Darts' Reputation Continues to Flounder
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by user Alex Holowczak
The Darts world has been split for over a decade. It started in the early 1990s, when the PDC split from the BDO, to form its' own World Championship. As such, there are two Darts World Champions, and over time, no-one knew who has been better.
Phil Taylor was a 13 time PDC World Champion. Raymond van Barneveld was a 4 time BDO World Champion. In 2006, van Barneveld moved to the PDC with the hope of unifying the World Championship, and challenging Taylor in the one-sided PDC.
The two players met in the Final, played on New Year's Day. It was one of the greatest games of Darts ever. To explain, the format was best of 13 sets, and best of 5 legs, with alternate players throwing first in each leg. Each set is best of 5 legs, and the first to 7 sets wins. However, if the match goes to 2-2 in the 13th set (i.e. at 6 sets each), then they play on like in tennis until someone is two legs clear, i.e. 4-2, 5-3 or 6-4. At 5-5, there is one dart for the bull, and whoever is closest throws first in a sudden death leg. The match went 6-6 and 5-5, and the "up for the bull" is the first thing you see in this video of the match.
Not a bad game! Awful commentary though...
So, the darts world is reunified?
Well, no. The BDO version is being played this week, and although Barneveld is absent, there are still many more exciting matchups. The BDO has the better players, but the PDC has the money. There is no way to see which is better.
In a match between 2006 BDO Champion Jelle Klaasen and PDC Champion Phil Taylor, Klaasen won. Yet Klaasen lost in the First Round of his title defence.
So, nobody knows who is the best. But, it does seem that Barneveld has shown he is Number 1 in the World. The BDO has beaten the PDC, but the BDO still remains without its top players.
Many prefer the BDO as it is the original tournament, and since Sky practically fund the PDC, it is taking Darts away from the bulk of the fans.
So Sky has ruined the last fifteen years of competitive darts, thanks to its greed, and as a result, nobody knows who the top players of the last 15 years have been.
So don't moan about the BCS! At least that ends up with a winner of sorts.
