Wobbly stages, dodgy dartboards and windy arenas? Wayne Mardle has seen it all
Thursday 28 April 2016 14:46, UK
After Phil 'The Power' Taylor complained about an uneven stage last week at Premier League Darts, we've been pondering the strangest oche occurrences.
Sky Sports' Wayne Mardle has seen every bizarre event possible throughout his own darts career and from the safe haven of the commentary box.
So we asked Wayne about the weirdest...
Uneven stages
Mardle said: There's been many an unsteady stage. I've never known anything poor at the PDC but I remember a BDO event that I played at where the stage was put together by stacking beer crates onto each other, with sheets of hardboard over them.
What could go wrong? Well, I was playing Andy Fordham. The stage became unsteady and started to move apart. There were gaps which created movement. Luckily for me, I defeated Andy and got off!
Every time he walked past me, I literally moved three inches in the air as he moved down. It was nothing to do with Andy's size, it would have happened with anyone! But no, it didn't help!
Dodgy boards
Mardle said: The standard of the boards hasn't been great for a couple of years so, every now and again, the players will moan. And rightfully so.
Dartboards are made from leaves from a plant in South America. They're compacted so tightly that the dart pierces it enough to stick. A poorly-made board isn't compacted, so doesn't grip the dart.
Breezy arenas
Mardle said: We had a famous issue in 2012 when Adrian Lewis played James Wade in a World Championship semi-final. In the second set, the breeze was so bad that they left the stage.
A door was left open, and a door opposite was also open. Apparently, the air was swirling in between. It's remembered as 'Windgate'. As one door shut, another opened...
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