Chatting Bull with Dan Dawson - Issue #013
Newton’s third law of physics says that for every action in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction. We could spend all day arguing about how natural the sport of darts is, but after months of dominance from world number one Luke Humphries, we have seen two of the most surprising winners of major tournaments in PDC history, back to back. Mike de Decker’s superb Grand Prix victory saw a 150-1 shot go all the way, beating a succession of top players to claim the trophy.
Australian number one Damon Heta, multiple major champions James Wade, Gary Anderson and Dimitri Van den Bergh, and then the defending champion and all-conquering Luke Humphries were all beaten by him. De Decker deserved it - he was superb all tournament. But as a (relatively) young man, who had picked up his first ranking title earlier this year, it does feel like it could be the start of something special for “The Real Deal”.
What we saw at the European Championship in Dortmund just two weeks later however, was even more extraordinary. Only four players outside the world’s top 32 were involved in the tournament; three of them made the semis, and the fourth was only denied in a last leg decider in his quarter-final. Jermaine Wattimena and Ritchie Edhouse contested the final - two players who have never won a title of any sort on the PDC Tour.
Image by Kelly Deckers
Edhouse won it, and won it well. Two of the three highest averages in the event were produced by “Madhouse”, in his destruction of Gian van Veen (109.48) and his astonishing 10-5 defeat of Gary Anderson (103.91). Edhouse is a different case from de Decker, he is 12 years his senior, and has spent his career hovering around the fringes of the professional tour without threatening to make the biggest televised events. His sudden surge of form, producing a series of career-best displays in 2024, is as exciting as it is unexpected.
Whether this is the advent of something more significant for Edhouse and de Decker, only time will tell. These could be the high watermarks of their respective careers, or it could be the start of their own periods of becoming true forces in the sport. Both cite their improvements being down to a new-found dedication to the game, and it illustrates how the pathways are available for those with the talent and work ethic to achieve their dreams. It also only elevates the achievements of Humphries over this last year - he has won nearly all the major ranking titles, despite there being threats to him from across the spectrum of the professional game, not just from a handful of top players.
The underdogs have bitten back over the last few weeks, but we can now expect a reaction from the likes of Luke Humphries and Luke Littler. Winning is in their nature, and it will not be long before the top dogs reassert themselves.
Issue #013 Quiz Answers
1) 161
2) 18
3) 3
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