And here’s the first World Championship 9 dart finish.
And the first televised one.
I dunno, though, 9 darts get compared to 147s in snooker, but I’d rather watch this:
I clearly haven’t the first idea about the actual rules for darts.
Darts - Stephen Fry’s favourite sport…and… the only sport tournament Jesus was thrown out of:
Not the Nine O Clock New’s take on darts
I don’t know the rules for darts. I thought you aimed for the triple 20 as that is the highest space on the board. I still don’t see how people can throw that accurately.
You get 3 darts in a turn, trying to count down from 501, but you have to get to 0 with a double ( or a bullseye)
Um, okay, I guess?
He’s doping, obviously.
I used to be in a darts league and was impressed by how many people could hit a triple 20, or whatever else they were aiming at, pretty consistently. Especially after several beers. Although personally I found that my accuracy went up if I relaxed and didn’t concentrate too hard.
And don’t worry about not knowing the rules for darts. That’s like saying you don’t know the rules for cards. There are lots of different dart games. I always preferred cricket, where you “close” the numbers 15-20 by hitting them three times (or hitting a triple, or hitting a double and a single), and hitting the bullseye at least twice. Even for those of us at the low end of the skill level it goes faster than 501.
It’s similar to bowling in that you have to develop your delivery motion (throw or roll) so that it is exactly the same every time so that the result (path traveled by the dart or the ball) is the same every time it is performed. After you do that, it’s simply a case of learning where to aim so that the dart/ball hits where you want and being able to mentally focus on the task at hand and block out everything else. Well, not simple but you get what I mean. The dots and arrows on the bowling lane are there so you can determine your starting spot and the spot you want to throw towards so that the ball hits the pins you want. Moving left or right a set number of “boards” allows you to target individual pins. In darts you just pick objects, where you are playing, in your sight line that match with the apex of your dart’s trajectory to aim, then move left/right and/or adjust your height by bending/straightening your knees depending on the point value target you want. That’s all there is to it…
Moving left or right a set number of “boards” allows you to target individual pins. In darts you just pick objects, where you are playing, in your sight line that match with the apex of your dart’s trajectory to aim, then move left/right and/or adjust your height by bending/straightening your knees depending on the point value target you want. That’s all there is to it…
A once proud sport reduced to a Quick Time Event.
There have been a couple of periods in my life when I was an avid darts player, so I understand at least some of the nuances of the game.
That said, let me offer my heartiest congratulations to Mr Adrian Lewis for a job well done!
Wikipedia seems to think that this sketch was important in regards to The Split in Darts
which seems full of legal nastiness…
On 25 April 1993, at a meeting in Finchley, the BDO took the step of turning the suspension of the WDC players from playing in any BDO-run tournaments on British soil, into a full-scale ban on the WDC players from being able to play any BDO-sanctioned darts, even down to county level. The BDO also passed a motion which said that any BDO players who participated in exhibition events with WDC players, would also be banned from the BDO. The BDO passed the following motions at the 25 April 1993 Finchley meeting:
Any British Darts Organisation official, or British Darts Organisation player, who is associated with the activities of the World Darts Council shall forfeit the right to organise, attend or participate in any events under the jurisdiction of the British Darts Organisation, or its members, until written undertaking is given that they are no longer associated with the World Darts Council or its activities. Motion passed by 57 votes for to 0 votes against.
All member counties shall refrain from attending, or assisting in, any exhibitions involving the 16 players named in the World Darts Council statement of 7 January 1993, any players who have affiliated to the World Darts Council since that date, and any players who may affiliate to the World Darts Council in the future. Motion passed by 54 votes for to 1 vote against.
All member counties shall exclude any players who are affiliated to the World Darts Council from darts events under their jurisdiction. Motion passed by 60 votes for to 0 votes against.
um, why?
The BDO / PDC split and the aftermath was really bloody childish. There was an interesting BBC documentary a few years ago about Olly Croft - the former head of the BDO. Eccentric chap - I think he felt betrayed by the players that created the PDC - hence that sanction. But I think the gist of it was that the top players wanted a proper professional organization rather than something still set up to run pub leagues, so they created one. There isn’t any debate about the quality of the players in the two organizations - the BDO continues to run the grass roots county game and operates as a feeder system for the PDC which really supports just the top-tier players. Seems like the BDO World Champion moves over to the PDC straight afterwards these days.
I think that as a result of a legal challenge players are now allowed to take part in both world championships - except that they always schedule them on top of each other, so really, you can’t.
Maybe Kevin Costner should make a movie about it.
OTOH - you do find some complaints that the crowds at the PDC events are more interested in getting drunk than watching the actual game. I dunno - you need to have Sky to watch the PDC and I never wanted to give money to Rupert Murdoch.
I will say this… it made soccer seem almost interesting by comparison, just for a few seconds.
Yeah, I can see that movie playing in a quadruple bill with Dreamer (the one from '79), Over the Top, and Vision Quest.
Oddly enough there is (kind of) a darts movie coming out soon.
Why was the sketch important? I guess because a lot of people saw Darts players as fat, chain smoking drunks. Darts was struggling to gain sponsors outside of the beer and fag companies, and this sketch made those efforts even harder. I don’t watch darts (as most of it is on Sky Sports) but I understand the main sponsors these days are online betting sites (as with most sports).
There’s a world of difference playing in a pub and playing a game when there’s thousands of people shouting, a TV camera and your livelihood depending on where your dart lands. There is a skill to it, and you have to respect those that can do it well.
It’s like that great British tradition of panto.
I went to the PDC world championships a couple of years ago and I can honestly say I didn’t watch much darts that night. But the thing is, as a live spectator sport it kinda doesn’t work as you have no chance of seeing the board directly so you have to watch the big screens. Great night out though, and I have virtually no interest in darts.
(Oh, and I agree about Ronnie’s spectacular 147.)
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