Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Dart players shoot for the stars in pair of Las Vegas tournaments

Darts composite

Photo composite

From left, Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen, Phil “The Power” Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Peter “Snakebite” Wright and Adrian Lewis will participate in darts events this week in Las Vegas

Darts will fly for five days starting Tuesday at the Tropicana Las Vegas.

The world’s best throwers and those aspiring to reach their level will compete in a pair of tournaments as part of the Professional Darts Corp.’s World Series of Darts. The U.S. Masters event headlines the festival, with eight professionals taking on eight qualifiers in a tournament Friday and Saturday.

The North American Championship, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the World Darts Championship in London, takes place Thursday. Four rounds of qualifiers for both events are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tickets range from $40 for a single session to $150 for an event pass, and are available online and at the Tropicana. Here’s a who’s-who and a by-the-numbers look at the showdown.

Two to watch

• Michael van Gerwen became the youngest player to ever throw a nine-darter a decade ago at age 17. “Mighty Mike” has gone on to surpass Phil Taylor as the current top-ranked player in the world. The always-animated Dutchman, who often irritates opponents with his celebrations, has now tallied five nine-darters.

• Peter “Snakebite” Wright’s wife, Joanne, spends three hours painting a design — usually a snake — into the side of his head and dyes his hair a matching color to his outfit before a tournament. Wright, a fan favorite from Scotland, recently won his first major title at the UK Open in April.

By the numbers

• 501 and 9: The variation of darts played at the PDC’s championship level. Both players start with 501 points, and the objective is to beat the opponent to zero with the fewest attempts possible. The minimum possible number of throws to get to zero from 501 is nine, which constitutes a perfect game, more commonly referred to as a “nine-darter.”

• 11: Televised nine-darters achieved by Taylor

• 6: Number of winning legs it takes to win a match in the 501 game of darts. Matches pair two opponents with a best-of-11 format, meaning the first player to win six games is the victor and advances to the next round.

• 60: The highest amount of points a player can earn on a single throw — and it doesn’t come from landing in the bull’s-eye, which is worth 50 points. The treble, which is the thin ring above the bull’s-eye, is worth three times the amount of its corresponding number. A player who hits the treble in the 20-point zone, therefore, earns 60 points.

• 7: Years since PDC staged an event in the United States. The sport is far more popular in Europe, so the United Kingdom-based organization has focused its efforts on that continent. The 2010 U.S. Open was the most recent stateside darts tournament, and also took place at the Tropicana.

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