SEPTEMBER weeks have long sat in that awkward space between the comedown from one televised darts high and the build-up to the next, with a handful of important ProTour events thrown in for good measure. And that’s just the PDC.
This week the action returns to Den Bosch for a Players Championship double-header and a European Tour qualifier, while the elite prepare for next week’s World Grand Prix.
The Challenge Tour, meanwhile, supplies the Tier Tour action over the weekend.
Five Darts Years Ago
In 2021 the PDC’s expanded Women’s Series was in full swing. The previous year’s four-event blocks had proved successful, particularly during the Covid period, and the organisation finally committed to a proper Tier Tour to help develop the women’s game.
DARTS PLAYER MERCHANDISE AND COLLECTABLES AT OUR DARTSWORLD STORE!
The first six titles were shared between Lisa Ashton and Fallon Sherrock, but the later stages were stacked with a who’s who of the female game, along with several of the new talents, including our own Natalie Gilbert who would go on to break through.
Ten Darts Years Ago
Michael van Gerwen was deep into his most dominant period in 2016. Having taken the previous week’s European Tour title and the first Players Championship of an extraordinary run, he added two more this week to complete a ProTour treble and make it four ProTour titles in a row.
On the WDF circuit the European Cup was in full flow. England dominated the team events, though the Netherlands took a healthy share of individual glory. Glen Durrant, James Hurrell and Scott Mitchell led the charge for England, while Wesley Harms and Richard Veenstra shone for the Dutch.
Raymond Smith introduced himself to a wider audience with victory at the North Queensland Classic. Although his career has had its peaks and troughs, “The Guru” has quietly assembled a very respectable record.
Phil Taylor, true to form, made sure his name was first on a new trophy. The inaugural Champions League of Darts (and the first PDC event broadcast on the BBC for many years) saw The Power in devastating mood.
MORE ELITE DARTS COVERAGE: Check Out Our Devoted PDC Area
Even against a near-invincible van Gerwen, Taylor produced averages of 108, 107, 102, 98 and 99 to lift the title in emphatic style, thrashing the Dutchman twice on terrestrial television within a matter of days.
Twenty-Five Darts Years Ago
By 2001 John “Boy” Walton (above) was at the peak of his powers, collecting WDF Open titles almost at will after his Lakeside World Championship success the previous year. This week he added the British Open title to his collection – the only time he would claim that particular crown.
Fifty Darts Years Ago
In September 1976 Darts World was still only at Issue 46, yet the magazine was already looking ahead to 1981 and even 2001. More on what our readers thought the future of darts would look like in due course.
THE EVOLUTION OF DARTS: DartsWorld’s Dedicated Legacy Area
That same issue saw the another in the “Well Played” section – the forerunner of Player of the Month – and the first notes on the achievements of a certain Boy Wonder. Some things, it seems, never change.
For more golden tungsten nostalgia head to DartsWorldLegacy on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Images: PDC
