Jamie Lewis is ending a turbulent 12 months with Christmas cheer after winning through to the second round of the William Hill World Darts Championship.
2018 semi-finalist Lewis meets fellow Welsh star Gerwyn Price on Monday evening after a brilliant comeback win over Luke Woodhouse on Thursday saw him progress at London’s Alexandra Palace.
The 29-year-old roared back from being two sets behind to seal another memorable World Championship win.
But Lewis almost opted not to enter last month’s Tour Card Holder Qualifier, which saw him seal an eighth Ally Pally appearance, because of a difficult year on and off the oche.
“I was struggling badly and had been for some time,” admitted Lewis.
“There was a European Tour event recently where I averaged less than 60. It was terrible and people were laughing at me. I was reading messages on social media of people mocking me, but people didn’t realise I was going through a tough time mentally.
“Thankfully, representatives of the PDPA realised that there was something wrong and put an arm around me and offered me support.
“When I got home, I had a good chat with the PDPA and they referred me to Sporting Chance who arranged for me to see someone about anxiety issues.
“It’s really helped and I felt strong enough mentally to go the qualifier. I managed to not put too much pressure on myself, played okay and ending up winning through.
“It meant a lot to me to win my first game. I think I’ve proved a lot to myself and others. It was kind of symbolic of the year I have had.
“I thought about taking a break but I’ve never really thought about walking away totally because I know what I can do even when I’m not doing it. I know I just need to get my mind right and the rest will follow.
“I’m so grateful for the support I have had and for being back on the right track now. My advice to anyone struggling with anxiety or any mental health issue would be to talk about it and get the professional help that is available.
“It’s a tough game next against Gerwyn – he’s amazing. I know if I can give it my best I can give him a game so we will see what happens.”
Monday December 21
Schedule of play
4x Second Round
Krzysztof Ratajski v Ryan Joyce (R2)
Ian White v Kim Huybrechts (R2)
Gerwyn Price v Jamie Lewis (R2)
Gabriel Clemens v Nico Kurz (R2)
Best of five sets (no tie-breaks in deciding sets)