THE thud of tungsten into sisal is being heard in public once again. The familiar rattle of arrow on arrow can be detected in venues across the United Kingdom and further afield. Whether it’s the elite PDC professionals on stage in front of excited fans, MAD amateurs invading The Rock of Gibraltar or, an Open competition in your local club, it’s safe to say darts is returning to itself once more.
Jonny Clayton’s remarkable debut victory in the Premier League marked a line in the sand, the fans were back and everything was better for it. Darts, and the PDC in particular, has done exceptionally well during the toughest 18 months in our lifetime but players and supporters make up the very core of our sport and having both together simply reminded us of that.
As we head toward the peak of Summer we also return to one of our game’s most hallowed haunts. The Winter Gardens in Blackpool will once again quake to the sound of thousands of darts fans having a fantastic time combining holiday spirit (or spirits) with their favourite sporting occasion. The World Matchplay holds a very special place in the hearts of darts fans and our special supplement shows why.
Starting on page 37 we celebrate this fantastic event and the pleasure it has brought us over the years. Can Dimitri claim the title in front of the crowd or will reigning Blackpool champion Rob Cross surprise us all again? Who better than Dave Clark to take us through his favourite moments of Matchplay mayhem? We hope you enjoy both looking back and anticipating this year’s Blackpool bounty.
Darts World is almost a year removed from our 2020 revamp and this will be our 6th issue in the new style. Soon we’ll re-mix in the only missing ingredient in the new recipe, the return of fully active ‘Amateur darts’. County or National League darts will soon be in full swing and the leagues up and down the country are soon to be underway again, with the huge number of scheduled ‘Open events’, regardless of whom they are affiliated to, we expect an ever-increasing amount of grassroots coverage from this Autumn onward.
But for now, enjoy the onset of Summer and that feeling of returning normality that is slowly embracing the Darts World.
—–ENDS—–
Lead Image – Darts World Magazine (Issue 575)
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- Publisher/Managing Editor: CJ Harris Hulme
- Chief News Writer: Paul Woodage
- Photographers: Lawrence Lustig and Taylor Lanning.
- Archive Photography: Steve Daszko
- Designer: Ben Mortimer, Curtis Sport.
- Printed by: Curtis Sport. Produced by: Darts Group.
- Email: info@dartworld.com
