By Harry Eddolls, in Blackpool
These days, darts is a massive spectacle, with so much going on between the matches that the TV audiences don’t get to see. In this article, you will found out five things that you might have missed during the first round of this year’s World Matchplay.
NUMBER ONE: Pre-play at the Winter Gardens
The spectacle doesn’t start with the play. Before each evening session in the first round, there was a show that was hosted on the stage for those who had made it to the venue early. It was generally hosted around half an hour to 15 mins before TV coverage began.
The show would consist of a few fun darts related challenges, which included things like speed darts, before the presenters would run through the order of play for the upcoming session. It was designed to be a short but fun extra for the attending crowd, and did well in hyping them up for the upcoming action.
Furthermore, on the second day of the tournament, there were a few mini games that took place on the stage before the professionals took to the stage. Despite not being the main event, they were still a nice little warm-up for any fans all ready in the venue, helping them to get ready and excited for the action.
NUMBER TWO: Coldplay Cam
There are many little extra that are sprinkled through the breaks that only the attending crowd get to see. There was a particular highlight during the third day of action, when during one of the breaks, the big screen showed a Coldplay Cam.
This was a direct reference to an incident at a Coldplay concert last Wednesday, in which an affair between a CEO and HR manager was caught on a jumbotron camera. It gave a funny twist to the regular crowd camera surf that can happen, and was an interesting and fun moment during one of the many breaks throughout the day.
NUMBER THREE: Karaoke
Most of the missed moments in a day of darts happen during the breaks. One of those key moments which happen during every event is a karaoke session. It normally happens during the last game of the session, as has been the case throughout this tournament.
The song changed depending on the day, with examples being ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams and ‘Sweet Caroline’ by Neil Diamond. This was another opportunity to get the crowd hyped up, and get the volume turned up to eleven. When they get going, it can get very loud.
NUMBER FOUR: Dance Cam
As is becoming a pattern, many of the behind the scenes moments are designed to heighten the spectacle of the event for the crowd. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is the Dance Cam, where the camera is pointed towards the crowd and they are encouraged to dance.
The section was sponsored by Fireball Whiskey, and so it was fitting that the crowd danced to the song called ‘Fireball’. This little section turned the Winter Gardens from a venue for darts into a party venue, if just for a few minutes, and kept the crowd excited for the rest of the action.
NUMBER FIVE: Signs and fancy dress
It’s a staple of the darts experience. Fans will turn up to the venues in all sorts of interesting costumes, and this week has been no different. Whether they turned up as animals, traffic cones, or even in different uniforms, there really was no bounds to what people would turn up as. The best example was on the third night, when fans of the German player Ricardo Pietreczko turned up dressed head to toe in Pikachu costumes, in a nod to his nickname.
Fans have also been getting creative with the signs that they display with a message they create. Whether it be personal greetings, messages of support or just fun or silly jokes, there was a wide variety on display. The mixture of the two together makes the darts fan experience what it is, and can only truly be appreciated by being in the venue itself.