Alan Soutar Debunks Myth About World Championship Dartboard
Soutar replied to a darts fan on Facebook.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Darts, World Darts Championship
Ryan Smart
Topics: Darts, World Darts Championship
Alan Soutar has debunked a 'myth' about the dartboard in use at the World Darts Championship.
Soutar, a 2022 Grand Slam semi-finalist, reached the second round at Alexandra Palace before being knocked out by Gian van Veen.
Despite the 3-1 defeat to the Dutchman, Soutar averaged a respectable 95, but Van Veen averaged 108.28 in a stunning performance.
The Scot will end the season inside the top 64 for another campaign, and will even move up at least one place in the rankings to No.52 after the World Championship when the two-year Order of Merit is updated.
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On the Ally Pally stage, a new concept has been added to the oche in recent years in the form of two white circles, which are placed parallel to each other in front of where the players stand.
The two lights are in place to cut the shadows from the darts, enabling match scorers to more easily see which segment each dart has been hit into.
Soutar has now revealed that they are the only lights near the dartboard on stage.
On the 'All About Darts' Facebook page, a member asked whether there is a light that surrounds the board at the World Championship.
Target Darts, who are a World Championship sponsor, specifically produce a light that sits above the dartboard, and is available to purchase by members of the public.
There is a similarly-shaped object above the board at Ally Pally - but Soutar has revealed that there is in fact no light in place.
He told the member: "I'll tell you as a player who has been involved in 11 matches on that very stage that there is 'no light' at all on the board.
"Amazing that it looks so good on TV but I promise you that it's really dark and takes a fair bit of getting used to.
"For example I couldn't make out if I'd hit double 8 or double 16 the other night against GVV [Gian van Veen]."