November 11, 2005
Column 201
The World Series of Darts — DETAILS!
When we last left our discussion of the World Series of Darts the line between rumor and fact was about the width of the wire separating the little bitty triple twenty from the big fat triple one. Which reminds me: WHY exactly IS the triple one bigger than the triple twenty? This is wrong and should be changed!
But now, the wire is as thick as New Jersey’s Howie Dirk’s belly was before he got married and started doing crunches to become the slimmed down Adonis of a man he is today. He’d look wonderful on bar television screens across America, if only he could throw a dart.
Here are the FACTS as they stand on November 11, 2005.
This is a Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) event.
Bull’s Eye Marketing Incorporated, the parent company of Bull’s Eye News magazine has been appointed by the PDC to be the North American Coordinator for the event.
ESPN is the World Series of Darts sponsor. They are putting up the money. And there is a lot of money at stake. More on this in a moment…
The tournament will be held at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut on May 20 and 21, 2006. The top sixteen ranked PDC professionals (after the world championships later this year) and sixteen American will toe-the-line for the mullah.
The show will air on ESPN – in prime time – in eight one-hour segments beginning in July. ESPN will be present at each of twelve regional qualifying events across America to film portions of the semi-finals and finals and to interview the qualifying darters. Of course, ESPN will be ever-present at the Mohegan.
The qualifying tournaments will begin in January, with the first qualifier to be held on either January 21 or 22 in New York or Boston. The qualifiers will be set up as straight knockout bracket competitions, best of seven legs of 501. One person will qualify per event. There will be no entry fee for any of the twelve qualifiers.
The qualifiers are open to all American citizens, male or female, who are twenty-one years of age or older as of the date of the specific qualifying event. Any winner must within seven days of qualifying present proof of their citizenship by way of a notarized birth certificate to be eligible to compete at the Mohegan.
Hence super shooting carpetbaggers such as Canadians Chris White (two-time national cricket champion, now living in California) and Gary Mawson (former doubles partner of two-time world champion, John Part, now living in Ohio), Filipino Ricky Villanueva (twelve-time Philippine national champion, now living in Texas), England’s own Steve Brown (two-time American number one and former American national cricket and 501 champion, now living in his car, somewhere outside of St. Louis), and Singaporean Paul Lim (one of only four people to ever throw a perfect game on television, now living in San Bernardino), will have to have to find some other way to hustle money in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.
The winner of each qualifier will be guaranteed $2,000 as one of the thirty-two World Series of Darts finalists. No stipend is currently being provided for travel or accommodations, although this could change. The second place finisher in each qualifier will earn $200. Top four, top eight, and top sixteen finishers will receive $100, $50, and $25 respectively.
While the final dates, times, and specific locations for the qualifiers will be announced soon, the cities and qualifying event coordinators have been finalized. Two of the qualifiers will be held in the Minuteman area, with one in Boston and the other, probably, in Wooster (the contact is Tom Samarco). Two more of the events will be held in the New York/New Jersey area (the contacts are Laurett Meddis and Buddy Bartoletta).
The other cities s and contacts are as follows: Connecticut (Steve Wehrle), Atlanta (Jim Boan), Philadelphia (Mike Broderick), Washington D.C. (Darren Parzow), Virginia Beach (Chris Bender), Chicago (Jim Askham), Las Vegas (Pat Carrigan), and Houston (Dennis Aitken).
The final four of the sixteen American participants will qualify at the Mohegan on Friday, May 19 during a unique competition called Friday Night Madness. There will be an entry fee in the $50 range. Over a three hour period, players will “challenge the board” at 501, with officials keeping track of the number of darts thrown. One a participant tallies what they are confident is an acceptably low score, it will posted a “leaders board” that will be prominently displayed in the venue. At the end of the time period, the top sixteen 501 scorers (as well as any ties) will move into a knockout bracket (best of seven legs) to determine the four players who will join the other twelve Americans during the next two days of competition.
The first round of the World Series if Darts will begin at noon on Saturday with best of eleven leg matches. All sixteen of the PDC professionals will be seeded in – so each qualifying American will face intense competition straight away. There will be no redraw at any point so players will progress accordingly.
The top sixteen round will follow the first round on Saturday. This will also be the best of eleven legs.
The quarter finals will start at noon on Sunday, followed by the semi finals and finals. The quarter finals will be the best of seventeen legs. The semi finals will go 21 legs. And the finals will be battled out over 25 legs.
The winner of the World Series of Darts will receive $100,000 (unless the winner is an American, in which case the prize will be $1 million and the likelihood of becoming an overnight household word). The runner up will receive $48,000. The top four will earn $20,000 each. The top eight will receive $10,000 checks. The top sixteen will pocket $5,000 each. And of course, all thirty-two players are guaranteed at least $2,000.
One last bit of information – the Mohegan ain’t inexpensive. But even if you’ve got the cash, it is highly recommended that you book your flights and hotel early. I have already made my arrangements. I’m at the Microtel, just up the road (I mention this for anybody, like maybe Jess Nicoll, who might want to bring me some beer or audition to be a Dartoid’s World Double Out girl).
If you’re planning to attend, here are some of the hotels close by that you might want to check out soon: Best Western – Cristata (one block away) 860-848-0660, Microtel Inn & Suites (one mile away) 860-367-0880, Comfort Suites – Norwich (15 minutes away) 860-892-9292, Marriott Courtyard – Norwich (15 minutes away) 860-886-2600, Norwich Inn & Spa (15 minutes away) 860-886-2401, Ramada Inn – Norwich (15 minutes away) 860-889-5201, Rosemont Suites – Norwich (15 minutes away) 860-889-2671, Comfort Inn – Mystic (30 minutes away) 860-572-8531, Days Inn Mystic (30 minutes away) 860-572-0574, Holiday Inn – New London (30 minutes away) 860-442-0631, Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa (30 minutes away) 860-446-2600, and the Springhill Suites – New London (30 minutes away) 860-439-0151.
So dart fans, there you have it – the DETAILS you have been waiting for! Watch this space for future updates and coverage of the event as it unfolds.
From the Field,
Dartoid
