Darts World Champion Gives Brutally Honest View on Saudi Crowd After PDC Event

Former BDO world champion Mark Webster has given a brutally honest verdict on the inaugural staging of the Saudi Arabia Masters in Riyadh.

Luke Littler won the tournament, which was held earlier this month, defeating Michael van Gerwen 8-5 in the final.

The event was part of the PDC's World Series programme, which sees eight PDC representatives take on eight players from either the continent, region or country hosting the tournament in round one of the bracket.

Littler earned £30,000 in prize money out of a total prize pot of £100,000 for his victory.

There was also £74,700 on offer for each nine-darter hit, but there were no nine-darters at the tournament.

In comparison to most other televised darts events, the live crowd in Riyadh was noticeably more muted.

There were jokes on social media levelled at fans clapping after most visits to the board, with significant applause heard when Stephen Bunting hit a score of just 11 in one visit in the first round.

Nathan Aspinall, who reached the quarter-finals, told Darts Now that he felt like 'they [the crowd] wasn't all there of their own accord'.

"As long as people walk away from this week and go, 'I really enjoyed the darts', and it gets good coverage ... then there's no reason why not [we can't play in Saudi]," he added.

The PDC moved quickly to deny claims that some fans were not paid ticket holders, stating to The Telegraph: "As with any new market, the atmosphere and crowd make-up can differ from long-established darts events such as those in the UK and Europe.

"All spectators attended as ticket holders and guests, and we were delighted to see such strong interest in the PDC's debut in Saudi Arabia."

Comparing Saudi to the Bahrain Darts Masters, which had been held the previous week, Webster said: "Yeah, it was a different atmosphere in Saudi Arabia, for sure.

"I think that fact came across on the broadcast, didn't it? It was very subdued, it was very quiet. The walk-ons were a little bit different.

"The players, they've got to adapt. The players did find it strange, they've openly admitted that.

"But that's what happens in the World Series. That's what it's about. You go to these different places, and the set-up, the format is the same, and the crowds react differently. That was definitely something they're not used to.

"The players put on a good tournament. I thought it was a successful tournament, and I thought the players played well.

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"The fact that they've had a debut tournament out there and it's been pretty successful means that they've probably got more in the pipeline.

"I wouldn't like to see major events go out there, if I'm honest. Obviously, if it's going to benefit the players price money-wise, they'll have their say.

"I like the major events where they are, I don't like too much change in that element. Look, I think there's room for more World Series events, but I'm not the one who decides. I wouldn't like to see anything else."