PADDY POWER have donated a staggering £1M to Prostate Cancer UK following a record-breaking conclusion to the 2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
The Irish bookmaker and the PDC teamed up with Prostate Cancer UK for this year’s World Championship in darts’ biggest-ever charity partnership, as part of THE BIG 180 campaign.
Title sponsor Paddy Power pledged to donate £1,000 every time a 180 was struck throughout the 16-day event at London’s Alexandra Palace, which saw Luke Humphries lift the famous Sid Waddell Trophy.
There were an astonishing 914 maximums hit in this year’s tournament – beating the previous record of 901 in 2022/23 – as Humphries celebrated his maiden World Darts Championship crown.
In the aftermath of Wednesday’s final, Paddy Power and Prostate Cancer UK confirmed that the figure donated to charity will be rounded up from £914,000 to a full £1 million.
Prostate Cancer UK Chief Executive Laura Kerby, who collected the cheque from Paddy Power on the iconic Alexandra Palace Pally stage, said: “Thanks a million!
“It’s been a magical few weeks at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship, and we were absolutely thrilled when Paddy Power agreed to round up the £914,000 to a million pounds.
“With every maximum thrown by the world’s top players, and with every iconic shout of ‘180’ we have made a huge difference to men affected by this disease – and their loved ones too.
“We’re thrilled at the success of the campaign to date and as well as some sharp shooting from the players, its hugely encouraging that more than 90,000 people have completed our online risk checker.
“1 in 8 men will be affected by prostate cancer. It’s a disease that is curable if caught early, but early-stage prostate cancer often has no symptoms, so it is vital that men know their risk. This online tool is the first step.
“A massive thanks to Paddy Power for driving forward this campaign, for the PDC and of course those laser-focused players for peppering the treble 20 bed. It’s been essential viewing from start to finish, and has almost certainly saved lives too.”
PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter said: “THE BIG 180 has been a fantastic campaign and for Paddy Power to be donating £1 million to Prostate Cancer UK is an incredible gesture which will make such a difference to a wonderful charity.
“Our players were sensational in hitting a record number of 180s during the Paddy Power World Darts Championship and they deserve huge credit for the way that they’ve supported Prostate Cancer UK too.
“We’re already seeing THE BIG 180 having an impact with the number of men using the online risk checker in recent weeks, and this is a campaign which will make a huge difference in so many ways.”
THE BIG 180 urged men to use the simple online risk-checker to assess if they were at risk of Prostate Cancer.
The campaign also resonated with eventual champion Humphries, who added the Ballon d’Art trophy to his World Championship crown after firing in 73 maximums on his way to the title.
“THE BIG 180 is an amazing charity campaign and what Paddy Power and Prostate Cancer UK have done is incredible,” said Humphries.
“My girlfriend’s dad had a scare recently. He was very, very lucky; he was honest about it and wants to share his story about how lucky he was.
“For me to have added £73,000 is just fantastic. It is a cause very, very close to my heart and I will be dedicating that one to him.
“I won’t say the figure, but I am going to donate a bit from my prize money as well, because it’s very close to my heart and I’m privileged to hold that trophy as well.”
It takes 30 seconds to answer three questions to check your prostate cancer risk. Do it now by clicking on the following link: prostatecanceruk.org/180-risk
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Images: PDC
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