This Week In Darts – 26th of January 2024

The darts community mourns the passing of Mike Titmus this week, the former PDC Chairman who played a crucial role in the development of the sport.

Mike entered the Professional Darts Corporation with a wealth of business experience, having spent 38 years in the brewing industry with Allied Breweries and Carlsberg-Tetley.

In recent years, he was responsible for liaison with DRA-affiliated organizations worldwide and was the secretary to the Board, a position he held until November 2023.

“Mike was well-liked within the sport and had a wealth of experience both as a sponsor and then administrator,” said PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter. “He was a popular figure around our events and always brought a smile and a positive approach with him. We will miss him and send our condolences to Mike’s family and friends.”

RISING STARS

Teenage darts sensation Luke Littler has made history in the Bahrain Masters. The current PDC World Youth Champion hit a nine-darter on his way to defeating Michael van Gerwen in the final, a significant milestone in the 17-year-old’s burgeoning career.

“No one believes me, but I haven’t thrown a dart since the world final until yesterday,” Littler told ITV4. “MVG is the very best and I’m just very happy to win on my debut.”

Littler broke the three-time world champion van Gerwen in legs eight and 12. He also saw off Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung in his opening match on Thursday before beating both Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen to reach the final.

This marks Littler’s first official PDC senior title.

He now heads back to Europe to feature in the Dutch Masters on January 26th and 27th.

INNOVATION IN DARTS

The Championship Darts Corporation has partnered with ALT Sports Data, marking a rather significant development in sports betting for darts.

With 2024 marking the 10th anniversary season of the Championship Darts Circuit, ALT Sports Data will leverage its deep expertise to provide comprehensive pre-match and in-game wagering data to sports-betting operators, enabling them to offer best-in-class experiences to darts fans.

This new venture also makes CDC the first ever North American-based darts organization to offer live wagering on its events, creating opportunities for the company to deepen ties with existing supporters as well as connect with new audiences to grow its global fan base.

“This partnership will transform the way fans interact with the CDC Tour,” says CDC CEO Peter Citera. “We know they love the statistics and scoring data they already consume. ALT Sports Data will enhance that by providing another avenue for folks to immerse themselves in our product and fulfill the longtime demand to introduce betting on North American darts. The fact that we’re launching at a time when interest in darts and sports betting in general are at an all-time high is icing on the cake.”

Darts is back on television screens this week with the Dutch Masters.

This year’s event, which is being held on January 26th and 27th at Maaspoort Den Bosch, is set to feature a rather stellar lineup of talent, including newly crowned World Champion Luke Humphries, former European Champion Ross Smith and more! Luke Littler also returns to the event following a win at the Bahrain Masters that saw him net his first ever pro title.

With so many all-stars lined up and ready to play, The Masters is shaping up to be yet another tournament filled with intense competition.

The event begins Friday, January 26th at 6pm GMT.

The opening day of the 2024 Winmau Challenge Tour was an exciting one that witnessed veteran Welsh player Richie Burnett claiming Event One Glory in a 5-4 win over Darryl Pilgrim.

Burnett, a former Lakeside champion, defeated previous PDC tour card holders Devon Peterson and Peter Jacques on his way to the latter stages of Event One, averaging an impressive 100.37 in a 5-2 victory over Jacques.

He then went on to top Reece Colley and Stefan Bellmont before coming through a last-leg decider with Pilgrim to pick up his first ever Challenge Tour title.