William O'Connor: I have the game to go all the way
Wednesday 19 December 2018 22:15, UK
William O'Connor is up and running at the World Championship, after recording his first Alexandra Palace win on his second visit to the famous north London venue.
The Irishman easily accounted for Dutch debutant Yordi Meeuwisse and is safely through to the second round where he will face James Wilson on Wednesday evening, live on Sky Sports.
After last year's disappointment of a 3-1 first-round loss to Steve Beaton, the Limerick man is glad to get off the mark at the Worlds.
"It took pressure off, it was nice to get over after last year's performance," he reflected. "I took a lot from last year. Anytime I go over, whether I win or lose I try and learn a bit.
"I learned from last year - I kind of went out there with the idea that it was going to be a similar audience or a similar game like playing on a Euro Tour stage. It's not, the atmosphere is totally different. The whole occasion is different. With all the media and everything, I kind of let it get to me. I was a little bit better informed this year."
While he did secure a 3-0 whitewash win over Meeuwisse, O'Connor was disappointed with his performance in general.
"I thought I just didn't play, I played it like it was any other game," he noted. "I was more disappointed with my performance than being delighted with a win to be honest.
"I play the opponent rather than play the board. I had prepared for Yordi to play out of his skin and he didn't perform. I was waiting for Yordi to kick off and he never did. It dragged me down a little bit as well. I got over the line and hopefully I can put it right next time.
"If a lad is throwing 140, 140, 140, I'll normally follow him. If he's playing poor, again I normally follow him. So I'm kind of an on-the-moment kind of a player.
"We all go out there to play our best game. When you go out there, you can't expect someone to play bad against you. You're going out there expecting them to play their best as well. You shouldn't really worry about your opponent and what he's doing. You should keep your head down and worry about what you're doing. It's something I'm trying to teach myself to do and eventually I'll get it done. I'll get it right eventually."
It's been quite the year for O'Connor, who beat Michael van Gerwen 6-1 in the Dutch Darts Championship. However, he doesn't take solace in any one-off victories, given that he lost the following round after beating MvG:
"He (Van Gerwen) is just another player. It doesn't win you a tournament. Unless you beat him in the final, it doesn't really matter to me.
"A win is a win. It's kind of irrelevant really, I don't take anything from it.
"My career highlight is getting to the final of the German European Tour this year, beating some great players (Rob Cross and Mensur Suljovic) along the way. Michael van Gerwen beat me in the final. That has to be the highlight."
O'Connor hails from Cappamore in County Limerick, a town far more associated with hurling than darts. After Limerick ended a 45-year wait to win the All-Ireland title in 2018, hurling fever has swept across the Treaty County and the celebrations have lasted throughout the winter. O'Connor is eager to mirror his county-men's success:
"I followed it all summer. It was a fantastic win for the boys. They did the county proud. They're still celebrating. It's been a long time coming and long may the celebrations continue!
"It would be nice to do it (replicate their success).
"I'm not sure how the Irish people would react to it to be honest. We'll have to wait and see how that pans out. Darts isn't what it is anywhere else in the world as it is in Ireland. Ireland is different. You go to Holland or Germany or England, darts is a lot bigger than it is in Ireland.
"I'm not sure what would happen even if it did happen!"
Wednesday night sees O'Connor take on James Wilson in the second round, and the Irishman is in a confident mood:
"James is a brilliant player. He's beaten me and I've beaten him. I know I have his number, if I play my darts, I'll win.
"I'll fly home for Christmas, home to my family to see my kids and my wife, spend Christmas with them. I'll head back over afterwards, all going well and see how it goes from there.
"I can go all the way. I have the game to go all the way. We'll wait and see how it goes."
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