Features / Dutchman wins hugely entertaining darts masters
Once – not all that long ago – darts was simply a pub-orientated game, more often than not used as an excuse for blokes (well, mainly at least) to head down the pub and knock back a few pints under the guise of participating in social or even sporting activity, writes Davie Gardner.
But now, in a relatively short period of time, it’s risen from that relatively lowly status to become a huge, corporate, multi-million pound industry in its own right – with thousands of ticket-buying punters attending the top competitions and, in turn, its top players earning millions themselves through television rights, prize-money, appearance fees and sponsorship each year – while the game itself is now determinedly labelled, and indeed largely recognised, as an actual ‘sport’ too – although the arguments still continue in this regard.
Whatever its actual status may or may not be, its followers clearly ‘love their darts’ as the darts world saying goes, and Shetland is no different in that respect if the turnout for this year’s Shetland Darts Masters (SDM) – the sixth event of its kind, now promoted by local company SDM Ltd in association with Shetland Recreational Trust – is anything to go by that is, with hundreds of highly-energised and vibrantly vocal darts enthusiasts packing Lerwick’s Clickimin Centre on Saturday to witness an impressive assembly of their darting hero’s slug it out at the ‘ochy’ on the local stage.
Travelling north this year for the event were at least two seriously big-hitters – local favourite Gary Anderson (“the flying Scotsman”) – the current Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) world champion and reigning ‘Premier League’ title holder, and ex-world champion and currently rated PDC world No 1, Dutchman “mighty” Michael van Gerwen.
Completing the line up for this year’s event were former British Darts Organisation (BDO) world champion’s Scott Mitchell (UK) and Stephen Bunting (UK); PDC Youth World Champion Michael Smith (UK); nine-times PDC major finalist and perennial crowd favourite Terry Jenkins (UK) and equally lauded, world-ranked players Vincent van der Voort (the Netherlands man labelled the fastest player in the world) and Paul Nicolson (Australia).
Although Anderson and van Gerwen were inevitably the centre of the darting attention, the other players were most certainly not there simply to make up the numbers.
A fired-up evening’s competition and entertainment was promised, and once again the Shetland Masters didn’t disappoint – although a six-hour delay with their flight from Aberdeen to Shetland had clearly tested – to put it mildly – the players’ patience and resolve before they even took the stage, and was ultimately blamed by some for slightly below-par performances on the night – with the competition itself also having to start an hour late as a result.
Given recent form – regularly and quite incredibly hitting three-dart average scores in excess of 120 this year – van Gerwen started as tournament favourite, although it’s Anderson’s trophy cabinet which currently requires steel reinforcing. Given this, any meeting between the two promised to be a titanic darting duel.
Sadly though the predicted showdown never materialised, with Anderson crashing out in the quarter-finals to underdog Bunting.
A clearly disappointed and annoyed with himself Anderson offered up “nae excuses” for his relatively lacklustre performance on the night, although he did cite the much delayed flight – coming on the back of Thursday night’s Premier League appearance and the Granite City Masters the following night – as “not particularly helping.”
“I hate letting the fans down,” he said, “but I always really enjoy coming to Shetland to take part in the competition anyway. They’re a great darts audience up here.”
However van Gerwen did progress relatively unhindered to the semi-finals at the expense of Mitchell, and ultimately to the final itself, where he defeated the very much in-form Nicolson in a closely fought match to lift the Shetland Masters trophy for the first time.
“I was lucky,” said van Gerwen with uncharacteristic modesty after his win, “but I played well enough and my confidence is high at the moment. This is the first time I’ve won this trophy too, so it’s all good.”
One other delighted person on the night was Shelley-Ann McShane from Brae who threw a bullseye on stage during the pre-event competition to win herself a £500 prize. “I canna even play darts,” she laughed – but to say she was ecstatic would be a serious understatement.
Suffice to say that arguments as to whether darts is a genuine sport or not are largely irrelevant on nights such as this. Whatever its perceived status one thing is certain, and that is – on form on the night or not – its players are hugely skilled protagonists in their chosen field and hugely entertaining individuals in their own right too, and in all honesty who could ask for more?
Let’s now hope the Shetland Darts Masters remains a fixture on the local social and, yes, sporting calendar too, and well done its promoters in the meantime.
Davie Gardner
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