Former Premier League player Kevin Painter has candidly described a "sixteen months of misery" period battling dartitis, anxiety, sleepless nights, and stress. The 57-year-old Englishman, who recently appeared at Q-School in Milton Keynes, clarified he did not attend to earn a PDC Tour Card, stating: "I didn't go to Q-School to get a Tour Card. Those days are gone for me. I went so I could get some practice and then be able to play on the Challenge Tour and get more match time." Painter knew beforehand he would only play two days, noting the event's grueling nature and the presence of young talents aiming for professional careers.
Painter emphasized that his dartitis, which lasted a year and a half, was "nothing to do with darts themselves" but stemmed from anxiety and poor sleep. He explained: "If you can get a good night's sleep every night, you're emptying what they call the 'bucket of trash' from that day, and from previous days and months. I wasn't sleeping properly, which made me anxious, and in the end it becomes a nervous thing." He underwent therapy focused on his mental state, with the therapist noting it was a symptom of anxiety and stress, potentially manifesting as panic attacks in other contexts.
The turnaround began when Painter changed his throw slightly, adding more rhythm and less thinking, which he says worked. He estimates his dartitis has cleared by 90 to 95 percent, though he still experiences slight hesitation occasionally. Painter now faces the challenge of retraining himself with a slightly different style and timing, calling it "basically a new challenge." He reflected on the surprise of developing dartitis after playing at the top level for over twenty years, attributing it to stress and anxiety after coming off the tour and struggling with performance expectations.
Painter also shared memories of his 2012 Premier League Darts experience, describing it as "fantastic" and something he "loved every minute of," especially playing in front of massive crowds. He commented on the current Premier League format, which now features mini-tournaments each night instead of a classic league, saying: "It's OK now. It was getting a bit boring before. This keeps everyone fighting every week." He believes there's no perfect format but thinks the current one works OK.
Regarding Premier League debutants Josh Rock and Gian van Veen, Painter sees big futures for both, particularly praising Van Veen's temperament, intelligence, and lack of "lairiness on stage," predicting he could win plenty of TV events. When asked about the title favorite, Painter named Luke Littler as the man to beat but suggested a potential battle with Van Veen, stating: "Littler is going to be the favourite. I think it could be between him and Gian van Veen." He also commented on players like Nathan Aspinall and Danny Noppert missing out on selection, noting the difficulty of having only eight spots and that some included players might feel they "got away with it."
