Over the years, the sport of darts has undergone a massive transformation in terms of image, with players coming from all over the world to match up against the best in front of huge crowds and packed-out arenas.
A Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) event brings with it colour, noise, fantastic action and raucous crowds, with the beer consumption probably being the only thing that matches the game in the past.
Since 2007, Wolverhampton has been the place to go each November for the Grand Slam of Darts, played at the Civic Hall until 2017 and, apart from the Covid-affected 2020 tournament, has made its home at WV Active Aldersley.
The tournament is a unique one, with the 30 male players and two female players having to qualify through winning tournaments, making major finals or qualifying through last-chance events to have a chance to win the Eric Bristow Trophy and £150,000 in prize money, then starting out with three group games before the top two then made it to the knockout stages.
The actual darts thrown on stage is just one part of what makes this tournament so special as each session becomes a party full of costumes worn by families and friends and people who come to enjoy the action, but also to sing songs, dance along to the PDC anthem of “Chase the Sun” by Planet Funk and enjoy food and drink.
I have been lucky to be able to sample this event at both the Civic and at Aldersley and it’s genuinely one of my favourite times of the year as I and a few of my friends pick a day and dress up to enjoy a session of darts.
This year, we decided to go for the first session, which took place on Saturday at 1pm, so I had entered the public ballot to get tickets and, because of demand, we were not able to get a table seat, but had four seats together on the tiered seating at the back of the arena.
We were lucky to get what we got as the session sold out very quickly, but we were there and we decided to dress up as glam rockers, for what reason, I’m not entirely sure, and I ended up looking like a confused golfer with tartan trousers and a cowboy hat.
However, the day came and I and my friends Matt, Neil and Rob got a taxi down to Aldersley and joined the queue, which was full of colour, with costumes ranging from Avengers to cans of beer to Superman to members of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team.
The atmosphere was jovial, with more and more people pouring in from the shuttle buses from Wolverhampton city centre, and after a quick security search, the staff at the door welcomed us in.
Aldersley is, first and foremost, a leisure centre and athletics stadium, but it has a very large sports hall which has become the home of the darts and, as you walk it, you catch the bar to your left, with multiple taps and counters and a queuing system which, honestly, doesn’t take long, no more at a busy time than five minutes to get to the bar.
A pint of Hobgoblin IPA or Carlsberg is £6 a pint, while Kronenbourg and two Sommersby ciders were £7 each, or a jug holding four pints is £24 for the first two or £28 for the premium beers and ciders, as well as a selection of spirits, wines and soft drinks.
All being in our 40s, we actually debated the idea of sitting and drinking a bottle of wine between us, possibly the most middle class thing I’ve ever had a conversation about, but for ease and not having to stand on ceremony, we all bought a jug each.
As well as the bar, there’s also the distraction of the PDC shop, where you can buy the shirts of the players for £60, as well as darts flights, t-shirts, mugs and even a darts hat or cone hat, so something for everyone, as well as the dart board where, if you hit the bullseye, you can win big prizes.
Taking our seats, we watched the mass of humanity as people milled around finding their seats, posing for the TV cameras and beginning the first of the regular chants you’ll hear at PDC events, which is “Stand up if you love the darts” to the tune of “Go West”.
We also had a colourful mix around us, with a group wearing Hawaiian shirts to our right, a very well dressed couple in front of us and a large group of Minions behind us, all with drinks in hand and songs in their hearts.
The PDC know how to put on a show, with the MC John McDonald an expert at getting the crowd going before the SKY TV show started. While we were at the back of the arena, seeing the board and the TV presenters Emma Paton, Laura Turner and former world champion John Part wasn’t difficult as there are four huge screens throughout the arena.
As was warned by John McDonald, the action came thick and fast, with eight matches of first-to-five-legs being played, starting out with Stephen Bunting and Wessel Nijman putting a nervy, but tense opener, Gian van Veen and Josh Rock having a quick fire classic and some big names getting whitewashed in their first group matches.
The darts was, as I’ve said, just one of the many components of the day, with regular singings of “Stand up if you love the darts”, “Boring, boring tables” and “Please don’t take me home” being sung regularly, particularly vociferously by the Minions behind us.
If you can’t have a good time in this sort of atmosphere, you’re really not trying hard enough and all of us were laughing along at the antics around us which, while noisy and just a bit drink-influenced, were good natured and fun.
The action was really good as well, with 180s cheered, a loud cheer, then groan as Gian van Veen just failed to get a nine-dart finish (for those who don’t know darts, it’s so hard to do) and the end of each game marked with singing along to “Chase the Sun” which, even if you’re more quiet and reserved, you can’t help by sing along.
Outside of the action, the food selection was simple fare, with a chicken stall selling wraps, strips and chicken and chips, while the burger stall had a number of different combinations for any taste.
I chose the Spicy One, which was £10 and came with cheese, pepperoni and jalapenos and was very tasty, although when I saw the wraps full of Mediterranean chicken and heaped pitta breads, I almost went back for seconds, although they did cost more at £12 each.
You’re also not at a loss for facilities if you’ve a few beers and need to go (I’m a 42-year-old man, it’s happening a lot more), as there are dozens of toilets available, from Portaloos to stand up urinals.
All in all, I had a great day out and while it’s not necessarily a cheap day out if you want to have a few drinks or buy merchandise, it’s one of those events you save for and just go out to have a good time.
I will heartily recommend going to the Grand Slam of Darts at least once when it comes back to Wolverhampton. Just don’t be thinking you will be able to get “Chase the Sun” out of your head as it will remain there for a very long time.
To find out more and to find tickets for the other sessions during the week, go to the PDC event tickets page.
