Darts

Darts in a dartboard
Highest governing body	WDF
Nickname(s)	throwers
First played	approx 1870s[1]
Registered players	655 WDF ranked players 679 PDPA ranked players
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	Team events exist, see World Cup
Mixed gender	Separate men's & women's championship although no restrictions on women competing against men.
Categorization	Target sports, Individual sport
Equipment	Set of 3 darts, dartboard
Olympic	Not ever recognised as an Olympic sport

Darts is a form of throwing game in which darts are thrown at a circular target (dartboard) fixed to a wall.^[2] Though various boards and rules have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules. As well as being a professional competitive sport, darts is a traditional pub game, commonly played in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth, the Netherlands, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, the Scandinavian countries, the United States, Canada and elsewhere.

Equipment[link]

Dartboard[link]

Before the First World War, pubs in the United Kingdom had dartboards made from solid blocks of wood, usually elm. They had to be soaked overnight to heal the holes made by the darts, and it was a messy business for the publican, although darts was a popular game. This changed when a company called Nodor, whose primary business was making modelling clay (which has no odour, hence the name Nodor), made a dartboard. Their model of dartboard was not a great success until someone came up with the idea of using the century plant to make a dartboard. 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. It was an instant success, as the darts did little or no damage to the board—they just parted the fibres when they entered the board; this type of board was more durable and required little maintenance.

Quality dartboards are made of sisal fibres; cheap boards are sometimes made of cork or coiled paper. However, several types of sisal fibre are used in dartboards today, originating from East Africa, Brazil or China. The widespread belief that some dartboards are constructed using pig bristles, camel hair, or horse hair, is incorrect. Apparently no such boards have ever been produced commercially.^{[citation needed]}

A regulation board is 17 ³⁄₄ inches (451 mm)^[3] in diameter and is divided into 20 radial sections. Each section is separated with metal wire or a thin band of sheet metal. The best dartboards have the thinnest wire, so that the darts have less chance of hitting a wire and bouncing out. The numbers indicating the various scoring sections of the board are also normally made of wire, especially on tournament-quality boards. The wire ring on which the numbers are welded can be turned to facilitate even wear of the board. Boards of lesser quality often have the numbers printed directly on the board.

Recently, some companies have produced electronic dartboards. These dartboards have electronic scoring computers that are preprogrammed with a wide variety of game types. The board is made of plastic facings with small holes. The holes slant out, allowing the plastic-tipped darts to stick inside. When a dart strikes the board, the section makes contact with a metal plate, telling the computer where the player has thrown.

History[link]

"Hope and Anchor dart club", 20 Waterloo Street (now Macbeth Street), Hammersmith, London, UK. ca 1925. NB publican Charles Fletcher (seated front row center) with elm board

Playing darts

The dartboard may have its origins in the cross-section of a tree. An old name for a dartboard is "butt"; the word comes from the French word but, meaning "target".^[4] In particular, the Yorkshire and Manchester Log End boards differ from the standard board in that they have no treble only double and bullseye, the Manchester board being of a smaller diameter, with a playing area of only 25 cm across with double and bull areas measuring just 4mm. The London Fives board is another variation. This has only 12 equal segments numbered 20, 5, 15, 10, 20, 5, 15, 10, 20, 5, 15, 10 with the doubles and triples being a quarter of an inch wide.

There is a speculation that the game originated among soldiers throwing short arrows at the bottom of the cask or at the bottom of trunks of trees. As the wood dried, cracks would develop, creating "sections". Soon, regional standards emerged and many woodworkers supplemented bar tabs by fabricating dart boards for the local pubs.

The standard numbering plan with a 20 on top was created in 1896 by Lancashire carpenter Brian Gamlin.^[5] However, a great many other configurations have been used throughout the years and in different geographical locations. Gamlin's layout was devised to penalise inaccuracy. Although this applies to most of the board, the left-hand side (near the 14 section) is preferred by beginners, for its concentration of larger numbers. Mathematically, removing the rotational symmetry by placing the "20" at the top, there are 19!, 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 the job rather efficiently. There have been several mathematical papers published that consider the "optimal" dartboard.^[6]

Height and distance[link]

In the standard game, the dartboard is hung so that the bullseye is 5 feet 8 inches (172.72 cm) from the floor—eye-level for a 6-foot (180 cm) person. The oche ( /ˈɒki/)—the line behind which the throwing player must stand—is generally 7 feet 9+¹⁄₄ inches (236.86 cm) from the face of the dartboard measured horizontally. Another recognised way of dartboard / oche dimensions is as thus... set up the dartboard on a solid wall so that the distance from the floor to the centre of the bullseye (in the centre of the dartboard) is 68 inches (172.72 cm), then measuring again from the centre of the bullseye in a diagonal manner, measure 115.41 inches (293.14 cm) from the bullseye to the rear of the oche and this will ensure true and accurate allround dimensions, provided the floor is horizontal and the walls are plumb. An alternate means of measuring the distance from the bullseye to the far side of the oche or throwing line. It is 93.249 inches (236.85 cm) from the rear of the oche to a plumb line hanging (right angle) from the bulls eye. This figure is calculated using Pythagorean theorem, a² + b² = c². This is the recognized world standard as set by the World Darts Federation and is used in most areas. The London 5 board or narrow 5s board set up is slightly different from the standard board. The height is set at 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) to the centre of the bull and the oche is at 9 feet (2.74 m) from the face of the board.^[7]

Darts[link]

Initially the missiles were simply cut down arrows or crossbow bolts.^[8] The first purpose made darts were manufactured in one piece from wood; wrapped with a strip of lead for weight and fitted with flights made from split turkey feathers. These darts were mainly imported from France and became known as French darts.^[9] Metal barrels were patented in 1906 but wood continued to be used into the 1950s.^[8][10] The first metal barrels were made from brass which was relatively cheap and easy to work.^[9] The wooden shafts, which were now 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.^[9] When the advantages of using plastic were realised, the shaft and flight became separate entities, although one piece moulded plastic shaft and flights were also available.^[11]

Modern darts have four parts: The points, the barrels, the shafts and the fletching^[12] The steel points come in 2 common lengths, 32mm and 41mm and are sometimes knurled or coated to improve grip. Others are designed to retract slightly on impact to lessen the chance of bouncing out.^[13]

The barrels come in a variety of weights and are usually constructed from brass, silver- nickel or a tungsten alloy.^[14] Brass 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 barrel of an equivalent weight could be half the diameter.^[15] Tungsten is very brittle however and so an alloy of between 80 and 95 per cent tungsten is used. The remainder is usually nickel, iron or copper.^[15] Silver-nickel darts offer a compromise between density and cost.

Barrels come in 3 basic shapes: Cylindrical, torpedo or ton.^[16] Cylindrical barrels are the same diameter along their entire length and so tend to be long and thin. Their slenderness makes them better for grouping but because they are long, the centre of gravity is further back. Ton shaped barrels are thin at either end but bulge in the middle. This makes them fatter than a cylindrical barrel of equivalent weight but the centre of gravity is further forward and so theoretically easier to throw. Torpedo shaped barrels are widest at the point end and taper towards the rear. This keeps the weight as far forward as possible but like the ton, gives it a larger diameter than the cylinder.

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.^[17] Longer shafts provide greater stability and allow a reduction in flight size which in turn can lead to closer grouping; but they also shift the weight towards the rear causing the dart to tilt backwards during flight,requiring a harder,faster throw. A longer shaft will however make the dart less responsive and increase the chance of "wobbling".

The primary purpose of the flight is to produce drag and thus prevent the rear of the dart overtaking the point.^[12] It also has an effect on stability by reducing wobble. 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, the kite and the smaller pear shape. The less surface area, the less stability but larger flights hamper close grouping. Some manufactures 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.^[12]

The choice of barrel, shaft and flight will depend a great deal on the individual player’s throwing style. For competitive purposes a dart cannot weigh more than 50g including the shaft and flight and cannot exceed a total length of 300mm.^[8]

Scoring[link]

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 triple areas. The dartboard featured on the "Indoor League" television show of the 1970s did not feature a triple section, and according to host Fred Trueman during the first episode, this is the traditional Yorkshire board.

Various games can be played (and still are played informally) using the standard dartboard. However, in the official game, any dart landing inside the outer wire scores as follows:

• Hitting one of the large portions of each of the numbered sections, traditionally alternately coloured black and white, scores the points value of that section.
• Hitting the thin inner portions of these sections, roughly halfway between the outer wire and the central circle coloured red and green, scores triple the points value of that section.
• Hitting the thin outer portions of these sections, again coloured red or green, scores double the points value of that section. The double-20 is often referred to as double-top, reflecting the 20's position on the dartboard.
• The central circle is divided into a green outer ring worth 25 points (known as "outer", "outer bull", or "iris") and a red inner circle (usually known as "bull", "inner bull" or "double bull"), worth 50 points. The term "bullseye" can mean either the whole central part of the board or just the inner red section. The term "bull's ring" usually means just the green outer ring. The inner bull counts as a double when doubling in or out.
• Hitting outside the outer wire scores nothing.
• Any dart that does not remain in the board until it is collected by the player (for example, a dart that hits a wire and bounces out of the board or drops out with the impact of a later throw) also scores nothing; exception should be noted if play is on any electronic board: darts falling out are counted.
• A dart only scores if its point is embedded in or is touching the playing surface. A dart that hits the board side on or at an angle but does not fall off because it is held in place by two other darts, for example, will score either equal to where its point touches or not at all.

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 a score of 180 in exuberant style. A "quad" ring appeared briefly in the 1990s, leading to a potential 240 maximum (three quad-20s), a 210 maximum checkout (Q20-Q20-Bull) and seven dart finishes from a 501 start (five quad-20s, triple-17, bullseye), but was swiftly dropped from professional tournament play.

Skill level and aiming[link]

Assuming standard scoring, the optimal area to aim for on the dart board in order to maximize the player's score varies significantly based on the players skill. The skilled player should aim for the centre of the T20 and as the player's skill reduces their aim moves slightly up and to the left of the T20. At σ = 16.4 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.^[18]

Playing darts[link]

There are many games that can be played on a dartboard, but darts generally refers to a game whereby the player throws three darts per visit to the board with the goal of reducing a fixed score, commonly 501 or 301, to zero ("checking out"), with the final dart landing in either the bullseye or a double segment. A game of darts is generally contested between two players, who take turns. Each turn consists of throwing three darts. When two teams play, the starting score is increased to '701'; 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 is known as "going bust", with the player's score being reset to the value prior to starting the turn, and the remainder of the turn being forfeited. 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 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 the feat. Three 167s (T20-T19-Bull) is considered a pure or perfect nine dart finish by some players, most notably the flamboyant Bobby George.

Other darts games and variants[link]

There are a number of regional variations on the standard rules and scoring systems. "Round the Clock" is a variation that involves hitting the numbers in sequence, known as "around the world" in New Zealand.^[19] "Jumpers" is a somewhat swifter and more exciting variation of Round the Clock believed to have originated amongst the British ex-pat community in Asia.^[20]

American darts[link]

American Darts is a regional USA variant of the game (most U.S. dart players play the traditional games described above). This style of dart board is most often found in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and parts of New York state.

Archery darts[link]

This is played in the exact same way as a regular game of darts, but using recurve or compound bows to shoot full length arrows from a distance to hit a 60 cm or 90 cm paper target face that looks like a dartboard. These are commercially produced, but usually only in black & white.

Audio darts[link]

A variant of traditional darts played using a blindfold. Often played by people with visual disabilities and their friends. Typically a talking electronic dartboard is used to speak the numbers hit, keep score and announce who is throwing next.

Darts cricket[link]

Dartball[link]

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[link]

Dart golf is a darts game based on the sport of golf and is regulated by the World Dolf Federation (WDFF).^[21] It is played on both special golf dartboards and traditional dartboards. Scoring is similar to golf.

Fives[link]

An 'East-End' or 'Fives' dartboard

This is a regional variant still played in some parts of 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 (9 ft, 2.7 m) away from the board of any mainstream variation.^[22]

Halve it[link]

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.^[23] Failure to do so within 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.^[24] The game can be tailored to the skill level of the players by selecting easy or difficult targets.

Killer[link]

Killer is a 'knock-out' game for two or more players (at its best at 4-6 players). Initially each player throws 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 x2, triples x3). If a person gets to zero they are out. A killer can aim for anyone's numbers, even another killer's. You cannot get more than 5 points. The winner is 'the last man standing'.^[25]

Lawn Darts[link]

Lawn darts (also called Jarts or yard darts) is a lawn game based on darts. The game play and objective are similar to both horseshoes and darts. The darts are similar to the ancient Roman plumbata.

Shanghai[link]

Shanghai is a darts game of accuracy.^[26] Hitting doubles and triples is paramount to victory. This game is played with at least two players. The standard version is played in 7 rounds.^[26] In round one players throw their darts aiming for the 1 section, round 2, the 2 section 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 you can score a Shanghai and win instantly. To score a Shanghai you have to hit a triple, a double and single (in any order) of the number that is in play.^[26]

Shanghai can also be played for 20 rounds to use all numbers.

A Fairer Start for Shanghai: To prevent players from becoming too practised at shooting for the 1, the number sequence can begin at the number of the dart that lost the throw for the bullseye to determine the starting thrower. For example; Thrower A shoots for the bullseye and hits the 17. Thrower B shoots for the bullseye and hits it. Thrower B then begins the game, starting on the number 17, then 18, 19, 20, 1, 2, 3, etc. through 16 (if no player hits Shanghai).

Darts organizations[link]

Amateur League Organizations[link]

The American Darts Organization promulgates rules and standards for amateur league darts and sanctions tournaments in the United States. The American Darts Organization began operation January 1, 1976 with 30 charter member clubs and a membership of 7,500 players. Today, the ADO has a membership that averages 250 clubs on a yearly basis representing roughly 50,000 members.^[27]

Professional organizations[link]

Of the two professional organisations, the British Darts Organisation (BDO), founded 1973, is the older. Its tournaments are often shown on the BBC in the UK and on SBS6 in the Netherlands. The BDO is a member of the World Darts Federation (WDF) (founded 1976), along with organizations in some 60 other countries worldwide. The BDO originally organised a number of the more prestigious British tournaments with a few notable exceptions such as the News of the World Championship and the national events run under the auspices of the National Darts Association of Great Britain. However, many sponsors were lost and British TV coverage became much reduced by the early nineties.

In 1992 a breakaway organisation was formed, initially known as the World Darts Council (WDC) but shortly after known as the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). The PDC tournaments have a considerable following, although the PDC World Championship attracts lower TV viewing figures than that of the BDO.

The PDC tournaments often have higher prize money and feature the leading player in the history of the game, 15-time World Champion Phil Taylor. The highly successful BDO player Raymond van Barneveld switched to the PDC and won the PDC World Championship at his first attempt in 2007.

Professional darts[link]

The BDO and PDC both organise a World Professional Championship. They are held annually over the Christmas/New Year period, with the PDC championship finishing slightly earlier than the BDO tournament. The BDO World Championship has been running since 1978; the PDC World Championship started in 1994.

Both organisations hold other professional tournaments. The BDO organise the World Masters and many Open tournaments. They also organise county darts for their 66 county members in the UK including individual and team events.

The PDC's major tournaments are the World Championship, Premier League, UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix. All of these are broadcast live on Sky Sports television in the UK. They also hold PDC Pro Tour events and smaller category events around the UK. As of 2007 the PDC have introduced two new televised major tournaments—the US Open (to be broadcast on Challenge TV) and the Grand Slam of Darts (to be screened on ITV).

Two Dutch independently organised major tournaments, the International Darts League and the World Darts Trophy introduced a mix of BDO and PDC players in 2006 and 2007. Both organisations allocated rankings to the tournaments, but these two events are now discontinued.

The WDF World Cup for national teams and a singles tournament has been played biennially since 1977. The WDF also organise the Europe Cup.The PDC has their own world cup the PDC World Cup

Professional darts players[link]

World champions[link]

Year	Winner WPD (BDO)	Winner BDO	Winner PDC
1978	Leighton Rees (1)
1979	John Lowe (1)
1980	Eric Bristow (1)
1981	Eric Bristow (2)
1982	Jocky Wilson (1)
1983	Keith Deller (1)
1984	Eric Bristow (3)
1985	Eric Bristow (4)
1986	Eric Bristow (5)
1987	John Lowe (2)
1988	Bob Anderson (1)
1989	Jocky Wilson (2)
1990	Phil Taylor (1)
1991	Dennis Priestley (1)
1992	Phil Taylor (2)
1993	John Lowe (3)
1994		John Part (1)	Dennis Priestley (2)
1995		Richie Burnett (1)	Phil Taylor (3)
1996		Steve Beaton (1)	Phil Taylor (4)
1997		Les Wallace (1)	Phil Taylor (5)
1998		Raymond van Barneveld (1)	Phil Taylor (6)
1999		Raymond van Barneveld (2)	Phil Taylor (7)
2000		Ted Hankey (1)	Phil Taylor (8)
2001		John Walton (1)	Phil Taylor (9)
2002		Tony David (1)	Phil Taylor (10)
2003		Raymond van Barneveld (3)	John Part (2)
2004		Andy Fordham (1)	Phil Taylor (11)
2005		Raymond van Barneveld (4)	Phil Taylor (12)
2006		Jelle Klaasen (1)	Phil Taylor (13)
2007		Martin Adams (1)	Raymond van Barneveld (5)
2008		Mark Webster (1)	John Part (3)
2009		Ted Hankey (2)	Phil Taylor (14)
2010		Martin Adams (2)	Phil Taylor (15)
2011		Martin Adams (3)	Adrian Lewis (1)
2012		Christian Kist (1)	Adrian Lewis (2)

2010 World Champions

BDO: Martin Adams Wolfie

PDC: Phil Taylor The Power

Women's BDO: Trina Gulliver The Golden Girl

Women's PDC: Stacy Bromberg

Multiple World Champions

15 Phil Taylor The Power (13 PDC, 2 BDO)

8 Trina Gulliver The Golden Girl

5 Eric Bristow Crafty Cockney

5 Raymond van Barneveld Barney / The Man (4 BDO, 1 PDC)

3 John Part Darth Maple (1 BDO, 2 PDC)

3 John Lowe Old Stoneface

3 Martin Adams Wolfie

2 Adrian Lewis Jackpot

2 Ted Hankey The Count

2 Jocky Wilson

2 Dennis Priestley The Menace (1 BDO, 1 PDC)

Former one-time BDO World Champions

Bob Anderson The Limestone Cowboy

Steve Beaton Magnum-PI/ The Bronze Adonis

Richie Burnett The Prince of Wales

Tony David The Deadly Boomerang

Keith Deller The Fella / The Milky Bar Kid

Andy Fordham The Viking

Jelle Klaasen The Matador

Leighton Rees

Les Wallace McDanger

John Walton John Boy

Mark Webster Webby

World rankings[link]

Both the WDF, BDO and PDC each maintain their own rankings lists. These lists are commonly used to determine seedings for various tournaments. The WDF rankings are based on the preceding 12 months performances, the BDO resets all ranking points to zero after the seedings for their world championship have been determined, and the PDC Order of Merit is based on prize money earned over a two year period.

Televised darts[link]

Darts first appeared on British television in 1962 when Westward Television broadcast the Westward TV Invitational to the south-west of England. In 1970, ITV broadcast the News of the World Championship and from 1972 the Indoor League, which featured a darts tournament.

Over the next decade darts coverage expanded with many major tournaments appearing on both ITV and BBC through the 1970s and early 1980s, but the cancellation of ITV's World of Sport show in 1985 meant they had to cut back on darts coverage but despite this they still showed the World Masters until 1988. The BBC also cut back on their coverage to the extent that one major event was still broadcast on either channel by 1988—the World Championship.

With the creation of the WDC/PDC in 1992/93, darts gradually returned to television with Sky Television covering the new organization's World Championship and World Matchplay events from 1994. Sky's coverage continued to increase throughout the 1990s, with more new events added. The PDC's World Championship, Premier League, UK Open, Grand Slam of Darts, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix are all televised live on Sky.

The BBC finally began to expand their darts coverage in 2001 when they added the World Masters to their portfolio. However, it wasn't until 2005 that viewers were able to see every dart thrown live at the World Championship. This was the year that BBC introduced interactive coverage on its BBCi service.

Darts has continued to grow again on television and there now several major tournaments broadcast in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. Dutch station, Sport One, DSF in Germany and several other TV stations across the globe also broadcast the PDC events.

In Europe, Eurosport broadcast the Lakeside World Championships, having signed a three-year contract in 2006, and that year also broadcast the Finland Open, the BDO British Internationals, the BDO England Open and the BDO British Open. There has been no Eurosport coverage of Open events since 2007.

In the Netherlands, SBS6 has broadcast the Lakeside (since 1998) and the Dutch Open. They also shown the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy, however they are now defunct. RTL 5 broadcast the Dutch Grand Masters in 2005. Some of these tournaments can also be watched on the internet for free using a live stream, depending on contractual restrictions (external links: SBS Streams^{[28][29][30][31][32]} and Watchdarts.com stream^[33])

The PDC has also tried to break into the television market in the United States by introducing the World Series of Darts in 2006. It had a $1 million prize to showcase professional darts in the United States. Unfortunately the programme was not a ratings success and was taken from its peak time broadcast slot on ESPN after just a few weeks. The tournament was replaced with a US Open event in 2007 which was screened in the UK on digital television channel Challenge TV, with Nuts TV showing the 2008 tournament.

ITV returned to darts coverage in November 2007, showing the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts — its first major darts tournament coverage in almost twenty years. Sentanta Sports also televised some BDO events.

In 2012, the BBC shared coverage of the BDO World Championships with pay-TV sports channel ESPN. Sky Sports continue to screen major PDC events, including the World Championships, Premier League Darts and Grand Slam of Darts. ITV4 broadcast two PDC events, the Players Championship Finals and European Championships.

Betting[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

In places where alcohol is consumed, English law has long permitted betting only on games of skill, as opposed to games of chance, and then only for small stakes. An apocryphal tale relates that in 1908, Jim Garside, the landlord of the Adelphi Inn, Leeds, England was called before the local magistrates to answer the charge that he had allowed betting on a game of chance, darts, on his premises. Garside asked for the assistance of local champion William Bigfoot Anakin who attended as a witness and demonstrated that he could hit any number on the board nominated by the court. Garside was discharged as the magistrates found darts, indeed, to be a game of skill. More recently, in keeping with darts' strong association with pubs and drinking, matches between friends or pub teams are often played for pints.

In the professional game, betting is prominent with many of the big bookmaking companies sponsoring events (particularly within the PDC). Sky Bet (Premier League), Bodog (World Grand Prix), Stan James (World Matchplay), Blue Square (UK Open) and Ladbrokes (World Championship) are all title sponsors of major PDC events.

On Fox Sports broadcasts in the United States, the logos for Ladbrokes are pixelated out and digitally obscured, along with any audible references to Ladbrokes, because of American laws and policies against online gambling.

See also[link]

• Darts world rankings—current ranking lists for BDO and PDC
• Darts tournaments—previous winners, history and information
• Darts players profiles
• Nine dart finish—the "perfect" game in darts
• Glossary of darts
• Pub games
• Bullseye—a British game show based on darts

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Chaplin, Patrick (2010), Darts in England, 1900-39: A Social History, Manchester: Manchester University Press, distributed by Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-7190-7803-3 . Scholarly history showing how darts figured in publicans' efforts to improve their establishments, and how the sport moved from a working-class pursuit to gain middle- and upper-class players.

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Darts

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Darts

• American Darts Organization
• British Darts Organisation
• Professional Darts Corporation
• World Darts Federation
• Catalan Darts Federation

Simon Whitlock
Personal information
Full name	Simon Whitlock
Nickname	The Wizard[1]
Born	(1969-03-03) 3 March 1969 (age 43) Cessnock, Australia
Home town	Hornsby Australia
Darts information
Playing darts since	1984
Darts	22g Winmau Simon Whitlock
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	Down Under by Men at Work
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	2004–2009
PDC	2002–2003 and 2009–Present
Current world ranking	6
BDO majors - best performances
World Ch'ship	Runner-up: 2008
World Masters	Quarter-final: 2007
World Darts Trophy	Round 2: 2005, 2006, 2007
Int. Darts League	Semi-final: 2005, 2006
PDC premier events - best performances
World Ch'ship	Runner-up: 2010
World Matchplay	Semi-final: 2010
World Grand Prix	Last 16: 2010, 2011
Grand Slam	Quarter-final: 2008, 2009
Premier League	Runner-up: 2012
Desert Classic	Round 1: 2009
European Ch'ship	Semi-final: 2011
UK Open	Last 16: 2010
Players Ch'ship Finals	Last 16: 2011
Other tournament wins
Tournament	Years
Australia National Championships Australian Grand Masters Australian Masters Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy Castle Hill Central Coast Australian Classic Coota Cosham Xmas Open Critereon Hotel Open DPA Australian Singles Gleneagle Irish Masters Goulburn Open Illawarra Yacht Club Classic Japan Open Mildura Workers Club Open Mittagong RSL Open New Zealand Masters Newcastle Classic Oak Flats Soundwaves Open Oceanic Masters Pacific Masters Pine Rivers Open Players Ch'ship (AUT) Players Ch'ship (DER) Players Ch'ship (GER) Players Ch'ship (IRE) Players Ch'ship (WIG) Queensland Open Revesby Workers Club Open Russell Stewart Classic Southern Illawarra Open Unanderra Hotel Darts Open Viva Las Vegas NZ Wagga Classic Wattle Time Memorial Tournament	2008 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 2010 2005 2008 2004 2004 2009 2010 2010 2007, 2009, 2009 2009, 2009 2006 2009 2007, 2009 2005 2009 2007 2002, 2010 2004, 2006, 2008 2007 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2007, 2009 2007, 2009 2010 2009 2007, 2007 2004

Simon Whitlock (born 3 March 1969) is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, although he did have a spell playing in the rival organisation, the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches. His walk-on music is Down Under by Men At Work.

His greatest career achievements to date were finishing runner-up at the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship and the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship. He claimed that the prize money gained from the tournament which included money for the highest checkout (joint with Taylor) would allow him to move over to the UK from Australia and compete on the PDC Pro Tour.

His defeat also made him the first, and so far only, player to have never won a World Championship after reaching both the BDO and PDC World Championship Final.

Early darts career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2010)

He reached the last 16 of the 2003 PDC World Darts Championship and also the semi-finals of the 2005 BDO World Darts Championship but lost heavily 0–5 to Martin Adams. In other events, he has also reached the semi-finals of the International Darts League in 2005 (losing to Mervyn King) and 2006 (losing to Raymond van Barneveld).

In 2007, the PDC set up an Australian Grand Prix – a series of tournaments in Whitlock's native country, and Whitlock won the first two events. The eventual winner of the AGP would have received automatic qualification for the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship; however, Whitlock remained a WDF/BDO player and chose to compete in the BDO World Championship instead.

Whitlock showed great form throughout the tournament, beating Edwin Max and Fabian Roosenbrand before beating former world champion Ted Hankey (who would win the title again the following year) 5–0 in the quarter-finals. He then beat Cumbria's Brian Woods to reach the final of the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, where he was beaten by number one seed Mark Webster 7–5. He was the first Australian to the reach the final since Tony David won the tournament in 2002.

Whitlock entered the 2009 BDO World Darts Championship as the number 12 seed and reached the second round, beating Mark Barilli in the first round before losing to Darryl Fitton.

Return to PDC[link]

After many weeks of speculation, Whitlock returned to the PDC on 19 March 2009.^[2] He began playing in the AGP circuit where he won eight tournaments. He qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic but lost in the first round of the televised stages against Terry Jenkins.

He played in the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts and performed well in the Group stages winning all 3 of his games against Ted Hankey, Wayne Mardle and Scott Waites. In the Last 16 he thrashed 1996 BDO World Champion Steve Beaton 10–1 but lost to eventual runner up Scott Waites in a tight encounter.

At the 2010 PDC World Championship, Whitlock made a great impression, beating Colin Osborne (3–1), Wayne Jones (4–0) and Terry Jenkins (4–2), before going on to beat James Wade 5–3 in an epic encounter, setting up a semi final clash against Raymond van Barneveld which he won 6-5, after falling 4-2 behind. In the final against Phil Taylor, he lost the first set before winning the next two, including his second 170 checkout of the tournament, but Taylor would also make his second 170 checkout later in the match and went on to win 7-3.^[3]

During the championships, Whitlock made a televised post-match appeal for sponsorship during a Sky Sports interview. As a result of his performances, he did earn a sponsorship deal, enabling him to move to the UK and compete on the PDC Pro Tour full-time. After his run to the World Championship final, it was announced that he would be competing in the 2010 Premier League Darts as a wild card. He finished second in the table, therefore qualified for the semi-finals, after having beaten Raymond van Barneveld (twice), Adrian Lewis, Mervyn King (twice), Terry Jenkins and James Wade in the process. His run came to an end in the semis where he was beaten 8-6 by eventual runner-up Wade.

Whitlock's trademark in darts is his big finishing and superb checking out. In the 2010 Premier League, Whitlock had a 50% success rate in checking out, stretching 14 weeks.

On his World Matchplay debut in 2010, Whitlock reached the semi-finals before losing to Phil Taylor. At the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts, he lost all three of his group matches against Dave Chisnall, Colin Osborne and Robert Thornton.

Whitlock represented his native Australia alongside Paul Nicholson during the inaugural PDC World Cup of Darts in December 2010, losing out in the semi-finals to the Welsh pairing of Mark Webster and Barrie Bates.

2011 onwards[link]

At the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship, Whitlock defeated Steve Evans 3–0 in the first round, and Denis Ovens 4–0 in the second round, before losing 2–4 to Vincent van der Voort in the third round. He competed in the 2011 Premier League, again as a wild card, but failed to qualify for the play-offs after finishing sixth.

During the 2011 PDC Pro Tour, he became the first player to hit nine-dart finishes in successive Pro Tour events. His first came in the Bobby Bourn Memorial Players Championship in Barnsley on 12 June, during his win against South African Devon Petersen.^[4] His second came in the Dutch Darts Trophy event in Nuland six days later, against Nigel Heydon.^[5]

At the 2011 World Matchplay, Whitlock defeated Peter Wright 10–7 and Denis Ovens 13–1 to reach the quarter-finals, where he played Andy Hamilton. Whitlock was leading 15–8 and within one leg of victory, when Hamilton fought back, winning nine consecutive legs to take the match 17–15.^[6]

Whitlock broke a bone in his ankle while playing in Benidorm in November 2011 and was forced to withdraw from the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts.^[7] He did not play again until the 2012 World Championship and, with only a weeks practice behind him, produced a stunning performance to beat Dennis Smith 3–0, with an average of 105.^[8] He continued his form to ease past Steve Beaton 4–1 in the second round.^[9] Whitlock let a 3–0 lead slip to 3–3 in the last 16 against Michael van Gerwen but held his nerve to win the deciding set, and then comfortably beat Gary Anderson 5–1 to set up a semi-final clash with Andy Hamilton.^[10][11] He led 5–3, to need just one more set to reach his second PDC World Championship final, but his opponent raised his game and Whitlock would bow out of the tournament. Whitlock said after the match that he had had a fantastic tournament, considering he wasn't supposed to play.^[12]

Whitlock partnered Nicholson again for the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts to try to improve on the semi-final the pair reached in 2010. Together they enjoyed comfortable victories over Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands to indeed better 2010 and reach their first World Cup final, where they played the English pair of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis. Whitlock lost both of his singles matches in the final, but Nicholson won his final match and the duo won the doubles to mean the title would be decided on a sudden-death leg. Whitlock and Nicholson both missed two darts each to win the match, with Adrian Lewis hitting the winning double for England.^[13]

He was a Sky Sports pick for the Premier League.^[14] Whitlock won seven of his fourteen league games, including 100-plus averages in victories over Gary Anderson and Kevin Painter, to finish 2nd in the table and therefore qualify for the play-offs.^[15][16] Whitlock played Andy Hamilton in the semi-finals, against whom he drew 7–7 and lost 4–8 during the league campaign.^[15] He hit a nine darter in the second leg of the semi-final, but this was the only leg he could win early on as he trailed 1–4. Whitlock came back into the match and took the lead for the first time at 7–6, before holding throw to reach his first Premier League final. There he played Phil Taylor and looked to heading for a tame defeat as Taylor led 7–2. Whitlock, though, hit back brilliantly to win five successive legs to level the match, but couldn't complete another comeback victory as Taylor reeled off 3 legs to win 10–7.^[17]

He got to the semi-final of the first 2012 UK Open qualifier before losing out to Kim Huybrechts 6–4 after earlier beating Prakash Jiwa, Johnny Haines, Mark Frost, Alex Roy, Colin Osborne and Sean White.^[18] He reached the semi-final of the second 2012 UK Open Qualifier beating Andy Smith, Brian Woods, Shaun Griffiths, Dave Honey, and Mick Todd, before losing to Michael van Gerwen 6-0.^[19]

Whitlock hit a nine darter in his second round match at the European Tour Event 1 against Joe Cullen, but went on to lose 4–6.^[20]

Personal life[link]

Whitlock has two sons, Mason and Locky, from his marriage to Peta, which ended shortly before his run to the 2010 PDC World Championship final.^[21] As of July 2011, Whitlock is in a relationship with German darts player Stefanie Lück.^{[citation needed]}

Outside of darts[link]

In 2012, Whitlock, together with the seven other players who competed in the Premier League recorded a charity single with Chas Hodges and his band called 'Got My Tickets For The Darts' which was written by Chas. It was released on 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single will be donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.^[22]

Career finals[link]

PDC premier event finals: 1 (2 runner-up)[link]

Legend World Championship (0–1) World Matchplay (0–0) Premier League (0–1) Other (0–0) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1] Runner-up 1. 2010 World Darts Championship Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor 3–7 (s) Runner-up 2. 2012 PDC Premier League Darts Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor 7–10 (l) ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets. World Championship Performances[link] BDO[link] 2005 - Semi-finalist (lost to Martin Adams 0-5) 2006 - Last 16 (lost to Paul Hanvidge 2-4) 2007 - Last 16 (lost to Niels de Ruiter 3-4) 2008 - Runner Up (lost to Mark Webster 5-7) 2009 - Last 16 (lost to Darryl Fitton 2-4) PDC[link] 2003 (PDC) - Last 16 (lost to Richie Burnett 3-5) 2010 (PDC) - Runner-up (lost to Phil Taylor 3-7) 2011 (PDC) - Last 16 (lost to Vincent van der Voort 2-4) 2012 (PDC) - Semi-final (lost to Andy Hamilton 5-6) References[link] ^ The Sun (London). http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/sportdarts/2940863/Phil-Taylor-fears-Simon-Whitlock.html.  ^ "Aussie Star Makes PDC Move". pdc.tv. 19 March 2009. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~1595430,00.html. Retrieved 19 March 2009.  ^ Jacob, Gary (4 January 2010). "Phil Taylor summons all his powers to master Simon Whitlock’s challenge". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article6974868.ece. Retrieved 2010-01-04.  ^ "Smith's Joy With Barnsley Win". pdc.tv. 12 June 2011. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2375019,00.html. Retrieved 12 June 2011.  ^ "Anderson Takes Holland Win". pdc.tv. 18 June 2011. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2378437,00.html. Retrieved 18 June 2011.  ^ "World Matchplay Quarter-Finals". pdc.tv. 22 July 2011. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2399283,00.html. Retrieved 22 July 2011.  ^ "Ian White replaces Whitlock at Grand Slam of Darts". BBC Sport. 8 November 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/darts/15639680.stm. Retrieved 28 December 2011.  ^ "Magic darts from Wizard". Sky Sports. 22 December 2011. http://www.skysports.com/darts/pdc/story/0,25061,15623_7390947,00.html. Retrieved 28 December 2011.  ^ "World Championship - Day 11". PDC. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2559363,00.html. Retrieved 2 January 2012.  ^ "World Championship - Day 12". PDC. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2560198,00.html. Retrieved 2 January 2012.  ^ "Wizard works his magic". Sky Sports. 30 December 2011. http://www.skysports.com/darts/pdc/story/0,25061,15623_7402660,00.html. Retrieved 2 January 2012.  ^ "Hammer knocks out Wizard". Sky Sports. http://www1.skysports.com/darts/news/12288/7405779/. Retrieved 2 January 2012.  ^ "World Cup Triumph For England". PDC. 6 February 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2601181,00.html. Retrieved 7 February 2012.  ^ "Hamilton & Painter's Premier Delight". PDC. 3 January 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2565358,00.html. Retrieved 16 May 2012.  ^ a b "2012 Premier League Results". Darts Database. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=3889. Retrieved 16 May 2012.  ^ "McCoy's PLD Night 14". PDC. 10 May 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2767653,00.html. Retrieved 16 May 2012.  ^ "Taylor's McCoy's Premier League Joy". PDC. 17 May 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2775584,00.html. Retrieved 18 May 2012.  ^ "Speedy Hire UK Open Qualifier One". PDC. 11 February 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2607377,00.html. Retrieved 11 February 2012.  ^ http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2608224,00.html ^ "Austrian Darts Open Day Two". PDC. 28 April 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2752521,00.html. Retrieved 28 April 2012.  ^ Simon Whitlock dumps family for world darts glory Adelaide Now ^ "Chas & Stars Record Charity Single". Planet Darts. 8 March 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2641173,00.html.  External links[link] Official website Player profile on Simon Whitlock from Dartsdatabase v t e Professional Darts Corporation · Top 20 PDC players in Order of Merit at 7 May, 2012     Phil Taylor Adrian Lewis James Wade Gary Anderson Wes Newton Simon Whitlock Andy Hamilton Raymond van Barneveld Mark Webster Terry Jenkins Kevin Painter Mark Walsh Justin Pipe Vincent van der Voort Wayne Jones Paul Nicholson Colin Lloyd Mervyn King Ronnie Baxter Andy Smith Persondata Name Whitlock, Simon Alternative names Short description Australian darts player Date of birth 3 March 1969 Place of birth Sydney, Australia Date of death Place of death