Alexandra Palace in London
Despite numerous corona failures: Darts World Cup will not be canceled
The number one in the world rankings, Gerwyn Price, is for a postponement of the Darts World Cup
© Luke Walker / Getty Images
The PDC Association wants to finish the Darts World Cup in London’s Alexandra Palace in front of full spectators as planned. Some top players had previously expressed doubts.
Top stars such as world champion Gerwyn Price or ex-champion Gary Anderson call for the World Cup to be terminated prematurely, Michael van Gerwen, who was stopped by a positive corona test, relentlessly uncovers the shortcomings of the hygiene concept that has already collapsed: The World Darts Federation PDC is after the violent one Corona turbulence in its most severe crisis and now has to deal with a topic that is not about sport, shows and great entertainment. But actually the question of whether this tournament, endowed with just under three million euros, can end as planned with the planned final on January 3rd.
The (preliminary) answer is: This is how it should be. “The tournament will continue as planned in front of full spectators, as approved by the British government, until its end on January 3rd,” the “Bild” newspaper quoted the world association as saying on Thursday afternoon. But serious doubts remain.
Darts World Cup: The hygiene concept was massively denounced
“The tournament should be postponed,” Price had requested via Instagram. While this is probably not the best option, “it is an option that I would agree with”. On Wednesday evening, the Scottish veteran Anderson followed suit after he turned a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 against England’s Ian White. “That’s not right for me. There will be so much mess in the world rankings in the next few months,” commented “The Flying Scotsman”.
The PDC – more a company than an association – symbolically closes its eyes and hopes to be able to pull through the rest of the World Cup despite the great chaos and increasingly violent criticism. The fact that the stars of the scene are now also speaking out and turning against the prize funder is an unusual feeling for the world association. More than the calls for an interruption, the PDC hit the fierce words of the retired van Gerwen, who massively denounced the hygiene concept.
“The PDC will always say that they followed the rules of the government, but they could have done more. The controls weren’t strong enough. It’s just a big corona bomb now,” the three-time world champion told the Dutch portal “AD Sportwereld”. With that van Gerwen definitely has one point: the creators acted with their concepts lawfully and on the basis of the minimum standards set by the British government.
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Sky Sport is pulling along with organizers
A really strict hygiene concept, like at other international sporting events, was searched in vain. If you hear that players initially did not need any further tests before their respective matches after entering the country, this is more reminiscent of a district event that could no longer find enough capacity for regular testing at the local pharmacy. According to information from “ntv”, self-tests without supervision were sufficient. There was no so-called bubble, according to which contact with the outside world is prohibited. This is standard in other sports.
At the World Cup, van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld, Vincent van der Voort (all Netherlands) and the Englishman Dave Chisnall had tested positive for the virus since Christmas. Danny Noppert (also from the Netherlands) also reported a positive test, but was previously eliminated. Three game failures were the result. The PDC only communicated what was absolutely necessary. Further measures? Nothing. From then on, a few players came on stage wearing masks, but this was not a requirement or even an obligation.
What’s next “The PDC has no plans to change its Covid protocols for the rest of the tournament,” the association told the “Bild”. The sporting spectacle with the world-class duel between England’s Michael Smith and Jonny Clayton from Wales (4: 3) on Wednesday helped the organizers to get some other darts headlines. It is remarkable how the broadcasting stations such as Sky Sports pull along on this line and always put the sport above the turbulence. Even if there are no more cases and a smooth final week, the damage to the image will remain great.
