It’s one of those pub arguments that refuses to die — the kind of debate that has ended friendships, launched podcasts and turned quiet evenings into volcanic rows. What is the hardest “perfect” moment in sport? A snooker 147? A golfing hole-in-one? Or the sacred unicorn of the oche — a nine-dart leg?
The Paddy Power Perfect Challenge, now in its second year of glorious chaos, was supposed to bring us closer to an answer. Instead, it added petrol to the fire and let the whole thing burn in spectacular style. And although a snooker cue eventually delivered the killer blow, it was the dartboard — and two men in particular — that stole the entire show.
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN: THE MARCH TOWARD PERFECTION
From the moment Michael van Gerwen stepped up, the atmosphere tightened. There’s something about the Dutchman’s rhythm — machine-gun scoring married with volcanic intent — that makes any nine-dart attempt feel like destiny forming in real time.
And sure enough, he carved out the first genuine match point of the whole day, wiring his way down to the holy grail shot: Double 18 for perfection. The room froze. Van Gerwen didn’t. His dart did. It shaved the wrong side of the wire, a fraction wide, a heartbreak at blistering speed. The challenge rumbled on. The argument deepened.
STEPHEN BUNTING: A MASTERCLASS IN AGONY
If MVG supplied the theatre, Stephen Bunting delivered the thesis. While Murphy and the golfers played their role, it was Bunting who gave the watching world its lesson in just how savagely difficult a perfect leg truly is.
The former Lakeside king spent the afternoon constructing nine-dart attempts with surgical precision… only for each one to collapse at the final, merciless moment. A 147 doesn’t fall apart on its last pot.
A hole-in-one doesn’t pop back out once you’ve hit the perfect strike. But a nine-darter, it can evaporate in a millimetre. Bunting showed us that agony again and again.
SHAUN MURPHY ENDS IT — AND ACCIDENTALLY STRENGTHENS DARTS’ CASE
Eventually, snooker’s high priest Shaun Murphy put an end to the chaos, piecing together a smooth, elegant 147 — the second straight year he’s done so in this challenge. Yet instead of proving snooker’s supremacy, even he admitted he might have punctured his own argument.
“I’m not sure that I’ve done snooker any favours by doing it and showing it can be done.”
He also summed up the afternoon’s tension in one telling reflection:
“Everyone involved in this challenge represents the best in their field… it’s been me this day but it could have been any of the guys doing it at any time. It’s been a frustrating day in some regards because there’s been so many near misses, we could have been out of here five hours ago.”
THE VERDICT: DARTS STANDS TALLER THAN EVER
If the Perfect Challenge aimed to settle the world’s most stubborn sporting argument… it failed beautifully. Instead, it magnified the razor-thin margins on the oche. It showcased the brutal reality that perfection in darts is a tightrope strung above a canyon, where the final step is the one most likely to betray you.
Snooker had its victory. Golf had its swagger. But darts had the drama, the jeopardy, the heartbreak, and the “almosts” that make perfection feel truly mythical. Once the dust settled, the view became clearer than ever: The toughest perfect moment in sport lives on the oche. Whereas the nine-darter remains the Everest of the entire debate.
—–ENDS—–
Images: T Lanning / PDC
