Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed projectiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard .
63-415: Robert Smith (born 29 May 1948) is a Scottish former professional darts player. He won numerous tournaments in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he was also twice a World Championship quarter-finalist. After a particularly successful 1977, his highest world ranking was No. 4 in early 1978. Smith retired from professional darts at a relatively young age in 1983 to spend more time with his children. Smith
126-453: A 240 maximum during the event and Phil Taylor hit a 188 checkout (Q20-Q20-D14). The tournament was discontinued in 1996 and the board has not been used in a professional event since. Assuming standard scoring, the optimal area to aim for on the dartboard to maximize the player's score varies significantly based on the player's skill. The skilled player should aim for the centre of the T20, and as
189-672: A black cat in the night', and threw a 72 finish to clinch the trophy. Smith won the British Pentathlon , beating Alan Glazier in the final. In winning the British Matchplay he beat Bill Lennard in the semi-finals and then Eric Bristow in the final. With the final all square at 3–3, Smith stood at the oche needing 36. Bristow appeared to know what would happen and put his darts down on the table. Smith initially hit single 18 but then finished on double 9. Smith had hit four maximum 180s during that final. In 1977 he also won
252-468: A compromise between density and cost. Barrels come in three basic shapes: cylindrical, ton, or torpedo. The shafts are manufactured in various lengths, and some are designed to be cut to length. Shafts are generally made from plastics, nylon polymers, or metals such as aluminium and titanium; and can be rigid or flexible. Longer shafts provide greater stability and allow a reduction in flight size which in turn can lead to closer grouping; but, they also shift
315-406: A crane operator. He continued with this vocation until he took early retirement in 2011. He married Doreen and had two children who share the names of his parents, Kathleen and Robert. Smith was introduced to darts around the age of 9 or 10 by his father. Smith told Patrick Chaplin in 2011, "The family lived in a big house in the country and I used to practice and practice." He joined a darts team in
378-449: A dart at the board with their non-dominant hand to obtain their 'number'. No two players can have the same number. Once everyone has a number, each player takes it in turn to get their number five times with their three darts (doubles count twice, and triples three times). Once a person has reached 5, they become a 'killer'. This means they can aim for other peoples numbers, taking a point off for each time they hit (doubles ×2, triples ×3). If
441-510: A dartboard is " butt "; the word comes from the French word but , meaning "target" or "goal". The standard numbered point system is attributed to Lancashire carpenter Brian Gamlin, who devised it in 1896 to penalise inaccuracy, though this is disputed. Many configurations have been used, varying by time and location. In particular, the Yorkshire and Manchester Log End boards differ from
504-681: A disk and bound with a metal ring. This new dartboard was an instant success. It was more durable and required little maintenance. Furthermore, darts did little or no damage to the board; they simply parted the packed fibres when they entered the board. The earliest darts were stubs of arrows or crossbow bolts. The first purpose-made darts were manufactured from solid wood, wrapped with a strip of lead for weight and fitted with flights made from split turkey feathers. These darts were mainly produced in France and became known as French darts. Metal barrels were patented in 1906, but wood continued to be used into
567-430: A game in which one player at a time throws three darts per turn. The throwing player must stand so that no portion of their feet extends past the leading edge of the oche, but may stand on any other portion and/or lean forward over it if desired. A game of darts is generally contested between two players, who take turns. The most common objective is to reduce a fixed score, commonly 301 or 501, to zero ("checking out") with
630-520: A great deal on the individual player's throwing style. For competitive purposes, a dart cannot weigh more than 50 g (1.8 oz) including the shaft and flight and cannot exceed a total length of 300 mm (12 in). The World Darts Federation uses the following standards for play: The regulations came about owing to the United Kingdom and the rest of the world playing at different lengths, with 2.37 m (7 ft 9 in) being
693-583: A naturalized citizen. Virachkul represented the United States internationally in darts tournaments. He competed at the first Embassy World Darts Championship in 1978, losing narrowly by 7–8 in the semi-final to eventual champion, Leighton Rees . He won third place in a play-off by defeating Stefan Lord . Virachakul reached the quarter-finals on three other occasions: in 1981 (losing to Eric Bristow ), 1982 (losing to Bobby George ) and 1984 (losing to Dave Whitcombe ). Despite his respectable record, it
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#1732802570415756-399: A person gets to zero they are out. A killer can aim for anyone's numbers, even another killer's. Players cannot get more than 5 points. The winner is 'the last man standing'. Another version of "Killer" is a "knock-out" game for three or more players (the more the better). To start, everyone has a pre-determined number of lives, (usually 5) and a randomly chosen player throws a single dart at
819-445: A player left with a difficult finish (e.g. 5 and one dart remaining) might deliberately bust in order to revert to an earlier score that would allow an easier finish. Under Northern Bust rules, though, doing so would leave them on 5. A darts match is played over a fixed number of games, known as legs. A match may be divided into sets , with each set being contested as over a fixed number of legs. Although playing straight down from 501
882-438: A player on 93 (T19, D18) hits single-19 with their first dart, they can still finish, but will now need to check out 74 (T14, D16). Checkout charts detailing which numbers are required for each particular finish are widely used. In the 1990s, a board with a "quad" ring between the triple ring and the bullseye appeared, which gave quadruple points, meaning a 240 maximum (three quad-20s), a 210 maximum checkout (Q20-Q20-Bull) and
945-500: A relatively young age Smith said, "Not really. There was always too much travel: hundreds of miles." Smith also gave up playing county darts around the same time. In the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London , Smith is the player throwing the darts in match on TV in the apartment of the character played by Jenny Agutter . Smith's opponent is Cliff Lazarenko . Darts Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of
1008-401: A score of 180 in exuberant style. Once a player reaches a low enough score, they are considered to be "on a finish", meaning they can win the game/leg with their remaining darts. In professional matches, the match referee will usually tell the player which score they require once on a finish. As the winning dart in a game must be a double or bullseye, the highest possible finish with three darts
1071-413: A set of four darts. Four thrown darts equals a turn. Five turns by each player constitutes a game. The dart board score starting from the outside ring are: 5 - 10 - 15 - 20 - 25 - bullseye 50. Cricket is a widely played darts game involving a race to control and score on numbers between 20 and 15 and the bullseye, by hitting each of these targets for three marks to open or own it for scoring. A hit on
1134-531: A seven-dart finish (five quad-20s, triple-17, bullseye) were possible. One make of this board was the Harrows Quadro 240. The board was used during the short-lived WDC UK Matchplay . Although no seven dart finish was ever scored on the board, John Lowe did come close to a 9 dart finish in the 1993 PDC UK Matchplay. He scored 200 (T20-T20-Q20), then 160 (20-T20-Q20), and got his final T20 and T15, only to miss D18 on his final throw. Several players did score
1197-413: A single throw (3 darts) results in the player losing half their accumulated score. Any number of players can take part and the game can vary in length depending on the number of targets selected. The game can be tailored to the skill level of the players by selecting easy or difficult targets. "Killer" is a 'knock-out' game for two or more players (at its best at 4–6 players). Initially, each player throws
1260-621: A traditional pub game . Darts is commonly played in the British Isles , and recreationally enjoyed around the world. In 1908 darts was declared to be a game of skill and was thus allowed to be played in pubs. This came about after the landlord of the Adelphi Inn in Leeds was prosecuted for allowing darts to be played in his pub. As darts was considered a game of chance at the time, it was not allowed on licensed premises. The landlord
1323-515: Is 170 (T20, T20, inner bull). Finishes are also known as "check outs". Regular players become familiar with the combinations needed to check out a particular number. For instance, a player on 138 could hit T20, T18, D12. Most numbers can be checked out with more than one combination (for 138, a player could also hit T19, T19, D12). Good arithmetic is helpful, as in the event of missing a target number players need to quickly recalculate their new score and which number they now need to hit. For instance, if
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#17328025704151386-554: Is a drinking game that involves throwing darts at opponents' beer cans. The resulting drinking actions depend on how and where the beer can was hit with the dart. The original name of this sport was called Vogelpik. Vogelpik is the early version of the modern game of Belgian darts. Belgian darts has remained a very popular game in the Belgian community since the 18th century. It is not only relaxing but also helps to develop coordination skills, precision and self-control. Each player has
1449-421: Is cheap but light and therefore brass barrels tend to be very bulky. Tungsten, on the other hand, is twice as dense as brass; thus a tungsten barrel of equivalent weight could be thirty percent smaller in diameter than a brass one. Pure tungsten is very brittle, however, so an alloy is commonly used, with between 80 and 95 percent tungsten and the remainder usually nickel, iron, or copper. Nickel-silver darts offer
1512-469: Is in play. Nicky Virachkul Nicky Virachkul (June 3, 1948 – April 17, 1999) was an American professional darts player who competed in the 1970s and 1980s. Virachkul was from Lampang , Thailand, and was a javelin thrower during high school. He moved to the United States in 1968 to study business administration at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey . He later became
1575-473: Is known as "going bust". The player's score is reset to its value at the start of that turn, and any remaining throws in the turn are forfeited. In some variants, a player who busts has their score reset to its value before the individual dart that caused the bust. This rule (referred to as a "Northern Bust" in London) is considered by some players to be a purer version of the game. Under the standard rules above,
1638-444: Is standard in darts, sometimes a double must be hit to begin scoring, known as "doubling in", with all darts thrown before hitting a double not being counted. The PDC's World Grand Prix uses this format. The minimum number of thrown darts required to complete a leg of 501 is nine. The most common nine-dart finish consists of two 180 maximums followed by a 141 checkout (T20-T19-D12), but there are many other possible ways of achieving
1701-482: The Wembley Arena . Smith later said, "I was on double four with John back on 140 or 160. He threw and left double top. In my next throw I clipped the top wire of double four three times. Then John hit double top." Smith played in the first six successive Embassy World Darts Championships . In the first ever World Championship in 1978, Smith defeated Ireland's Patrick Clifford 6–0 in the first round but lost in
1764-406: The 1 section, round 2, the 2 sections, and so on until round 7. Standard scoring is used, and doubles and triples are counted. Only hits on the wedge for that round are counted. The winner is the person who has the most points at the end of seven rounds (1–7); or who scores a Shanghai, which wins instantly, a Shanghai being throws that hit a triple, a double and single (in any order) of the number that
1827-470: The 1950s. The first metal barrels were made from brass which was relatively cheap and easy to work. The wooden shafts, threaded to fit the tapped barrel, were either fletched as before or designed to take a paper flight. This type of dart continued to be used into the 1970s. With the widespread use of plastic, the shaft and flight came to be manufactured separately, although one-piece moulded plastic shaft and flight darts were also available. According to
1890-494: The Darts Regulation Authority, a regulation board is 451 mm (17.8 in) in diameter and is divided into 20 radial sections. Each section is separated with metal wire or a thin band of sheet metal. Quality dartboards are still made of sisal fibres from Eastern Africa, Brazil, and China; less expensive boards are sometimes made of cork or coiled paper. Modern darts are made up of four components:
1953-690: The Dumfries pub league around the age of 16. His inspiration to improve was a local player named Joe Little at another Dumfries pub, The Hole I' The Wa' (The Hole in the Wall)."From the age of sixteen I would go into town to play darts. I met Joe Little in the pub and we played darts and he beat me. I kept going back and he kept beating me. I really wanted to beat him. I practiced and practiced and worked on my game, mostly on Saturday lunchtimes and at night because I worked all day. I also practiced 12 noon to 1 p.m. most days as well… practice, practice, practice. Then all
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2016-497: The East End of London. The board has fewer, larger segments, all numbered either 5, 10, 15 or 20. Players play down from 505 rather than 501, and stand the farthest 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) away from the board of any mainstream variation. "Halve it" is a darts game popular in the United Kingdom and parts of North America where competitors try to hit previously agreed targets on a standard dart board. Failure to do so within
2079-486: The Golden Darts Championship. He eliminated Andre Declerq of Belgium and Wales' Alan Evans and then beat John Lowe in the final. As well as the £1,000 first prize Smith was also presented with a set of 18ct 'golden darts' and a special prize of 'a mere quarter ounce gold nugget' for scoring 180. In 2007 Smith gave the 'golden darts' to his grandson Rory for his first birthday. On the announcement of
2142-547: The Scottish Masters he was runner-up to Bobby Semple . In March he represented Scotland in the Queen's Silver Jubilee 3's International Classic with team mates George Nicol and Eric MacLean in London. With the final all square between Scotland and England, Smith played Eric Bristow in the decider. Bristow was way in front after twelve darts before having 'double trouble'. Smith described in one report 'had stolen up like
2205-586: The US after publicity of thousands of injuries and several deaths. Round the Clock (also called Around the World, 20 to 1, and Jumpers) is a game involving any number of players where the objective is to hit each section sequentially from 1 to 20 starting after a starting double. Shanghai is played with at least two players. The standard version is played in seven rounds. In round one players throw their darts aiming for
2268-467: The board to set a target (i.e. single 18) and does not play until that target is hit. The next player up has 3 darts to try and hit the target (single 18), if they fail, they lose a life and the following player tries. Once a player succeeds at hitting the target, they then become the target setter and throw a dart to set a new target. The initial target setter swaps places with the new target setter. The games carry on until every players' lives have been used,
2331-418: The board, though unlike in sports such as archery , these areas are distributed all across the board and do not follow a principle of points increasing toward the board's bullseye . Though a number of similar games using various boards and rules exist, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules. Darts is both a professional throwing sport and
2394-443: The compromise length. The standard dartboard is divided into 20 numbered sections, scoring from 1 to 20 points, by wires running from the small central circle to the outer circular wire. Circular wires within the outer wire subdivide each section into single, double and treble areas. The dartboard featured on The Indoor League television show of the 1970s did not feature a treble section, and according to host Fred Trueman during
2457-402: The darts are thrown to land in a circle target on the ground. The darts are similar to the ancient Roman thrown weapon plumbata . For a brand named Jarts, the darts weighed about 1/4 pound, were 12 inches long, and had a pointed tip, the better to stick into the ground. On December 19, 1988, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission introduced an outright ban on metal-tipped lawn darts in
2520-452: The feat. Three 167s (T20-T19-Bull) is considered a pure or perfect nine-dart finish by some players. There are several regional variations on the standard rules and scoring systems. American darts is a regional U.S. variant of the game (most U.S. dart players play the traditional games described above). This style of dartboard is most often found in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and parts of New York state. Beer darts
2583-413: The final dart landing in either the bullseye or a double segment to win. Not all three darts need to be thrown on the final turn; the game can be finished on any of the three darts. When two teams play, the starting score is sometimes increased to 701 or even 1001; the rules remain the same. A throw that reduces a player's score below zero, to exactly one, or to zero but not ending with a double or bullseye
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2646-633: The final, where he lost to John Lowe. The same year he again reached the WDF Europe Team Cup Final. Paired with Alistair Forrester the Scots lost out in the final to the Swedish pair of Stefan Lord and Bjørn Enqvist . In the singles event of that year's tournament he reached the semi-final. In 1981 captaining Jocky Wilson and Angus Ross for Scotland, Smith won the 1981 BDO Nations Cup beating Bristow, Lowe and Lazarenko of England in
2709-589: The final. Each Scot won their leg against Lazarenko. Smith also defeated Lowe and Wilson beat Bristow for a 5–4 win. Dave Lanning commentating described "The indeterminable Rab Smith" as, "A fine, fluid player on his day" and "a dapper little character, there's a lot said about the big gross darts players but Rab presents a very neat, clean cut image." Lowe beat Smith 2–1 in the News of the World Individual Darts Championship semi final at
2772-431: The first episode, this is the traditional Yorkshire board. Various games are played using the standard dartboard. However, in the official game, any dart landing inside the outer wire scores as follows: The highest score possible with three darts is 180, commonly known as a "ton 80" (100 points is called a ton), obtained when all three darts land in the triple 20. In the televised game, the referee frequently announces
2835-553: The first round, before losing to Nicky Virachkul in the second round. He then suffered two successive first round exits firstly to fellow Scot and that year's winner, Jocky Wilson in 1982. In 1983 he was eliminated by Australian Kevin White . By 1983 Smith by his own admission had 'had enough'. "The kids were young and I was never at home; sometimes being away six days a week. I didn't want to lose my family life so I gave up." When asked if he had regrets from giving up professional darts at
2898-498: The inner as 50. Dartball is a darts game based on the sport of baseball . It is played on a diamond-shaped board and has similar scoring to baseball. Dart golf is a darts game based on the sport of golf and is regulated by the World Dolf Federation (WDFF). It is played on both special golf dartboards and traditional dartboards. Scoring is similar to golf. This is a regional variant still played in some parts of
2961-408: The kite, and the smaller pear shape. The less surface area, the less stability but larger flights hamper close grouping. Some manufacturers have sought to solve this by making a flight long and thin but this, in turn, creates other problems such as changing the dart's centre of gravity. Generally speaking, a heavier dart will require a larger flight. The choice of barrel, shaft, and flight will depend
3024-409: The last man standing is the target setter whose target was not hit. For less experienced players, doubles and trebles as part of the same number can be counted, i.e. a target of treble 20 can still be counted as a success if the double or single 20 is hit and vice versa. Lawn darts (also called yard darts and garden darts) is an outdoor game, with gameplay and objective similar to horseshoes , in that
3087-558: The major tournament circuit was winning the Scottish Masters in 1976 beating Dave Hill in the final. He became the NDAGB Scottish Champion that same year. 1977 was Smith's best year. He was the NDAGB British Champion playing in the final the north-west's Eric Barlow. Barlow had pulled off the shock of the tournament in beating the then world number one, John Lowe . Smith beat Barlow 2–0. In defending
3150-474: The player's skill decreases, their aim moves slightly up and to the left of the T20. At σ = 16.4 mm the best place to aim jumps to the T19. As the player's skill decreases further, the best place to aim curls into the centre of the board, stopping a bit lower than and to the left of the bullseye at σ = 100 mm. Many games can be played on a dartboard, but the term "darts" generally refers to
3213-421: The points, the barrels, the shafts and the flights. The points come in two common lengths, 32 and 41 mm (1.3 and 1.6 in) and are sometimes knurled or coated to improve players' grip. Others are designed to retract slightly on impact to lessen the chance of the dart bouncing out. The barrels come in a variety of weights and are usually constructed from brass, nickel-silver , or a tungsten alloy. Brass
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#17328025704153276-470: The practice paid off and I beat him." In 1973 his ability as a Dumfries county player was quickly recognised by the newly-founded Scottish Darts Association (SDA). He debuted for Scotland in the 1973 Home Internationals. Smith continued to represent Scotland until he gave up professional darts in the early 1980s. He succeeded George Nicol to captain Scotland for five of those years. Smith's breakthrough on
3339-422: The quarter-finals to Sweden's Stefan Lord. In 1979, Smith beat United States's Conrad Daniels in the first round and then avenged his defeat of Lord in the previous year by beating him in the second round, he went on to bow out in the quarter-final once more, losing to then-reigning champion Leighton Rees of Wales . Smith suffered a first round exit in 1980, lost to Tony Sontag . In 1981, he beat Wayne Lock in
3402-496: The rotational symmetry by placing the "20" at the top, there are 19 factorial , or 121,645,100,408,832,000 possible dartboards. Many different layouts would penalise a player more than the current setup; however, the current setup actually does the job rather efficiently. There have been several mathematical papers published that consider the "optimal" dartboard. Before World War I, pubs in the United Kingdom had dartboards made from solid blocks of wood, usually elm. But darts pocked
3465-433: The standard board in that they have no triple, only double and bullseye. The Manchester board is smaller than the standard, with a playing area of only 25 cm (9.8 in) across, with double and bull areas measuring just 4 mm (0.16 in). The London Fives board is another variation, with only 12 equal segments, with the doubles and triples being a quarter of an inch (6.35 mm) wide. Mathematically, removing
3528-414: The surface of elm such that it was common for a hole to develop around the treble twenty. The other problem was that elm wood needed periodic soaking to keep the wood soft. In 1935, chemist Ted Leggatt and pub owner Frank Dabbs began using the century plant , a type of agave, to make dartboards. Small bundles of sisal fibres of the same length were bundled together. The bundles were then compressed into
3591-457: The target counts as one mark, while hits in the doubles ring of the target count as two marks in one throw, and on the triples ring as three. Once opened in this manner, until the opponent closes that number with three marks on it of their own, each additional hit by the owner/opener scores points equal to the number of the target (which may also be doubled and tripled, e.g. a triple-20 is worth 60 points). The outer bullseye counts as 25 points and
3654-584: The third WDF World Cup darts tournament in 1979 and won the singles title. In 1980 he reached the semi-finals of the Winmau World Masters . He also won the 1978 Windy City Open, the 1982 North American Open and the 1983 Dallas Open. Nicky Virachkul was inducted into the National Darts Hall of Fame in 1996. Suffering from cancer, Virachkul died in 1999 at the age of 50. This American biographical article related to darts
3717-406: The weight towards the rear causing the dart to tilt backwards during flight, requiring a harder, faster throw. The flight stabilizes the dart by producing drag , thus preventing the rear of the dart from overtaking the point. Modern flights are generally made from plastic, nylon, or foil and are available in a range of shapes and sizes. The three most common shapes in order of size are the standard,
3780-541: The world rankings in early 1978 Smith placed at four. If he had just one more major tournament win in 1977 he would have been ranked at number one. In 1978 he represented Scotland as his team were WDF Europe Cup Team Winners. In 1979 he was third in the British Pentathlon when John Lowe beat Eric Bristow in the final. Smith reached the final of the 1980 Winmau World Masters , beating Cliff Lazarenko , Canadian Bob Sinnaeve and USA's Nicky Virachkul to reach
3843-480: Was born in the Dumfriesshire village of Moniaive . He is the only son of Robert (a dairyman ) and Kathleen Smith, and has a sister also named Kathleen. From finishing schooling at Wallace Hall in 1963 he worked in forestry. Darts writer Derek Brown in 1981 described Smith as "only 5ft 7in (1.70m) and is wiry with a muscular build one might expect of a woodcutter." Smith changed his line of work in 1993 to be
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#17328025704153906-526: Was nevertheless a surprise when he defeated the defending World Champion, Keith Deller , in the first round of the 1984 World Championship . Deller had his revenge in the first round the following year. The 1985 championship was Virachkul's last appearance in the final stages. Despite competing in the first eight World Championships, he never again qualified after the tournament moved to the Lakeside Country Club in 1986. Virachkul competed in
3969-421: Was supported in his case by the best darts player in the region, William 'Bigfoot' Anakin. A dartboard was hung in the court and Anakin proved that darts was not a game of chance by hitting three double 20s in a row. The original target in the game is likely to have been a section of a tree trunk, its circular shape and concentric rings giving rise to the standard dartboard pattern in use today. An older name for
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