From player’s understairs hallways to a £1m opportunity for amateur players, within 2 years, is super stuff indeed. Super Series Boss Billy Lovell reveals more:
Conan Whitehead has been crowned the inaugural MODUS Super Series champion after defeating Graham Usher in the Champions Week final to claim a £20,000 champion’s cheque. Darts World caught up with their operations boss to find out how things developed so far and so well!
Starting during the Covid-19 pandemic, when players were attaching cameras to their boards in their rooms to continue playing darts, Modus Sports have kept evolving the popular Live League now morphed into a new competition called the Modus Super Series where a weekly £5000 prize is maxed to £20,000 for whoever comes out of Champions Week on top.
So far players including ADC founder Steve Brown, 2012 PDC World Championship Finalist Andy Hamilton, and Lisa Ashton, the first lady to win a PDC Tour Card, have taken part in the revamped competition. Graham Usher and Conan Whitehead are the two winners so far with week 3 seeing Red Dragon Champion of Champions Alec Small debuting on the field. Darts World’s Colin Osborne was also full of praise
Billy Lovell the Super Series Head of Operations spoke on the new format and seemed excited at this new competition which you can access either on the telly (via Sporty Stuff TV) or through the Super Series YouTube channel.
“The move from players’ houses to our studio in Southampton was ground-breaking for the then Online Darts Live League. The studio was a step up with a purpose-built playing area and production studio. The success of the Southampton studio allowed us to develop the new MODUS LIVE LOUNGE and launch the £1m per year MODUS Super Series”
Players such as Neil Duff who won the WDF World Championship at Lakeside and Runner-Up Thibault Tricole have both played the Live League and with many players coming through the Amateur Darts Circuit, the opportunity surely presents itself for many grassroots players to take the next step into developing their careers.
“There is a selection panel. It’s the panel’s job to scout players, based on current form from all available stats and tournaments. We also receive many applications by email which are also put before the board. We have a good relationship with the *ADC and are looking to explore opportunities with them.”
(*This has now become a formal agreement with over 50 places per year being available via the ADC amateur route)
“The format allows players to play five matches per day so over a course of a week that’s 25 matches under professional conditions, along with the chance of a final night on a Saturday, so they’re gaining invaluable experience. And the format delivers top-class amateur darts for the viewers and stakeholders.”
The feedback received from players like former World Champion Martin Adams and the trailblazer for Women’s darts Fallon Sherrock has been great, with Wolfie amongst the field of players in the first week to grace the new setup in Southampton.
“The feedback from all the players that have now played in the MODUS LIVE LOUNGE has been very positive. All of them have said they much prefer playing on a stage under TV conditions. You would think this favours the more experienced players but in turn it gives the up-and-coming players the experience they need to hopefully make the next step to becoming a PDC Tour Card Holder. This is one of our main goals.”
When asked whether the Super Series would be looking to shake up the formats they are currently using as well as introduce walk-ons to give players that full experience players in the PDC get when they go on stage for a television broadcast tournament with an audience, Billy said:
“Yes, there are plans to look at special weeks and special formats along with the overall presentation of the event. The MODUS Super Series is in its embryonic stage, and we will look to develop it in all areas as we grow.”
They certainly look to have hit the ground running. The venue is filling up for the weekend nights and the player variety seems to have increased as well.
The Modus Super Series continues this week with Robert Owen, James Hurrell and Jim McEwan amongst the players involved in the first week of Super Series 02 which kicked off on Monday.
—–ENDS—–
Images: MODUS
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