As darts grows in popularity, is crowd behaviour getting out of hand? skysports.com investigates.
Are darts fans failing to follow etiquette?
In the last few years, darts has emerged as one of the hottest tickets in sport.
Over the course of the 13 days of the World Championship, more than 35,000 people are expected to descend on Alexandra Palace to see the world's best darts players in action.
And the annual Premier League tournament has emerged as the nation's biggest indoor sporting event, selling out arenas across the country that are more typically reserved for world-famous pop and rock stars.
But has the increasing numbers of spectators attending darts necessarily been a good thing for the sport? Every darts player wants to play in front of big audiences, but has crowd behaviour declined as a result?
You're hardly likely to get the hushed reverence of a snooker match at a darts event, and the players we spoke to would not want that, but do supporters need to show more respect at important moments?
Players such as Alan Tabern and Adrian Lewis have asked crowds to show more respect during the World Championship as supporters refused to keep quiet when the players were throwing.
And world number three James Wade told
skysports.com that his match against Terry Jenkins at November's Grand Slam was "taken out of my hands" by a crowd that would not keep quiet when he was preparing to throw.
He said: "I've never experienced anything like that. That was a different level.
The game was taken out of my hands. It wasn't up to me who won that game, it was up to the crowd.
"They wouldn't shut up for five minutes and let me get on with it, not at all. But what can you do?"
But was that an isolated incident or are the crowds becoming a bit too unruly these days?
Wade admits the enjoyment of the fans is integral to the sport and the players carry a responsibility to cope with crowd noise.
He said: "They can get out of hand, but they're there to enjoy themselves and if a player can't get on with that then that's our fault and our problem.
"If you don't let people enjoy themselves then you're not going to draw as many people in. So you're in a no-win situation."
Atmosphere
Former world champion Dennis Priestley believes the success of darts in the last decade has been built on the fact crowds enjoy the atmosphere in the arenas.
But he says some spectators behave like "idiots" and spoil things for the players.
"The crowds come because of the atmosphere," Prisetley said.
"They enjoy it and we let them enjoy it. Sometimes it can be a little bit naughty. Every crowd differs from day to day obviously.
"You'll get some idiots who'll shout or people who've had a bet on the other person and they'll shout as you're going for a double.
"That's unfortunate and that's the sort of thing we've got to eliminate."
And Priestley admits that one of the problems is that some spectators do not turn up to watch the darts at all.
He added: "When you get a crowd of this magnitude, they're not all here because they're darts lovers. They're here for the atmosphere, they're coming to enjoy themselves.
"We're a product what they want to see, it's entertainment."
Both sides
The PDC's Master of Ceremonies John McDonald can see both sides of the argument and says he has witnessed some impeccable behaviour from huge crowds.
And he insists most darts fans respect the players at key moments.
"It's always a very fine line," McDonald said.
"I think most of the people who come to watch the darts appreciate there's a time to scream and shout and a time to be quiet.
"I've seen some of the rowdiest audiences packed with 9,000 people in the Premier League and you could have heard a pin drop when the players fire off the final shot."
But do some of the sport's new followers not understand when to cheer and when to keep quiet? Does the PDC need to take steps to improve the behaviour of fans? Are more announcements and literature on the subject necessary?
McDonald doesn't think so. He says the PDC's security guards do a good job - and most of the time the supporters themselves will keep a lid on inappropriate behaviour.
"Those that haven't been with us before do need educating," McDonald continued.
"There is a protocol, an etiquette and rules they need to obey - and one of the big ones is the booing and the whistling when somebody is about to throw. That's probably the worst crime you can commit.
"But you've got to expect a little bit and we police it well with good security and good stewards that work with us.
"But they normally police it themselves, they're pretty good the crowds."
What do you think? Is crowd behaviour a problem in darts? Or do you think rowdy behaviour it a part of the sport's popularity and the players should just get on with it?
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