Alexandra Palace and the Professional Darts Corporation have been entwined in a long, glittering tungsten love affair for almost two decades now – a romance that truly ignited when the World Championship packed up its bags and left the smoky intimacy of the Circus Tavern for the sweeping grandeur of North London.
After fourteen formative years in Purfleet, the PDC made a bold, almost theatrical decision. In 2007, it marched its showpiece event up Muswell Hill, trading low ceilings and dartboard intimacy for chandeliers, balconies and a venue steeped in history.
From that moment on, Ally Pally became a December pilgrimage. Thousands upon thousands have since made the climb, dressed as everything from traffic cones to Teletubbies, turning elite sport into a uniquely British carnival.
Of course, Alexandra Palace’s relationship with darts stretches back much further than the PDC era. Long before fancy dress armies and walk-on pyro, the Palace played host to the prestigious News of the World Darts Championship between 1963 and 1977.
In those days, lifting that trophy meant everything. It was a crown pursued by the very best arrow-smiths of the time, when darts was carved in smoke, steel and quiet menace rather than LED screens and booming basslines.
By the mid-2000s, though, the sport had outgrown its current surroundings. Demand exploded. Tickets vanished in minutes. A return to Ally Pally offered something vital – scale.
And now, nearly twenty years later, the World Championship prepares for another evolution. Not a farewell to Alexandra Palace, but a shift within it. A move to a larger room inside the vast Palace grounds, reflecting just how enormous the event has become.
Cast your mind back to that cold winter’s day in 2007 when the doors first swung open. The very first two players to tread what is now sacred ground were Alan Tabern and Per Laursen. Tabern, the St Helens left-hander, won that historic opener and earned himself a delicious slice of trivia immortality – the first man to win a PDC World Championship match at Alexandra Palace. Pub quiz royalty.
That opening night also saw victories for Adrian Gray, Wayne Mardle and Jan van der Rassel, whose shock defeat of Colin Lloyd rippled through the early days of the Ally Pally era. And when the dust finally settled, it was Canadian great John Part who lifted the trophy, brushing aside fairytale finalist Kirk Shepherd 7–2.
That was then. This is now. Since that inaugural night, the Alexandra Palace stage has played host to almost every defining moment of modern darts. Icons have risen. Dynasties have formed. Teenagers have become kings.
And now, as the World Championship prepares to subtly shift rooms and gears once again, the question lingers in the frosty North London air.When the lights blaze on in the Great Room, who will arrive wearing the crown?
—–Emds—–
Images: PDC
