Darts player Keegan Brown reveals depression battle
Saturday 23 December 2017 15:11, UK
Keegan Brown revealed that he has been battling anxiety and depression in an emotional interview after his first-round victory at the World Darts Championship.
Brown, who rose to prominence following his victory in the 2014 World Youth Championship, faced the prospect of losing his tour-ard having qualified for just three televised events this year.
However, the Isle of Wight ace has enjoyed an impressive resurgence over recent months and produced a brilliant display to dump out seven-time major winner James Wade in the biggest upset of the tournament so far at Alexandra Palace on Sunday night.
'The Needle' averaged 95.45, landed four maximums and dispatched two ton-plus checkouts to stun 'The Machine' and inflict his first opening-round defeat at the World Championship since 2006.
Nevertheless, Brown, currently ranked 58th on the PDC Order of Merit, revealed that he has endured some difficult periods away from the board in recent times.
"Over the past 18 months, I've been battling my demons," Brown admitted.
"Three years ago, I peaked. I played well and everyone thought I was fantastic, but the last 18 months have been very hard.
"Mental health is still very much a stigma in this country. In 2016 I found I was suffering from depression.
"When I was playing well, the phone calls were going through the roof and everyone wanted a piece of me.
"Then I hit rock bottom and nobody wanted me. My wife is the best person to have by my side but I still felt alone and it's not nice. It's a moment where you want to feel loved. It's hard; it's very very hard."
Brown defeated Rowby-John Rodriguez to win the World Youth title back in 2014, and then went on to reach the Grand Slam quarter-finals later that year, defeating Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld along the way.
Yet since then, the 25-year-old has struggled to make an impression in major ranking events and was flirting with the prospect of dropping outside the world's top 64, which would have seen him relinquish his tour-card.
Brown explained: "I'm 25 and people presume that if you're young you can just bounce back."
"Unless you don't battle your demons it's a very hard atmosphere. I'm very anxious and if you've never suffered with anxiety and depression, it's very hard to talk to someone who hasn't."
Wade's battle with bipolar disorder has been well-documented and 'The Machine' was asked to become a patron of Bipolar UK earlier this year, and Brown admitted that he has confided in the seven-time major winner, who he calls his 'hero'.
"I feel I can talk to people like James because he can relate to it. It's hard. It's very hard.
"I've been on tablets for it, you take the tablets but you have to work with them," he added.
Brown now faces Austrian Zoran Lerchbacher in Saturday's second-round, after Lerchbacher came from 2-0 down to defeat the veteran Mervyn King in round-one.
Brown, a medical laboratory assistant by trade, has never reached the third-round at Alexandra Palace, but is currently seeking additional leave from work to practice for his second-round tie.
"I've got the talent and I need to work at it but it's very important not to get carried away.
"I've reduced my hours at work so I can practice. Funnily enough, I need to go back to work on Tuesday and request the time off!"
The 2018 World Championship from Alexandra Palace continues on Monday night with coverage underway on Sky Sports Darts from 7pm.
Keep up to date with the news as the PDC celebrates 25 years on Sky Sports. So get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts - don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts.
