Darts professional Ryan Searle.

Darts pro with visual impairment reaches World Championship semi-finals

After reaching the semi-finals, Ryan Searle used the big stage of the Darts World Championship to draw attention to his rare eye disease.

02 January 2026

From: dpa/det

After his 5-2 victory over Jonny Clayton, he said in a TV interview in London: “I have a message for the people out there. Quite obviously, my eyesight isn't great: Don't let anything stop you! I want to be an inspiration to those people.”

The 38-year-old Englishman, who will face world champion Luke Littler in the World Cup semi-final on Friday evening, suffers from autosomal dominant optic atrophy, in which the optic nerve is damaged over time and eyesight deteriorates as a result.

Searle has to keep checking with the referee.

“It’s a hereditary condition. It’s not so bad with my son, but it’s very bad with my daughter. She can see everything at close range, up to about 1,80 meters. But after that, her eyesight deteriorates significantly,” explained Searle, who has spoken about his condition before – but never in such a large public spotlight as now at the World Cup.

“If I can raise awareness and contribute to finding a cure, that means a lot to me,” said Searle. His own visual impairment is particularly noticeable in darts because he constantly has to ask the referee which segment he has hit. Searle counteracts this with appropriate contact lenses.