The Lakeside

Posted: 06.01.12 in Tournament Analysis Blog category

The BDO version of The Worlds starts tomorrow. Here is our preview...

According to the new BDO Chairman Barry Gilbey the BDO Worlds are “the most prestigious Championships in World Darts”. Gilbey is an ex fire fighter so who are we to err dampen his bonfire? Let the self proclaimed “Greatest Darts Show on Earth” begin. I can’t wait!

The BDO do have a point of course. The BDO Worlds are in their 35^th year of being televised by the BBC, they do have the history their “noisy neighbours” at the PDC may be envious of. This is a trap that most of us fall into of course, that of comparing the two codes. The stalwart PDC fans put forward arguments such as that there is no atmosphere at The Lakeside compared to the raucous noise at a PDC event and the players competing in the BDO are not as skilled as the PDC players.

BDO fans will counter with the argument that the lakeside fans are “proper” darts fans, who appreciate the aesthetics of the darts on show and this is why there is no “footballesque” chanting or any ridiculing of fans in slightly less expensive seats. As to the quality of players on show then yes maybe the top 6 of the PDC or even the top ten may come out on top in a head to head, maybe. However, comparing the quality of players misses the point in some ways. By this I mean all the top 6 and top 10 of the PDC came through the BDO anyway. The BDO does not see itself necessarily as a training ground for PDC talent but I know of no better place to get you prepared to enter the PDC than with a few years experience of knocking around the BDO circuit.

The thirty two players who have successfully knocked around the gruelling BDO circuit this year are an eclectic mix but are all highly skilled dart players. Thanks to the excellent Grand Slam tournament in November when the BDO boys are invited to take on the best of the PDC, there are plenty of names that even the “die hard” PDC fans will recognise and who without exception proved the depth and wealth of talent there is in the BDO: Scott Waites, Tony O`Shea, Martin Phillips, Ted Hankey, Dean Winstanley and Jan Dekker all played well at the Grand Slam. One other player who whilst not at The Grand Slam you may have heard of is a certain Martin Adams.

On top of this there is also some fantastic new talent from The Netherlands coming through: 18 year old Benito van de Pas, Wesley Harms, Willy van de Wiel, Ron Meulenkamp, Joey ten Berge, Fabian Roosenbrand and Christian Kist. Throw “The Dazzler” into the mix and Andy Boulton, he was “the” giant killer from the UK Open and fire fighter Bazza`s claim of this being the most prestigious tournament in world darts has some substance. There are certainly players amongst that lot that could set the tournament alight!

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