Simon Whitlock says that his victory at the European Championships has given him the taste for major success.
‘The Wizard’ broke his televised title duck in Germany last month and the Australian star has the appetite for more glory, as he prepares for next week’s PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix in Dublin.
“I’ve been on top of the world since winning my first PDC major in Germany,” said Whitlock, who had been runner-up in TV finals on four occasions before his triumph. 
“I know I can win now and that is the big thing for me. Now I’ve won one, it gives me the belief that I can go on and win more.”
Despite his fantastic form of late, the world number five is wary of the threat posed by first round opponent Justin Pipe, who he faces on the opening night of the £350,000 tournament at Dublin’s Citywest Hotel on Monday evening.
“Justin is going to be very tough to beat,” said ‘The Wizard’, who has reached the last 16 on both of his previous visits to the double-start tournament, which sees players having to begin and end each leg with a double.
“He has done extremely well in the last twelve months or so and he is definitely one of the best players on the circuit. It will be a difficult game but I am confident of winning. I’m happy with my darts set-up and I’m sure I can keep up my good form.
“It’s going to be key to get away sharply. You need to hit that double in the at least the first three darts.”
Having finally clinched his major maiden title, the new European Champion is hoping for more success as he bids to rise further up the PDC Order of Merit.
Whitlock added: “I’d love to make the top four in the world rankings. My goal is to get there by the end of the year but it can change so quickly, so I need to keep doing well.
“It’s all about taking one tournament at a time and I want to win every event that I go to.”
By Chris Murphy
Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC