Lakeside world darts champion Glen Durrant insists he is ready to get back to launching some serious arrows as he looks to claim a victory in next month’s World Trophy which would earn him a triple crown of current major BDO titles.
The bulk of the Middlesbrough thrower’s spare time since he beat Danny Noppert in January to win his first world title has been taken up by appearances on the exhibition and sportsman’s evening circuit.
An early defeat at the Scottish Open and last 16 exit on the Isle of Man have been the sum of the 46-year-old’s competitive outings since he defeated Noppert 7-3 in a dramatic world championship final at Frimley Green.
But the reigning Lakeside and World Masters champion insists he is ready to put the good life on hold and get back to the grind in readiness for the World Trophy, which starts on May 26 at the Memo Arts Centre in Barry, Wales.
Durrant is the top seed for the next BDO major won last year by Darryl Fitton and is currently trying to sharpen up for it this weekend at the inaugural Bruges Belfry Darts Festival in Belgium before heading out to Denmark.
“I’ve been enjoying life since winning the world title,” Durrant said.
“I must have taken the world championship trophy the length and breadth of Teesside, from doing sportsman’s dinners to going into schools.
“But I must admit I’ve been playing rubbish and lost something.
“The focus has been on playing exhibitions rather than competitive darts.
“When you need 150 you go for three bullseyes rather than starting off on the treble 20, so it’s different.
“I read Alex Ferguson’s book recently and he said after he won his first trophy he was deperate to go out and win his second one straight away,” Durrant added.
“My mentality was ‘I’ve won everything now’.
“I lost to Richard Veenstra at the Isle of Man, but I’ve played worse and won tournaments and found him good.
“So it hasn’t been all bad and I won an exhibition in Manchester a fortnight ago.
“A lot of the PDC lads were there and Dennis Priestley, and I beat Kevin Painter in the final.
“But I’m looking to get some aggression back into my game and want to be in tip-top shape for the World Trophy.
“It’s being billed as me going for the triple crown but I hold the Finder Masters as well, so I’d consider it to be the quadruple which I would be really proud to win.”
Durrant’s previous best BDO World Trophy performance was a run to the quarter-finals in 2015.
This year is the fourth edition of the tournament.
