Another `average` night at the Alexandra Palace

PDC Darts World Championships - Darts Blog 1

Posted: 17.12.10 in Tournament Analysis Blog category

Another `average` night at the Alexandra Palace

The PDC World Championships have been preparing for take- off for the past few weeks and is now up and running. Steve Beaton didn`t find it `plane` sailing against `Mile High`, however, Webster and Nicholson both put in first class performances to book their tickets for the second round.

That 3 dart Average, Again

There was a hint last night that the Sky commentators are losing their patience with the three dart average. It is like a broken but sentimental piece of furniture (the three dart average not the sky commentators), not fit for purpose but you can`t quite bring your-self to take it to the tip. John Gwynne, a member of the `old school` of commentators mentioned last night that the “three dart average doesn’t matter” but disappointingly added the rider “in set-play”!

We have argued before that the three dart average does not reflect the pattern of the match or the superiority of one player over another. For example I carried out an extensive statistical investigation of the 2009 PDC World Championships (yes I know,what a crazy guy!) The stats revealed the same pattern that was repeated last night, (“The Adonis” shaded the superiority in the three dart average tally but lost), that out of 69 matches investigated in the 2009 finals, 12 ended with the player with the highest three dart average losing the game. I argued then that there were other `performance indicators` that gave a far better reflection of the game than the three dart average. As the next few weeks progress these other options will be discussed in more detail.

Money Money Money, it`s a Dart Players` Dream

Inspired by the Darts Miscellany we bring you our list of some slang terms for money (with darting connotations):

£50 Bullseye

£500 Monkey

£2000 Archer (based on the alleged amount paid by Lord Archer)

£25 In the Green

£50 McGarret (From Hawaii 50)

£1000 Grubby Hand (Grand)

£2 Dartboard (because of the concentric circles)

Don`t forget our competition to win a signed copy of the Darts Miscellany. Just email us your darts related trivial list and we will put you in the hat to win a copy.

For an explanation of these and other slang/rhyming slang visit the website of Jeremy Alderton

Don`t Throw Your Chance Away

Darts is 90% mental and 10% throw or technique. That is the feedback from the players we were confronted with last night from the Sky commentary team. Implicit in that claim by player or players unknown and alluded to by the commentator is that their technique is perfect and all they need to concern themselves with is getting their head right. “They can all throw” can`t they was the rhetorical question fired out from the commentary box? Can they, hmmm, good question? Maybe this is where they are going wrong.

The Darts Performance Centre has thrived on making available to darts players sound sports psychology advice in a straight forward manner. We have been `chuffed` with the feedback we have received from pub, super league, county and some professional players on the advice we dispense from our website. However, we are also keen to emphasise the benefits of the bio-mechanics of the throw, the need to align your-self on the oche, the correct stance, follow through, grip and that the player has the correct darts and kit that suits their style and how their darts land in the board.

We will witness players over the next few weeks throwing away the chance to win because they suffer from anxiety or stress and do not have the weapons to fight it. We will also witness players losing because their throw or technique breaks down at a vital part of the match. Our advice would be to treat these two crucial ingredients of being an elite darts player with equal respect.

image courtesy of Image courtesy of Victor Habbick/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Author: Paul Gillings ( paul@dartsperformancecentre.com )

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