"There's nothing in there for lower ranked players" - Richie Burnett somewhat relieved to be off the Pro Tour

Richie Burnett has made an excellent start to the World Seniors Darts Championship. 'The Prince of Wales' defeated Keith Deller 3-1 in the opening round and now gets to take on Colin McGarry.

Burnett had to come back from a 1-0 deficit in sets. "I started slow but once I got into a rhythm I just went double top," Burnett recapped post-match. "I didn't feel fresh. I think it's coming back to this venue, I haven't been here for a long time. It's all changed so much but once I got accustomed to the setup I was all good."

On returning to the Circus Tavern, "It's a but unsettling to be honest," Burnett admits. "I've got a lot of good memories but bad ones too," he laughs.

Burnett only lost his PDC Tour Card early this year and failed to recapture it at Q-School. "I've been playing the last 6 months with bad back but that's the hand that's dealt. I've just got to deal with it and see how it goes. I still love the game. I was never gonna get my Card back but I had to go because of the Challenge Tour."

Nevertheless, Burnett isn't totally disappointed to be off the professional circuit. "There's nothing in there for lower ranked players. Especially with the changes to the European Tour it's just taken away everything from them so they made the choice to be here for me actually. And a lot of other people I presume."