“Eric put the fear of God into you. But that was great , playing for your country was probably the best…”

Talking to Steve Beaton is like reliving the history of our game, but from the inside. For aspiring players or dedicated fans there is some solid gold.

We caught up with ‘The Bronzed Adonis’ last week as he relaxed after completing his final PDC season and congratulated him on a remarkable top flight career:

Start at the beginning , it’s a very good place to start…..

We reminded Steve of his breakthrough into elite darts at the Double Diamond Masters in 1984. We wondered what he might remember from the ITV event:

“ I remember a little, Dave Lee was there [he won it] and I played with him in London so that helped. I’d qualified for it but can’t recall much more. You can’t even find out much about it on the internet. 

“You can’t even get the drink any more, I do remember that..!

Talking of the 1980s reminded us about the remarkable idea that Steve has played and competed with every single generation of the modern version of our sport. What was his impression of that first golden grouping that he joined?

“ It was great, even back in Coventry when one of those guys came it was the highlight of your night if you got a game against them. I played with most of them, Leighton, ‘Lowey’, Alan Evans, Eric and Jocky. The thing is you then become friends with them as well, it’s great really.

Speaking of the founders of our feast leads us to the struggles that befell the game in the early 90s and the eventual formation of the WDC ( later PDC) as a young talent on the verge of major breakthrough, surely they wanted him onside?

“ Yeah, I had a meeting with a few of them [who formed the WDC] and they wanted me to go across. BUT, as a kid I had always watched the Embassy, it was the one thing I wanted to win

“It was very hard watching them and not going. I just said all credit to you for doing it… That year, 1993, I should have won it, lost in the semi, and I just wanted to give it one more chance…

“They understood my decision and we remained friends, but they broke away then…

The decision to stay obviously led to one of your highest peaks which began with your Winmau World Masters win in 1993

“Yeah, the Winmau was quite tough to win in those days, maybe up to 500 people and you had to play it all the way through, but yeah I prefer quickfire set play cus you can be struggling one set and still get back in it…

Following swiftly on you finally lifted the World Championship which had eluded for quite some time…..

“Yeah as I said, I really should have won it in 1993. Having played many of the top players I slipped up against Warriner in the semi and couldn’t hit a double, but I knew I had the ability but unfortunately the next few I kept going out in the first round…

“When I finally got through the first round in 96 they all banged the money on me to win it. I played really well for the rest of the tournament.”

Steve’s run to the title was a who’s who of darts with Stompe, Part, Adams, Fordham and finally Richie Burnett but Steve did not seem to concerned

“ I just knew I had the ability so I just got my head down really and just kept playing till the fat man said stop. Probably shouldn’t say that these days, but it was Martin Fitzmaurice at the time.

“ That’s what I did, just kept my head down and kept playing till that final double.

Burnett was a pretty formidable opponent at that time;

“Richie had won it the year before as well, he had less pressure on him and hoped that I would break down, I got the early lead on him though and just held on to it really. We were good mates and it shows at the end. We still are now ”

There is almost a melancholy about Steve discussing this period, although it was, in many ways, his finest hour,the troubles in and around darts – especially the BDO – seemed to overshadow things. It seemed perfectly illustrated when we asked about what happened after he had actually lifted the lakeside title:

“It was a great day, but just a shame that darts was struggling at the time really.We’d had the split and were fighting to keep darts on the telly at the time. I wish it had been nowadays really, it would have been so much better…

“ I was hoping it would be the steeping stone to get it going, but for the next few years it was hard work trying to build on it.

Somewhat surprisingly Steve did not select that 1996 highpoint when we asked him his proudest achievement in darts:

“My proudest moment was playing for England, first picked in the early 90s with Eric Bristow as Captain! To have him as your captain was a…well he certainly got you going. My first time playing we won 12-0 and I was man-of-the-match, I couldn’t believe it! 

“Eric put the fear of God into you. But that was great , playing for your country was probably the best…

The years that followed those crowning achievements were not the best for Steve’s side of the darting divide. After a few more years of battling the time came to make a decision:

“We’d played a few events with both sets of players, but I think in the end Barry kind of said are you gonna be joining us or not. In the end that was looking better , going forward if you like. Barry was gonna do this and that and all the better players were on that side, the standard was improving and if you play the game you want to play the best and that was that.”

Following on we remembered that Steve was the players’ representative on the PDPA for a while and was involved in Barry Hearn’s major briefing on the future of the game in 2010. We wondered which changes Steve thought most important:

“The TV coverage is brilliant, I can’t believe how it’s getting now and with Luke Littler on the scene it’s twice as crazy!

“The turnaround is amazing from struggling to get people to watch a game… or TV people to broadcast it, and now its everywhere.

“ The opportunity for young people is unbelievable, they don’t have to go to the pub, they can go to local halls, or schools or wherever.”

Almost everything Steve recounted back then has come to pass in the years since, we always wondered if he believed it at the time?

“Barry is the sort of person who looks ahead, when he first came in saying I’m gonna do this and that… We were all looking at each other saying yeah, of course you are Barry…

“ He perceived the future and he is building with the youngsters now for the future of the game…”

On many occasions during his time with the PDC major names have drifted down the rankings and disappeared from the professional ranks and even the game itself. Steve himself endured several ranking slumps but always battled back to the top. We wondered if he had any idea what made the difference for him?

Obviously my will to win, I really always want to win every game, but also I love the game. So I kept on hanging in there. I don’t change me throw or darts too much. If you have a bad day it’s not your dart, it’s you that’s throwing them.

I always wanted to be involved in the sport ‘cus I love it so much…”

It was clear that finishing on his own terms and handing back his tour card was important to game’s longest serving top tier professional: 

“Yes, it was important and had been in my mind since last year, that this would be my last one…I can still play well and beat them the odd game, but at 60….

“You think you can do the same at 60 as you can at 20 but you can’t. I have had back and palm problems. But that’s just age and you can’t make excuses.”

In another interesting comment Steve did not give a match, a title or even a venue when we asked for the highlights of his time in the PDC. 

“I’ve been very fortunate over the years and meeting people, in the older days the BDO even had us at Buckingham Palace. 

“It’s been great, got me into the golf circuit as well and meeting another group through that. It is probably the main reason I do the exhibitions really. They all know you can play darts but they really like a chat, a drink and a laugh…”

Now as we closed we could not help but noting that Steve had mentioned more upcoming activities so we enquired whether he will actually be able to slow down or would we be seeing him elsewhere in the darts world:

“ I am doing a lot of exhibitions and now the Seniors and a lot for MODUS. The problem with the Pro Tour is you can’t be sure if you’re in a European or not, with 13 or so of them a year  it is difficult to plan your time. 

“ I was supposed to be slowing down but looking at it….I will be able to pick and choose more. 

Perhaps this answer gives a clue to how he has managed a 40 year career so we asked if there was any other ingredient.

“ My wife has been brilliant, she has supported me for 30 years. So, you know she wants a bit more time with me. I am away for more than half the year in hotels. It’s quite a strain really.

We asked for Steve’s final thoughts, perhaps for today’s young players and how they might manage a 40 year career in darts:

“ I have always tried to stay fit, giving up smoking was probably the best thing I did. I have a bike, I go to the gym, swim and play golf. 

“ It is a more strenuous sport than people think. You can be on your feat for 5 hours or more playing. That’s what I found helped me over the years.

“ Lastly, keep to your throw and the way you have always done it. Don’t reach to change too easily.

—–ENDS—–

Originally published in Darts World Magazine 588

Interview: Paul Mason

Images: Chris Sargeant/PDC and Darts World Magazine

The post Beaton Talks Tungsten appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

The post Beaton Talks Tungsten appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

In the world of Harry Potter, it may be that “the wand chooses the wizard”. But in the world of tungsten and steel the wizards ‘leave it to Lee’. 

Lee Huxtable is responsible for the arrows of a raft of World and major champions. Current trophy holder Luke Humphries, Dutch icon Michael van Gerwen are among the club members together with recent World title winners Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, Neil Duff and Wayne Warren.

In other sports such as golf, such success would lead to legendary status, a personal range 

and probably a large financial reward, imagine one man designing, refining and producing clubs for Tiger Woods, Rory McKilroy and Justin Rose or tennis racquets for Federer, Nadal Djokovic and Murray!

In darts, very few outside the industry nerds have heard Lee’s name other than in passing.

Making darts for elite, or aspiring elite, players is a very delicate balance. For Lee, it is the result of more than a decade fitting players for Winmau and Red Dragon.

I first heard of Lee from managers and players who would rave about his skills after they visited the Welsh company’s HQ for a custom fitting. These sessions involve a lot of talking and a lot of testing. 

Lee spends as much time trying to understand what the player really wants as he goes about making early test sets.

Occasionally it’s a swift process, one player took what he thought was an old rare dart. Lee listened and paid careful attention to what the player liked about them and produced two sets. Within an hour the player selected one and the rest of the session was spent on cosmetics. 

More usually it’s a long back and forth in order to get the basics followed by an arduous test and tweak process that can take hours, or even repeat sessions, with sets being sent back and forth across the country.

One player proved a particularly stiff challenge. Picture the movie scene, with wands flying everywhere, when Olivander cannot find a wand for Harry Potter himself. Then a lone wand left out of mind raises itself for attention…

Read more of Lee’s remarkable contribution – and just who was that difficult customer? – in Darts World 588 (print) out now!

—–ENDS—–

Images: Darts World

The post Lee Huxtable: The Mr Olivander of Darts appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

The post Lee Huxtable: The Mr Olivander of Darts appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

‘Calm and smooth on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath’ is often used to describe those duck-like individuals who appear to be unruffled and relaxed but are actually working away frantically to create that impression. It is also a very good description of the MODUS Super Series.

DW visited during the 9th Super Series and mixed up watching some live action with getting to see how everything you see on screens comes together and talking to those who make it work.

The playing area is seriously impressive, whether its the up and comers or the legends, the well known or the unknown the MSS certainly provide an experience from which any player can learn a huge amount about the next step.

Since our visit Alex Spelman, Jim Long,  Romeo Grbavac and most recently the impressive Jimmy Van Schie are amongst those to reach Champions week. The Croatian went on to reach the Ally Pally via the European Qualifiers again showing the form that MSS is both a guide to and builder of.

You only have to follow the number of players who manage to step up a level after playing an MSS or two. Many go on to get Tour Cards or win titles in other codes. Whether it’s a chicken or egg situation is a mute point. 

MSS gives players the chance to get acclimatised to a pressure cooker stage atmosphere where they get multiple games, and often appearances, to see if they can swim in the choppier waters.

Van Schie is a fine example, only months ago he was on the verge of tears after believing he had failed to qualify for a finals night. He actually made it through and went on to take full advantage by winning the weekly first prize and heading to Champions week. 

He has just qualified again, in between times he has picked up 8 WDF titles and is heavily fancied for the Lakeside title.’The Dutch Secoia’ is but one example among many.

DW’s resident coach has experience of prepping players for their MSS efforts and learning from their feedback.

“Even some very experienced players can take a little time to get used to the challenges of the Super Series. It can be very intense and feel cauldron like at times.

“However, the multiple match format each day, and the fact that if you acquit yourself well you will return,means that most players with the ability will settle and show what they are capable of.

“ I was especially impressed with Women’s week. All the ladies had at least one very good spell showing their skills and many played well throughout.”

However, it’s not only what you see ‘front of house’ that matters when it comes to this rapidly building darts ecosystem. The behind the scenes team of presenters, commentators, social media operators all playing a vital role.

DW were impressed by the sheer level of darts track record and or knowledge amongst the entire staff.

Former PDC senior official George Noble had played a major role in the MSS development while presenter, commentator and darts enthusiast Chris Murphy now brings the whole package together.

Even the spotting and social media team have a darting pedigree. Jared Cole, a very talented young player works full time behind the scenes in this arena and brings a youthful attitude to their content as well as tungsten his know-how.

Speaking of the social media/content system, it is truly impressive. Obviously most space is dedicated to the playing stage and the seating area for fans etc. So the room behind the scenes is strictly limited and to produce the volume of highly detailed stats content and the well produced interviews and other video work from it almost makes you pinch yourself.

If you think it looks like a well run operation on TV, it is even more impressive in person. 4K cameras, superb lighting and pristine sponsorboards etc. the maximisation of space is simply superb. All intended to create a product that for you the viewer is top of the range. 

After our visit we’d say they have succeeded, although apparently “we’ve only just got started…”

—–ENDS—–

Originally published in Darts World Magazine 588 (December 2024)

Words and Images: AJ Urmston-Toft

The post MODUS’s Tungsten Temple appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

The post MODUS’s Tungsten Temple appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

Their national darts champion, Taiseer Mustafa, says it’s difficult to watch the destruction and deaths amongst his people in Gaza from his home in Ireland, where he has lived for the past 17 years.

However it is through his love of darts that Taiseer can see a way that the people of his homeland can move forward with confidence.

The Palestinian Darts Federation was only founded in 2022, but already the organisation’s darts players are making their mark on the international stage.

In October, Taiseer was part of a four-man team that competed at the WDF Africa Cup in Egypt, winning bronze medals in the singles, doubles and team events.

It is staggering success for a team that is less than two years old, and with Palestine only joining the World Darts Federation last year, while Taiseer’s brother Riad was their first ever international participant at the 2023 Bahrain Open.

Meanwhile, 51-year-old Taiseer, who moved from Ramallah to work in Ireland in 2007 and now lives in Dublin, has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past year.

“My brother first introduced me to darts when I was about 12 years old,” he said.

“However we only ever played the game for fun and not in any systematic way.

“It is only over the past year that I have been playing the game competitively…and my game is improving the more I play.

“I may be 51 now but I feel as if I am still in my 20s when I play darts.”

Earlier this year, Taiseer was allowed to enter Palestine’s first ever national darts championships, playing his games online from Ireland.

“My nephew also played, from his home in Spain,” he says.

“We have up to 40 players in Palestine now, including eight women, so it is growing all the time.

“The standard is not very strong but I was still very happy to win and become Palestine’s first ever national darts champion.

Taiseer also recently played at the WDF events in the Killarney darts festival in November.

He admitted to being blown away by the huge popularity of darts in Ireland and at such a high standard.

“Even to see so many Irish youth players turning up and playing was really incredible and they are already at a very high standard,” he said.

“Ireland has players at the PDC World Championships but I am sure that many of these new youth players will be making it to the big stage as well.”

And he sees no reason why players from Palestine can’t join them.

“Hopefully the bronze medals we won at the Africa Cup will make some companies back home sit up and take notice and maybe financially support us in the future.

“It is not even for the players we have now but to bring through more youth players can continue to compete…

“It is a very tough time for us right now but we all want to see a future that can be bright and sports like darts can help to make that happen.”

——ENDS—–

Words: Keith Falkiner

Images: Palestinian Darts Federation

Originally published in Darts World Magazine 588 (December 2024)

The post Conflict Arrows appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

The post Conflict Arrows appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

Bullseyes:

Luke Littler – The Nuke has silenced almost all doubts over the past 12 months. His Grand Slam title win sees him become the youngest PDc ranking major winner by some way.

Dutch Darts – We have been highlighting the flowering of a new generation of Netherlands dartists for a while and they are coming through in droves.Open, Youth and Women’s categories are equally represented.

Gian Van Veen – GVV may not make the headlines in the same way certain other youngsters do, but our team have long backed him as the most likely to achieve  things and build a long lasting career. His claiming of the World Youth title and another major last 8 spot, reconfirms that belief.

The Journeymen – Players such as Mickey Mansell, Martin Lukeman and Richie Edhouse have been in and around the top tier of our game for many years. But, the ingredients needed for their success have only recently come together. Keep ‘em peeled for similar late blooming success stories.

Bounceouts: 

Dom Taylor – The Tower has been suspended following a positive drug test and may have blown his best opportunity at the highest level. 

MVG – Mighty Mike has long been grappling with not being quite the force he was between 2013 and 2017. Despite some superb peaks since the truth is that the game does not have a single dominant force and the green Machine must accept this and move into a different career phase.Can he adjust?

Chris Dobey – Hollywood cannot seem to stitch together genuinely consistent form across the different parts of the modern game. His early exit after earning a number one seeding, at the Payers Championship Finals sums up things much too well.

Gerwyn Price – The Iceman is having one of those years. Although his 2024 stats are not much different to his career ones he simply is not winning enough big games. His usual combination of match sharpness and winning habit gained from floor wins has not come together this year.

—–ENDS—–

From: Darts World Extra 20 ( #DWExtra20)

Images: Darts World Magazine and Bill Frymire June 2004

The post Bullseyes and Bounceouts appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

The post Bullseyes and Bounceouts appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

Of course our digital subscribers will be able to access the latest issue up to 24 hrs earlier via our digital subscription packages.

The latest issue is 68 pages of Summer/Autumn tungsten reviews, reports, results, and features.

Whether your a fan of the PDC, MODUS, WDF and other reports, our global game updates or the extensive UKDA/Amateur coverage I am sure you’ll find items of interest.

As always there are a selection of columns, dart reviews and interest pieces, together with practice games and tips.

Not only can you order a copy direct from ourselves, but if you are a wholesaler or agent for our frienns at Winmau or Red Dragon darts you may receive copies direct from them.

If you prefer other online sources our official agent AIM darts have a selection of past copies available via their EBay store and several UKDA team captains or representatives are part of the family.

While your watching your youngsters at SYDDS Academy in Suffolk you should grab a copy and support the fantastic work they do for darts!

At our own online store you can either buy a print copy, an annual subscription or a digital product to allow you full access to over 100 hundred past magazine going right back to the 1970s and early access to every DW publication.

—–ENDS—–

Images: Darts World Magazine

The post New Darts World Magazine (587) – Coming Soon! appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

The post New Darts World Magazine (587) – Coming Soon! appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

Such was the case for the Republic of Ireland’s darts players over the past weekend as they competed in the Winmau Six Nations Cup on home soil.

After both the women’s and men’s teams lost their opening games at the Shearwater Hotel in Galway on Friday, the harvesting of that national pride ensured Saturday would be a very different story.

World Cup winner Katie Sheldon was the first to display the passion that would drag both teams through to the semi-finals, as she let out a yelp after securing an early lead for her Irish team, also made up of Caroline Breen and Robyn Byrne, in a must-win match against the Netherlands.

It was an attitude that permeated the Irish players as they went on to secure an impressive 8-1 win over the Dutch, to set up a semi-final clash with eventual winners Wales.

It was a similar story for the men’s team in their must-win second group match, as Conor Heneghan took Sheldon’s fighting spirit up several notches as he let more than a fair few roars out of him after winning the opening leg for the Republic of Ireland against Northern Ireland’s former world champion Neil Duff.

While there was some devilishness to Heneghan’s antics, there was plenty of method to them too, as he geed up his team-mates, and all those watching on, as the Republic won 13-5 to progress to a semi-final with England.

As his impressive displays on the Modus Super Series have shown, Heneghan knows exactly the right moments when to get pumped up. And if you can’t get pumped up when playing for your country, then what would be the point to it at all?

Speaking of playing for the Republic of Ireland, Heneghan says:

 “It’s great when you get to represent your country like this.

“Everyone gets on so well too, it’s like a big family. We are all there to try and achieve the same goal.”

While the win over Northern Ireland was achieved with some aplomb, Ireland’s team manager Kevin Devanney pointed out they had actually averaged two points higher in their 13-7 defeat to Wales in their opening group game.

That stat came as little surprise to the Republic of Ireland’s team captain Adrian Devine, who was joined in the Irish side by Heneghan, Gerard McGlynn, Michael Flynn and Dean Finn.

He said:

 “We actually played very well against Wales, but they took out some big shots at times when our lads were sitting on doubles and didn’t miss very much.

“We are all capable of that, which is why we are here, but Wales really took out the right shots at the right time.”

It’s no surprise, then, that the Wales men’s team emulated their women’s by going on to win the Six Nations Cup by defeating England in the final.

With Rhian O’Sullivan also winning the women’s singles event, Terry Nash had the opportunity to complete a clean sweep for Wales. However standing in his way in the men’s singles was Ireland’s unflappable Gerard McGlynn.

He, too, was infected with Heneghan’s pumped up national pride as he reacted to each winning double he hit in the singles final with a satisfied roar.

As Ireland’s top ranked player for the 2023/24 season, McGlynn showed all his experience and class to see off Nash with a 5-2 win, and end the weekend on a high note for the Irish contingent.

McGlynn had beaten his Ireland team-mate Dean Finn in the semi-finals of the singles, with Finn heaping praise on the quality amongst the Irish ranks.

Finn said: 

“I’ve played for Ireland teams before but never on the men’s senior team.

“I didn’t ever expect to go this far and actually make the Ireland team.

“My last time with Ireland was with the youths, on the same team as Conor Heneghan, in 2015 when we won the Europe Cup.

“It’s a little bit mad that here we are almost ten years later and we are back playing together on the men’s Ireland team now.

“If it’s a different scale when you’re playing at this level.”

He added:

“I didn’t feel pressure playing for this Ireland team as the players on it are so good that if I knew if I was to lose, I know that Conor, Gerard, Mick or Adrian would come straight back in and win for us.

“The standard of players in Ireland now is very strong so it’s great to be part of this team.”

Adrian Devine added similar sentiments as he spoke of his pride at being captain of the Republic of Ireland team. He said: 

“ To captain Ireland in a major tournament like this is beyond anything I thought I’d ever achieve in darts.”

——

First published in Darts World Extra (Issue 17)

Keith Falkiner is a journalist, a county darts player and runs the Darts In Ireland YouTube and TikTok channel @dartseire 

The post Pride Of The [Six] Nations appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

The post Pride Of The [Six] Nations appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

But ‘The Nuke’ isn’t the only new generation talent to break through. Dutchman Gian Van Veen and former wunderkind Josh Rock are already established and many others are on the verge.

Here are 6 prospects who could be on the cusp of something big:

Leighton Bennett (19 , England)

Leighton ‘Boom Boom’ Bennett is a name that may sound familiar to fans of the WDF / BDO and for good reason. The once mega prospect has finally begun realising potential that at one point seemed to know no bounds. 

Bennett first rose to prominence when in 2018 , aged 12 he shocked PDC Star Ricky Evans to win the Cambridgeshire Open. Leighton would go onto win the BDO World Youth Championship in 2019. He remarkably reached 6 semi finals on the Senior BDO tour that year and finished runner up at the Luxembourg Open. 

He became the youngest ever player on the Lakeside Stage and the first to play in the youth final and senior tournament that year,eliminated by Former Champion Scott Mitchell. 

Leighton had obvious potential but his attitude and showmanship was often derided. He had every right to be confident but some felt he pushed it too far and was seen as arrogant despite his age. 

The iconic figure of Martin Adams even advised Leighton to look at his attitude. Suddenly he couldn’t replicate his 9 dart feats or his 100+ averages and failed to capitalise.

Until 2024 when he, to the surprise of many, won a PDC Pro tour card via q school. Bennett has had a steady year but has shown some good signs as he seeks to lay the foundation for his future career. Last 16 appearances, and a 9 darter against Lukas Wenig, on the Pro Tour. On his day ‘Boom Boom’ could easily make a deep run on the Pro Tour and could be a potential qualifier for the majors next year.

A dark horse at this year’s World Youth Championship?

Ralf Laumanis (17 , Latvia)

The Latvian is a lesser known figure but he has certainly earned his place on this list. 

Already signed to Unicorn at just 17 the Latvian is seen by many as the successor to his countryman ‘Razmatazz’ Razma. Ralf is heralded by Madars himself, after making an impact on the Nordic and Baltic tour, Laumanis has beaten many of the regions star players. 

He is hoovering up in the WDF youth scene also. Winning the international youth challenge Vienna and the Kaunas, Lithuanian and Estonian Opens.  The 17-year-old now  sist atop the WDF boys rankings and is a favourite for the Lakeside Youth Title. 

Could Laumanis be the first Latvian PDC title winner in youth or senior darts? 

Craig Galliano (22, Gibraltar)

Like many of his darting Countrymen,  Galliano doubles as a footballer in the Gibraltarian System. The 22 year old is therefore not always the most active player and thus hasn’t made huge strides in his fame as of yet. 

But the talent is there and so is the potential. ‘The Imp’ is a solid player who is perhaps best known for his partnership with Justin Hewitt at the World Cup of darts (one which they will replicate this year) or for his Euro Tour game with Peter Wright after securing a rare Gibraltarian victory on the PDC stage in his previous game. 

Galliano shows flashes of his potential and is a tidy finisher, he and Hewitt made Gibraltar proud with a victory over Guyana in the World Cup and they will look to spring another upset this year as the unheralded duo could be this year’s dark horses. 

Roman Benecky (24, Czechia)

Secured a maiden PDC title this year and will look to emulate or even eclipse his compatriot Adam Gawlas. 

Benecky was perhaps a surprise victor on the Winmau Development Tour and not many would’ve had the Czech as the 8^th Ranked player at this stage of the year. But, he has been incredibly consistent and his game has evolved. Whereas in the past he may have faltered in the latter stages.

Benecky made his Euro Tour debut last year and has been unlucky at times in the Eastern European qualifying tournaments, he  is bound to reach the European stage soon and is more than capable of stunning any unsuspecting ‘big name’. 

He previously represented his country at the World Cup and as a potential tour card holder next year , he could unseat Gawlas or Sedlacek and Don the colours of his nation once more.

Andras Borbely (18, Hungary)

Borbely is an undoubted prospect but is it too early to class him as a rising star? 

The Hungarian enjoyed a prolific 2023 where he claimed 7 WDF youth titles. He wasn’t able to win the Youth Title at Lakeside but impressed nonetheless and the Hungarian showed he is one to look for.

Andtas’s momentum has slowed this years and he hasn’t been able to quite reach his awe inspiring form of 2023. If he starts to play on a more regular basis then the Hungarian will likely start to Pick up more titles and is one to watch at the PDC World Youth Championship and the Development Tour. 

Wessel Nijman (22, The Netherlands)

It may seem wrong to class the Dutchman as a rising star but in many ways he started afresh and is making a huge success of a second chance. 

A divisive figure amongst dart fans, the young Dutchman from Uitgeest has made the most of his debated return to professional darts. Nijman was suspended for 4 years (2 and half suspended) by the DRA back in 2020 after he admitted to taking payment to ensure he lost a game.

Nijman had a fantastic return year in 2023 where he won 3 Dev tour titles and qualified for the PDC World Championship where he lost out to veteran Steve Beaton. Those 3 titles helped him earn a 2 year tour card where has had mixed success so far.

He hasn’t been able to replicate his scintillating youth form at the higher level but his tier tour performances are remarkable. A staggering 113 average in the final of Dev Tour 9. Two titles so far this year for Wessel mean he occupies the second spot in the rankings and  in good stead for reaching the Grand Slam , Ally Pally and a good seeding at the World Youth Championships.

The Dutchman is an elite scorer and his averages are eye watering,  it’s just a matter of producing them when they matter the most. Look for Wessel making a big run on the Pro Tour this year and take a good win at Ally Pally.

—–ENDS—-

Article originally appeared in Darts World Extra (Issue 17 – June 2024)

Words: Ryan James Mingay

Images: PDC, PDC Europe and Chris Sargeant/WDF

The post Six of the Best: Rising Stars appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

The post Six of the Best: Rising Stars appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

Gabriel Clemens’s run to the semi-finals of the 2023 PDC World Championship saw the German broadcaster Sport 1 achieve record viewing figures of almost 4 million.

“We need a massive German and there’s none bigger than the German Giant,” his opponent and conqueror in that semi-final, Michael Smith, observed following the match.

But when it comes to more recreational play, something has been missing.

That is perhaps until now. Enter Die Darterei, a new darts bar in the heart of the nation’s capital which is quickly garnering a supportive following. The brainchild of Die Welt journalist Lutz Wöckener and a group of his colleagues, it has enjoyed a fast rise to success which is challenging its capacity and current level of provisions.

But it wasn’t always going to be that way. As Lutz outlined, a three-year process of planning approval and organisation ensued before the doors could even swing open onto Berliner Allee back in April 2023.

As a writer by trade, Lutz’s interest in the sport was first piqued as a teenager, when he played on soft tip boards with friends. But it was only really in the last decade when the appetite for the sport met a new desire for greater media coverage.

“At first, my colleagues laughed about me,” he explained as we spoke recently over Zoom. “They didn’t see it as a sport, just fat guys with bad tattoos. But I persisted, and we saw the traffic grow and grow.”

Initially, there was only a small handful of German media organisations covering the sport, which allowed Die Welt to gain more of a stranglehold. It became a staple of their Christmas coverage and later led Lutz to make his first posting to the Alexandra Palace for the championship itself, just under a decade ago.

But it was crucially Lutz’s “reconnection”, as he termed it, with the more playful pursuit of his youth which really drove him into darts entrepreneurship. When he and fellow Die Welt writers would throw after shifts, they began to lust for the steel tip version of the game as opposed to the soft tip machines they had become accustomed to.

Lutz and his friends were however not alone. As Wöckener concluded, there were many more Germans disenfranchised from the sport by the lack of playing options, with all that was really on the market being the traditional playing clubs of old. If no one else was to build it, he surmised, then they must…..

Continue reading Die Darterei: in Darts World Magazine (Issue 586). Grab a copy or a digital subscription in the dartsworld.com shop.

—–ENDS—–

Words: Thomas Bartley

Images: As Supplied

Originally published in Darts World Magazine (Issue 586)

The post Die Darterei: Where Media and Merriment Merge appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

The post Die Darterei: Where Media and Merriment Merge appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

PROFESSIONAL tennis and the elite side of darts have much more in common than many would care to admit. Much of the competitive and commercial structure of the PDC for example can be compared directly to modern tennis tours. 

Both also share a remarkable habit of regularly producing or discovering, and maximising the benefits of, teenage prodigies.

Whereas today’s racket wielding icons follow in the footsteps of Borg, McEnroe, Agassi and Becker, their tungsten tossing cousins are walking an oche laid down by several generational talents who lifted our game as they went.

The founder of this happy habit was, as so often in Darts’ early days, Eric Bristow. 

The Crafty Cockney was just 20-years-old when he won the Winmau World Masters in 1977, arguably, the games most prestigious prize of the time, only two years after legally being allowed into competitive venues.

The first ‘Boy Wonder’’s talent, although he was a couple of years older than the point at which MVG and now The Nuke would would breakthrough, had to be honed in pubs, for his adult county team and at ‘Open’ competitions whenever and wherever they were held as there was no infrastructure to assist him at all. 

Yet, also in that 21st year Eric became a full international and a World Cup Pairs champion. 

The brash, but somehow lovable, Bristow became the face of the game and almost every rivalry within it. In a unified field he reached 10 World Finals in 12 years, winning five of them, lifted every major title on multiple occasions and went undefeated as England Captain.

Eric basically invented the modern template for a darts player: nickname, logo, shirts, style, personalised equipment and effectively became its global salesman.

It is unheard of in a modern sporting activity for the greatest champion to not only hand pick his successor, train/mentor and bankroll him, and then hand on the baton having created perhaps the only player capable of surpassing his own achievements. Only The Crafty Cockney could manage that….

Being mentored and developed by Eric led to a certain Stoke-on-Trent native defying almost every previous darting maxim and most other sports’ ones to boot. Total domination, not just for one generation but, over at least two saw Phil The Power Taylor stand as titan over our sport. 

However, the combination of the split in darts – the formation of the PDC (then WDC) – together with the rise – and then single minded domination – of the legend, did have its downsides. For more than decade no other player rose to top the PDC ranks or was truly able to establish themselves longterm and provide the new impetus and rivalries that all sports need. From its creation, through to 2011 no new player won a PDC world title. 

The PDC needed to add that extra ingredient luckily they already had just the chap for the job.

Mention a dart prodigy winning his first big titles in the mid 2000s, and most will think of a spiky haired Dutchman in vivid green,of whom more later, but another tungsten weilding youngster was hitting the Jackpot from 2005! 

That year saw the first Pro Tour win for Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis, also from Stoke and mentored by none other than The Power himself. The fast throwing youngster had captured the British Teenage title in 2002 but was perhaps the first to pursue the direct PDC route rather than the more traditional training grounds.

For your formative years to be up against the very best players who had lived, up to that point at least, and were all battle hardened and hungry to the hardships caused by the split, was no picnic. 

Jackpot became a fast, furious and aggressive player not afraid to mix it in any way his opponents wanted or asked for. Ade won a variety of PDC tour titles and had decent runs in major events, all whilst the PDC side of the game was dominated by Taylor, before finally displaying his full talent in 2011 & 12.

Not bothering with winning the lesser TV major events Adrian swept through the draw to claim his first World Title and then, as if to conclude the Bristow circle, Lewis claims that he only managed to win the 2012 edition of the Ally Pally jamboree because Eric said he had no chance of going back-to-back. 

Proving his point ensured the former Crewe goalkeeper a place in the history books.

Jackpot went on to claim more major titles and many other event wins before suffering a loss of form and personal troubles in recent years. Although currently away from the game his contribution was highly significant 

Finally, the PDC had produced a new star of its own, but it was one forged in the European WDF fire that was to burst through next……

Premier Prodigies Part II continues from Page 78 of Darts World 586

—–ENDS—–

Get a copy of Darts World 586 or one of our superb value digital subscriptions in the dartsworld.com shop

Images: Lawrence Lustig/ PDC (Graphic style by Darts World Magazine)

The post Premier Prodigies Pt I: From Bristow to Littler Darts’ Generational Gems appeared first on Darts World Magazine.

The post Premier Prodigies Pt I: From Bristow to Littler Darts’ Generational Gems appeared first on Darts World Magazine.