Dylan ready to rock Q School

IT'S that time of year again when a host of Irish players head off to Milton Keynes in the hope of winning a PDC Tour card at Q-School.

With the standard of Irish darts improving year on year there is more hope than ever that some of this year's batch will do just that.

One man with high hopes is Galway's Dylan Dowling, who told Darts In Ireland that gaining a PDC Tour Card is his ultimate career goal.

If his performances on the PDC Development Tour last year are anything to go by, then the 21-year-old has a great chance of achieving that goal.

Dylan finished 19th on the PDC Development Tour Order of Merit which he says has given him confidence going into this crunch Q-School week ahead.

He said: "It's all about being confident with me as darts is a game that is 90% in the head.

"I know I have the ability to hit high 90 averages but it's about having the confidence and consistency to do it at the right times."

EXPERIENCE:

There would be no better time than this week for Dylan to put his best A game on show.

He will be one of the 354 players at the opening three days of UK Qualifying School which begins on Monday.

Dylan fell at that hurdle last year but reckons that another year of experience will stand to him.

He told Darts In Ireland: "When I didn't get through to the final stage last year I stayed for the final four days anyway just to watch and see what it takes to win a tour card.

"It was a good experience for me to watch the top players and see how they handle themselves at the right moments in the final stages."

It's where Dylan hopes to be this week, although he says if it doesn't work out this time, he still has many years ahead to make it happen.

"The idea will be to try and win at least two to three games a day as that should help me get to the final stages," he said.

"However I'm trying not to put too much pressure on myself this year and just to go out and try and play my game."

STANDARD:

Dylan is amongst a strong batch of Irish competitors at Q-School this year, which includes the likes of WDF World Champion Shane McGuirk, Europe Cup Singles finalist Adrian Devine and Modus Super Series finals night qualifier Dean Finn.

Dylan said: "The standard of players in Ireland now is incredible. I've just come through the best and hardest youth system we've ever had.

"It's great that there is so many of us over here trying to win our card. Obviously we all want to do it for ourselves, but if I do get knocked out I will definitely be supporting the other Irish players that are over here."