We admire a `well oiled` James Wade and suggest a look at a German text book.

PDC Darts World Championship - Darts Blog 5

Posted: 21.12.10 in Tournament Analysis Blog category

We admire a `well oiled` James Wade and suggest a look at a German text book.

Scouting for Professionals

Be Prepared! This is the motto for the Scout movement and also for professional darts players. We touched on the benefits of being properly prepared for a darts match and speculated that if James Wade wasn`t 100% prepared for Antonio Alcinas then there could be a shock on the cards. As it was “The Machine” was well oiled (in a good way) and left his “silly head” behind as Rod amusingly described the head belonging to James that ended up an alarming shade of red against Scott Waites recently. Rod was of course referring to Wade`s inclination to perhaps not consider the potential consequences of his pre-match routine. As it was James played brilliantly and left “Toni” looking ordinary.

Darts Miscellany

Thanks to Mike from Sheffield who came out of the hat to win a copy of the Darts Miscellany. Mike`s list was in celebration of the sponsorship by Ladbrokes and here is his collection of bookmaker`s phrases.

11/8 Up the Arm

3/1 Carpet

100/30 Burlington Bertie

10/1 Cockle

33/1 Double Carpet

2/1 Bottle

100/1 Century

Aim and Fire

There were some brilliant analytical points picked up by the Sky team last night in areas that all standards of players can benefit from. Sid picked up on “The Prince of Wales” hitting the big number and then in a split second he had hit the double 12, leg over! This `rhythm` as opposed to momentum is a valuable weapon for a darts player. The key to it is to know in advance exactly where your final destination is and being a skilful counter like Burnett or Whitlock is vital.

From a psychological viewpoint this method does have its benefits, there is no time for the anxiety to grow, there is no time to consider how vital the shot is and thus increasing the stress and for Richie Burnett this `natural` way of playing worked for him.

However, tonight we will most likely see the other side of the coin. Steve Brown advocates an approach we are also fans of at the Darts Performance Centre. He will stop when there is an important double to be hit. His method is to attempt to completely relax and then focus solely on his objective of hitting the double, then he throws.

Then to add further fuel to the “what is the best approach` debate we have Jelle Klassen. He hasn`t just got his foot but his whole body in the “Burnett camp” when it comes to the contemplation of the shot routine! We will probably be all left pondering once again tonight at some point that if only Jelle slowed down a fraction when it came to hitting the double he may be a more effective player. But that`s how he plays.

So what is the best approach? Well first of all we would recommend getting your counting sorted out and not to throw a dart until you know exactly where you are heading. After that it is down to the style of the individual player and also whether they possess the skill of being able to shut out stress and anxiety, if you can at least you have a choice of which style to adopt.

A German Text Book

John Gwynne admired the German Jyhan Artut last night for his focus, we agree, despite the fact he lost. His throwing technique may not be `text book` but it`s not far off, He is, however, like a statue when he throws. His eyes did not move from the target until the third dart hit the board. Also, there was not any “unnecessary” shuffling up and down the oche by the German, he left his skill and his darts to find the correct destination, now that is text book!

Author: Paul Gillings ( paul@dartsperformancecentre.com )

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