‘Stand up if you love the darts!’ – Understanding the key catalysts responsible for the rapid transformation of Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) darts during the 2000s

ABSTRACT

Following the split in darts during the 1990s and a resulting Tomlin order (where terms were agreed in a court of law without admission of liability from either side) in 1997, two governing bodies were recognised as the leading darts organisations: the British Darts Organisation (BDO), and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC – the new name for the World Darts Council, originally formed in 1992). Though both organisations were initially regarded as equals, the PDC rapidly transformed into the leading version of professional darts in the late 2000s. The multi-million-pound circuit of live PDC darts events held across the globe have been widely celebrated in sports media since the early 2010s. However, what has not been explored in scholarly literature are the key catalysts that led to the rapid changes in the PDC which led to the organisation becoming the preeminent version of professional darts during the 2010s. Using a range of semi-structured interviews and archival information with a variety of professional players, media figures and governance linked to the PDC, this article explicates the key catalysts involved in the development of the PDC as an organisation during the 2000s.

KEYWORDS:

• Darts
• governance
• sport
• catalysts
• events

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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6 The WDC was renamed the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) from 1997 onwards.

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20 Darts was officially confirmed as legitimate sport on 24th March 2005 by the UK sports councils and Sport England.

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22 The World Darts Council (WDC) was renamed the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) following the result of the Tomlin Order at the High Court in London in 1997.

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26 The original 16 ‘rebel’ players were (in alphabetical order): Bob Anderson, Eric Bristow, Keith Deller, Peter Evison, Richie Gardner, Mike Gregory, Rod Harrington, Jamie Harvey, Chris Johns, Cliff Lazarenko, John Lowe, Dennis Priestley, Kevin Spiolek, Phil Taylor, Alan Warriner and Jocky Wilson. Mike Gregory and Chris Johns reversed their decision and returned to the BDO later in 1993.

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29 Justin Hendriks, ‘Timeline: How the BDO Slowly Bled to Death After 47 Years’, Darts News, 2020, https://dartsnews.com/darts-news/reconstruction-how-the-bdo-slowly-bled-to-death-after-47-years (accessed December 10, 2021).

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31 Tommy Cox, PDC Tournament Director, in discussion with the author, 20th December 2015, at the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

32 Waddell, Bellies and Bullseyes, 197.

33 Ian Chadband, ‘There’s Only One Word for Waddell: Just Magic’, London Evening Standard (2002), https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1G1-81254489/there-s-only-one-word-for-waddell-just-magic (accessed January 3, 2021).

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37 Marcus Robertson, PDC Director, in discussion with the author, 29th December 2015 at the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

38 Sean Ingle, ‘BDO World Championship is a Faltering Relic that’s Worth Clinging on to’, The Guardian (2015), https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/jan/04/bdo-world-championship-faltering-relic-worth-clinging-to-darts (accessed January 17, 2021).

39 Alex Moss and Burton DeWitt, Weekly Dartscast 200: Barry Hearn, Wayne Mardle, Jeff Smith, Weekly Dartscast, https://weeklydartscast.com/2021/05/14/weekly-dartscast-episode-200-barry-hearn-wayne-mardle-jeff-smith-200th-episode-special/ (accessed September 2, 2021).

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42 Hearn, My Life, 216.

43 Marcus Robertson, PDC Director, in discussion with the author, 29th December 2015 at the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

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46 Keith Deller, the 1983 BDO World Darts Champion and now Darts Agent, in discussion with the author, 29th December 2015 at the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

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50 David Smallbone and Friederike Welter, ‘Entrepreneurship and Institutional Change in Transition Economies: The Commonwealth of Independent States, Central and Eastern Europe and China compared’, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development 24, no. 3–4 (2012): 215–33.

51 Barry Hearn, PDC Chairman, in discussion with the author, 6th October 2016, at the 2016 PDC World Grand Prix, Dublin, Ireland.

52 Barry Hearn, PDC Chairman, in discussion with the author, 29th December 2015, at the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

53 Hearn, 6th October 2016, at the 2016 PDC World Grand Prix, Dublin, Ireland.

54 Washington and Patterson, ‘Hostile Takeover or Joint Venture’.

55 Eric Bristow, The Crafty Cockney (London: Random House UK, 2008).

56 Rod Harrington, PDC board member, commentator and former PDC player, in discussion with the author, 21st July 2015 at the 2015 World Matchplay Championship, Blackpool.

57 Ibid., 21st July 2015 at the 2015 World Matchplay Championship, Blackpool.

58 Sarah Gilmore and John Sillince, ‘Institutional Theory and Change: The Deinstitutionalization of Sports Science at Club X’, Journal of Organizational Change Management 27, no. 2 (2014): 314–30.

59 Robertson, 29th December 2015 at the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

60 Leon Davis, ‘The Critical Role of Prosumer Fandom in the Spectacle of PDC Darts, Teesside University’ (Unpublished PhD thesis, Teesside University, 2020).

61 Davis, ‘Don’t Stop the Party’.

62 Chaplin, 180 Fascinating Darts Facts, 82.

63 The yips are involuntary wrist spasms that occur most commonly when golfers are trying to putt. However, the yips can also affect people who play other sports – such as cricket, darts and baseball. It was once thought that the yips were always associated with performance anxiety. However, it now appears that some people have the yips due to a neurological condition affecting specific muscles (focal dystonia).

64 Brooke Streatfield and John McDougall, ‘Phil Taylor’s Sweet 16: How He Powered to His World Title Triumphs’, The Guardian (2013), https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/jan/03/phil-taylor-16-world-titles (accessed January 17, 2021).

65 Dave Allen, Taylor Confirms Plan to Retire, PDC TV (2017), https://www.pdc.tv/news/2017/01/27/taylor-confirms-retirement-plan (accessed December 17, 2021).

66 Deller, 28th December 2016, at the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

67 The Stats Behind Phil Taylor’s Remarkable Career, The Stats Zone (2018), https://www.thestatszone.com/archive/the-stats-behind-phil-taylors-remarkable-career-12176 (accessed January 31, 2021).

68 Dart averages are used to determine how highly players score within a set as well as how accurate they are when it comes to finishing. The BDO way of measuring averages was for one dart; the PDC brought in the three-dart average because they wanted to give fans something fresh to reflect on.

69 Hearn, 28th December 2016, at the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

70 Peter Wright, PDC player, in discussion with the author, 4th March 2017 at the 2017 Coral UK Open, Minehead.

71 Nick Friend, “We Just Keep Delivering a World Class Product”: PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter on Growth, Inclusion, Phil Taylor and Prince Harry, Sportsgazette (2018), https://sportsgazette.co.uk/we-just-keep-delivering-a-world-class-product-pdc-chief-executive-matt-porter-on-growth-inclusion-taylor-and-prince-harry/ (accessed December 22, 2021).

72 Chris Mason, former PDC player and current commentator, in discussion with the author, 17th December 2017, at the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

73 Phil Taylor, former PDC player, in discussion with the author, 24th July 2015, at the 2015 World Matchplay Championship, Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

74 Olly Croft, during an interview for Blood on the Carpet, BBC (2001), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_IC6OOSlZ0 (accessed December 1, 2021).

75 Raymond Van Barneveld, PDC player, in discussion with the author, 4th October 2017, at the 2017 World Grand Prix, Dublin, Ireland.

76 By the start of the 2010 season, all the aforementioned players in this sentence bar Martin Adams and Ted Hankey had defected to the PDC circuit.

77 Ibid., 4th October 2017, at the 2017 World Grand Prix, Dublin, Ireland.

78 Waddell, Bellies and Bullseyes, 234.

79 Klaasen springs world title shock, BBC Sport (2006), https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/darts/4615408.stm (accessed January 14, 2021).

80 Raz Mirza, Raymond van Barneveld Reflects on 2007 World Darts Championship and His Final Against Phil Taylor, Sky Sports (2017), https://www.skysports.com/darts/news/12288/11184077/raymond-van-barneveld-reflects-on-2007-world-darts-championship-and-his-final-against-phil-taylor (accessed February 16, 2021).

81 Dave Clark, former Sky Sports Lead Darts Presenter, in discussion with the author, 25th July 2015, at the 2015 World Matchplay Championship, Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

82 The 1980 final was dramatic due to the first six sets of the final all going to a deciding fifth leg (being tied at 2–2 in legs) until Bristow won the seventh set 3–1 to establish a 4-sets-to-3 lead. In the next set, again 2–2 in legs, George had an opportunity to level the match and take it to a decider but bust his score and nonchalantly threw his third dart into the board before putting his darts into his top pocket as he knew Bristow would win the match, which he did.

83 Brian Rodriguez, ‘Forgotten Darters: Mike Gregory Missed Six Rival Arrows to Become World Champion in 1992’, Aviation Analysis (2020), https://www.aviationanalysis.net/forgotten-darters-mike-gregory-missed-six-rival-arrows-to-become-world-champion-in-1992/ (accessed December 1, 2022).

84 Wayne Mardle, former PDC player and current commentator, in discussion with the author, 28th December 2016, at the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

85 Barney stuns Taylor in epic final, BBC Sport (2007), https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/darts/6221331.stm (accessed February 16, 2021).

86 Ibid., 2007 (accessed February 16, 2021).

87 Clark, 25th July 2015, at the 2015 World Matchplay Championship, Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

88 Hearn, 6th October 2016, at the 2016 PDC World Grand Prix, Dublin, Ireland.

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93 Dave Allen, PDC Head of Media, in discussion with the author, 14th November 2016, 2016 Grand Slam of Darts, Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton.

94 Dave Allen, ‘Barney Francis Joins PDC Board of Directors’, Sky Sports (2021), https://www.pdc.tv/news/2021/01/01/barney-francis-joins-pdc-board-directors (accessed June 1, 2021).

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98 Alan Warriner-Little, former PDC player and current commentator, in discussion with the author, 25th September 2016 at the 2016 Champions League of Darts, Cardiff, Wales.

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100 Ben Dirs, ‘BDO Rejects Hearn’s Takeover Bid’, BBC Sport (2009), https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/darts/8318633.stm (accessed January 21, 2021).

101 Jamie Jackson, ‘BDO Founder Rejects Takeover by Barry Hearn’s PDC’, The Guardian (2009), https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/oct/21/barry-hearn-pdc-olly-croft-bdo (accessed March 11, 2021).

102 Olly Croft in Jackson, ‘BDO Founder Rejects Takeover by Barry Hearn’s PDC’.

103 Steve Corden, cited in Adz, Fear and Loathing on the Oche, 23.

104 Van Barneveld, 4th October 2017, at the 2017 World Grand Prix, Dublin, Ireland.

105 Record Prize Money on Offer In 2017, PDC (2016), https://www.pdc.tv/news/2016/12/19/record-prize-money-offer-2017 (accessed April 1, 2021).

106 2017 PDC Calendar Unveiled, PDC (2016), https://www.pdc.tv/news/2016/08/12/2017-pdc-calendar-unveiled (accessed May 2, 2021).

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108 Frank Keogh, ‘BDO Darts: Des Jacklin Quits as Boss of “Troubled” Organisation’, BBC Sport (2020), https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/51934217 (accessed July 2, 2020).

109 Samuel Gill, ‘Jacklin Reappointed as BDO Chairman by Unanimous Decision’, Darts News (2020), https://dartsnews.com/bdo/jacklin-reappointed-as-bdo-chairman-by-unanimous-decision (accessed July 2, 2020).

110 Michael Pearlman, ‘BDO Darts: Champion Wayne Warren to Receive Lowest Prize Since 1989’, BBC Sport (2020), https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/51126679 (accessed July 1, 2020).

111 Ned Boulting, Heart of Dart-Ness: Bullseyes, Boozers and Modern Britain (London: Blink Publishing, 2019), 88.

112 ‘Peter Wright Beats Michael Smith to PDC World Darts Title – as It Happened’, The Guardian (2020), https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2022/jan/03/darts-pdc-world-championship-final-michael-smith-peter-wright-live-updates (accessed March 3, 2020).

113 Samuel Gill, ‘BDO Era Comes to an End as Counties Join UKDA’, Darts News (2020), https://dartsnews.com/darts-news/bdo-era-comes-to-an-end-as-counties-join-ukda (accessed October 1, 2020).

114 The World Darts Federation (WDF) are a sports governing body created in 1974 which brought together disparate darts organisations across the world under one umbrella. The WDF controls and organises darts at a global level, with over 60 member nations as part of the governing body (Nauright and Parrish, Sports Around the World, 70).

115 Lakeside WDF World Championships 2022 – Rescheduled, WDF (2021), https://dartswdf.com/news/lakeside-wdf-world-championships-2022-rescheduled (accessed February 2, 2022).

116 Josh Gorton, Increased Prize Funds Confirmed for PDC Televised Events, PDC (2022), https://www.pdc.tv/news/2022/07/01/increased-prize-funds-confirmed-pdc-televised-events (accessed July 30, 2022).

117 Gilmore and Sillince, ‘Institutional Theory and Change’.

118 Lizzy Davies, ‘Sid Waddell’s Quotes: 13 of the Best’, The Guardian (2012), https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/aug/12/sid-waddell-quotes (accessed March 1, 2020).

119 Steve Chambers, ‘The Voice of Darts: Famous Quotes From Sid Waddell Ahead of the World Darts Championship’, The Sportsman (2018), https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/the-voice-of-darts-famous-quotes-from-sid-waddell-ahead-of-the-world-darts-championship (accessed March 1, 2020).

120 Phil Taylor and Rick Arena, ‘Stand Up If You Love the Darts’, 16 November 2018, Xtreme Sound.

121 Davis, ‘Don’t Stop the Party’.

122 Premier League Kicks Off at O2, Sky Sports (2010), https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/news/12288/5503221/premier-league-kicks-off-at-o2 (accessed January 21, 2021).

123 Cox, 20th December 2015, at the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, Alexandra Palace, London.

124 Barry Hearn Steps Down as Matchroom Sport Chairman, with Eddie Hearn Elevated to Role as Group Chairman, Sky Sports Darts (2021), https://www.skysports.com/darts/news/12288/12281055/barry-hearn-steps-down-as-matchroom-sport-chairman-with-eddie-hearn-elevated-to-role-as-group-chairman (accessed June 14, 2022).

125 PDC Darts Championship: Fallon Sherrock is Through to Third Round, BBC Sport (2019), https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/50879829 (accessed July 3, 2022).

126 The top 64 ranked PDC darts players each year following the PDC World Darts Championship hold a one-year Tour Card, which allows all players to compete in a range of PDC tournaments.

127 Davis, ‘The Adaptation of the Live PDC Darts Event During the COVID-19 Lockdown’.

128 Beau Greaves (aka Beau ‘n Arrow): The 13-Year-Old Darts Prodigy, BBC News (2017), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/magazine-39818868 (accessed May 1, 2021).

129 ‘Greaves Thrashes Hutchinson to Win 2022 WDF Lakeside Women’s World Championship in Stunning Display’, Darts News (2022), https://dartsnews.com/wdf/greaves-thrashes-hutchinson-to-win-2022-wdf-lakeside-womens-world-championship-in-stunning-display#:~:text=18%2Dyear%2Dold%20Beau%20Greaves,0%20win%20over%20Kirsty%20Hutchinson (accessed June 2, 2022).

130 Carol A. Osborne and Fiona Skillen, ‘Women in Sports History: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same?’, Sport in History 40, no. 4 (2020): 411–33.

131 Becky Grey, ‘Deta Hedman: “I’m Not Here to Please You. I’m Here to Play a Game that I Enjoy”’, BBC Sport (2020), https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/53677651 (accessed October 1, 2020).

132 Davis, ‘From a Pub Game to a Sporting Spectacle’.