Darts: A sport in progression

Ten years ago in the corner of smoky working men’s clubs around the country stood a bunch of inebriated men standing at the oche in front of worn and torn dartboards; this was the state of what many considered a joke sport. Fast-forward a decade and things have changed dramatically.

The O2 arena has recently displayed the vocal delights of Prince, the raunchiness of Lady Gaga and the showmanship of Jon Bon Jovi, yet three weeks ago the dome played host to six men and ten thousand of their adoring fans, darts appears to have finally made it to the big time.

A catalyst in the ever-growing popularity of the game is Barry Hearn, embarking his sports promoting career in the mid seventies, Barry became a world-renowned boxing promoter representing acts such as Chris Eubank, Naseem Hamed and former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. Currently the chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), Hearn has created a similar atmosphere to that of boxing with the players’ exuberant walk-ons and the ubiquitous glamour girl on the arm. An ever-constant stumbling block in the game has been the struggle to unify both the PDC and the original council BDO (British Darts Organisation). Despite the efforts of Hearn, an agreement has never been reached, which has left the sport in some disarray and with players jumping ship constantly, the game has lacked the stability that it deserves. With the PDC having the most lucrative financial appeal it has become the organisation where the sports top players want to ply their trade, including a one Phil Taylor.

Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, heralding from Stoke-on-Trent, is what Michael Schumacher is to motor racing, with fifteen world titles to hand he is one of England’s most successful sporting stars. With all his success, Taylor has never been in serious running to win the sports personality of the year award, which maybe the reason why darts has not quite reached its pinnacle. One contributing factor to darts not achieving its full potential might be lack of global interest, with Holland being the only other nation to embrace the sport.

As the snooker world championships begin next month, Barry Hearn has been asked to freshen up a game which some say is losing its character, traditionalists might not agree. The O2 arena waves goodbye to the darts for a year and says hello to Dizzee Rascal. The working men’s club may be no more but the sport of darts is viewed no longer as a joke.

Sean Downs