BEN Ward took pride in his performance despite a somewhat frustrating time in Coventry.

The Dorchester arrowsman competed in the Ricoh Arena Open, the BDO British Classic and the England Masters with his best result coming in the former, where he reached the last 16 before narrowly losing 3-2 to 2012 World Championship runner-up Tony O’Shea.

The 23-year-old also turned in a number of impressive displays en route to the last 32 of the British Classic before being stopped in his tracks by a superb rally from Wayne Woodhouse.

The Masters’ charge ended in round two at the hands of Scotland skipper Ross Montgomery but Ward remained upbeat when assessing his achievements.

He said: “I played really well, I was just a bit unlucky and ran into the wrong people at the wrong time. I felt I deserved more but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

“In the Ricoh Arena Open I had one bad leg against Tony O’Shea, which let me down, and you can’t afford to give chances to people like him.

“There were around 400 entrants at the British Classic and after winning a few games, including one against the 2001 world champion John Walton, I lost 4-3 in the last 32 to Wayne Woodhouse.

“I was 3-1 up but he rolled off 12, 14 and 11-dart finishes to win, which you can’t argue with. I did have two darts to win and I played really well, but so did he.

“I won my first game in the England Masters but then lost 3-2 to Scotland captain Ross Montgomery in the second round.

“Again I had chances to win the game so I was a bit gutted about that, but these things happen.

“It was good to play so many singles matches in one weekend and I really enjoyed it. I’m happy with how I played, I’ve just got to take it on the chin.”

Ward’s focus now turns to this month’s Dorset qualifier, where victory will secure a place in the national qualifiers for the 2013 World Championships at Lakeside.