"Say you guys are terrible, you can't compete, but you're sending your very best players": Alex Spellman says rise of North Americans clouded and more credit is warranted

Alex Spellman returns to the stage at the US Darts Masters in New York this weekend. After a year away, the American is back in the line-up for the prestigious World Series event at Madison Square Garden and is eagerly looking forward to his new opportunity.

However, for Spellman, it is not just about his own performances. Having witnessed the development of North American darts firsthand, he believes that players from the United States and Canada continue to be consistently underestimated.

"Obviously a lot of people will be familiar with the CDC players, but there are so many more players who don't play on the CDC circuit," said Spellman to Darts World.

"Chris Lim is always one that comes to mind. He lives in California, so it's not always viable for him to make these trips. We're so much better than people give us credit for. If somebody has only seen me play once, maybe in one of my Grand Slam matches, they're probably wondering what I'm doing here. But there are other matches, whether they're publicised or not, where if people saw them they'd understand.

"People compare us to the Premier League players and say, "You guys are terrible, you can't compete." But you're sending your very best players, so it's hardly a shock if we lose. But we're not always losing.

"Michael Smith, if I'm not mistaken, has lost more matches than he's won in this building. Rob Cross lost here last year. Stephen Bunting lost here last year, and it's not like Bunting was playing badly. If I remember correctly, the World Series events were his best tournaments. Jeff Smith made the final. We've done just fine against the best players in the world. Now imagine taking the eight guys we have here, adding the rest of the CDC players and the strong non-CDC players, and matching us up against the bottom half of the top 128. We'd do just fine."

Spellman and Adam Sevada were both invited to the glitz-and-glamour Media Day to take an interview alongside all the big names, and when asked if that is a barometer of how far they've come, he believes it is. "They're seeing the value we have, because we need a little bit more exposure over there. Like I said, if people only see me when I'm playing terribly, then they're going to have that opinion of me, and that's completely warranted.

"The problem is we don't get many opportunities. We get one opportunity. Even if you're a great player, it takes time. Leonard Gates hasn't necessarily had the most success on stage either, but he's clearly one of our best players.

"The more opportunities you get, the more comfortable you become. Even if you're losing, you eventually get used to the environment and then you start winning. Hopefully it means they're seeing the value in what we have to say and what we can provide to the darts world, not just in Europe but here in the United States. I'm very grateful to be here."

But he gets two bites of the cherry no matter what happens as he will play in the North American Championship the day after for an Ally Pally and Grand Slam spot. "Once you've been here before, things change. We play each other all the time, so we know we can beat one another. In a weird way, knowing you can win creates more pressure.

"When you're new to this stage, you just want to prove that you can compete against some of the best players in the world. I lost 6-2 to Luke Humphries the first year, but then I lost 6-5 to Peter Wright. I'm not going to cry too much about that.

"Now I've been here and done it, I feel like I've proven to myself that I can compete with those guys. When I say compete, I don't necessarily mean beat them, but I can be competitive and create opportunities to win.

"Now the focus shifts because you're not just winning the North American title. There's good prize money, a Grand Slam place and a World Championship spot on the line. In the past, players have sometimes inherited those opportunities because somebody else had already qualified. This year, if I want those opportunities, I have to win. That definitely adds pressure."

Spellman also spoke of his delight surrounding interacting with the media and spreading the message of darts throughout the world as well as getting over issues with taking medication which has blighted him in the past.

"The reason I've got a smile on my face is because this side of things is what I enjoy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy playing, but I probably enjoy interacting with people and introducing them to the game even more.

"At home, when I'm playing well, I'm statistically playing better than I ever have before, according to DartConnect. The problem is that it's very inconsistent right now. I'm still coming out of those two years we've spoken about before with the medication issues. Even the medication that was legal within the sport, I stopped taking it in January to prepare for this weekend.

"As strange as it sounds, I didn't want to feel great all the time. I almost wanted to feel a little worse more often because I felt it would prepare me better. It's not been a great stretch, but this kind of thing keeps me distracted. I enjoy it and I'm going to keep doing this all day today and most of tomorrow so I can focus on enjoying the experience rather than building it up in my head."

But by not taking the medication anymore, Spellman said his desire has gone from being quite laissez-faire to having a fire and a desire to win.

"What I didn't realise with some of the medication I was taking was how much it affected my mentality. I kept telling people that the anger and the fire just weren't there. If I had a bad day, I'd be annoyed for a moment and then I'd just think, "It's fine, I'll do better next time."

"Ever since I stopped taking those medications, I've got some of that fire back. Now when I lose, I want to punch the couch. Unfortunately, I'm usually the closest thing to me when I lose! But that competitive edge has returned, and I think it's contributed to my game improving. My highs are really high right now and my lows are really low. I don't know what to expect, but I know that if I hit one of those highs, it's going to be a very good weekend."