Darts world championship.

[Nev]

Ted Hankey looked pissed up again last night, crap darts.

Really weird I thought. Looked stoned to me.

He played as bad as he looked.

The Montgomery/Jamie Hughes game was great.They played the wrong walk-on music for the Scotsman and he never really turned up but was well wound up by Hughes. A classic "putting coat on and storming off" as well post game.

I could do without Colin "fucking" Murray, as I can every year and when Tony Green commentates on the womens games it's excrutiating, patronising in the extreme.

[Chico Hamilton III]

A couple of years ago Hankey looked like death, was throwing some shocking darts, barely hitting the board, and was getting some terrible stick from the crowd who were booing because they thought he was pissed. Turned out he’d had a stroke

The BBC darts is like watching a bunch of ale-house spear chuckers compared with the PDC on Sky

[DaveD]

The BBC darts is like watching a bunch of ale-house spear chuckers compared with the PDC on Sky

The BBC's contract with the BDO expires after this event, and I don't think they've announced whether they're extending it yet. Might finally be the end of the line...

[peter w]

Watched it today. Really is poor not just compared to PDC but ti all county players up and down the country.

[conman]

Watched it today. Really is poor not just compared to PDC but ti all county players up and down the country.

sounds like they have a microphone inside the actual board

[Nev]

A man from Japan, a woman from New Zealand and a lesbian from Redditch who dyes her hair pink.

Beat that PDC!

[Chico Hamilton III]

A man from Japan, a woman from New Zealand and a lesbian from Redditch who dyes her hair pink.

Beat that PDC!

The PDC at Ally Pally played Boney M's "Rasputin" as a walk-on tune for one of the Russian players. 

[The Left Side]

I saw one clip of a darts player scoring 9, three treble 1's... good grouping mind!

[peter w]

BBC were creaming themselves today that the world number 1 who won 4-0 (I think) had an average of 95. He'd be knocked out first round at the PDC with those numbers.

[Nev]

BBC were creaming themselves today that the world number 1 who won 4-0 (I think) had an average of 95. He'd be knocked out first round at the PDC with those numbers.

It's not a fair comparison though surely? Professionals as opposed to amateurs and the BBC are hardly going to rubbish their own tournament as the expense of one they don't cover. I enjoy both tournaments (although only get to watch the PDC in the pub or someone's house) there is a difference in quality, but there is drama in both. If you transfer that kind of snobbery to football, nothing is worth watching outside of the Premier League.

[cdbearsfan]

The team that wins League Two doesn't call themselves "World Champions" though.  I watch a bit of the BDO. Some of the characters are interesting, they do more to promote the women's game and it's fun to speculate which of them could make the switch.

It's embarrassing insisting that it's a World Championship though and I wish they'd accepted Hearn's offer to be taken over by PDC.

[DaveD]

BBC were creaming themselves today that the world number 1 who won 4-0 (I think) had an average of 95. He'd be knocked out first round at the PDC with those numbers.

Not true. PDC averages in the first round are almost always under 100 and often around 90 - they don't tend to climb well north of 95 until it gets to best of 9 sets and the seeds start running into one another. Norris averaged 95 for the tournament and he got to the quarters and should really have won that game.

Part of that is, as anyone who's played in stats recorded competition will tell you, your numbers will go up when you play better players. Because you don't get the opportunity to miss doubles, which is the thing that really kills your average.

[PeterWithesShin]

Didn't Gary Anderson just win the PDC final with an average of less than 100?

Not being a Sky wanker I have to make do with the BDO, while I have no doubt the standard is lower, I love it. Watching the prelims, women, youth final, I doubt there's much of that in the PDC Championships.

And worth remembering, in the 8 world championships Anderson played in the BDO he got past round 2 twice, one QF and one SF. In the 7 for the PDC he's reached 3 finals. Would he have done that without his BDO 'apprenticeship'? How many top players in the PDC didn't start in the BDO? I'm not fully up on the PDC but can only think of Lewis off the top of my head and the Taylor clout probably helped him.

And I for one am glad they told Hearn and Sky to feck off.

[Chico Hamilton III]

I can't watch that shit on the BBC - as much for the fact that Colin Murray's on it as for the pub-level darts.

[cdbearsfan]

Didn't Gary Anderson just win the PDC final with an average of less than 100?

Not being a Sky wanker I have to make do with the BDO, while I have no doubt the standard is lower, I love it. Watching the prelims, women, youth final, I doubt there's much of that in the PDC Championships.

And worth remembering, in the 8 world championships Anderson played in the BDO he got past round 2 twice, one QF and one SF. In the 7 for the PDC he's reached 3 finals. Would he have done that without his BDO 'apprenticeship'? How many top players in the PDC didn't start in the BDO? I'm not fully up on the PDC but can only think of Lewis off the top of my head and the Taylor clout probably helped him.

And I for one am glad they told Hearn and Sky to feck off.

Telling Sky to fuck off won't mean that it remains on the BBC though. They've not renewed the contract beyond this season.