The violent crack of thunder, sonorous Las Vegas-style exclamation of the “16-time champion of the world” and pumping acid house-beat of Snap!’s The Power have combined to become one of sport’s iconic moments.
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Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor treated an event-record high of approximately 3,000 boisterous and passionate spectators to his trademark entrance as the third-running of the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters reached its crescendo on Friday evening. An epic final against Michael ‘Mighty Mike’ van Gerwen followed, with The Irish Village crowd witnessing a breathtaking show of skill as the Dutchman managed to see off a timeless display from the veteran performer by 11-8 to maintain his iron grip on the title.
The continued success of the tournament at a Middle Eastern venue – far removed from its traditional heartland in Great Britain’s working clubs – shows the growing power and allure of an attraction that is swiftly entering the mainstream across the globe.
Another great tournament in Dubai. I’m so happy to win again. I want to thank everyone who supported me. Especially my fans.
— Michael Van Gerwen (@MvG180) May 30, 2015
Well done to @PhilTaylor @MvG180 Thank you @DubaiDarts for a great event. Also thanks guys for your messages and support and to my sponsors
— Gary Anderson (@GaryAnderson180) May 30, 2015
“Darts has that great combination of sporting excellence and fantastic entertainment,” long-standing Professional Darts Corporation chief executive Matthew Porter said. “The standard of the game has grown measurably in the last few years, but the level of entertainment has gone up with it.
“It is all about the way the whole show is delivered, the players responding to the crowd and the crowd to players. It is a perfect combination.
“There is a lot more clamour for sponsors to be involved with darts – and from sectors you wouldn’t traditionally expect to be attached to the game. That is about how we have positioned the sport in the market.
“We are getting into more and more countries now with our television coverage. This Dubai event is live in Great Britain and Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, across Asia, in the Middle East as well as Australia and New Zealand.
16 fantastic weeks.A worthy champion and nine others just millimetres behind him.Thanks to everyone who’s worked on it or watched it unfold!
— Matthew Porter (@MattPorter_PDC) May 21, 2015
“It is practically global coverage. We are not just a traditional British pub game anymore, we are a worldwide phenomenon.”
Darts is a modern success story, Taylor and visionary Matchroom Sport promoter Barry Hearn at the vanguard. It has become unrecognisable from the jaded product peddled by the out-of-touch British Darts Organisation. Hearn and a group of leading players changed it forever when they split to form the World Darts Council in 1992.
New bars are being set all the time. January’s 2015 World Darts Championship attracted more than four million viewers throughout on Sky Sports Darts – a dedicated channel from the satellite television provider previously only the preserve of behemoths such as cricket and Formula One.
Even the BDO World Darts Championship continues to be a ratings hit on free-to-air BBC, more than two million tuning in for the 2015 final as Scott Mitchell beat Martin Adams 7-6.
Taylor won £12,000 (Dh67,400) for his first of 14 PDC World Darts Championships in 1995. ‘Flying Scotsman’ Gary Anderson took home £250,000 (Dh1.4m) when he defeated ‘The Power’ 7-6 in January watched by 1.7m TV viewers.
‘The Power’ has had a ringside seat in darts’ development, establishing himself as a mega star at a time of unfathomable growth.
The likes of Bobby George and Eric Bristow lit up the 1980s heyday. Yet Taylor’s progression financially and in status with the WDC and Professional Darts Corporation since its 1997 establishment has blown all previous notions away, with new frontiers like Dubai symbolising its evolution.
When asked about the success of the Duty Free Masters, Taylor replied: “It is great for me, I am probably one of the biggest shareholders in the PDC. Moneywise, that is important to me but so are the places as well.
“I personally think Dubai is the pinnacle, you cannot get any bigger than this. It is the best tournament we have ever done and the nicest place I’ve been to in my entire life.
“I love Sydney, Austria and Tokyo but Dubai is different. It is not the world, it is another planet all together.
“I look at Dubai and think in the next 10 years it will get better and better.”
In 1989, only the BDO World Championship was shown on television. This year, broadcasters from across the globe will televise many of the 102 events with 11 majors to an ever-hungry viewership.
The PDC has estimated it now has a potential audience of more than 300 million people worldwide with media giants such as Sky Sports, ESPN, OSN, RTL and Fox providing coverage.
The sponsors and partners list on the organising body’s website is also lengthy, including 19 entities. The £998,250 (Dh5.6m) taken home in prize money alone by World No1 Van Gerwen in the PDC Order of Merit which calculates this figure during a two-year period, shows how lucrative the profession has become.
Reigning World Champion and 2015 Premier League Darts winner Anderson believes there has never been a better – or more competitive – time to be involved.
“I wish I was 34 instead of 44,” Anderson jokingly bemoaned. “It is good at the moment. Darts has a lot of talent. We are classed as the old boys.”
Its historical venues and locations can no longer hold the sport.
With Hearn declaring more than 10 times as many ticket requests were made for a seat in the 2,500-capacity Alexandra Palace (Ally Pally, as it is colloquially known) for January’s World Championship, a move to one of the London venue’s bigger halls has been mooted. But growth is occuring throughout the world.
Dubai was the first of five World Series of Darts events in 2015, the highest number of locations since it began in 2013. The Japan Darts Masters debuts in June, with trips Down Under to Perth, Sydney and Auckland following in August.
“Asia we see as a big market for us,” Porter said. “It has always been a popular participation sport there, so it is just that change of mentality from getting people watching the game from solely playing.
“We aim to do that in a lot of new markets. We are trying Japan this year, we were in Singapore last year and we are looking at Hong Kong.
“We have our stock events across the United Kingdom and western Europe. But in order to truly develop as a global sport, we need to broaden our horizons.”
Sports need their superstars for them to develop. The spotlight does not just shine on the two Dubai finalists. Anderson has been the best performer in 2015, Taylor protege Adrian Lewis remains in the mix while Peter Wright’s vibrant mohican stands out among the field.
Darts is breaking new ground in the standard of play, depth of well-remunerated professionals, television reach, locations played in and sponsors attracted. But for Taylor, the best is yet to come.
“I have never been this competitive,” he said. “I am playing every tournament the PDC puts on.
“For years, I used to turn up like Michael [van Gerwen] and start winning. But if you don’t get stuck in, it catches up with you – trust me. These players now are all dedicated, all practicing and doing everything they should do. If you think Michael van Gerwen is a good player, come and watch the youth tour. There are nine darters from lads who are 16 or 17-years-old.”
