Chatting Bull with Dan Dawson - Issue #023

It turns out we can just make stuff up, and if you persevere with it, it might just become real.  Do not worry, this is not a rant about the state of modern politics, it is about terminology in the sport of darts.  The “Triple Crown” has become a genuine thing in the last year or two, stemming from commentator Rod Studd coining the term on Sky Sports.  Even then, his bracketing of the World Championship, World Matchplay and Premier League into a trio of the “biggest” titles had not really caught on, until Luke Humphries won at the O2 in London this year to complete the set.  And if the world number one is interested in it, then it becomes interesting.

I have no real interest in debating the merits of which titles the Triple Crown should encompass.  If you want it to include different ones, I suggest you come up with a new name for whatever group of events you think are important, and then start calling it that repeatedly until it catches on.  And in that spirit, I propose not the “Triple Crown”, but something more exciting, more prestigious, and infinitely more sparkly… “The Title Tiara”.

“The Title Tiara” (or “The TT” as it will undoubtedly become known when this definitely, definitely catches on) is done by winning an event on all available circuits of darts - the floor, the Euro Tour, the World Series Tour, and a PDC Premier Event (or major, as most people know them).  But the trick is, you have to do them all in the same calendar year.

Now this is a fictitious accolade with which I can get on board!  It is hard to do; the opportunities are limited; and I think it does genuinely reflect a level of consistent performance in all formats that says something about players’ achievements.  Phil Taylor only managed it once in 2014; similarly Peter Wright’s sole success came in 2017, Price achieved it in 2022, and Michael Smith’s golden year in 2023 saw him complete the set.

But look at who never managed it - Anderson (he did skip the Euro Tour for five years, to be fair), Rob Cross, Adrian Lewis and even Jonny Clayton’s famous “Year of The Ferret” in 2021 was not enough.

The thing is, you have to be playing really well for a year or two just to get onto the World Series events, so to then continue to play well and win across all circuits is actually a pretty good reflection of whether players can maintain their excellence.  For context: Michael van Gerwen is a NINE-TIME Title Tiara winner (2013-19, 2022-23), and it could have been more were it not for the two Covid years of reduced tournaments.

Last year saw both Luke Littler and Luke Humphries join the TT club for the first time, but it has not yet been achieved by anyone in 2025.  Littler only needs to win one floor event to complete the set, while Humphries needs one on the floor and a European Tour victory.  However, maybe we could have a new member join this prestigious company this year… Stephen Bunting.  “The Bullet” has just won his fifth title of 2025 (two on the World Series, one Euro Tour, and two Players Championship events), and is enjoying the best times of his career.  True, the major title should be the hardest one to get, but the former Masters Champion is playing well enough to win anything right now.  And in my opinion, there are few heads in world sport that would better suit a tiara.

Issue #023 Quiz Answers

1) Phil Taylor 
2) 2.37m
3) Beau Greeves

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