Darts

Darts is a game, or rather a variety of related games, in which darts are thrown at a circular target (dart board) hung on a wall. Though various different boards and games have been used in the past, the term ‘darts’ usually now refers to a standardized game involving a specific board design and set of rules.

As well as being a professional competitive sport, darts is a traditional pub game, commonly played in the United Kingdom (the first to officially recognize darts as a sport), the Netherlands, Israel, the Scandinavian countries, the United States and elsewhere.

Betting

On premises where alcohol is consumed, English law has long permitted betting only on games of skill, as opposed to games of chance, and then only for small stakes. An apocryphal tale relates that in 1908, Jim Garside, the landlord of the Adelphi Inn, Leeds, England was called before the local magistrates to answer the charge that he had allowed betting on a game of chance, darts, on his premises. Garside asked for the assistance of local champion William “Bigfoot” Anakin who attended as a witness and demonstrated that he could hit any number on the board nominated by the court. Garside was discharged as the magistrates found darts, indeed, to be a game of skill. More recently, in keeping with Darts’ strong association with pubs and drinking, matches between friends or pub teams are often played for pints.

Famous players

• Dave Whitcombe Big Dave – The 80’s legend, twice World Masters champion and News of the World Champion.
• John Part Darth Maple
• Mark Dudbridge The Flash
• Dennis Ovens The Heat
• Alan Warriner-Little The Iceman
• Colin Lloyd Jaws
• Chris Mason Mace the Ace
• Richie Burnett The Prince of Wales
• Andy Fordham The Viking
• Wayne Mardle Hawaii 501
• Dave Askew Diamond Dave
• Peter Manley One Dart
• Kevin Painter The Artist
• Roland Scholten The Tripod
• Bob Anderson The Limestone Cowboy.
• Eric Bristow Crafty Cockney.
• Mervyn King The King
• Steve Beaton The Adonis.
• Bobby George
• Trina Gulliver – First women’s darts champion
• Arnaud van der Graaf The Enemy
• Jelle Klaasen – Youngest dart champion at 21 years of age
• John Lowe Old Stoneface.
• Phil Taylor The Power – 2 times BDO World Champion, 11 times PDC World Champion
• Raymond van Barneveld Barney – 4 times BDO World Champion
• Jocky Wilson
• Dennis Priestley The Menace – 1 time BDO World Champion, 1 time PDC World Champion

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.