Two-time world darts champion Gary Anderson has described the dartboards used at PDC events as “absolutely rank”.
Manufacturer Winmau continued a long association with the PDC in January when agreeing a new 10-year extension, marking the announcement that the new Blade X dartboard would be used on the main stage.
However, following Scotland’s 8-0 demolition of Norway in the last 16 of the World Cup of Darts on Saturday, Anderson did not hold back when asked why he reverted back to black points on his darts compared to the previous golden variation.
“I’ve had to because the boards are absolutely rank,” the world number 11 said. “They are the worst dartboards ever. Don’t quote me on it, you ask anyone on the circuit that’s playing, even ask the PDC, even ask that manufacturer, they will tell you the boards are absolutely shocking.
“The darts go in, they’re going in straight. I had to go to black points just to get a bit of an angle on the points. It’s supposed to (help), but they’re still going in a bit straight.
“We’ve been at it for months. We’ve been talking about it. Not a player on the circuit is happy with these boards and nothing is getting done about it, so that’s why I’ve gone to the black points.”
Anderson partnered Cameron Menzies in the World Cup and the two got their campaign off by thrashing Norway 8-0. They then beat Ireland 8-5 in the quarter-final before eventual winners Luke Littler and Luke Humphries beat them 8-3 in the semi-final for England.
Germany's Martin Schindler also vented his anger at the boards as he took a picture of him putting a board in the bin following the hosts' exit.
Winmau responded to Anderson’s claims on Sunday morning. In a statement released to Oche180, the manufacturer said: “We noted Gary’s comments following Scotland’s fantastic performance at the World Cup of Darts.
“Feedback from other players and our partners at the PDC on the performance of the Blade X has been positive.
“Although not connected to Gary’s specific comments, the independent performance data we received from the PDC official statistics partner regarding rejected darts has shown a meaningful reduction across the Premier League season compared to the Blade 6 Triple Core, itself widely regarded as the category benchmark prior to the release of the new Blade X.
“We remain committed to working closely with the PDC and any player to ensure the standard of equipment provided at these fantastic events continues to deliver the highest levels of performance.”
