Perfect nine-darters, breaking records and becoming world champion: Paul Nicholson picks out the five of the biggest dreams in darts

Paul Nicholson charts five of the most common aspirations that dart players, including himself, will hold throughout their careers...

World Ambition

The ambitions of players do depend on what level you admit you’re at. There will be some delusional Super League players who think they can one day become world champion – but if they’re ever going to get close to that kind of level then they’ll need to make big sacrifices such as spending less time with family and more time on the practice board.

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For anyone with a genuine world class talent, they will all have the ambition to reach the pinnacle of the sport.

Rob Cross proved with his journey that if you have the talent, commitment and willingness to make sacrifices, anything is possible.

WATCH: Paul Nicholson and Chris Hammer predict the Ally Pally draw!

Ambitions do obviously evolve, however. So when you don’t have a world title, you only think about doing it once. You’re not thinking about being a multiple-time world champion. But as soon as players get their first world title – or any other major title – they immediately want that feeling again.

When I was growing up there wasn’t a lot of darts on TV apart from the World Championship at the Lakeside so back then I think most players’ dream was just to appear on that stage.

That said, I think more players back then – and during the 1990s after the PDC was formed - thought winning a world title was more possible compared to what it’s like now.

No disrespect to the likes of Les Wallace whatsoever, but he didn’t win a great deal apart from the Lakeside but will still always be referred to as a world champion. His success would have given many other players – including those of a high Super League standard - belief that they could do the same.

If you got to the Lakeside, you’d only be five wins away from being a world champion and many local players fancied their chances.

Nowadays, the talent pool is a darn sight deeper than ever and you need something special to get your hands on the trophy. That’s why just qualifying for the Alexandra Palace is a massive career dream for many ‘lesser’ players around the world.

A player called Steve Grubb once played Phil Taylor on his World Championship debut and said “If I can get a bunch of 15 darters and hold my throw most of the time, I’ve got a chance.” He didn’t. He didn’t even win a leg! But ultimately for him just to qualify well before it was a massive field, was a huge achievement.

Nine-dart dream

Every player wants to hit a televised nine-dart finish in their career but among us there’s some who want to hit the perfect one: 3 x 167s (Treble 20, treble 19, bull three times).

But nobody ever goes for it do they?!

It got to the stage a few seasons ago when Michael van Gerwen was hitting nine-darters so regularly that he was trying to find different ways of doing it.

Mensur Suljovic once went 170, 170, 161 in a Central European SuperLeague event many years ago whilst last year Richie Edhouse hit a pair of nine darters which both consisted of two 174s and a 153 checkout! That route was subsequently called the ‘Edhouse’ so imagine trying it a different way on TV and having your name assigned to it!

There are 3,944 different ways to hit a nine-darter – including 2,296 that finish with the bullseye – so there are plenty of options available that haven’t been regularly explored, especially in major competition.

The 3x167 is the ‘perfect’ one but there are other incredible ways to do it, including finishing with a 170 checkout! That would be possible if opening with a 180 and following it with a 151 but can you imagine anyone attempting that in a major tournament?!

The best nine-darter I’ve witnessed from a route perspective was Jamie Caven, who opened up with a 167 the ‘perfect way’ (T20 T19, Bull), followed by a 180 then took out 154 on double 17! So he did the first three but didn’t continue because it was an important stage of a Players Championship match…yet still ended up with a nine-darter anyway!

To go through with a perfect nine-darter on TV, you’d probably have to be winning by quite a margin in, for example, the first round of a World Series event. You wouldn’t want to be trying anything too flamboyant or cocky in a match that could make or break your career.

However, if you’ve opened up with a T20 and a T19, then I think more players should at least go for the bull just to see if they can get the first of the three 167s. And if they do, you’ve got to go for it.

It wouldn’t be disrespectful, someone has to do it at some point! We’ve seen Simon Whitlock hit three bullseyes to beat Daniel Larsson in a European Tour event – that was ridiculous but certainly not disrespectful. He was just quite a long way ahead in the match and was left on 150.

Beating your heroes

When I was growing up I dreamt about beating Bob Anderson but never got the chance. He was already retired from the professional ranks when I joined it in 2008…but Dennis Priestly was still around.

It just so happened that in my first World Championship, I played him in the last 16.

I’d dreamt about this moment for years but nothing prepares you for it; no matter who your hero is. As soon as you get on that stage, all you want to do is win and there’s nothing quite like it when you do.

It’s a moment you cherish forever and stands out above many other victories in your career, even ones that have won you titles and bigger paydays.

There’s every chance that your hero gives you a begrudging handshake and walks off but Dennis congratulated me like a gentleman and a pro, and that made the moment even more special for me.

The danger is putting your heroes on too big a pedestal having thought about it for so many years that you struggle to play your best. Dirk van Duijvenbode, for example, has struggled when playing Raymond van Barneveld.

I actually felt calm going for that match dart against Dennis because it was like I was in a dream – but it won’t be like that for everyone.

I also idolised Mervyn King growing up and as it turned out I played him in my one and only major final. Again, I felt really calm and composed even after the highs of defeating Phil Taylor in the semi-finals and hit my first match dart to win the title.

Standing out and breaking records

There are two different types of players; Some just want to play darts, get on with it and do things the way you’re ‘supposed to’ and make money. Some want to make a difference whether that’s in appearance, playing style, equipment or personality.

I wanted to be different. I didn’t want to meander into a crowd of players and act like everyone else.

When I put those sunglasses on, it wasn’t an act. It was something I genuinely wanted to do because it was part of who I am.

When Peter Wright was finally true to himself about who he wanted to be, Snakebite was born.

If he’d continued to play as Peter Wright the old way, he’d never have won all of these titles. But he showed by believing in yourself and doing something different can open doors to new possibilities.

There’s so many things that haven’t been tried in darts and endless records to break; we can all be known for something different if we push the boundaries.

You have to find that one thing that etches your name in history and become the first person to do something memorable.

Michael van Gerwen may not be able to break Phil Taylor’s record of most world titles but he’s certainly smashed many others and is in no mood to stop – as he knows others coming through will take his spot away from him at some point.

I actually held a record that stood for 12 years but I only found out about it the day it was broken!

I was the only person who stopped Phil Taylor reaching a final at the Circus Tavern when I beat him in the semi-finals of the 2010 Players Championship Finals. He’d obviously reached all the finals of the World Championships that were staged there.

However, I only found out this statistic on the day Taylor was playing Kevin Painter in this year’s World Senior Championship…and Painter won!

I would have dined out for this fact for many years had I known but instead I had only 24 hours to revel in it.

Traveling the world

People dream about travelling the world to play darts nowadays – more so than ever before.

It can take you to all corners of the globe, including Oceania where we’ve been seeing the World Series of Darts events being staged this month.

The sport has given me opportunities to go to places like Asia, Australia, North America and all over Europe – as both a player and a pundit – yet there’s still many places I haven’t visited.

Many younger players coming through have ambitions of playing in countries and cities they’ve never seen and experiencing a variety of cultures; as well as seeing and understanding how darts is appreciated differently.

When I was growing up, players dreamt of playing in the Las Vegas Desert Classic but now the big cherry is Australia for the World Series – those crowds are unbelievable because they only get one or two tournaments a year.

The first one to be staged in Auckland had a crowd which behaved like they’d been waiting decades to see the world’s best players, the atmosphere was outrageous!

We should all dream about these moments because they will stand out in your career for years to come.

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