In the electrifying world of professional darts, where precision meets high-stakes drama, a groundbreaking opportunity is set to captivate fans and players alike. Teenage sensation Luke Littler, fresh off his remarkable achievements, along with top rivals like reigning stars Luke Humphries and Gian van Veen, could soon pocket an astonishing nearly £150,000—all for the flawless execution of just ten darts. This historic first-of-its-kind prize is part of a bold new rule introduced at the upcoming Saudi Arabia Darts Masters, promising to elevate the sport’s intensity to unprecedented levels.
The tournament, scheduled for January 19 and 20 in Riyadh, brings together an elite lineup of eight premier players. Joining Littler, Humphries, and World Championship runner-up Van Veen are darts heavyweights Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Stephen Bunting, and Nathan Aspinall. While the overall event boasts a total prize fund of £100,000, with the champion taking home £30,000, it’s the innovative bonus structure that’s stealing the spotlight. Players who achieve a nine-darter—the pinnacle of perfection in a single leg, where 501 points are cleared in the minimum nine throws—will earn a staggering $100,000, equivalent to about £74,500. But the excitement doesn’t stop there: if they can follow it up by nailing the bullseye with a tenth dart, the reward doubles to $200,000, or roughly £149,000. This “Golden Bullseye” incentive marks the largest payout ever offered for such a feat, turning what was already a rare accomplishment into a potential life-changing windfall.
Imagine the tension in the arena: the crowd hushed, the spotlight glaring, as a player lines up those crucial throws. Littler, who has already amassed over £2 million in career earnings at just 18 years old, is no stranger to pressure. His rapid rise from prodigy to powerhouse has redefined what’s possible in darts, and this new rule seems tailor-made for his sharpshooting prowess. Humphries, with his consistent dominance, and the explosive Van Veen, who recently battled through a freak injury in the World Championship final, add layers of intrigue. Van Gerwen’s tactical brilliance, Price’s unyielding grit, Bunting’s steady nerve, and Aspinall’s aggressive style ensure that any one of them could seize this moment, making the event a must-watch showdown.
To appreciate the magnitude, consider what a nine-darter truly entails. It’s the darts equivalent of a 147 break in snooker or a hole-in-one in golf—a flawless sequence that demands unwavering focus. Typically, it starts with back-to-back triple 20s, building toward a high-pressure checkout like a triple 20, triple 19, and double 12. As former World Championship semi-finalist Mark Webster enthused during a broadcast, “If a player hits a nine-darter they will get $100,000. Not bad, is it? Then one single dart at the bullseye, if they can hit that with their next dart, they will receive an extra $100,000. So ten perfect darts is $200,000. If they did that in the first leg, it would be job done.” Webster’s words capture the sheer allure: a quick, skill-based payday that could overshadow the tournament’s main prize.
The odds, however, underscore just how extraordinary this would be. PDC stats analyst Christopher Kempf has crunched the numbers, revealing the slim probabilities. “The probability of a nine-darter is the easiest to calculate because every nine-dart leg is, essentially, the same,” Kempf explained. “Each player is positioned the same distance from the board when throwing, the boards are, with insignificant manufacturing variations, exactly the same, opponents can do nothing to interfere and most perfect legs are completed in the same way: a player attempts to hit seven consecutive treble 20s, a treble 19 and a double 12.” Based on extensive data from 69,888 legs across 60 Players Championship events, where perfection was achieved only 48 times, the odds stand at about 1,456 to 1 per leg—or 2,912 to 1 per player attempt. For the average PDC Tour Card holder, who plays around 850 legs a year, that means a perfect leg might come once every 3.5 years. Yet, in the hands of talents like Littler, who thrives under the lights, those odds feel tantalizingly surmountable.
Gerwyn Price, ever the outspoken competitor, weighed in with a mix of enthusiasm and cheeky ambition. “It would be great. Once you hit the nine-darter, you get an opportunity to win another $100,000 on top, so yeah it would be great,” he said. But Price couldn’t resist drawing a comparison to snooker, adding with a grin, “I’m sure they get a £1m in snooker so I think they need to up it a bit.” His lighthearted jab highlights the growing aspirations within darts, a sport that’s exploding in popularity thanks to global broadcasts and charismatic figures like these players.
This Saudi Arabia Darts Masters isn’t just a standalone event; it’s part of the broader World Series of Darts circuit, which will later touch down in Copenhagen, New York, Auckland, Wollongong, and Amsterdam. The new rule injects fresh adrenaline into the series, rewarding not just victory but moments of sheer brilliance. For fans, it’s a chance to witness history—perhaps Littler etching another chapter in his meteoric story, or a rival stealing the thunder with a perfect ten-dart sequence. As the darts world converges on Riyadh, the stage is set for unforgettable drama, where a single bullseye could rewrite fortunes in an instant.
Beyond the immediate thrill, this innovation signals darts’ evolution into a more lucrative and spectator-friendly arena. With players like Luke Woodhouse coming agonizingly close to nine-darters in recent championships, the anticipation is palpable. Will someone claim the Golden Bullseye? The answer lies in those ten darts, poised to make headlines and mint a new legend in the sport.
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