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Tuesday 17 November 2015

The reason i'm 'covering' and trying to get exposure for different darts players


Hi Guys

I just wanted to answer all your questions at once, with regards ads to why i have posted on some 'unknown' players from darts, or rather 'unknown' in some areas or countries.

My reason is pretty simple. There are a large number of fantastic, exciting, skillful and charismatic darts players out there who will rarely get a chance to be seen, or  appreciated outside of their local darts league or country.

The darts scene, certainly from a television point of view in the UK is 99% dominated by the PDC, which means that 99% of the time you are only going to see players who feature in the top 32 or even top 16.  The BDO has very little television coverage (except Eurosport or BBC) with the majority of events getting no coverage at all which means there are legions of players out there who will never get exposure.

I am a big believer that variety is the spice of life and whilst watching the PDC top 16 go at it every week would likely see 110% averages and at least one 9 darter a week it would get boring at some point, especially seeing the same old faces (which is what nearly killed the BDO in the 80s).

For me darts is about the characters as much as anything else. Bristow for example cannot do big averages anymore but you'd pay to watch him in a heartbeat and there are so many characters out there that bring more to the game than just 180's or high outs. I'm talking 80 year olds hitting 138 outs, or 4'11" players throwing enormous Brass darts with turkey feathers and hitting 140's.

Some will argue about the 'standard' however a game with a 50% or 70% ave can be exciting. Its all about the players, the pressure and the outshots!

The majority of players cannot identify with a Van Gerwen or Taylor as these are paid professionals and whats more they don't have to go to work everyday and fit darts around that.  It should also be noted that as of 17/11/2015, no one ranked 60-180 in the PDC earned over £20,000 over 2 years and players ranked 88 to 180 didn't even earn £10,000 over 2 years! Realistically only the top 32 are earning 'BIG' bucks (and remember players have to pay all expenses out of those winnings)

 What the average player can identify with is BDO players and players who are not signed to 'contracts' etc.  This is why i love the prospect of playing against players from all over the country and all over the world. great darts players who love darts and you can have a game with, without it costings you a £1,500 to £12,000 appearance fee!

I myself have been involved in some absolute crackers of matches that have had drama, big scores and excitement that's had whole pubs watching, its an incredible palpable feeling and there's nothing like it. In-fact i had one match where someone (not drunk may i add) came up and said that was as exciting as anything they'd watched live which was a great compliment.

So get behind other players, find them on Youtube, and you'll find some hidden gems!



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