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Professional Darts Corporation

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Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed projectiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard .

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113-636: The Professional Darts Corporation ( PDC ) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom , established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World Darts Council ( WDC ). Sports promoter Eddie Hearn is the PDC chairman. The PDC developed and holds several championship competitions, including

226-511: A PR consultant to improve the image of the game. The 1993 Embassy World Championship was the last time there was one unified world championship. The WDC players wore their new insignia on their sleeves during the tournament but were told to remove them by the BDO. The WDC players decided that if they were not going to be recognised by the BDO they would no longer play in the Embassy tournament. The BDO took

339-450: A 240 maximum during the event and Phil Taylor hit a 188 checkout (Q20-Q20-D14). The tournament was discontinued in 1996 and the board has not been used in a professional event since. Assuming standard scoring, the optimal area to aim for on the dartboard to maximize the player's score varies significantly based on the player's skill. The skilled player should aim for the centre of the T20, and as

452-468: A compromise between density and cost. Barrels come in three basic shapes: cylindrical, ton, or torpedo. The shafts are manufactured in various lengths, and some are designed to be cut to length. Shafts are generally made from plastics, nylon polymers, or metals such as aluminium and titanium; and can be rigid or flexible. Longer shafts provide greater stability and allow a reduction in flight size which in turn can lead to closer grouping; but, they also shift

565-449: A dart at the board with their non-dominant hand to obtain their 'number'. No two players can have the same number. Once everyone has a number, each player takes it in turn to get their number five times with their three darts (doubles count twice, and triples three times). Once a person has reached 5, they become a 'killer'. This means they can aim for other peoples numbers, taking a point off for each time they hit (doubles ×2, triples ×3). If

678-430: A game in which one player at a time throws three darts per turn. The throwing player must stand so that no portion of their feet extends past the leading edge of the oche, but may stand on any other portion and/or lean forward over it if desired. A game of darts is generally contested between two players, who take turns. The most common objective is to reduce a fixed score, commonly 301 or 501, to zero ("checking out") with

791-513: A great deal on the individual player's throwing style. For competitive purposes, a dart cannot weigh more than 50 g (1.8 oz) including the shaft and flight and cannot exceed a total length of 300 mm (12 in). The World Darts Federation uses the following standards for play: The regulations came about owing to the United Kingdom and the rest of the world playing at different lengths, with 2.37 m (7 ft 9 in) being

904-629: A large amount of alcohol before commencing play and generally not taking himself seriously as a darts player. Hankey began the 2009 Lakeside Championships with a first round victory over close friend Brian Woods . The scoreline of 3–0 in sets was telling, as Woods had suggested before the match that Hankey would be "lucky to get nil!". He then went on to win the Championship, beating his problems with " oche rage" as well as opponents such as former World Champion Walton and England darts team captain Adams, winning

1017-452: A minor car crash. He returned for the Grand Slam of Darts and lost 5–3 in his opening group game to Scott Waites . However, Hankey produced a superb performance in his next game against Dave Chisnall as from 3–3 he hit a 170 finish and then scored 177 in the next leg to set up 32 and a 5–3 win. He then defeated 2013 World Youth champion Michael Smith 5–1 in his final game to progress to

1130-705: A month-long sabbatical, during which time he was to work on and refine a number of fundamentals to his game. However, controversy continued to follow Hankey during the BDO International Open (formerly the England Open) on 15 June 2008. During a quarter-final match with former PDC player Robbie Green , Hankey complained about the air conditioning being turned on. However, Hankey requested the air conditioning be turned off, as his much lighter darts were affected mid-flight, causing them to drift. This caused yet another erratic reaction from Hankey who threw his darts onto

1243-399: A person gets to zero they are out. A killer can aim for anyone's numbers, even another killer's. Players cannot get more than 5 points. The winner is 'the last man standing'. Another version of "Killer" is a "knock-out" game for three or more players (the more the better). To start, everyone has a pre-determined number of lives, (usually 5) and a randomly chosen player throws a single dart at

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1356-445: A player left with a difficult finish (e.g. 5 and one dart remaining) might deliberately bust in order to revert to an earlier score that would allow an easier finish. Under Northern Bust rules, though, doing so would leave them on 5. A darts match is played over a fixed number of games, known as legs. A match may be divided into sets , with each set being contested as over a fixed number of legs. Although playing straight down from 501

1469-438: A player on 93 (T19, D18) hits single-19 with their first dart, they can still finish, but will now need to check out 74 (T14, D16). Checkout charts detailing which numbers are required for each particular finish are widely used. In the 1990s, a board with a "quad" ring between the triple ring and the bullseye appeared, which gave quadruple points, meaning a 240 maximum (three quad-20s), a 210 maximum checkout (Q20-Q20-Bull) and

1582-472: A pro tour card due to not reaching the BDO semi finals) entering the PDC qualifying school, including Dean Winstanley , Tony West , Steve West , and Stuart Kellett . Following the breakaway groups first televised event in 1992 (the Lada UK Masters on Anglia Television ), satellite broadcaster Sky Sports signed a deal to exclusively cover three PDC tournaments each year. To capitalise on its investment,

1695-547: A protégé of Bristow and originating from the Potteries . However, the tag never caught on and it was not until a later tournament that he came out to the tune The Power by Snap! that his nickname was accidentally born. Jamie Harvey from Scotland became "Bravedart" – a play on words from Mel Gibson's Braveheart film. Sky Sports even filmed vignettes where a kilt wearing Jamie had his face painted blue and ran through woods throwing his darts whilst looking menacing. As

1808-530: A record 48 x 180s during the 2000 tournament. Hankey reached the final again in 2001 , but lost to John Walton 6–2. After this Hankey went through a fairly barren spell at the Lakeside and did not reach another major final or World Championship semi-final until his victory in the 2009 BDO World Championships. In 2002 , he was knocked out in the second round by Wayne Jones and suffered a first round exit in 2003 to 'Silverback' Tony O'Shea . Ranked number two for

1921-509: A row. The original target in the game is likely to have been a section of a tree trunk, its circular shape and concentric rings giving rise to the standard dartboard pattern in use today. An older name for a dartboard is " butt "; the word comes from the French word but , meaning "target" or "goal". The standard numbered point system is attributed to Lancashire carpenter Brian Gamlin, who devised it in 1896 to penalise inaccuracy, though this

2034-401: A score of 180 in exuberant style. Once a player reaches a low enough score, they are considered to be "on a finish", meaning they can win the game/leg with their remaining darts. In professional matches, the match referee will usually tell the player which score they require once on a finish. As the winning dart in a game must be a double or bullseye, the highest possible finish with three darts

2147-415: A second BDO world crown remained on course as he defeated Andy Boulton in the second round. He then lost in the quarter-finals to Australian Simon Whitlock 0–5. Again, he expressed his disaffection with elements of the crowd for displaying poor order during the game. Midway through the contest, however, Hankey himself had received a warning from match referee Barry Gilbey, for punching the dartboard as this

2260-413: A set of four darts. Four thrown darts equals a turn. Five turns by each player constitutes a game. The dart board score starting from the outside ring are: 5 - 10 - 15 - 20 - 25 - bullseye 50. Cricket is a widely played darts game involving a race to control and score on numbers between 20 and 15 and the bullseye, by hitting each of these targets for three marks to open or own it for scoring. A hit on

2373-524: A seven-dart finish (five quad-20s, triple-17, bullseye) were possible. One make of this board was the Harrows Quadro 240. The board was used during the short-lived WDC UK Matchplay . Although no seven dart finish was ever scored on the board, John Lowe did come close to a 9 dart finish in the 1993 PDC UK Matchplay. He scored 200 (T20-T20-Q20), then 160 (20-T20-Q20), and got his final T20 and T15, only to miss D18 on his final throw. Several players did score

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2486-420: A single in the first leg (including two that missed the board completely) to set up a double. Hankey was then seen rubbing his left eye repeatedly and losing his balance, and Van Gerwen eventually won the match 5–0 with a 90 average. Two days later it was revealed that Hankey had suffered a transient ischemic attack , had very high cholesterol and diabetes and needed six to eight weeks' rest, which ruled him out of

2599-413: A single throw (3 darts) results in the player losing half their accumulated score. Any number of players can take part and the game can vary in length depending on the number of targets selected. The game can be tailored to the skill level of the players by selecting easy or difficult targets. "Killer" is a 'knock-out' game for two or more players (at its best at 4–6 players). Initially, each player throws

2712-525: A stroke in 2012, his earnings from tournaments declined and he was declared bankrupt in June 2018. As of May 2022, he and his wife were in the process of divorcing. In March 2022, Hankey was charged with sexual assault ; the prosecution said his female victim was over 16 but under the age of 18. The incident took place in September 2021 and was captured on film. He pleaded guilty to the charge on 14 April 2022 and

2825-515: Is 170 (T20, T20, inner bull). Finishes are also known as "check outs". Regular players become familiar with the combinations needed to check out a particular number. For instance, a player on 138 could hit T20, T18, D12. Most numbers can be checked out with more than one combination (for 138, a player could also hit T19, T19, D12). Good arithmetic is helpful, as in the event of missing a target number players need to quickly recalculate their new score and which number they now need to hit. For instance, if

2938-549: Is a drinking game that involves throwing darts at opponents' beer cans. The resulting drinking actions depend on how and where the beer can was hit with the dart. The original name of this sport was called Vogelpik. Vogelpik is the early version of the modern game of Belgian darts. Belgian darts has remained a very popular game in the Belgian community since the 18th century. It is not only relaxing but also helps to develop coordination skills, precision and self-control. Each player has

3051-608: Is a 16-time champion, van Barneveld 5, Part 3 and Priestley 2. Previous Winners (1994–2024) Held each year in June at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton (2003–2013), and from 2014 in March at Butlins, Minehead, the UK Open is played over three days with 168 players in a single elimination tournament. After each round a draw is held where there is no protection for seeded players. This has earned it

3164-400: Is also needed to prevent dehydration: with the many lights and packed crowds, temperatures have been measured at over 38-degree Celsius (100-degree Fahrenheit) during some games. Inside the venues, action is relayed via giant video screens for the large crowds. The BDO now also has video screens, while maintaining their traditional "light boards" of lightbulbs, showing where each dart lands for

3277-401: Is another variation, with only 12 equal segments, with the doubles and triples being a quarter of an inch (6.35 mm) wide. Mathematically, removing the rotational symmetry by placing the "20" at the top, there are 19 factorial , or 121,645,100,408,832,000 possible dartboards. Many different layouts would penalise a player more than the current setup; however, the current setup actually does

3390-421: Is cheap but light and therefore brass barrels tend to be very bulky. Tungsten, on the other hand, is twice as dense as brass; thus a tungsten barrel of equivalent weight could be thirty percent smaller in diameter than a brass one. Pure tungsten is very brittle, however, so an alloy is commonly used, with between 80 and 95 percent tungsten and the remainder usually nickel, iron, or copper. Nickel-silver darts offer

3503-481: Is disputed. Many configurations have been used, varying by time and location. In particular, the Yorkshire and Manchester Log End boards differ from the standard board in that they have no triple, only double and bullseye. The Manchester board is smaller than the standard, with a playing area of only 25 cm (9.8 in) across, with double and bull areas measuring just 4 mm (0.16 in). The London Fives board

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3616-550: Is in play. Ted Hankey Edward Hankey (born 20 February 1968) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed " The Count ", he won the BDO World Darts Championship in 2000 , was runner-up in 2001 , and won the title for a second time in 2009 . He moved to the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tour in 2012, but suffered a stroke while playing Michael van Gerwen at

3729-469: Is known as "going bust". The player's score is reset to its value at the start of that turn, and any remaining throws in the turn are forfeited. In some variants, a player who busts has their score reset to its value before the individual dart that caused the bust. This rule (referred to as a "Northern Bust" in London) is considered by some players to be a purer version of the game. Under the standard rules above,

3842-444: Is standard in darts, sometimes a double must be hit to begin scoring, known as "doubling in", with all darts thrown before hitting a double not being counted. The PDC's World Grand Prix uses this format. The minimum number of thrown darts required to complete a leg of 501 is nine. The most common nine-dart finish consists of two 180 maximums followed by a 141 checkout (T20-T19-D12), but there are many other possible ways of achieving

3955-742: Is the biggest of the PDC tournaments and has the largest prize fund of any darts competition. Held at the Circus Tavern , Purfleet between 1994 and 2007, the championship moved to a bigger venue at Alexandra Palace from 2008. Phil Taylor has dominated this tournament, reaching the final for the first 14 years between 1994 and 2007 and winning fourteen titles, including eight successive titles between 1995 and 2002. The PDC World Champions have also shared eight BDO World Championships between them, with Van Barneveld winning four, Taylor two, and Part and Priestley one each. These are usually added to each player's haul when describing their achievements – hence Taylor

4068-463: The 2004 tournament , he was defeated in the quarter-finals, again losing to O'Shea 5–1. This was a huge disappointment for a man who had won four Open events that year. Hankey again reached the quarter-finals in 2005 , this time falling to England captain Martin Adams 5–3, despite at one stage in the contest having led by 3–1 in sets. In the 2006 tournament , Hankey had an uncharacteristic "bad day at

4181-501: The 2012 Grand Slam of Darts , and took three months away from the sport to recuperate. He lost his PDC tour card in 2014, when he was 94th in the world rankings. He returned to the BDO, where he failed to impress in the latter years of his playing career. In 2016 , he made his last appearance in the BDO World Darts Championship, exiting after a 3–0 first-round defeat. Hankey struggled financially in his later career and

4294-507: The COVID-19 pandemic , the tournament has been back in England since 2020. Darts Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the board, though unlike in sports such as archery , these areas are distributed all across the board and do not follow a principle of points increasing toward the board's bullseye . Though a number of similar games using various boards and rules exist,

4407-685: The United Kingdom . PDC events are also televised in Australia , Belgium , Germany , Hungary , India , Japan , the Netherlands , Norway , Singapore , South Africa and the United States ( One World Sports ). The PDC signed a three-year deal with ITV in 2007 with the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts from 2007 and the inaugural Players Championship from 2009. The matches are shown live on ITV4 with highlights on ITV1. ITV being an advertisement channel like Sky Sports, commercial breaks are taken after 5 legs;

4520-405: The oche . A "big-time" atmosphere was also created by using smoke machines and pyrotechnics during these sometimes elaborate entrances, similar to those used in boxing or wrestling . At the oche, players only drink iced water during matches. Though this was intended to further the game's image, which had been tarnished by players' reputation for consuming large quantities of alcohol. The water

4633-406: The 1 section, round 2, the 2 sections, and so on until round 7. Standard scoring is used, and doubles and triples are counted. Only hits on the wedge for that round are counted. The winner is the person who has the most points at the end of seven rounds (1–7); or who scores a Shanghai, which wins instantly, a Shanghai being throws that hit a triple, a double and single (in any order) of the number that

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4746-470: The 1950s. The first metal barrels were made from brass which was relatively cheap and easy to work. The wooden shafts, threaded to fit the tapped barrel, were either fletched as before or designed to take a paper flight. This type of dart continued to be used into the 1970s. With the widespread use of plastic, the shaft and flight came to be manufactured separately, although one-piece moulded plastic shaft and flight darts were also available. According to

4859-425: The 1994 BDO World Championship. He brought his own unique brand of commentary to the game, and was a cult figure amongst darts fans and sport fans alike. He continued to commentate until his death in 2012. The current commentators on Sky include John McDonald (commentator) , Rod Studd, Stuart Pyke and Adam Smith, retired player Wayne Mardle and former World Champions John Part and Mark Webster . Jeff Stelling

4972-468: The 2011 Grand Slam of Darts . In October, Sky Sports put him as top billing for the tournament. He managed to win 2 of his 3 group matches to qualify for the last 16. He played Michael van Gerwen with this time the crowd on his side. He won the match by 10 legs to 9 before losing narrowly against Mark Walsh 14–16, after making a comeback from a 9–15 deficit. In the 2012 BDO World Darts Championship , Hankey defeated newcomer Clive Barden 3–2 in sets, then

5085-582: The BBC increased its interactive TV coverage allowing viewers to see many more events live. Sky television is an advertisement and subscription based channel, and generally after each set a commercial break is taken. Planet Funk 's 2000 single " Chase the Sun " is played in the auditorium and it has become a cult track amongst darts fans, who tend to dance along to the tune during the breaks. Currently Sky Sports broadcasts six tournaments live each year in both Ireland and

5198-483: The Darts Regulation Authority, a regulation board is 451 mm (17.8 in) in diameter and is divided into 20 radial sections. Each section is separated with metal wire or a thin band of sheet metal. Quality dartboards are still made of sisal fibres from Eastern Africa, Brazil, and China; less expensive boards are sometimes made of cork or coiled paper. Modern darts are made up of four components:

5311-492: The East End of London. The board has fewer, larger segments, all numbered either 5, 10, 15 or 20. Players play down from 505 rather than 501, and stand the farthest 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) away from the board of any mainstream variation. "Halve it" is a darts game popular in the United Kingdom and parts of North America where competitors try to hit previously agreed targets on a standard dart board. Failure to do so within

5424-495: The Grand Slam of Darts in 2010. After his outburst at the Grand Slam of Darts Hankey was fined £250 for his actions. In the 2010 BDO World Darts Championship Hankey beat Gary Robson 3–0 and Willy van de Wiel 4–1 before being knocked out of the competition in the quarter-final by Dave Chisnall with a scoreline of 5–4 on sets, despite at one point leading 4–1. In the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts he defeated Phil Taylor 5–4 in

5537-616: The Lakeside, being ranked 29 in the BDO (top 28 qualified). He also failed to qualify for the Masters, Lakeside and the World Trophy in the qualifying tournaments held in Hull. In 2015 he qualified for the 2015 BDO World Trophy but was beaten in the first round by Sam Hewson 6–4. After the match he provided commentary with John Gwynne for the rest of the tournament. Hankey has three children. Following

5650-628: The PDC for the first time with a new tournament being formed using the top 8 players on the PDC Order of Merit after the World Matchplay, known as the Champions League of Darts . As a result, the BBC dropped coverage of the BDO World Darts Championship, which they covered from 1978 to 2016 (this was the original World Championship prior to the formation of the PDC). DJ Ötzi 's " Hey! Baby " is played during

5763-695: The PDC within weeks of reaching the 2006 BDO final, later playing in (and winning) the 2007 PDC World Championship – the Tomlin order should have made him ineligible to play. There was further controversy following the 2007 BDO World Championship, when Jelle Klaasen announced that he would be switching to the PDC. As a BDO World Champion, he signed a three-year deal in 2006 to return to the Lakeside event. The BDO threatened to take legal action for breach of contract, but with previous damage and costs incurred by other legal cases it has become less likely that any action will be taken in future with regards to player contracts and

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5876-502: The Tomlin Order. 2007 semi-finalist Mervyn King also moved to the PDC, seemingly against the contracted condition that semi-finalists and finalists were bound to appear the next year. In January 2012, the PDC invited the four semi-finalists of the BDO world championships, after obtaining a written agreement to release any player without penalty. Ted Hankey was the first player to move, as well as several players (who were not guaranteed

5989-575: The US after publicity of thousands of injuries and several deaths. Round the Clock (also called Around the World, 20 to 1, and Jumpers) is a game involving any number of players where the objective is to hit each section sequentially from 1 to 20 starting after a starting double. Shanghai is played with at least two players. The standard version is played in seven rounds. In round one players throw their darts aiming for

6102-649: The WDC and agreed that all players shall have the freedom of choice as to which open events they wish to play in. The WDC dropped its claim to be a world governing body and renamed itself the Professional Darts Corporation. The PDC accepted and recognized the World Darts Federation (WDF) as the governing body for the sport of darts worldwide, and the BDO the governing body for darts in the UK. The stated purpose of

6215-470: The agreement was to promote the freedom of individual darts players to participate freely in open competition. Another condition of this Tomlin order is that the top 16 players, and any Home Country players ranked between 17 and 32 in each year's BDO Championship, and the top 16 players in each year's PDC Championship, shall not be permitted to enter the other competition in the immediate following year. Despite this condition, Raymond van Barneveld switched to

6328-528: The annual PDC World Darts Championship , the World Matchplay , World Grand Prix , UK Open , Premier League , and Grand Slam . It also runs its own world rankings based on players' performances. Darts had experienced a boom in the 1980s. A number of tournaments were televised on BBC and ITV , which allowed the top players to make a full-time living from the sport and turn professional. However, darts steadily dropped from television schedules and by 1989

6441-629: The benefit of the crowd. Eric Bristow , the most successful player in the first few years of the World Championship, had his nickname "The Crafty Cockney" emblazoned on the back of his shirt. Very few dart players had their own nicknames until the Professional Darts Corporation circuit made it almost customary for every player to acquire a nickname. This helps to create a new generation of characters with which its audience could identify. Sky TV commentator Sid Waddell attempted to christen Phil Taylor "The Crafty Potter" – referring to him being both

6554-467: The board to set a target (i.e. single 18) and does not play until that target is hit. The next player up has 3 darts to try and hit the target (single 18), if they fail, they lose a life and the following player tries. Once a player succeeds at hitting the target, they then become the target setter and throw a dart to set a new target. The initial target setter swaps places with the new target setter. The games carry on until every players' lives have been used,

6667-435: The board without much thought. Commentator David Croft labelled Hankey's latest antics as 'ridiculous'. Hankey went on to lose the match 2–1 in sets in the deciding leg. In the 2009 BDO World Championship , Hankey revealed close friends and fellow dart players, including O'Shea and Gary Anderson , had told him he needed to "get his act together" if he ever wanted to play top-class darts again. He revealed he had been consuming

6780-428: The board. Sky Sports have also used a player cam ; a tiny camera was fitted to Dennis Priestley's shirt to capture his view of the action while playing. Elsewhere, floating video cameras capture the action of the watching crowds. Spectators become far more animated and vocal than their BDO counterparts, often acting similar to a football crowd, while holding up humorous placards – often featuring corny puns – regarding

6893-498: The board; they simply parted the packed fibres when they entered the board. The earliest darts were stubs of arrows or crossbow bolts. The first purpose-made darts were manufactured from solid wood, wrapped with a strip of lead for weight and fitted with flights made from split turkey feathers. These darts were mainly produced in France and became known as French darts. Metal barrels were patented in 1906, but wood continued to be used into

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7006-429: The breaks on the BBC. Sky Sports introduced more cameras to cover the sport, and many of these innovations have been copied by other broadcasters. Unique flight cams show the trajectory of the dart through the air in slow motion to sometimes surprising results. A tiny camera has also been inserted into the dartboard itself beside the number 16 – one of the most common doubles – that shows the darts being thrown towards

7119-549: The channel closed in 2011. The PDC sought to attract a younger audience of all genders for darts and market the game as a night out rather than just as a sporting event. Through the years, it was not uncommon to see politicians, musicians, football players, boxers and other sporting personalities attending their events. The British Darts Organisation have subsequently sought to emulate most of these innovations. Players enter matches with their own signature theme music whilst flanked by security men and, until 2017, female valets down to

7232-485: The channel introduced a number of new techniques to make the coverage more interesting for armchair fans. Unlike the BDO world championship, which was covered via the general entertainment BBC Two channel, Sky's dedicated sports channel allowed the PDC matches to be covered in their entirety. Over ten hours per day of live darts on Sky Sports is not uncommon. The British Darts Organisation's events were more limited to selected matches and highlights, although in recent years

7345-443: The compromise length. The standard dartboard is divided into 20 numbered sections, scoring from 1 to 20 points, by wires running from the small central circle to the outer circular wire. Circular wires within the outer wire subdivide each section into single, double and treble areas. The dartboard featured on The Indoor League television show of the 1970s did not feature a treble section, and according to host Fred Trueman during

7458-701: The coverage in 2008. Former darts commentators for ITV include Jim Proudfoot, Peter Drury and Steve Beaton. Ned Boulting presents features and interviews and deputises if the presenter is unavailable. BBC Sport showed the inaugural PDC Champions League of Darts on BBC One and BBC Two, with 16 hours of coverage over two days presented by BBC Final Score presenter Jason Mohammad alongside PDC professionals Mark Webster , Paul Nicholson and Warriner-Little, commentary by long time BBC darts commentator Vassos Alexander and PDC online reporter and commentator Dan Dawson with reports by Caroline Barker. Bravo employed James Richardson and Dave Gorman to front its coverage until

7571-554: The crowd (and Hankey was seen smiling and taking the pantomime booing in good spirit) Hankey indicated after last year's defeat that he would not return for the 2011 event should he indeed qualify for it. Hankey had a mixed year on the BDO Circuit. He won the Isle of Man open but was unable to follow that up. Although he did get to the semi-finals of the English Open . Hankey qualified for

7684-432: The crowd got under Hankey's skin, calling out and booing while he was throwing which visibly upset Hankey. Hankey later stated in an interview on ITV4 that he was not very happy and said "if that's the darts you want to play, then keep it" and also called for more crowd order in the PDC. Hankey went on to win against Wayne Mardle but was defeated by Simon Whitlock 5–4. Hankey did state afterwards that he would like to play at

7797-500: The dartboard on the left. If the first two darts hit the triple 20, the camera will zoom in to the spot before the third dart is thrown. John Gwynne covered 20 PDC World Championships and 20 PDC World Matchplays, from the inaugural 1994 WDC World Darts Championship until his retirement in 2013. Dave Lanning covered all events up until December 2010, when he retired. Contrary to popular belief, long-time BBC darts commentator Sid Waddell did not switch allegiances to Sky until after

7910-402: The darts are thrown to land in a circle target on the ground. The darts are similar to the ancient Roman thrown weapon plumbata . For a brand named Jarts, the darts weighed about 1/4 pound, were 12 inches long, and had a pointed tip, the better to stick into the ground. On December 19, 1988, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission introduced an outright ban on metal-tipped lawn darts in

8023-723: The dominant player in this event, winning 16 titles and being undefeated in his first 15 finals. Previous Winners (1994–2024) The World Grand Prix replaced the World Pairs event in 1998. Its original venue was the Casino Rooms in Rochester, Kent until 1999, with one staging in Rosslare in 2000 before moving in 2001 to its current home at the CityWest Hotel in Dublin , Ireland. However, owing to

8136-452: The feat. Three 167s (T20-T19-Bull) is considered a pure or perfect nine-dart finish by some players. There are several regional variations on the standard rules and scoring systems. American darts is a regional U.S. variant of the game (most U.S. dart players play the traditional games described above). This style of dartboard is most often found in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and parts of New York state. Beer darts

8249-471: The final 7–6 in sets against O'Shea. Hankey led 4–2 at the interval, but missed several darts to win the match at 6–5, but he finally closed out the match 3–1 in the final set. As a result of his world title win, Hankey was invited to the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts , which is organised by the PDC. He accepted the invitation and was drawn in group E with Scott Waites , Wayne Mardle and Simon Whitlock . He lost his opening group game 3–5 to Waites, but once more

8362-413: The final dart landing in either the bullseye or a double segment to win. Not all three darts need to be thrown on the final turn; the game can be finished on any of the three darts. When two teams play, the starting score is sometimes increased to 701 or even 1001; the rules remain the same. A throw that reduces a player's score below zero, to exactly one, or to zero but not ending with a double or bullseye

8475-443: The final, winning the match with a spectacular 170 checkout – the highest three-dart finish achievable. The final lasted only 46 minutes, the shortest in the tournament's history. In the semi-final v Chris Mason, he scored a championship record 22 x 180s in a match. (The next highest are 15 and 14, which he also holds, in matches v Tony O'Shea in the final and Martin Adams in the semi-finals respectively, both in 2009.) He also scored

8588-431: The first episode, this is the traditional Yorkshire board. Various games are played using the standard dartboard. However, in the official game, any dart landing inside the outer wire scores as follows: The highest score possible with three darts is 180, commonly known as a "ton 80" (100 points is called a ton), obtained when all three darts land in the triple 20. In the televised game, the referee frequently announces

8701-404: The first knockout stage. During the match he won a potentially crucial leg and after pumping his fist and shouting "Get in there" he proceeded to make a prolonged outburst at the crowd. In the post-match interview he was particularly scathing of the crowd and the organisers for not controlling their behaviour, describing the crowd as "a bunch of muppets". Despite getting an initial warm response from

8814-428: The following year and would instead join the BDO's rival organisation, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Hankey also controversially suggested that the air conditioning was deliberately turned on when he was throwing for the match in the tenth set so as to prevent him from leaving the BDO as World Champion. The day after Hankey's announcement that he was leaving the BDO, the PDC announced on its website that it

8927-545: The fourth round. Hankey faced Dennis Smith and lost 5–6, missing one dart for the match in the deciding leg to play in his first PDC quarter-final. Hankey qualified for the UK Open and beat Bernd Roith and Dave Weston before seeing a 3–1 lead turn into a 4–9 defeat in the third round to John Part . He qualified for his first European Tour event in July but was forced to withdraw from it in September due to whiplash injuries suffered in

9040-474: The game. He achieved the 9-Darter in the Scottish open 2011. Hankey won his first round match of the 2008 BDO World Championship over Steve West 3–2. He twice found himself behind in the match, recovering from 1–0 and 2–1 down to win the final two sets in succession. Afterwards, Hankey attributed his erratic form to a minority of the crowd which had jeered him throughout the match. Despite this, his campaign for

9153-417: The group stages, giving him 2 wins out of 2. He then went on to defeat Michael van Gerwen , also 5–4, to proceed to the knockout stage of the competition. As the competition progressed the crowd began to get under the skin of Hankey once more, again booing as he threw his darts and ignoring requests from the referee to quieten down during the throws. Hankey was knocked out of the competition by Steve Beaton in

9266-489: The inner as 50. Dartball is a darts game based on the sport of baseball . It is played on a diamond-shaped board and has similar scoring to baseball. Dart golf is a darts game based on the sport of golf and is regulated by the World Dolf Federation (WDFF). It is played on both special golf dartboards and traditional dartboards. Scoring is similar to golf. This is a regional variant still played in some parts of

9379-408: The job rather efficiently. There have been several mathematical papers published that consider the "optimal" dartboard. Before World War I, pubs in the United Kingdom had dartboards made from solid blocks of wood, usually elm. But darts pocked the surface of elm such that it was common for a hole to develop around the treble twenty. The other problem was that elm wood needed periodic soaking to keep

9492-408: The kite, and the smaller pear shape. The less surface area, the less stability but larger flights hamper close grouping. Some manufacturers have sought to solve this by making a flight long and thin but this, in turn, creates other problems such as changing the dart's centre of gravity. Generally speaking, a heavier dart will require a larger flight. The choice of barrel, shaft, and flight will depend

9605-399: The knock-out stages, where he faced Simon Whitlock . Hankey made an amazing fightback from 6–1 down to win 10–9 and reach the quarter-finals of the event for the second time in his career. He played Waites once again and his run came to an end with a 16–10 defeat. Hankey's two-year tour card expired after the 2014 World Championship and with him being ranked world number 94, well outside

9718-522: The landlord of the Adelphi Inn in Leeds was prosecuted for allowing darts to be played in his pub. As darts was considered a game of chance at the time, it was not allowed on licensed premises. The landlord was supported in his case by the best darts player in the region, William 'Bigfoot' Anakin. A dartboard was hung in the court and Anakin proved that darts was not a game of chance by hitting three double 20s in

9831-409: The last man standing is the target setter whose target was not hit. For less experienced players, doubles and trebles as part of the same number can be counted, i.e. a target of treble 20 can still be counted as a success if the double or single 20 is hit and vice versa. Lawn darts (also called yard darts and garden darts) is an outdoor game, with gameplay and objective similar to horseshoes , in that

9944-474: The limestone hills of Wiltshire where Bob used to live, and the fact that he enjoys Country and Western music. This was once taken even further, with Anderson once walking to the stage accompanied by a horse. The Professional Darts Corporation has continued to increase its annual UK televised tournaments in recent years: The World Championship, The Premier League, World Cup of Darts, World Grand Prix and World Matchplay are all covered live by Sky Sports. The US Open

10057-468: The man who knocked him out of the previous year's tournament, Scott Waites 4–3 to qualify for the quarter-final. In the quarter-final, Hankey defeated Martin Atkins 5–1. In the semi-final, Hankey led against débutant and eventual champion Christian Kist 5–3 and had a dart at bullseye to win 6–4, but Kist recovered to win the match 6–5. After the match Hankey announced he did not plan on returning to Lakeside

10170-521: The nickname The FA Cup of darts. Phil Taylor is the most successful player in the tournament's history, with five victories. Previous Winners (2003–24) Crowds exceeding 2,000 in number assemble at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool , the longest serving venue in the PDC. Matches are contested over legs rather than sets, presenting the prospect of some surprising results and upsets. Phil Taylor has been

10283-483: The office", crashing out at the first hurdle to Dutchman Albertino Essers . Seeded eighth for the 2007 BDO World Darts Championship , he defeated Mario Robbe of the Netherlands by 3–0 in the opening round. He then hit another 170 checkout in his tight 4–3 victory over qualifier Davy Richardson, before losing to Adams, again by 5–3, although he had several darts to remain in the match. Despite this setback, Hankey remained positive and upbeat about his darts future after

10396-526: The only player to wear a shirt, tie and waistcoat whilst playing, Rod Harrington 's "Prince of Style" tag appeared apt. Though originally from the BDO circuit, Wayne Mardle is known as "Hawaii Five-O-One" due to his colourful Hawaiian shirts (a play on words on Hawaii Five-O and the starting score in a leg of darts). Bob Anderson, now living in Clevedon in Somerset , is known as The Limestone Cowboy, after

10509-404: The only remaining televised event was the annual Embassy World Championship. Some of the players felt that not enough was being done by the governing body, the British Darts Organisation , to encourage new sponsors into the sport and arrange more television coverage. BDO chairman Olly Croft stated "I don't owe any dart players a living" and refused to guarantee more televised tournaments or permit

10622-471: The player's skill decreases, their aim moves slightly up and to the left of the T20. At σ   = 16.4   mm the best place to aim jumps to the T19. As the player's skill decreases further, the best place to aim curls into the centre of the board, stopping a bit lower than and to the left of the bullseye at σ   = 100   mm. Many games can be played on a dartboard, but the term "darts" generally refers to

10735-512: The players to organise their own. As a result, 16 professional players, including every previous BDO world champion who was still active in the game, created their own darts organisation, the World Darts Council (WDC), in January 1992. The players were led by sports promoters Tommy Cox and Dick Allix, both of whom used their own money to fund the fledgling organisation. They wanted to appoint

10848-452: The players, and chanting or singing various songs related to the players or to the event in general. Some supporters even wear face paint or crazy costumes or they dress up as their favourite player via their trademark attire or customary nickname. The players' wives have also been a focus for the cameras, as they cheered on their husbands. In January 2005, Sky One commissioned a programme entitled Darts Players' Wives , primarily focusing on

10961-421: The points, the barrels, the shafts and the flights. The points come in two common lengths, 32 and 41 mm (1.3 and 1.6 in) and are sometimes knurled or coated to improve players' grip. Others are designed to retract slightly on impact to lessen the chance of the dart bouncing out. The barrels come in a variety of weights and are usually constructed from brass, nickel-silver , or a tungsten alloy. Brass

11074-647: The preliminary round. Hankey then won his first matches in the PDC by defeating Steve West 6–5 and Toon Greebe 6–1 in the first UK Open qualifier in Crawley, before losing 6–4 to Connie Finnan . In May, Hankey had his best finish on the tour to date, reaching the last 16 of the Players Championship Event 5 , losing 1–6 to Raymond van Barneveld . In his first major event on the tour, the UK Open , Hankey beat qualifier Danny Dutson 4–0 and Andy Jenkins 4–1, but then lost to his old BDO rival Mervyn King 1–4 in

11187-608: The qualifier for the 2013 World Championship . Hankey returned to competitive darts for the first time in three months in February 2013, in an attempt to qualify for the first European Tour event of the year, the UK Darts Masters . He beat Wayne Atwood in the last 96, before losing 3–6 to Keith Rooney. He produced encouraging displays at the second Players Championship by beating John Henderson 6–3, world number 15 Paul Nicholson 6–5 and world number four James Wade 6–1 to reach

11300-481: The second round. Hankey was drawn in Group B of the 2012 Grand Slam of Darts with Michael van Gerwen , Robert Thornton and Steve Beaton . He was whitewashed 0–5 by Thornton but defeated Beaton 5–3 to stay alive in the group. However, requiring a 5–0 or 5–1 victory over Van Gerwen in his last game to have a chance of progressing, Hankey visibly struggled with a three-dart average of 59, missing five successive shots at

11413-422: The step of banning the rebel players from playing in county darts and even threatened to ban any player who participated in exhibition events with WDC players. The WDC players took the matter to court in a dispute which accrued large and perhaps unaffordable costs during a protracted legal process. The two bodies reached an out-of-court settlement on 30 June 1997 in the form of a Tomlin order . The BDO recognised

11526-457: The target counts as one mark, while hits in the doubles ring of the target count as two marks in one throw, and on the triples ring as three. Once opened in this manner, until the opponent closes that number with three marks on it of their own, each additional hit by the owner/opener scores points equal to the number of the target (which may also be doubled and tripled, e.g. a triple-20 is worth 60 points). The outer bullseye counts as 25 points and

11639-456: The term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules. Darts is both a professional throwing sport and a traditional pub game . Darts is commonly played in the British Isles , and recreationally enjoyed around the world. In 1908, darts was declared to be a game of skill and was thus allowed to be played in pubs. This came about after

11752-406: The top 64 who retain their professional status, he lost his position in the PDC. He registered to Q School, but withdrew from the event before it began. It was announced soon after that Hankey had decided to end his unsuccessful stay in the PDC and would return to the BDO. In his first season back in the BDO, his best results were two quarter finals as he narrowly failed to automatically qualify for

11865-588: The tournaments that ITV cover do not play in sets. The Fratellis 2006 single "Chelsea Dagger" is played during the breaks on ITV. In 2010, Bravo signed a contract to show the European Championships. In 2007, Sky Sports decided to extend their coverage of the Premier League Darts to 2010 following the high number of viewers to previous tournaments. In February 2016, it was announced the BBC would cover

11978-406: The weight towards the rear causing the dart to tilt backwards during flight, requiring a harder, faster throw. The flight stabilizes the dart by producing drag , thus preventing the rear of the dart from overtaking the point. Modern flights are generally made from plastic, nylon, or foil and are available in a range of shapes and sizes. The three most common shapes in order of size are the standard,

12091-582: The wives and their relationships. In December 2008, Sky started to broadcast darts in High Definition (with the exception of the final Las Vegas Desert Classic in 2009), and in July 2010 (at the World Matchplay), broadcast the Semi Finals and Final in 3D to around 1,000 licensed premises in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Another frequent cam is a split-screen camera, with the players on the right, and

12204-434: The wood soft. In 1935, chemist Ted Leggatt and pub owner Frank Dabbs began using the century plant , a type of agave, to make dartboards. Small bundles of sisal fibres of the same length were bundled together. The bundles were then compressed into a disk and bound with a metal ring. This new dartboard was an instant success. It was more durable and required little maintenance. Furthermore, darts did little or no damage to

12317-520: Was declared bankrupt in 2018. In September 2021, he sexually assaulted a girl who was aged over 16 but under 18 at the time. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced in May 2022 to two years in prison and placed on the sex offender registry for 10 years. In the 2000 BDO World Darts Championship , after beating Bob Taylor , Steve Douglas , Kevin Painter and Chris Mason , Hankey whitewashed Ronnie Baxter 6–0 in

12430-485: Was deemed unsporting and contrary to the tournament promoter's code of conduct. After the match, an emotional Hankey informed the BBC 's Ray Stubbs that he was considering quitting the game and needed to assess his future. The following day, however, he clarified his future plans in a frank BBC interview with Stubbs and Bobby George . Although hugely disappointed with his performance against Whitlock, he indicated that his future still lay in darts and vowed to return after

12543-443: Was offering two-year tour cards to the 2012 BDO World Darts Championship semi-finalists. This meant that Hankey automatically received a tour card to play in the PDC and its Pro Tour , rather than having to play through the qualifying school tournament (usually a requirement to all new PDC players). His first event on the tour was the opening Players Championship of 2012, The Spanish Darts Trophy, where he lost 4–6 to Matthew Edgar in

12656-585: Was shown on Challenge in 2007 and Nuts TV in 2008. Bravo broadcast the European Championships for the first time in 2010, after ITV4 televised the first running in 2008. ITV4 won back the coverage for the European Championship; they also show live coverage of the World Series of Darts, Players Championship, UK Open and the Masters. The World Championship is a single-elimination seeded tournament beginning in mid December and finishing in early January. It

12769-534: Was the original presenter of Sky Sports' darts coverage, before Dave Clark took over in 2002. Clark retired in 2020, since when Emma Paton has been the lead presenter. In addition, the 2005 Premier League was fronted by Gary Newbon . ITV events were fronted by Matt Smith from 2007 to 2014 but are now hosted by Jacqui Oatley from 2015 who became the first regular female darts host in the UK. Commentary for ITV has been provided by John Rawling , Alan Warriner-Little & Pyke since 2007 with Chris Mason joining

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