The 2023-24 Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship

ArmaniJeanss

Thoughts

I love me darts but it's close to a solved game isn't it? In a way that few other sports are.

In team sports (rugby, soccer, gaa) there is always scope for new tactics. In other head to head sports (tennis, golf, snooker) there is always scope for new ways of approaching situations.

So in the absence of any potential tactical innovations, is it just a case of how much better the darts players get? Is it naturally heading to a stage in 30/50 years where the player with throw is expected to always go out in 12 darts, and thus can only be beaten by a 9 darter. Does it risk becoming a bit boring, a bit like archery/shooting in the Olympics where they hit the target 19 times out 20 and it's only the one mistake that matters?

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564916#Comment_121564916

There are pots going in on the snooker tables now that have no right to go in. I've played on professional table before the hearn era and there was no room for error on anything near a cushion. Now then are hitting near cushion and going in.

bladespin

A minimum of 36 perfect throws is hard, nigh on impossible, to do that at least 98 times in the final would be nothing short of a miracle, the misses are the drama.

Degag

I think you’ll always gave the human element - i.e Mvg probably beats Williams 95 times out of 100 but somehow loses in a best of 9 game. While taking nothing away from Williams, it’s pretty inexplicable that he won really.

Although i guess that’s what you are saying, that in the coming years the human element will become less affective of the result as players get better.

Other big factor i see is the crowd, they can have an enormous affect on players as we’ve seen with Gerwyn Price.

retalivity

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564953#Comment_121564953

Move the Oche back if it gets to that stage. Or move it around for each leg/set!

ArmaniJeanss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121565105#Comment_121565105

Yeah, all this really.

I'm not saying the game is imminently going this way, but it seems to me there's an inevitable point that going out in 12 darts will become the norm for the ever-improving top players. At which stage (which is still maybe 2 generations away) the game becomes just about the misses - nerves, crowd, whatever. But if you have enough top players who aren't affected as such, then the game would need to re-adjust. What that re-adjustment would be I don't know (higher board, longer oche, smaller segments, 2 darts instead of 3 are all possibles that occur to me).

To an extent other sports have faced this. Examples off the top of my head would be golf has limited technological advances in ball/club to stop 400yd drives that destroyed courses whilst simultaneously making courses longer/trickier - tennis changed the ball makeup to stop it becoming a relentless serve/volley 3 shot game - javelin changed the equipment to stop people being able to throw it into the stands.

All just random musings before the Lukes battle.

John arse

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121565233#Comment_121565233

Take the flights off the darts?🎯

Degag

Have been thinking for a long time that the PDC are missing a trick by not running a tournament with a ‘quadruple’ board. Would be very interesting and a potential future solution to the problem you are describing!

https://youtu.be/6rj5upo1I2s?si=P-rAcZzNIVIb-o7E

John arse

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121565482#Comment_121565482

Blindfold the players?

Degag

Potential for there to be 8 and 7 darters also!

Deeper Blue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121565482#Comment_121565482

They should try it for a week or two during the premier league, might actually make it interesting and worth watching!

shockframe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564841#Comment_121564841

There had only been one 9 darter in a world championship and very few on tv before 2001. And 3 dart averages over 100 didn't happen all too often.

Barry Hearn takes over the PDC in July 2001....

Hodors Appletart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121565524#Comment_121565524

if you add a Quad, you'd also have to move to 651 or 701 no?

Degag

Maybe, the game in that video was 501 tho.

lbunnae

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121565233#Comment_121565233

Pretty simple solution alright haha

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121565482#Comment_121565482

There's no problem with darts.

It's a mental game. It's nowhere near a "solved" game.

Kingp35

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564916#Comment_121564916

The scoring area of the segments are bigger because of the thinner wires and no staples.

I took a look at old PDC matches on YouTube and it looks as if the new board technology came into play in the late 90's although the wires have become thinner again since then.

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121562341#Comment_121562341

Oo close, even though Humphries absolutely hammered yer man

going again withn Littler to win & hit 20+ 180s

mikewebber

The crowd is well back in darts

Pressure maybe not quite the same as snooker

Humphries for the win anyhow probably

Degag

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121565901#Comment_121565901

I didn’t say that it was a solved game but it is an interesting theory brought forward by AJ.

Mr. Guappa

There was plenty dross in the early rounds of this tournament... it's not like you have 96 players averaging 100+ on a regular basis. And it's only 24 hours ago that people were saying the standard was poor this year - a couple of cracking semi-final performances later and we've solved the game 😀

bladespin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121566138#Comment_121566138

Q School also founded in 2011 giving a much more linear progression for players into the pro game, also lead massive leaps in standardised coaching etc, not to mention the removal of alcohol from the stage, that had to add another few points to the averages (or maybe nit).

PTH2009

Have a feeling Littler will win it well

MVG had a big semi final win last year and lost the final, same could happen with Humphries

ArmaniJeanss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121566453#Comment_121566453

In fairness any changes to the difficulty of a sport tend to be because of what the very best players are doing (whether that be Tiger Woods, Pete Sampras or Steve Backley in the examples I came up with earlier), not because of what the lesser players are doing.

I just had a theory that's it's trending to a future point where there'll be players for whom 12 dart legs is the norm, but no-one seems to agree. Which is grand. On with t'darts.

PTH2009

Nothing against Littler but Sky are the ones to blame for rubbing his success in everyone's faces thus people turning against him in a way

It's like his opponents never existed in Sky's eyes

Kingp35

They did the same to Sherrock, turned a lot of people against her because of the perceived advantages she was given.

It's not Littler's fault he's getting so much media coverage, he even said himself that he doesn't like it.

PTH2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121566827#Comment_121566827

Did ya know he's only 16 , only 16

If ya got a euro for everytime that was mentioned you'd be rich

SlickRic

If Humphries wins, with all the hysteria around his opponent, yet all the pressure on him as the new world number 1, it will be a phenomenal achievement.

Humphries 7-5 Littler for me.

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121566387#Comment_121566387

There's nothing interesting about that theory. If they want to make it harder, they can make the bed sizes smaller to better reflect something from years ago. There's no need. Darts is exciting, why reduce he higher scores and big checkouts?

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121566732#Comment_121566732

Humphries has shown he can do it consistently this year. I'd be stunned if he doesn't turn up tonight but be may not be as good as last night.

What Littler will turn up tonight is fascinating. Can he produce something like Humphries did last night? Can he handle the pressure?

All I know is that I'm up for Luke.

(Littler)