World Darts Championship: Brendan Dolan’s road to recovery as ‘History Maker’ makes 17th Alexandra Palace appearance

Brendan Dolan is determined to end a testing year on a positive note as he gears up for his 17th consecutive appearance at the World Darts Championship.

The Fermanagh thrower equalled his best run at the Worlds last year when reaching the quarter-finals, beating former world champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson along the way.

But his hopes of building on that performance in 2024 were derailed by a shoulder injury which left him unable to lift his throwing arm.

After a lengthy rehab, which afforded him time to complete work on a first-rate dart room at his Belcoo home, Dolan is back working hard ahead of Saturday’s second-round match against Hong Kong debutant Lok Yin Lee, live on Sky Sports.

“I want to prove a point that I’m still good enough,” Dolan told Sky Sports. “I want to keep qualifying and show the world that I’m still good enough to compete.”

Dolan demonstrated he can still mix it with the best when he won a Players Championship event in Hildesheim in May, his 10th PDC Tour title. But even then he was struggling with that shoulder injury which ended up severely impacting his throw. It resulted in a rough run of first-round exits at the World Matchplay, Grand Prix and on the European Tour.

“I’ve had a poor end to the year,” said the 51-year-old. “The last three or four months have not been good but the injury has really affected me, and the fact I was doing this dart room up so I had nowhere to practise. Between the two things I wasn’t putting in enough effort and it told.

“The shoulder injury, I was waiting for jolts of pain, which made me change my throw without really realising it. I spent maybe two or three months with a different throw.

“Even when I won that title I was suffering with the injury but it hadn’t got to its worst level. Two days later, I couldn’t move my arm five centimetres away from my hip.

“It was only with constant physio that my shoulder is now better, but my brain is still used to throwing the old way, stopping halfway through the throw. My throw gets a wee bit loopy and very weak, and for that reason I probably didn’t perform as well. And obviously with a run of defeats, confidence wasn’t there.

I do feel I’ve a game that is in a good enough place to get me past the second round. With a win my confidence can soar.

“But the fact I’ve spent this last month in this dart room practising, I feel there is a better rotation in my shoulder. My darts are not standing as elevated going in the board, which means the throw is stronger. I do feel I’m getting back to where I once was.

“Obviously form is not good going into it [the Worlds], but I’m quietly confident that I’m improving.”

Dolan is leaving no stone unturned ahead of his Alexandra Palace return. WDF champion Shane McGuirk, who credited Dolan for his guidance en route to his Lakeside victory earlier this month, has been returning the favour by travelling to Belcoo to practise, while local players have also been putting him through his paces.

In testing times he is able to lean on experience, as well as his family.

“I’ve been in dire situations and let them just act out and not put up a fight,” said Dolan. “I realise that’s the wrong thing to do. I’ve put up a fight and come out on the good side.

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“Every time you go up on stage you’re learning more, not how to throw darts, but more about yourself and how you react to things.

“With my life in such a great place – family, my wife Teresa, stepchildren and granddaughters, it’s such a good feeling.

“Darts is not the be-all and end-all. I can put my effort into the game, the tournament there and then, and still know my family is backing me up.”

Dolan will again have plenty of support when he returns to the Ally Pally stage. Of current players, only James Wade and Michael van Gerwen have made more consecutive appearances than ‘The History Maker’, who believes that experience could prove the difference as he looks to negotiate his first assignment.

“Playing with that crowd, it’s a festive atmosphere so close to Christmas, so it is important to be able to settle in quick. The fact that I’m mentally a lot stronger than I was a month ago because of the practice I’ve been putting in, I do feel I’ve a game that is in a good enough place to get me past the second round. With a win my confidence can soar.”

While Monaghan’s McGuirk made history with his world title win at Lakeside, the wait for a first PDC world champion from the island of Ireland goes on. Dolan firmly believes it will happen, though. He rolls out a list of names, from his World Cup of Darts team-mates Daryl Gurney and Josh Rock to the up-and-coming Keane Barry and Dylan Slevin, while he is expecting big things from Willie O’Connor in the coming years.

And how does Dolan rate his own chances?

“I have an ambition to win the World Championship,” he said. “When that is, I’ll wait and see. I don’t put too much pressure on myself every year. I do really think though, once I play my first game, it’s about getting past it, because I then feel I’m in the tournament.

“The way the schedule is, if you win that game you get to come back after Christmas. It’s more of a relief to all darts players to say they were there after Christmas. For that reason, I’ll then feel more comfortable and my best darts will come out of me.”

Dolan will fly back to Ireland after his match on Saturday and will celebrate Christmas with his family in his new dart room. A self-confessed home bird, the border towns of Belcoo and Blacklion are separated by less than half a mile of road and are intertwined by a strong sense of community.

“This is where I was born and raised. Belcoo is very neighbourly, people are genuine. They don’t go through the motions. If they want to know they’ll ask, see how you’re doing.

“With me, obviously a lot of people about how I’m doing at darts. Then they’ll ask about my wife Teresa, then my mother. They know the whole family circle and you know all of theirs.

“It’s a really nice place to live and as you can see it’s very picturesque. We’re just looking at the Cuilcagh Mountains and over Lough MacNean. It’s a lovely place to live.”

Home comforts for the man with world ambitions.

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