020 which has seen him become one of the most consistent performers on the ProTour with a potential World Grand Prix debut now on the horizon.

Petersen like many though had their progress stunted by the Coronavirus pandemic which saw all darts after March cancelled or rescheduled. 'The African Warrior' spoke in a recent interview with DartsNews and admitted lockdown was welcome for him.

"I think lockdown afforded me the opportunity to actually work on my game, a lot more specific and a lot more focused in areas that I need.

For example when you are preparing for a ProTour that's obviously going to get you to a ranking to qualify, ultimately it's week on week so you are literally preparing for three weeks but it's under pressure because you need to get those things right immediately for the weekend," said Petersen to DartsNews.

"Lockdown allowed us a few months to focus on areas where you had more time to spend on finishing, technique, finding your range, perfecting the throw. So for me, lockdown was fantastic, I enjoyed it. It changed the game as we know it."

"Lockdown definitely helped me to improve my efficiency"

In terms of whether it was a help or a hindrance, for Petersen it was a help as he could spend more time perfecting his game as he attempted to continue his brilliant form.

"So obviously this has been a gradual process, my game has been improving all the time. At the start of the year, I took the platform I had, building up to that and obviously performing ton plus averages. But by performing like that, ultimately you need to remember it comes with a kind of pressure that is you are conscious about what you are doing and how you're performing."

"So then you become a bit more analytical about your throw and wanting to repeat it but also keeping in mind you haven't performed like this for most of your career so your mental approach has changed. All of this time spent on technique helped me, lockdown definitely helped me to improve my efficiency on the board."

"I kind of feel I've capitalised on the lockdown"

As well as darts, 'The African Warrior' revealed that he has now also benefited on the darting side during lockdown and it has given him the opportunity to focus more on non-darting ventures.

"I do forex trading as well so I've been doing that. I've been touching on the art side where I've been customising sneakers, spending more time with my family.

Just exploring different business ventures and putting them into place and they are kind of coming to fruition now. I think lockdown was an opportunity for creatives to actually sit down and look at what this current situation is and how you can benefit from it. I kind of feel I've capitalised on the lockdown."

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