The Goal...

8 rounds of darts in 501 as many of you know is 24 darts. 24 darts is a very good game... a 20.88 point per dart average to be exact. For those not quite as familiar, the game in question in 501 open in/ double out, the most widely played dart game in the world. If you have inevitably seen darts from Europe on TV late at night, it was undoubtedly this game in fact. Basically you count down from 501, starting anywhere on the board you would like (hence the open in), and finishing on zero exactly but must be scored on a double (hence the double out). There in lies the difficulty.

You see, I just returned recently from a dart tournament in Colonial Beach, VA about a week ago where in the first round of the Mens singles I drew a gentlemen by the name of Mike Lagana. Mr. Lagana is in the dart Hall of Fame... Literally. I know this because I was at the "Hall of Fame Tournament" in West Virginia last year when he got inducted. He is also a hell of a nice guy, but that is neither here nor there.

Long story short, ten years ago when I was 23, I would have viewed a draw like this in the first round as a death sentence, now I just see a challenge. Maybe that was my first mistake. It was best of three legs, and he beat me 2-0. But both legs were shot in 18 or fewer darts, the first in 18 exactly, the second on his 17th dart. Both times I was sitting on outs, the first time I was placed exactly on 6, having missed 2 outs myself. And the second leg I was on 40, never getting a look at a double top for the win. Inevitably had I had the chance those would have been very nice 19-24 dart games depending how many darts it took me to double out...but.

As I was saying, 8 rounds/24 darts in 501 is a very good game. Throughout my playing leagues, draws, and tournaments, a lot of my wins have come right around that number 7-8 rounds. And in a lot of ways, that has always been good enough, but not anymore. You see, to really play with the big boys, and by the "big boys" this time, I am referring to the best in the US; you really have to be able to finish a 501 game in about 6 rounds max. Sure you will get an occasional garbage win in major US tournaments chucking 24 dart games, but ultimately, 18 darts is the goal. In my mind, its time. This needs to happen. To give all you novice dart throwers an idea, here is an example of just HOW GOOD even a 24 dart 501 game is!! I shot this tonight.



Now to shave 6 darts off of this. Like I said, sure 24 darts will win me a crap load of local games, and if I do that on League night Ill win way more than I lose. But how about shaving those 6 darts to not make all these 1st and 2nd round loses in tournaments happen? How about NOT driving all over the country to not meet my expectations? The time is now, and the accountability is right here. I hope you all join me on this little quest to document the evolution of my favorite sport to play... English Darts.