By Ryan Segal
Tom Bissell has said that his outstanding start to the season was “needed” as he heads into year two on the tour.
Bizzness has started 2026 on fire, reaching a maiden Semi-Final on the Pro Tour, and recording a win on the Main Stage at the UK Open.
The 38 year old now finds himself 75th in the Order of Merit, safely nestled in the qualification spots for the World Championship and Players Championship Finals.
He credits his off season activity for his positive start, saying:
“It's been amazing to start the season like I have. It's what I really needed for confidence. Obviously the break over December and January was on me, having not qualified for the World Championship. It could have become a bit stagnant, but I've been entering knockouts locally, and just trying to keep busy and keep my arm going. Just a dream start really to this year - getting to the semi-final was amazing.”
The Semi-Final was just the start of the success for Tom, who, as mentioned, grabbed a win in front of the ITV4 cameras in Minehead – pinning the Bull to seal it.
On his Somerset experience, he mused:
“My first game was against Jimmy van Schie. He obviously played and won the WDF Worlds, so he was pretty fresh off the arm. I thought 'I'm going to have to get stuck into him, and put a bit of pressure on him.'
I didn't play the best I could - but I played decent and won. Then going back onto the multi board area, it was about keeping the momentum going. I played Niels (Zonneveld), and he's playing quite well at the moment. It was a massive confidence booster - The Euro Tour experience helped a lot. I didn't really take much notice of the crowd, and felt really comfortable up there to be honest.”
Zonneveld HAD to play well to beat our Black Country thrower, with Tom putting up his highest TV average in the clash, of 96.46.
Perhaps a big factor in his bright start is a change in artillery – with his signature Wraith laden Rosso darts laid down for a very different style of dart.
Outlining his route to his current set up – Irina Armstrong darts – he shared:
“I like the double grip on the Gary Anderson Phase 4, which I used a while back. I used the Evolution Series Phase 4 to get to the Pro Tour Semi-Final, and wanted to keep trying out similar styles of dart. Jack (Dinning) had sent me through the Irina darts a little while ago - I got them out and thought 'You know what - These are going to the board really nicely.'
They just felt really comfortable and flew really straight. I've tried so many darts over the years, that I sort of know when a set needs to be put to the test. They're going really well - They're quite simple, and the taper at the front suits my throw. Maybe I can get a sneaky Phase 2 (chuckle).”
Whatever the main catalyst behind the recent form, Tom says that the good start takes a bit of the pressure off going forward – and has seen him raise the bar for what he wants to achieve:
“I think getting the money on the ranking early has is a massive boost. Your confidence is boosted like looking at the rankings for the Players Championship Final and the World Championship race. I do have a look - I'm not one of those who says I don't. I look and try and like work out what I think I need to do. I've probably made it a bit easier on myself with the start I've had. But I think target-wise - I think my targets last year were like 'If I can win a game, that'd be great' and go from there. But this year I think it's more 'Get to Board Finals, and then really push on and show what you can do.'
I think getting to the Semi-Final put my name on the map a bit, and people might not want to play me so much. I'll just keep going and hopefully keep my card. I'm fairly confident now that I can just keep picking up wins on the Pro Tour and just be steady, really.”
The overarching key to success in his eyes, however, is to just to enjoy every moment:
“When I played Ross (Smith) the other week, he was 5-3 up and I thought 'Just go for it, man.' 'Just relax a little bit.' I got it back to 5-5, and he threw a great last leg to win. Just to get there and compete with blokes like that is amazing. But I think what you say, in terms of not looking over my shoulder, it does help, doesn't it? I can imagine some people are getting squeaky bum time later in the year. The Tour doesn't wait for you, you know what I mean? So you've got to try and dig in and think, 'If I have a tough week this week, I'll be alright'.”
You can shop the Tom Bissell range via our website. He'll be back in action at Players Championship 7 on the 30th of March.