2012 BDO World Darts Championship Preview

Frimley Green’s famous Lakeside venue will play host to the 27th BDO World Darts Championship in January 2012 as defending champion Martin ‘Wolfy’ Adams seeks to complete a consecutive hat-trick of triumphs and a fourth overall win at the traditional home of darts.

After many of the world’s best players followed the breakaway of the sport to the PDC organisation and Sky Sports a number of years ago, the BDO was left with a much reduced quota of top class participants and media coverage.

Nevertheless, after retaining its core fan-base and working class characteristics, the BDO World Darts Championship still very much remains a significant part of the sport as a whole, despite its lack of financial power and backing.

Indeed, Martin Adams has become the real stalwart of the BDO after persistently refusing to compete in the PDC alongside players who were perceived to be motivated by glamour, excess television coverage and financial gain.

Many have questioned whether Adams, as the BDO’s consistently best player, is scared of laying his neck on the line amongst the top quality players of the PDC, however this is a notion which he has frequently played down, insisting that he merely believes in tradition and staying loyal to the organisation which first made darts a household sport during the 1970’s.

Despite now being fairly ripe at the age of 55, Adams will be a firm favourite to mop up the trophy once more in the New Year and the long format of the tournament is definitely a feature which directly suits his prolific average and strong, general match play.

Throughout the years, Adams has struck up intense rivalries with a number of players – and one of those, Ted ‘The Count’ Hankey, will be back at the Lakeside to try and regain the crown which he finally managed to win in 2009.

Regarded by the majority of BDO followers as Adams’s closest challenger, Hankey is a real crowd pleaser and loves to play the enemy in order to spice up the occasion. When on a roll, Hankey can be almost unstoppable and Adams may well have to whether his storm if he is to go all the way.

Hankey does however lack the consistency of other players on the circuit and the likes of Tony O’Shea and Dean Winstanley may hold the best chance of being able to oust the Wolf when push comes to shove.

Although in general the BDO World Darts Championship is of a slightly lower standard than the PDC equivalent, at least half of the field will be full of quality and this is demonstrated by the perennially open betting market which surrounds the event.

Considering Adams’s dominance at the Lakeside over the past two years, his odds of around 4/1 certainly look appealing as he is almost guaranteed to reach the latter stages at least, even if he does not perform to his very best.

The aforementioned candidates can also harbour reasonable chances of success, as can Stephen Bunting and Stuart Kellett who should also go well.

As well as showcasing a clash of the real old titans, the BDO World Darts Championship may also unearth a star of the future as well as potential movers to the lucrative PDC.

Many will be hoping however that the championship can continue to thrill and stay on its own two feet in order to maintain a solid alternative to the feast of Sky Sports darts.

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12/12/2011     © Frixo 2024