Ryan Searle has gone from Challenge Tour graduate to top 16 star and televised title contender in the space of just five years. Chris Murphy looks back at his quiet but remarkable rise in PDC Darts.
After winning the 2016 PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit, Rob Cross claimed one of the Tour Cards allocated to the top two in the rankings and went on to take glory at the William Hill World Darts Championship at the end of his first season as a professional.
The other player to progress to the ProTour that year, having finished in second place, was an unassuming character by the name of Ryan Searle.
He is a man who defies any obvious formula for darting success. He has severe trouble with his sight. He throws an outrageously heavy dart. He does his own thing, his own way.
While Cross’ incredible exploits continued to catch the attention of darts fans and the media, Searle’s impressive rise went somewhat under the radar.
Had he not graduated alongside the World Champion in waiting, the Devonshire darter’s potential may have been noticed sooner.
Having won two Challenge Tour titles in 2016, it took Searle just four events to reach a PDC ranking semi-final – doing so at a UK Open Qualifier in February 2017.
The former window cleaner, nicknamed Heavy Metal due to a combination of his image based on the rock genre and his weighty 32 gram darts, went on to reach a second semi-final in his maiden season.
His upward career curve continued the following year, including a run to his first final in which he lost out to Nathan Aspinall.
After several eye-catching performances, Searle’s big breakthrough moment came early in 2020 when he won the third Players Championship of the year.
His road to glory included victories over Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Glen Durrant, Jeffrey de Zwaan and a final triumph over Michael van Gerwen.
Consistency soon came and Searle’s runs to the deep end of tournaments continued, reaching five PDC finals in 2021 and adding another ranking title.
The last 12 months have also seen him produce eye-watering numbers, beating his personal best three-dart average five times over the course of the season – with all of those five performances resulting in averages of more than 110, including his current record of 116.9.
Searle has also improved his TV results of late. The 34-year-old reached his first televised quarter-final at the World Grand Prix before his fabulous run in Minehead, where he was only denied winning the Players Championship Finals in a last-leg decider defeat to Peter Wright.
That run secured his spot in the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit ahead of his trip to Ally Pally, where he has reached the last 16 in two of his last three visits.
After a comfortable straight-sets success over William Borland, Searle is a win away from reaching that stage once again but, maybe this year, he can look beyond the fourth round.
In any other era, Searle’s rise to prominence may have been celebrated more. The climb itself has been anything but modest but the quiet way he has gone about it is typical of this humble contender – who there is starting to be a lot of noise about.
Searle takes on Danny Noppert in the third round of the William Hill World Darts Championship on Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday December 28
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x Third Round
Steve Lennon v Mervyn King
Ryan Searle v Danny Noppert
Joe Cullen v Martijn Kleermaker
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x Third Round
Rob Cross v Daryl Gurney
Peter Wright v Damon Heta
Michael van Gerwen v Chris Dobey