PDC President Barry Hearn recently caused a storm in the darts world when he indicated that the
World Darts Championship may move to Saudi Arabia in the future.
Former major winner
Paul Nicholson understands the lack of understanding in the darts world after hearing of Hearn's plans. "It’s caused similar outcry to when he repeatedly claimed the future of snooker’s World Championship could also lie in the lucrative Middle East nation rather than its spiritual home of the Crucible – and so it should," Nicholson said sternly in his Sporting Life column.
"Firstly, is the event really too big for Ally Pally as Barry says? I don't think it is. I think it's just right. Sure, the final could sell tens of thousands of tickets, but what about all of the other sessions? We have to be realistic."
"As for Saudi Arabia hosting the tournament in future – imagine the atmosphere it would generate compared to what we get at Ally Pally? The way the crowd responds to the action is what makes darts – especially the World Championship – so special. You simply can’t take the most important tournament to a place where the fans don’t passionately care like they do in a darts mad nation and can’t create a memorable atmosphere. Also, although Alexandra Palace is obviously in the UK – many of the crowd have travelled abroad to be there. It’s like a pilgrimage for fans around the world. It’s a destination tournament."
The iconic Alexandra Palace ('Ally Pally') in London
Another tournament
Still, Nicholson would have no problem hosting a tournament in Saudi Arabia. "If you want to stage a major in another country, don’t move the ones that are historically linked with a certain venue like the World Championship or World Matchplay. As for Saudi Arabia, I don’t really have any qualms with them hosting a World Series event in the future and let them pump money into the sport. But not the World Championship."
"It had to move from its original ‘spiritual home’ at the Circus Tavern many years ago because the venue simply wasn’t big enough and the sport was growing so quickly, but it would be awful if it ever ended up somewhere with empty seats and an unenthusiastic atmosphere purely because of more money.
"Darts players have grown up wanting to play at Ally Pally so if you move it now and put it somewhere like Saudi, well, I’m sorry, it doesn’t work for me."
"Let me put it into some sort of perspective. When Gerwyn Price won the world title in 2021, there was nobody there due to Covid. It was a great moment for him but even he’ll admit there was something huge missing. The fans and that atmosphere.," Nicholson continued. "Every player dreams of that crowning moment in front of thousands of fans. The money comes second."
Money or prestige
"If someone had offered me £500,000 or being world champion, I’d have said world champion in a heartbeat. Plus, I’d have wanted to do it at Alexandra Palace in front of all those people just like the legends of our sport have.
"If you’re good enough to reach the latter stages of the biggest events in the sport, the money doesn’t actually matter that much. You just want to lift that trophy. The money is a bonus because you’ll have been applying your career right anyway and will be earning more than enough money to be comfortable."
Nicholson is sure most players feel the same way. "Imagine giving all 128 Tour Card holders this choice; Win the World Championship at Ally Pally and receive a cheque for £500,000 or win the World Championship in Saudi Arabia and receive a cheque for £1,000,000 – what would the majority choose? I'd be astonished if less than 80% went for the first option. I think there'd be a few people out there who are a bit more money driven and wouldn’t care about the venue as long as they became world champion and pocketed the extra cash."
"But darts players value what it's like to go to the palace at Christmas time and the whole feeling around it. You're not just turning up to play for money. Players are desperate to travel the planet just to get the chance to play there at Christmas time. Do you honestly think that Luke Littler and Luke Humphries were talking about the prize money for a game of darts? Were they hell. They were thinking about the trophy and the story.
"Put it this way, if you perversely told them the loser of the match would get the most money – they’d still both play to win to get the title and the trophy. The title and what it represents lasts forever. The money doesn’t. The best players should always have enough of that.
"Even if you knocked the prize money right back down to £100,000 for the winner, it wouldn’t cause players to retire! So let’s stop constantly chasing the dollar and remember the real reasons why we’re in love with our sport – whether that’s as players or fans."
