Ryan Searle is set to take on Luke Littler in the first round of the World Matchplay on Sunday, with the Englishman opening up on his battle with dominant optic atrophy
Darts ace Ryan Searle has candidly spoken about his struggle with dominant optic atrophy, which once left him unsure if he’d nailed a nine-darter. The 37-year-old, who’s gearing up to face Luke Littler in the World Matchplay’s opening round on Sunday, hasn’t shied away from discussing the vision problems that have plagued him since his youth.
Despite contact lenses clearing up his sight somewhat, there are moments when Searle is left guessing his score, even during a flawless 501. Recalling a moment from the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts, the Englishman was on track for a nine-darter and had to depend on the crowd’s roar to confirm his success after sinking the final dart.
Reflecting on the experience, he shared: “I hit the seventh dart in the treble 20. Then I went for the treble 19. When I let it go it didn’t feel too good, then the crowd made the noise.
“I couldn’t really tell it was there, it was the crowd that told me. Then I went for double 12 and, luckily enough, it went in. It has not been easy. I wear contact lenses to play and it’s improved my sight a little bit.
“I was about 54 in the world playing without contact lenses, then I went up to about 15 once I could see a little bit better. I’m quite a rhythmic player so it helped that I wasn’t having to stop and ask [the referee] every few throws. It has definitely helped my game.”
Searle recently updated fans about his condition and shared how it has also affected his daughter, who is classed as visually impaired. He’s now trying to raise funds and awareness for research into finding a cure.
He said: “I can only just legally drive. I wear contacts now, so it is not quite as bad. My vision is not quite as blurry, so I don’t have to stop and ask the ref what I have scored.
“That’s helped my game a lot because I’m not having to stop and pause by asking all the time. But I have an eye disease called dominant optic atrophy which is a genetic thing.
“I have only sort of found out in the last 12-18 months because my daughter has it. It comes in different severities. Mine is fairly bad.
“Her’s is really bad so she’s registered as visually impaired which counts as a disability and so she’ll probably never be able to drive. So I’ve been talking to a charity about this where they are trying raise money to find a cure for this.
“At the moment there is no cure for it because whatever you are born with is the vision you have got. There is nothing to help improve it.
“So, I’m going to have a patch on my shirt saying about the charity and try and raise a bit more awareness to see if we can get towards a cure.”
Searle is aiming to spring a surprise on Sunday by defeating Littler and securing his spot in the second round. Defending champion Luke Humphries suffered a shock defeat in the opening round when he was ousted by Gian van Veen on Saturday.