Ryan Searle opened up on his rare eye condition ahead of his World Darts Championship semi-final against Luke Littler at Alexandra Palace
Everything you need to know about Ryan Searle’s eye condition ahead of his match against Luke Littler
- Showdown tonight: Ryan Searle booked his last-four spot to take on Luke Littler with a 5-2 victory over number five seed Jonny Clayton. Searle has been a PDC player since 2016 and has won seven Players Championships events.
- Eye condition: Searle’s run to the last four is made even more impressive by the fact he has a rare eyesight condition called Autosomal Dominant Optic Atrophy (ADOA). An eye condition which means he often cannot see where the dart lands.
- ADOA explanation: ADOA is a rare genetic eye condition that is caused by the deterioration of the optic nerve and causes progressive and irreversible sight loss in both eyes. ADOA symptoms include blurred vision in both eyes and difficulty in recognising colours.
- Diagnosis confirmed: The 38-year-old recently revealed it was only 18 months ago that he realised what the diagnosis was. He also revealed that there is no cure, and he now wears contact lenses to try and take a bit of the blurriness away from his vision.
- Hereditary condition: After the quarter-final, Searle also revealed: “It’s a hereditary condition, so I’ve passed it to both of my children. My son doesn’t have it as bad as me, but my daughter has it really bad.”
- Raising awareness: Searle has raised more than £10,000 for the Cure ADOA Foundation. He also hopes that a cure can be found.
- Littler operation: Littler also revealed last week that he had surgery as a child to correct his eyesight. Littler was sent in to Warrington Hospital as a youngster to repair strabismus, a condition commonly known as cross eye, where the eyes do not align.
- Semi-final match: The showdown between Searle and Littler takes place at Alexandra Palace tonight, Friday, January 2. Gian van Veen will take on Gary Anderson in the other semi-final.
- READ MORE: Luke Littler to face darts star who raged ‘what’s the point’ after controversial rule change
