The World Darts Championship has taken place at London’s Alexandra Palace since 2008. There have recently been calls, including from PDC chairman Barry Hearn, to move the tournament to Saudi Arabia in the future.
However, it seems things won’t go that far, PDC CEO Matt Porter has now announced that such a move will certainly not be taking place any time soon. Wayne Mardle, a former top player and currently active as an analyst, also disagrees with the possibility of moving the World Cup to the Middle East.
“I don’t like it. And I’m not talking like someone who used to play. I’m not like that, I embrace darts today. I appreciate what they do and everything about the sport,” he said.
“The reason I don’t like it is because I’m a big golf fan and I’ve seen the gap opening up between LIV Golf (the new golf tour sponsored by Saudi Arabia) and the PGA and DP World Tour and that’s not a good thing. I don’t like something that I think is temporary changing the sport permanently.”
Mardle loves tradition. “Darts is based in the UK and that’s why the biggest events are mainly held in the UK because that’s where the fans are the most. Take it to Saudi Arabia, give them a million pounds to come and watch, but what if there’s no one there? suddenly became fake.”
Money
“Yeah, it’s all about money, I get it. I got Barry Hearn, I got PDC. Matt Porter is one of the best CEOs in sport in my opinion. PDC is doing everything right. But I wouldn’t like it if the World Cup was moved to another arena. bigger and more luxurious than Alexandra Palace. ‘Ally Pally’ has history, it works for darts Yes, the money will be huge for everyone involved, but I think it’s only temporary and could damage the sport permanently see it,” concluded Mardle.
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