Darts in the media

[dartsweekly]

NEW PODCAST! The Weekly Dartscast Episode 149 with Dirk van Duijvenbode, Ned Boulting, Jason Heaver, Matthew Kiernan, UK Open preview special

https://podfollow.com/weeklydartscast/e ... adba1dd2ba

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https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/05/jeff-smi ... ssion=true

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https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/05/fallon-s ... ssion=true

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https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/05/fallon-s ... ssion=true

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https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/04/james-wa ... ssion=true

[oche balboa]

Phil Haigh does some good interviews

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Phil Haigh does some good interviews

He does. Not unlike Phil Barrs, the players seem pretty open with him.

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https://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/18 ... ref=twtrec

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https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/19/chris-do ... ssion=true

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Decent article by Nicholson on one of his heroes Bob Anderson.

https://www.sportinglife.com/darts/news ... cle_bottom

[Sally]

Decent article by Nicholson on one of his heroes Bob Anderson.

https://www.sportinglife.com/darts/news ... cle_bottom

Nice!

[Deleted User]

Decent article by Nicholson on one of his heroes Bob Anderson.

https://www.sportinglife.com/darts/news ... cle_bottom

Agree with a lot of what Nico said.

Bob was a hero of mine too. Shame the exhibition in Crewe was cancelled last Friday.

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The PDC calendar could suffer further postponements in the coming weeks due to the ongoing global situation, admits PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter.

The worldwide restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic have seen PDC events suspended since March 19, with all of April's Unibet Premier League and other tour events being postponed.

Speaking to The Darts Show Podcast, Porter admitted that further postponements for the Premier League's planned May dates are possible, with rearranged dates already seeing the season set to end on October 1 in Newcastle.

He said: "We've announced that all the Premier League nights up to the end of April are postponed [and it's] more than likely the May ones will be as well but we're working through the challenges associated with those and we'll fit things back into our calendar as best we can, probably in the second half of 2020.

"So far, we've been fortunate in that we've been able to reschedule every night for a Thursday, which is good because I think people associate Thursdays with Premier League darts, so we can keep that continuity even if it does mean we're in the second half of the year.

"We don't want to go too late because of the other big events we have in the lead-up to Christmas, so we'll get as much done throughout the summer and early part of the autumn as we can. 

"It is difficult. Venue availability is key, things have got to fit in geographically, we can't be in two places at once - we need time to build events and then take them down again afterwards - we've obviously got commitments to fans, broadcasters, sponsors, venues and all sorts of different stakeholders.

"We're working through it. Fortunately, we were a bit ahead of the game, we spoke to a lot of venues three or four weeks ago on this just to pre-empt it, so we've had back-up dates held for longer than perhaps other promoters have.

"It might be that a couple of events away from the top tier have to bite the bullet for this year, and that might be something we look at, because ultimately there's only so many weekends in the year. We hope to put on as much of it on as possible."

He added: "It's unprecedented times, challenging times, not just for us but the wider world, not just sport.

"It's important to get a sense of perspective, because when sport's up and running, we all treat it as if it's the most important thing out there for us, and then of course things that are genuinely important come along and puts everything else in its place."

Alongside the popular Premier League nights, the PDC also hope to be able to stage European Tour and Players Championship events as soon as possible, enabling players to secure prize money.

"At the moment, we don't want to look too long-term," added Porter. "It's a new situation, an ever-changing situation and we don't know what it's going to be like in six weeks, six months.

"I think it's fair to say that you can write off most of the next three months, that's going to be a difficult position to try and get anything up and running again.

"Whether the restrictions are relaxed at some point in the future and we're able to put events on - tour events for the players' benefit only in controlled situations with extremely limited numbers of people and certain health and safety regulations in place - that's just speculation.

"None of us know, but we're conscious of the fact that darts players are self-employed and that, technically, they're not really earning any sort of income at the moment.

"Some of them might be fortunate enough to have sponsors who are still paying them, but those who rely on prize money and exhibition income are going to be struggling.

"We'll speak to the PDPA about that and we don't want to see anybody fall off the radar in that respect - it's important that players are communicating with us if they do find themselves in a difficult position, and if we have to look at putting things together to help them through these times then so be it."

Porter also discussed the possibility of introducing events in a controlled environment once restrictions on movement and travel are lifted.

"In theory, darts can be played behind closed doors as long as there's two players and somebody to keep score," he said.

"It could be possible, we'd obviously have to bear in mind Government advice and restrictions - would venues be open, what would the conditions be like?

"It's not impossible, but I don't think anything's going to be happening for a while."

With no ranking events being held at present, the PDC and PDPA are in discussions over the PDC Order of Merit ranking system, with Porter adding: "We are looking at what we're doing with the rankings.

"It's not something we've come to any sort of decision over yet, we're in the early stages of disruption but obviously we will work with the PDPA, who are very good on the fairness and looking out for all the different categories of member.

"Although everybody's got a Tour Card on the main tour, not everybody's in the same boat; some people are extremely comfortable, others less so, some are defending a lot from two years ago, others less so.

"So we have to make sure that changes, if we make any at all, are completely transparent and fair for everybody. But hopefully if we can get as many events staged as possible, then we can still give players as much chance as possible to top their rankings up."

The Darts Show Podcast
The latest episode of The Darts Show Podcast also features an interview with World Champion Peter Wright. Listen now through the link above, or download from Spreaker, Apple, Spotify & Google.

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Decent interview with Glen Durrant.

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/gle ... ssion=true

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Good interview with Scott Waites.

https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/28/scott-wa ... ssion=true

[dartsweekly]

NEW PODCAST!

Darts Legends - John Lowe

Discovering darts in his early 20s
Winning world titles in three different decades
Hitting the first televised nine darter
Receiving an MBE last year

Listen here
https://weeklydartscast.com

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Yorkshire Post interview with Joe Cullen.


https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/o ... en-2523323

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The Professional Darts Players Association has announced financial support for players affected by the current suspension of tournaments.

A statement released by the PDPA on Tuesday March 31 read:
The PDPA has announced measures to assist PDC Tour Card Holders during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As always, our Members' health and wellbeing is our utmost priority. Additionally, the financial impact on our Members due to the pandemic is something which we and the PDC continue to monitor daily.
 
Therefore, for our Members’ benefit we announce the following:
• An Immediate Emergency Fund of up to £1,000 for any Tour Card Holder in real need of immediate financial assistance. This fund is SPECIFICALLY for Members who are currently suffering a real negative financial impact due to the Covid-19 outbreak. This applied-for payment will be non-repayable.
• A PDPA/PDC Hardship Fund for any Tour Card Holder who requires further financial support in the months ahead in the form of an advance against future prize money. The details for this fund will be forwarded to all Tour Card Holders in due course.

Our Tour Card Holders will be emailed with full information about these packages and how they can apply for this support. If any Tour Card Holder does not receive this email, please contact the PDPA as soon as possible, with contact details available at www.pdpa.co.uk.

ENDS

Any further announcements in relation to the PDC and tournaments during the current situation will be made once available through www.pdc.tv/Coronavirus.

[Rout]

Be some j0bbers putting in some hefty loan applications

[ILAD]

Be some j0bbers putting in some hefty loan applications

Wonder how much the BDO j0bbers are getting?