World Darts Championship 2026: Luke Humphries and Ryan Searle Swap Pre-Tournament Practice for Call of Duty Nights

Former Players Championship Finals runner-up Ryan Searle opened his account at the 2026 World Darts Championship with a routine 3-0 victory over former WDF World Championship runner-up Chris Landman.

‘Heavy Metal’, as he is nicknamed, has hovered on the edges of a darting breakthrough for years but has yet to reach a world championship quarterfinal in his career. 

This year, with £1 million on offer to the eventual winner, he is hoping it could finally be his breakthrough.

Link Up with Gary Anderson? 

Despite his confidence, Searle revealed a surprising approach to preparation after his win over Landman.

Searle regularly practises with two-time world champion Gary Anderson, as their homes in Devon and Somerset are just over a 40-minute drive apart. 

However, the pair were unable to get together ahead of this year’s championship due to other commitments.

“To be honest I’ve not really practised,” Searle told SportsBoom.co.uk. 

“I would have liked to have pencilled in a few dates with Gary [Anderson] for a practise, but we’ve not managed that. We’ve both had a few exhibitions to do and stuff.”

Gaming Takes Priority Over the Oche

Instead of hours on the oche, Searle has been honing his skills in the online multiplayer shooter, Call of Duty, alongside former world number one Luke Humphries.

Searle is one of Humphries’ closest friends on-and-off the oche and was even stage-side at Alexandra Palace in 2024 when ‘Cool Hand’ lifted his first World Championship, defeating then-16-year-old Luke Littler.

“Me and Luke Humphries have been playing Call of Duty every night pretty much. It’s probably not good, but it's taken more priority.”

“You need to sort of find that balance between practise and chilling and we've been playing the Call of Duty and having a laugh and that's what I enjoy really.”

Humphries has a history of putting Call of Duty ahead of practice, and it hasn’t failed him before, back at the 2024 World Matchplay, he spent nights gaming with Michael van Gerwen, who he met in that year’s final, and went on to lift the title.”

Future Practise 

Looking ahead, Searle hopes to squeeze in a session with Anderson before the second round of the championship.

The Scottish veteran kicks off his campaign tomorrow against Adam Hunt, and if he progresses, Searle wants to prepare alongside him back home.

“Hopefully Gary will win tomorrow, and then we can pencil in a little practise session in the week, before we come back.”

“I know he’d be playing on the 23rd [his potential second round match], and I’m playing on the 20th, so if we can have a little session before that, then that’d be great. If not, I’ll just have a few little session by myself."

“It’s more about confidence than practise, and with my new darts I’m feeling pretty good.”

From Window Cleaner to World Stage

Before turning professional, Searle worked as a window cleaner.

A recent anecdote about putting up his Christmas decorations gave him a realisation about the need to invest more time into darts for his young family.

“I was putting my Christmas lights up on my gutter a couple days ago and I was thinking: my hands are cold on the ladder, I don't miss this at all.”

“You don't have to be Humphries or Littler to make a great living in this game. It’s something mentally I need to work on, and I feel that if I play my game at a hundred percent then I’m a match for anyone,” he concluded.