The last two weeks in December and the first two weeks in January are “Darting Mecca” for Darts fans – The World Darts Championships. In Fact there are two World Darts Championships, The PDC World Championship is the battle of the Professionals – the best of the best hosted at the Alexandra Palace in London. The BDO World Darts Championships is the home of the amateur game hosted at the original home of World Darts – The Lakeside in Frimley, this was before some players broke away and created the PDC.
Now I get asked every year, “which one do you watch?”, “How can anyone watch the BDO darts?”, “The PDC is miles better than the BDO so how can you like it?”. The simple answer is I love Darts and I watch both, and how can I watch both? because both have their own unique qualities and you cannot compare them against each other! You must appreciate them both individually for what they are.
My love affair with Darts started around 10 years ago in the early weeks of January, I would tune in to the BBC to watch the darts with Ray Stubbs presenting and Bobby George as the pundit. I would have to tune in from the start so I could hear the late Martin Fitzmaurice with his legendary Darts Intro – “Ladies and Gentleman, Are you Reaaadddyyyy? LETS PLAY DARTS” (Take a look in the video below)
At this time I didn’t know anything else but the BDO darts at lakeside, I soon had a favourite player in Tony ‘The Silverback’ O’Shea and went out and brought my first dartboard (the less said about it the better). The Lakeside had its charm, the chandeliers, the dated decor, the raucous crowd in fancy dress; It was fun it was exciting. Shortly after I heard about the PDC and wondered what all the fuss was about. I thought I’d check out the premier league darts on Sky Sports and it’s different that’s for sure! The PDC has the financial backing, the sponsors, the global TV audience and have taken darts to the next level – the reasons some players split from the BDO to create the PDC to achieve this. It is entertaining and exciting with football type fans chanting and singing all night long – a shade different from Lakeside where the crowd are quiet when the players throw! I was lucky to get into it while the late great Sid Waddell was commentating, let me tell you there will never ever be a commentator again like him – one of a kind (Again catch his best bits in a video below). The Darts was captivating, Enthralling; you could see why these guys were professionals and why they are playing for the biggest prize money available in the sport.
In the last month I have managed to enjoy in the comfort of my own home both Darts World Championships. I enjoyed the shocks, the whitewashes and the sudden death dramas! There was also the last hurrah for 16 time world champion – The legend Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor who retired by nearly making it 17 titles but was beaten by Rob Cross, a newcomer who came into the PDC championships relatively unknown and had only been a professional for less than a year. It was “Rags to Riches” stuff by Cross who beat world number 1 – Michael Van Gerwen in the Semi Final before beating undoubtedly the best Darts Player to ever grace the sport. Over in the BDO, defending champion Glen Durrant successfully defended his title but not without some tests on the way; He was 4-1 down to his close friend Jim Williams and staring down the barrel of a humiliating defeat in the quarter final, his opponent only needing one more set to progress – The Champion didn’t give up and came back to win 5-4. Then onto the Final, before the match it had the makings of a classic, the No 1 and No 2 seeds meeting in the final for the first time at Lakeside since 1990. The match ebbed and flowed, Teesider Durant survived 2 match darts after blowing a 6-4 lead and losing 2-0 in the deciding set. Looking like he was about to surrender his title, Durrant produced a magic 149 checkout to steal back the initiative and go on to lift the title for the 2nd year in a row.
The real reason I am writing this post is because I believe that the BDO and PDC organisations of darts can co-exist; In recent times the PDC made an offer to takeover the BDO but for me that isn’t the answer, nore is completely casting the BDO aside and feeling it has no relevance because the PDC offering has the money, the glitz and the glamour. The BDO is the home for the amateur player, the organisation which gives the pub player the opportunity to play in tournaments not just in Britain but across the world – the first steps on the darting ladder, these players once a year get a broader audience with the world championships on TV. For Many in this day and age the BDO is just a feeder for darts players to jump ship to the PDC in search of making decent money, the opportunity to play in numerous televised tournaments in front of sell out crowds; And there is no doubt that there is money to be made. In the last 2 years there is 234 players who have played in PDC ranking events and there are 40 players who have earned £100k or more – In Stark contrast, the champion of the BDO world championships gets £100k.
There is a lot that is good about the BDO – the hundreds and thousands of players involved in the amateur setup, playing in regional teams all over the country – it is made up of 66 member counties around the country. There is also a lot that could be improved – there are many ranking tournaments within the BDO but only one is televised unlike the many televised from the PDC; with these many televised events we can get to know the players and their characters, we become fans, a part of the camaraderie but with the BDO you only see these guys on the TV once a year, it’s hard make a connection, especially when some jump ship and you don’t see them in The BDO again. Now the BDO will never be the PDC but they could do more to maximise their potential, get someone business minded in to gain better sponsorship deals, better TV coverage for events; in 2016 The BBC dropped it’s coverage of Lakeside after 38 years adding to the BDO’s woes. However the Lakeside has managed to stay on terrestrial TV with coverage shared amongst Channel 4 and BT Sports. If the BDO can grow some extra revenue this can be invested into the game and into development and could lead to enticing players to stay and not jump ship over to the PDC so quickly.
In Summary, both Darts Organisations have their purpose and can co-exist and can work together to grow the game! As a darts lover you can’t compare both otherwise there will only be one winner, but if you appreciate both for what they are you will enjoy numerous hours of “Magic Darts” – also why settle for one World Darts Championships when you can watch two! There is something oddly satisfying about an electrician or a farmer being crowned world champion of the world and long may it continue!
Martin Fitzmaurice
Sid Waddell
