Tournament in London - Christmas party and lots of show: World Darts Championship promises a spectacle
This show is getting more and more bizarre. When a rugby muscleman meets a fireman on the world's biggest darts stage and Asterix drinks beer-filled pints with Super Mario in the stands, it's that time again: the World Championships begin at the famous Alexandra Palace.
On a hill in north London, the state of emergency becomes the norm for 16 days of competition until January 3.
Colorful costumes and lots of alcohol, a cheerful atmosphere somewhere between carnival, folk festival and Christmas conviviality: the world association PDC has successfully managed to market the most important darts tournament in the world as an event for years.
Sometimes the focus is on the sport, as in the last World Championship final, when World Champion Michael Smith from England and Dutchman Michael van Gerwen fought a memorable duel. But sometimes it is also the external circumstances: The lasting image of the 2023 World Championship was provided by Welshman Gerwyn Price, who suddenly appeared on stage wearing massive headphones. Price used the mental trick in an unsuccessful attempt to turn his World Cup quarter-final around.
A quarter of the fans from Germany
For the professionals, the World Championships in London are a source of excitement and goosebumps. "I associate everything with this venue. The World Championship is the highlight of the darts calendar. The word World Championship alone, the Ally Pally - the whole package is something unique. The number of spectators explodes every year," said German starter Florian Hempel to the German Press Agency.
The World Championships, which begin on Friday (20:00), are also becoming increasingly popular in this country. Around a quarter of the more than 90,000 tickets sold go to Germany. German fans are particularly well represented in London in the days after Christmas. For the first time, five German athletes have qualified for the World Championships. Last year's World Championship semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens and high-flyer Ricardo Pietreczko are regarded as the most promising contenders.
"Lives can change"
The TV channel Sport1 and the streaming service DAZN will broadcast extensive coverage of the 28 sessions, with surprise candidate Clemens even making it onto the 8 p.m. news at the last World Cup. "Lives can change. It's simply the biggest and most important tournament," said Clemens. There are only breaks on the three Christmas days and New Year's Eve. Otherwise, the tournament is played every day, most days from 1.30 p.m. to midnight (German time).
The 96 starters include stars and champions such as Smith, van Gerwen and mohawk fan Peter Wright as well as two women, Fallon Sherrock and Mikuru Suzuki. After her historic victories at the 2020 World Championship, there is always a special focus on England's Sherrock. This time, a successful start against Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena could lead to a second-round duel with Germany's Martin Schindler.
The duel between men and women, which is unusual in other sports, has long been the norm in darts - especially at the World Championships. "On stage, you can put whoever you want in front of me: in the end, it's an opponent for me," said Pietreczko. The Nuremberg native will be up against Suzuki from Japan right at the start. At the Grand Slam of Darts, he recently suffered a clear 1:5 defeat against England's Beau Greaves. She is regarded as the best woman in the world, but decided not to take part in the World Championships.
No move to larger hall planned
The prize money (2.5 million pounds, around 2.92 million euros) and the field of participants are the same for the sixth consecutive year of the World Championships. A change of hall within Alexandra Palace from the smaller West Hall (just under 3,500 seats) to the Great Hall (around 10,000 seats) has also not yet materialized.
"That was always under discussion, but it never materialized. I also don't think it will be implemented any time soon. The West Hall is really big. It's massive and then you have a different picture," said Werner von Moltke, Managing Director of PDC Europe.
This time, too, all the tickets were gone in no time at all. However, the association fears that it would lose the special Ally Pally flair if it moved to the larger hall. The big Christmas party should be just as loud and exciting on a Tuesday lunchtime as it is on a Saturday evening.
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- The World Darts Championship attracts international attention, with Germany making up a significant quarter of the attendees, eager to support their five qualified players, such as semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens and high-flyer Ricardo Pietreczko.
- The unique atmosphere of the World Darts Championship in London, hosted at Alexandra Palace since 1994, has consistently drawn crowds from around the world, including Germany, who enjoy the blend of competition and festivity, reminiscent of a Christmas party.
- Each year, the prestigious PDC World Darts Championship boasts a diverse lineup of competitors from across the globe, such as England's World Champion Michael Smith, the Dutch van Gerwen, and Japan's Mikuru Suzuki, who will take the stage alongside England's Fallon Sherrock in the mixed-gender tournament.
Source: www.stern.de
