Ian White has made his ambitions for the upcoming European Tour crystal clear. The seasoned Englishman leaves no doubt: at the Austrian Darts Open in Graz, only one thing matters to him – winning. “Winning them is success, I want to win them,” White said to Darts Planet TV.
The 55-year-old, nicknamed ‘Diamond’, remains hungry for success and doesn’t see participation as enough. Reflecting on his past successes, White noted, “I think over the years that I’ve been up there, I play all these games and go on and win them. It’s harder now, so you just take each game at a time.” He recalled his 2019 run to the final in Graz, where he narrowly lost 8-7, calling it “nice memories.”
White, currently 55th in the world rankings, acknowledged the increased depth of talent: “All the Europeans I have played in have been special. … But now, there are a lot more good players, aren’t there?” He also addressed the changes to the European Tour qualifying system, saying, “The way they changed the system to get to these Europeans now, I don’t know, I think it’s wrong. They should have kept it the way it was.” However, he admitted the new system has helped him in some cases: “It’s probably gone in my favour, even though I don’t like the system that it’s running at.”
Despite a slow start to 2026, White feels his form is improving. “It’s been slow this year, but it’s starting to pick up now, which I knew it would. It always does every year,” he said. With rising prize money providing extra motivation, White is not contemplating retirement. “I want to stay there as long as I can and hopefully I can move away from where I am at the moment,” he declared.
