The PDC Home Tour Darts tournament gets under way this weekend - Chris Hammer previews the event and even tries to find a bet.
- Follow @ChrisHammer180 on Twitter
- PDC Darts At Home: Fixtures, Results & Format
- Nicholson: The logistics behind online darts
As the wider world of sport impatiently waits for the light to appear at the end of a very long tunnel, it's actually already started to shine in the homes of darts players around the globe.
Or, in Dave Chisnall's case, his shed.
Following the success of the PDC's two 'Darts At Home' nights over the past fortnight and also the trailblazing Modus Icons of Darts Live League, where our very own columnist Paul Nicholson helped demonstrate how an online webcam format of the sport can remain competitive and entertaining despite the isolation of players, referees, commentators and every individual watching via the streams, a new 'remote' era is now upon us.
It may of course turn out just to be a short stop-gap that we look back on with a kind of rosy nostalgia about how the PDC conjured up an innovative solution to give starved fans something to get excited about when the rest of sport had little option but to pause amidst the chaotic backdrop of a global crisis.
However, history is littered with accidental - or opportunistic - lightbulb moments so if this were to take off, then maybe it'll become a staple part of the calendar in years to come.
As far as the inaugural edition is concerned, all 128 Tour Card holders have been invited to participate but two of the bigger names who can't, sadly, are Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson - for the perhaps two of the only possible valid reasons available!
Van Gerwen told RTL7: "I cannot meet the requirements of the PDC. For example, it has to be quiet, but with a newborn baby, a child of two and a half years and three dogs, it really won’t work. It is also two match days in the month. My training hours with Vincent (van der Voort) are worth more."
As for the Flying Scotsman, he is left cursing connection issues in Somerset: "I was up for it but when we did tests of my WiFi, it's just not reliable enough. It doesn't surprise me. I struggle to pay bills online in my house, it's really frustrating. I did want to take part. It would have been something different to try and win."
Thankfully world champion Peter Wright is good to go on opening night, telling Newsbeat: "I don't really do electronics so it's all going to be a bit strange for me. Chatting to you is only the second time I've used Skype. But we're going to take it serious. Hopefully those people out there who haven't watched darts before will enjoy it and maybe get themselves a board and start playing."
Anyone who watched the two stagings of 'Darts At Home', which featured seven players across two Wednesday nights, as well as the charity match between Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor last week, will not only have enjoyed the unusual nature of the matches but also getting to see more of a player's personality in their most relaxed setting possible away from the big stage, and a jovial camaraderie between both mic'd up opponents.
Sure, it's not 'proper' darts, but it could be more than just a novelty.
All this said, let's not pretend it's purely about the fans - and nor should it be. With a resumption of conventional tournaments still months away and over four weeks since the last, the PDC Darts Home Tour provides the Tour Card holders that take part with at least some valuable competitive match action, and while there can obviously be no ranking points at stake, there will be essential prize money up for grabs to complement appearance fees.
Whether the richer stars choose to donate that to charity or back into game remains to be seen, but there's still a high number of players down the rankings who need the support themselves - especially those who gave up jobs in recent times to pursue their darting dreams.
It would be easy to expect some astonishingly high averages from players on 'home soil'. After all, how many times do we hear how easy it is to hit nine-darters in practice?!
However, these prolific sessions at home aren't obviously ever played with the weirdly intimate pressures of having the world of darts crammed in your personal space without being able to see them.
As Paul Nicholson explained in this week's column, when he reflected on the Modus Icons of Darts Live League: "The first game I played was against Mark Webster and, I’m not going to lie, I felt very nervous and I didn’t know why.
"I was playing in my own room, surrounded by my own stuff and there was nobody else in it. You’d think there'd be no reason to be nervous at all! But when you’re doing something that’s so groundbreaking at the time, you don’t want to fail and as sports people we don’t want to lose, which adds to the pressure. It did feel really odd.
"Also, having nobody else in the room actually negatively impacts the usual match rhythm that we’re all so used to in a normal playing environment with people. We have earpieces in so you can hear your opponent call their shot before we can throw our next darts.
"It takes a little bit of getting used to but after a couple of days playing against people I’m very familiar with like Raymond van Barneveld, Andy Jenkins and Mark Webster, I got more familiar with the format and timings, so my results certainly picked up."
The Asset also goes into depth about the complications and logistics of setting up all the equipment - so if those distractions are on players' minds, then maybe performance will be affected.
Another interesting point he raised - when discussing the notion of why events like this could never be ranked - is whether different homes give players 'accidentally unfair' advantages.
He added: "Obviously they can't be ranked because the conditions are not the same for every player. If you have someone who lives in a very plush house like Michael van Gerwen, who has a large air-conditioned practice room for example, then he could well have an advantage over someone else who doesn’t.
"Everyone has different homes, lifestyles, temperatures and even dart boards manufacturers. I know boards are all meant to be the identical, but they’re not."
It makes you wonder whether there's any milage in a future offshoot tournament where 'Darts at Home' continues, but with players actually going round to each others' houses to play their streamed match. An away tie at Michael van Gerwen's mansion would feel like drawing Manchester United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup... but who would want a trip to Chizzy's shed on a cold Tuesday night in January?!
In terms of actually picking an overall winner - and there's certainly no shortage of odds and markets to bet on - I think we've already established that there are clearly too many unusual variables to make even an educated guess.
Aside from the potential technical issues, the complete final field yet to be confirmed and the lack of genuine competitive form from any of the players, nobody can predict who will cope best with this surreal, groundbreaking tournament.
They'll all 'care' and want to become the first champion, but some will surely be more intense and focused than others.
And unless you've been round to every player's house already and seen how formidable they are in their own surroundings, who's to say where the fortresses are?
It doesn't have to be a mansion, for example. A cramped attic, shed or man cave might bring out an astonishingly level of standard from a player down the rankings who freezes somewhat in the standard environment.
In any case, Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright are joint 9/2 favourites in the outright betting with William Hill while Nathan Aspinall, who won the second Darts At Home event, is 8/1 ahead of Michael Smith at 14s.
The best strategy is surely waiting until the 32 group winners are crowned over the next 32 consecutive nights because at that point you'll at least have seen who thrives in this kind of online format.
Nevertheless, if pushed for an outsider I'll have a small punt on Chizzy given how he's talked such a good shed game in recent times.
It was the hours he put on the practice board that he attributed to his revival 12 months ago but considering how 2020 has gone for him so far, he's in need of a lift.
Wright plays on opening night and the bet that catches my eye is the 6/1 on Snakebite to hit a 100 checkout in each of his three matches.
The world champion insists he's going to be taking this seriously and if his own settings can bring the best out of him then this price is appealing.
PDC Home Tour: Suggested bets
Outright tip: Dave Chisnall at 20/1 (General)
Best bet for night one: Wright to hit a 100+ checkout in each of his three matches at 6/1 (Sky Bet)
- Each night’s action begins at 1930 BST, and will include webcam footage of each player and their dart board, live score graphics and commentary from Dan Dawson. All PDC Home Tour action will be broadcast live on PDCTV for FREE to ALL registered PDCTV users, regardless of whether you have a paid or free membership
PDC Home Tour Darts: Fixtures and Results
Play begins at 1930 BST each night
Best of nine legs
Click here for Sky Bet odds
GROUP 1: Friday April 17
- Peter Wright v Peter Jacques
- Jamie Lewis v Niels Zonneveld
- Peter Jacques v Niels Zonneveld
- Peter Wright v Jamie Lewis
- Jamie Lewis v Peter Jacques
- Niels Zonneveld v Peter Wright
Sky Bet odds: Peter Wright 4/9 to top group, Lewis 5/1, Zonneveld 5/1, Jacques 7/1
GROUP 2: Saturday April 18
- Gerwyn Price v Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Luke Woodhouse v Ted Evetts
- Rowby-John Rodriguez v Ted Evetts
- Gerwyn Price v Luke Woodhouse
- Luke Woodhouse v Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Ted Evetts v Gerwyn Price
Sky Bet odds: Gerwyn Price 4/7 to top group, Woodhouse 4/1, Rodriguez 6/1, Evetts 6/1
GROUP 3: Sunday April 19
- Dave Chisnall v Scott Waites
- Jan Dekker v Jonathan Worsley
- Scott Waites v Jonathan Worsley
- Dave Chisnall v Jan Dekker
- Jan Dekker v Scott Waites
- Jonathan Worsley v Dave Chisnall
Sky Bet odds: Dave Chisnall 4/5 to top group, Waites 3/1, Dekker 9/2, Worsley 7/1
GROUP 4: Monday April 20
- Ross Smith v Lisa Ashton
- Mickey Mansell v Geert Nentjes
- Lisa Ashton v Geert Nentjes
- Ross Smith v Mickey Mansell
- Mickey Mansell v Lisa Ashton
- Geert Nentjes v Ross Smith
Sky Bet odds: Ross Smith 13/8 to top group, Mansell 5/2, Nentjes 11/4, Ashton 9/2
GROUP 5 Onwards: Players and groups yet to be confirmed
