Professional Darts Corporation Halted By Coronavirus

UncategorizedDylan Hunt

While the world suffers from the Coronavirus outbreak, the sports world has come to a grinding halt. All in season sports in North America have been postponed indefinitely due to the outbreak along with countless numbers of other sports around the globe.

One of the last sports to suspend competition due to the outbreak was Professional Darts. The Professional Darts Corporation was supposed to be holding the Player’s Championships on March 28-29, but the league had announced on March 17 that it would have to postpone the event. Just two days later, the PDC announced that all April tour dates would be postponed for later dates.

The PDC has stated on their website, “Whilst the PDC had hoped to retain events across the ProTour, Challenge Tour and Development Tour during the coming weeks, the postponements will ensure the integrity of the various Orders of Merit due to the travel restrictions for non-UK players.”

The PDC was one of the last leagues in the world to shut down events due to the Coronavirus outbreak. It raises the question why did it take them so long to do so?

One reason for this might have been that the main tournament that was supposed to have taken place in March for the PDC, the Player’s Championships, is held without a crowd of spectators regardless of the outbreak. Also, the sport of darts, one might obviously assume is one that allows for little to no contact between competitors besides the pre-match handshake.

One could argue that the league should have been one of the first sports to shut down due to the fact that a significant number of top 30 players are over the age of 40, giving them a higher risk of severe cases of the Coronavirus.

The cancelations for the PDC come at a crucial time as they try to expand their fanbase into the United States. For the past three years the PDC held World Series of Darts events at the Tropicana and Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas. This year they plan on bringing the event to the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. While the tournament is scheduled for June, only time will tell if travel restrictions will be lifted in order for the competitors to come to the states.

While the world comes to terms with a society devoid of sporting events, Pro Darts legend Phil “The Power” Taylor and his longtime rival, Raymond van Barneveld have agreed to face each other once again through a live stream. The two will compete against each other in their own homes using the Target Darts company’s new Network Electronic dartboard, which allows you to face off against anyone on the planet with wi-fi.

The event, sponsored by Target Darts will be a charity match and is set to be held in April on Facebook Live.