HE may be a 250/1 shot to win the World Darts Championship, but Brendan Dolan believes his new positive mindset will take him deep into the tournament at the Alexandra Palace.
Back in July, the Belcoo man won his ninth non-televised PDC title, beating world number eight Jonny Clayton at the Barnsley Metrodome. But since then, Dolan’s struggled to replicate his top form, and he’s spent many months working on a new mindset which he feels will help him when he takes to the oche at the London venue on Friday.
“I have to play the dart board, and not the person,” explains Dolan, “that’s what I’ve been trying to do over the last few weeks – to take the dart board as my opposition and that’s what I have to beat up.
“This year, I find that I’ve been more inconsistent due to my mental state of mind rather than my physical ability to throw.”
As many arrow throwers will agree, darts is a mentally draining sport. Ahead of the World Championship, Dolan has been practicing on the board for around five hours a day, in a room, on his own, in his house in Belcoo.
“You have to do it on your own. It’s hard to keep focused all the time when you’re on your own,” concedes the world number 26.
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