How darts flew from pastime to prime time
The sport has staggered out of the pub and onto television. Next stop, America
BRITISH SPORT has a new star. On December 17th Fallon Sherrock, a 25-year-old from Milton Keynes, became the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Darts Championship, the sport’s most prestigious event. She then went one better by knocking out the tournament’s 11th seed with a magical shot at the bullseye, eventually taking home £25,000 ($33,000) in prize money. Ms Sherrock, a far cry from the beer-bellied blokes who used to typify the game, symbolises how in recent years darts has gone from a peculiar British pastime to an entertainment juggernaut with transatlantic ambitions.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Bull market”
From the January 4th 2020 edition
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