Paddy Power has revealed a new-look dartboard ahead of the World Darts Championship, as part of its mission to turn the Ally Pally green for the event. The Irish bookmaker has become the new title sponsor of the tournament, which will run from Friday, December 15, and concludes in the new year on Wednesday, January 3.
The boards have been produced by Winmau and will sit at the center of a stage illuminated by a green backdrop. The brand-new dartboard features a green treble 20 rather than the traditional red.
A spokesman for Paddy Power said: “First impressions mean everything and as new sponsors we want to make our mark, but this isn’t just about the fact the Irish are coming. We saw last year’s tournament make headlines all over the world. Hopefully, we can play a small part in making this year’s just that 1% better.”
“And yes – as an Irish brand, the thought of invading an icon of British pub culture and turning the treble 20 green had its own added appeal,” they noted.
The bookmaker says it also backed its decision with research, which has proved that the color green sits at the center of a person’s visual spectrum while red and blue reside at either end of the scale, making them harder to see.
☘️ The Irish are coming to Ally Pally!
🎯 So we’re turning the treble 20 GREEN for the first ever Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
To celebrate, we’re giving away 5 of the new official Winmau matchboards – complete with the new treble 20! 👇
Simply RT this to enter!
18+… pic.twitter.com/tT1TCL1OSx
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) November 27, 2023
Matthew Porter, PDC Chief Executive, commented: “We have always said as an organization that we want to move and evolve with the times. If after 30 years of our World Championship being played on a traditional dartboard, change means improvement for the standard and quality of the sport, and it directly benefits the health of players, then we owe it to them to give it a go.”
“We saw 901 180s struck during last year’s tournament and maybe we’ll break the 1,000 mark this year for the first time ever. It’s great to be working with Paddy Power and we hope the players are as excited about this change as we are,” he added.
Current World Champion Michael Smith, former winners Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price, and ‘Queen of the Palace’ Fallon Sherrock are amongst some of the top players soon to see the new dartboard first-hand.