Saudi Masters Tipped to Offer Never-Before-Seen 'Golden' Prize For Rarest Shot in Darts
The Saudi Arabia Darts Masters will take place in Riyadh this month.
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Topics: Saudi Arabia, Darts
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Saudi Arabia, Darts
The Saudi Arabia Masters has been tipped to introduce a never-before-seen prize after Turki Al-Sheikh said he wanted to introduce a "crazy concept" to the sport.
Back in October, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) announced it would stage its first competition in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from January 19-20, with Riyadh playing host at the Global Theater in Boulevard City.
Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority and a man who previously created the 20-point “Golden Ball” in snooker, was excited by the prospect of bringing darts to Riyadh Season.
Speaking on the Netflix series Matchroom: The Greatest Showman, Al-Sheikh mentioned the ever-growing sport as he joined Barry Hearn and his son Eddie at the Chris Eubank Jr Vs Connor Benn fight in April.
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"I said to him [Eddie]: ‘We want the snooker and the darts'," said Al-Sheikh. "I want to do the darts, but I want to do it crazy way. Crazy concept, yeah? Crazy play, something.”
So what could the "crazy" concept be? Former darts player Paul Richardson has made some interesting suggestions in his latest column for Sporting Life, including a rare "perfect nine darter" for a million pounds and a "golden bullseye" checkout.
The 2010 Players Championship winner spoke in depth about his ideas.
"The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship offered a £745,000 bonus if a player potted a 'golden ball' worth 20 points after a maximum 147 break to complete a historic 167 clearance and although it wasn't ever achieved, it got everyone talking.
"Now darts fans and players are wondering what 'crazy concept' Turki Alalshikh is going to come up with to bring to the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters in January. I will be astonished if it's a standard Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core on the wall. I'd be amazed.
"There will be some sort of carrot there for players to unlock a big bonus, just like the golden ball in snooker. It's just the way they do things and we should embrace that.
"After all, it's just for one World Series event and because it's obviously not ranked, it's an ideal opportunity to try something very different that darts fans and players have never seen before."
Richardson continued: "One idea would be making the bullseye gold and if you hit a 170 finish to win the match you get a huge bonus. Or if you hit a three 'golden' bullseye 150 checkout to win the match - that kind of thing.
"In this scenario it would be interesting if a player is on, for example, 181 in a deciding leg, will they simply score 11 to give themselves a shot at the bonus in the next visit or just try and win the match as simply as possible?!
"I personally think the most realistic opportunity here is for a 'perfect' nine darter for a million pounds - 167, 167, 167.
"It's never been done before in professional competition and nobody ever really attempts it but if a bonus was on the table, you'd get a lot of players at least trying to open up a leg with a 167. If they get it then they'll try and continue with it. If they don't get it, they'll just play darts normally."
As mentioned above, the Riyadh Season Snooker event in December offered a $1 million (£745,000) bonus if a player potted a golden ball after a maximum 147 break, for a 167 clearance. Will there be a similar concept for this month's darts tournament? We will have to wait and see.