After a more than respectable 5/9 on his 2023 wishlist, ALEX MOSS is back with his hopes for the next darting year ahead…
ATTEND A EURO TOUR FOR THE FIRST TIME
This has been on my darts bucket list for a few years now, and was in fact included in my ramblings from 2023, so I’ve decided to keep it on here until I tick it off.
Since last year I’ve had a few recommendations for the ‘best Euro Tour’ to go to. The PDC Europe’s Philip Brzezinski during his appearance as a guest on our show suggested the Easter weekend event in Munich is one I must attend at least once.
If you’ve been to a Euro Tour yourself, do get in touch and let me know where you think I should be flying to for my first ever Euro Tour (as a fan).
COMPLETE ‘THE 128’
For those of our listeners who follow us on Twitter, you will have seen from time to time a list pop up from us with all the names of the current PDC tour card holders and how many of them have been a guest on the Weekly Dartscast.
After ticking off new tour card holders Patrick Geeraets and Tim Wolters (thanks to Jerry Hendriks) last month, we’re up to 112 of the current 128. I think we got to a record 113 towards the end of 2023, so we’re close to another PB.
But this year we want to try and complete the set. Some players will be trickier to track down than others, and English could be a barrier as well for a few, but we’re happy to bring in a translator if needed.
We’ll pop the updated list below and if there’s any of those players not in green that you can help put us in contact with, please let us know!
THE WORLD MASTERS TO RETURN
One of the big disappointments from 2023 was the lack of a World Masters being put on by the WDF.
Moving Lakeside from April to December last year, which was when the last World Masters was held 12 months earlier, was one of the stumbling blocks, because you wouldn’t want to stage your two flagship events so close to each other in the calendar.
I think in an ideal world you space the two events out equally, having Lakeside in December and the World Masters in June.
It’s an important tournament for the WDF and provides an opportunity for players from all over the globe to come together and compete for one of the biggest prizes they have to offer. Hopefully we’ll hear an update on its status for 2024 sooner rather than later.
GET PHIL TAYLOR ON THE PODCAST
Last year’s wishlist included my goal to see the GOAT Co Stompe play live, which I did at the World Seniors Championship at the Tavern.
This year I want to try and bring on a player as a guest on the podcast who a lot more darts fans will regard as the GOAT, and that is Phil Taylor.
With it being Phil’s last year playing in the World Seniors, before he retires from competitive play, I’m hoping we’ll get the chance to grab him for a chat before his last event.
A PROPER SHOUT OUT ON SKY
We’ve been very fortunate to get plugs during the coverage of various tournaments, from Euro Tours and Players Championships to even a surprise shout out on ITV last year.
I was watching the UK Open on the Sunday night with some of my family, with just the final left to be played, and all of a sudden I hear the presenter Jacqui Oatley say “…he told the Weekly Dartscast podcast by the way…”
That was a pretty cool moment being name checked on ITV for our interview with Andrew Gilding, who went on to win the UK Open later that night.
It’s become a running joke, after John Rawling incorrectly name checked us on ITV as “one of the boxing podcasts” that we go off various names these days. During the last World Championship, Rod Studd referred to us on air as “one of the darts podcasts”, so we’re getting closer to that elusive name drop on Sky Sports!
A PROPER TV DEAL FOR LAKESIDE
It was a great shame to see last year’s WDF World Championship for the most part go without any real TV production.
The lack of a Eurosport or another TV company being there for the event, and providing the pre-amble before play and the pre and post-match interviews, before the final few days took something away from the tournament.
There were positives despite that though, as it was readily available on YouTube and free to watch, and we did get to hear our good friend Andrew Sinclair make some cameos in the commentary box (PS. We would love to hear him call some of the MODUS Super Series, please).
But I think this year it has to be high on the list of priorities for the WDF to correct that absence of a TV production for when Lakeside is back on in December.
It just adds something to the event, it makes it feel more important, and less like the usual streams we see during the weekends for the open events which are not as high profile as a World Championship.
PLANS TO EXPAND THE EURO TOUR TO BE ANNOUNCED
This year will mark the first year of all Players Championships being held away from the weekends, freeing up some of the calendar for potential new events to be put on.
During our Darts Legends series a few years back, Rod Harrington outlined his vision of a 20-event Euro Tour, and while he’s no longer on the board, I’m hoping we’ll see the PDC edge closer to that number in the future.
The Euro Tour, outside of the pandemic years, has been running on a 13-event schedule for a while now and is breaking into new countries, with Switzerland set for its debut later this season.
This year’s calendar is sorted now, but fingers crossed we could see an expansion to the number of Euro Tour events for 2025.
THE BBC TO GET INVOLVED AGAIN
I teased this on the podcast recently, but surely given all the media interest in darts at the moment, there has got to be broadcasters queuing up to screen a tournament of their own?
The BBC had a brief spell with the PDC staging the Champions League of Darts, which ended during Covid-19, and it was never seen or heard of again once the tour was fully back up and running.
You only have to look at the BBC Sport website, and their darts page, and they have posted close to 50 articles in the last month.
I’ve never known it to be so busy on there, even during the years when they screened the BDO World Championship, it wouldn’t get anywhere near the level of coverage on their own website.
I just spoke about the free weekends on the calendar, so how about we bring back the Champions League on the BBC. Make it the top four in the rankings with four BBC wildcards and let’s have some set play as well to mix it up a bit too!
THE PDC TO REVERSE THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RULE
This one had to be on my list. Last year we saw the players that qualified for both the WDF and PDC World Championships have to choose one or the other.
Beau Greaves bucked the trend and opted for the Lakeside, and she successfully defended her women’s title to become a two-time back-to-back world champion.
The downside was, after an impressive debut at the Grand Slam of Darts, where she came so close to topping her group, we did not see the general consensus best ladies player on the planet at Ally Pally.
It does more harm than good for the ladies game to make them choose, when really we shouldn’t be restricting their opportunities to play on TV. The only Women’s World Championship is in the WDF and it should have the strongest field possible, and to go with that the best three ladies players should be at the PDC World Championship as well. It’s time for the PDC to have a rethink.
JAMIE ROBINSON TO PLAY IN THE MODUS SUPER SERIES
I’m getting tired of posting it each week, and I’m sure you’re all getting sick of seeing it on your timeline as well! Come on MODUS, give Jamie Robinson a call up for the Super Series. Please.
A Challenge Tour title winner. An ex-England international. A former tour card holder. A Players Championship finalist. Not to mention a quarter-finalist in the very first Viking Cup.
After meeting Jamie at the Viking Cup, we agreed if I could get him an invite to the Super Series, he would play for my now former darts team, the Stowupland Retreat on a Wednesday night.
It’s a bit far for Jamie to travel every week to play for my new team, in Bolton, so he can buy me a pint the next time he sees me if we can get him that long-awaited call up!
Picture: PDC
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