Darts / Ralph Ellis / 18 December 2008 /

Time to put on our best holiday shirt and go meet Hawaii 501 - darts showman Wayne Mardle, the man who turned off The Power last year, on the eve of the PDC world championships at Alexandra Palace.

This is the big one then Wayne - are you feeling confident?

I think so - up until July or August I was playing really well, but then I changed my darts for a couple of months and things haven't been so good. I've put that right by going back to my old ones again and I'm looking forward to it now. Hopefully I can have a lovely run again like last year.

How critical are your darts then? We talked to Stephen Hendry a couple of weeks ago who had lots of problems after his favourite old snooker cue got broken.

It's exactly the same for me - you just get a feel for a dart. I suppose it's like if you had a favourite pen you can write with and doesn't hurt your fingers and it just feels right. With darts it is exactly the same. I didn't change the make of darts, I just used a complete new set instead of the ones I'd always had. When I was under pressure it was no good at all - rather than thinking: 'Come on I can get this', I was thinking: 'Do these darts feel right' and they just never did. It's all about touch.

So which ones do you use now?

The very first set I ever had. I've played with them for 24 years now. They cost me three quid when they were new - I got them from a guy in a pub. My dad was playing and this bloke had these sets of darts for sale, and I said: 'Dad can I have a set?' I was only 11. He said: 'Yeah of course you can,' and they were three quid and that was that. I think they've got their money back a few times!

What made you want to change them then?

I was starting to get paranoid about where they are. They are always in my pocket, but if for some reason they are not I'm like :'Where are they?' I've always relied on them. The idea was to take that bit of pressure away by using a new set, and if I would change them every month or so and if I wanted to give them away for charity or something I could. I was getting into that routine but then under pressure in bigger tournaments I just didn't feel comfortable at all

But that sorted it should be back to Wayne Mardle the showman again?

Yes, I did a head-to-head with James Wade a couple of days ago and it was a good game and I felt comfortable again. Sometimes it's not about where the darts go, it doesn't matter if you are missing, as long as you feel comfortable that's really all that matters. For me that's the first time I have done in a couple of months and it has come at a good time. And I've been practising well so, all being well I'll have a good performance again.

You must have good memories of last year?

Good and bad. It was good beating Phil Taylor and getting to the semis, and then bad in the semis. That's how it goes. You can't be your best every day, I suppose - although it would be nice!

Does all the showmanship come naturally to you?

To be honest when I first played County level for Essex I was always one of them that did have a good time. I like to milk it - if I was there watching, paying to get in, I would want to see someone with a bit of life and so I've just always done it, even as a 16-year-old I felt the need to make an entrance. I enjoy doing it, it's my little bit of release. That's why I do it now, it's that tension you've had and it's a good release for me and I just think it's funny

If you are so jolly when it's going well, do you get more down if you're having a bad time?

Yeah you do, because I want to give a show and show off. When you are playing under par you find it hard to do that, because it's a confidence thing. Sometimes you don't have the confidence to go up there and play how you want to. I see footballers showboat, and can't put a cross in, and I think: 'Why do that when you can't even kick a ball?' That's how I feel about myself sometimes if it's not going well. But people want to see a show so I do it anyway, because it livens me up.

How did you handle it a couple of years ago when you dropped right down the rankings then?

It was difficult. I just kept going basically. For four or five TV events it was just not working out for me. I wasn't going to change because what I was doing six months before that was fine, so all I could do was keep going and play myself out of it, and that's what I did. You learn a lot from it. This year I was playing well but changed because I felt needed to change my darts - it was completely different this year.

Change the subject - tell us how you met your wife Donna. She's a darts player too, isn't she?

Well we both used to play county youth competitions - Donna was a part of that Essex team. Her dad used to take her along. We ended up going round one of our mutual friends houses and playing, and week after week I thought: 'I really like this girl'. We went away for a darts weekend, I plucked up courage and said: 'Will you go out with me,' and she said 'No'! So I went: 'Oh right, sod you.' Thankfully she eventually changed her mind and it all worked out for the best in the end!

Hasn't she won a British Open?

Yes, she won the pairs and also the Gold Cup pairs, and also played 100 games for Essex so she appreciates what I am going through, if you see what I mean. She knows it can all go so right, and the next day - a la Kirk Shepherd last year - so wrong. It's good to have somebody there who knows exactly how you are feeling. Sometimes when you do lose you get people going: 'Oh never mind, blah, blah, blah', but Donna just stands back and says: 'Unlucky kiddo' without saying too much more. That's what I need to hear. You have that little five minutes where you just want to be left alone. I lost an important match to Barney earlier this year and as I walked away some bloke said: 'It's only a game'. I couldn't repeat what I told him! For me it's my whole life, especially in those few minutes afterwards

At least something that is only a game is your greyhound Bookem Danno...

Yeah, he's been off for six weeks or so but now he's back and should be running in the last race at Monmore this week and getting back to a bit of form. Hopefully he'll do a job for us. It's a good bit of fun with one of my sponsors. When I'm away every now and then he will be running and we'll all go down the bookies and watch. He's won four or five races so it's not bad.

Is that what you'd like to back for your charity then? We always give a free £50 bet for our interview subjects as a thank you.

I might be wrong but I don't think we're that confident. I'd like to raise some money for research into a skin disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa which is a charity I support - have a look at www.debra.org.uk I'll back my team Tottenham to win the Carling Cup again at [2.86].

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