We have a once in a lifetime opportunity and a "shirty bull" for you today.

PDC Darts World Championship - Darts Blog 11

Posted: 02.01.11 in Tournament Analysis Blog category

We have a once in a lifetime opportunity and a "shirty bull" for you today.

Modern Technology

Thank goodness for modern technology. I was strapped to the darts analyst chair yesterday with the first PDC semi-finals on Sky and the start of the Lakeside finals on the laptop, a darts fan's dream...

Poor Finishing

Even towards the end of the Taylor V Webster game we were being urged to invest our money in a “once in a lifetime opportunity”, a no risk investment with a good return`, Taylor at 2 to 1 to prevail despite being second best for most of the contest. I fear John Gwynne may be strapped into the commentator's chair for a few more years yet if he follows his own betting advice!

However, hindsight is of course a wonderful thing and “Gwynee” was reporting to us on what were, on the face of it, unprecedented odds about “The Power”! The stats did, however, indicate that it would have been insane to take a gamble on Taylor so late on in the match. Taylor`s 9 dart average was superb once again (as we pointed out in a previous blog), this then gave the illusion that all was well as Taylor had a 3 dart average of over 100! The problem was with his finishing. His checkout percentage was a most un-Taylor like 35% or so. The key, however, was when Taylor was given an opportunity to checkout, he didn`t. On every occasion that he was in what we call the “checkout zone” at the Darts Performance Centre (170 or fewer left), he only completed the checkout once in every three attempts.

It is for this reason that the odds of 2 to 1 were way too low. Not even “The Power” could improve so dramatically in such a short space of time to pull off a victory.

The Bull was Getting Shirty

It was interesting to hear Terry Jenkins reflect on his missed opportunity to switch shirts during the match as his shirt was becoming `sticky` due to the heat from the TV lights on the stage. We believe it demonstrates the way darts is slowly but surely considering the benefits of analysing every aspect of performance to give a player the edge over their opponent. Wayne Baker, who is busy scribing at Lakeside this week, wrote a piece in his excellent "People" column in Darts World about our involvement in darts after he had suggested darts players follow the lead of cyclists in carefully considering the kit that that they wear, here is the link.

Finally, the “Bull” and “The Warrior” appeared to be a contest between the two players with the most inappropriate nicknames such are the mild mannered traits and thorough `niceness` of these two popular players. Did I detect a hint of the traits usually associated with a bull though in Terry last night? There seemed to be a slightly more aggressive (in a good way) look in his eye and what appeared to be a fierce determination to continue his run all the way to the final. If I was advising Anderson I would recommend he did not wear a red shirt tonight!

Author: Paul Gillings ( paul@dartsperformancecentre.com )

Post by Category

Posts by Month

Main Index

Return to Blog