Darts is also, quietly, one of the most international minority sports in Europe and Asia. The Netherlands produced two of the greatest players in history and treats the game as a mainstream television property; Germany fills arenas for European Tour weekends; Belgium, Austria, Wales and Scotland punch far above their populations; Japan and South Korea sustain an enormous soft-tip machine culture that feeds players
The sequence — 20, 1, 18, 4, 13, 6, 10, 15, 2, 17, 3, 19, 7, 16, 8, 11, 14, 9, 12, 5 clockwise from the top — is designed to punish inaccuracy. Every high number is flanked by two of the lowest, so a dart that drifts a few millimetres off the 20 lands in the 5 or the 1, and a wayward visit can score under 10.
Pick two names from this sport’s all-time list. The larger number in each shared stat is highlighted.
| Stat | Phil Taylor | Michael van Gerwen |
|---|
Tick a point once you could explain it in your own words. Ticks stay on this device.
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All points done. Next: Open the topic: Darts
Darts is also, quietly, one of the most international minority sports in Europe and Asia. The Netherlands produced two of the greatest players in history and treats the game as a mainstream television property; Germany fills arenas for European Tour weekends; Belgium, Austria, Wales and Scotland punch far above their populations; Japan and South Korea sustain an enormous soft-tip machine culture that feeds players
The sequence — 20, 1, 18, 4, 13, 6, 10, 15, 2, 17, 3, 19, 7, 16, 8, 11, 14, 9, 12, 5 clockwise from the top — is designed to punish inaccuracy. Every high number is flanked by two of the lowest, so a dart that drifts a few millimetres off the 20 lands in the 5 or the 1, and a wayward visit can score under 10.
A nine-darter is a perfect leg: 501 checked out in the minimum possible nine darts. The classic route is 180, 180, then treble 20, treble 19, double 12 to finish 141. Alternatives include 167, 167, 167, each of treble 20, treble 19 and bullseye. John Lowe threw the first on television on 13 October 1984 and collected £102,000.
The double-out rule exists to stop legs ending by accident and to place the hardest shot at the most pressurised moment. Without it a player could simply scrape to zero with any dart, and the finish would carry no risk.
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