The fear factor in darts – on the decline!
Whenever a new player enters a sport, whether it is darts, golf or soccer, he has certain aspirations he intends to achieve with the passage of time. Parallel to this, he also has certain icons and role models he pictures in his mind.
For someone entering darts and standing on the oche for the first time, playing against Phil Taylor, James Wade or Gary Anderson is tantamount to having face to face battle with Frankenstein.
Hence getting overwhelmed and influenced by fear frenzy is quite natural.
It is precisely this fear factor that contributes to develop some adverse effects on the performance and potential that a player has the capability to demonstrate.
Talking specifically about darts, there was no doubt a phase of time when trembling hands and perspiring foreheads during the game were something common. However, those times have fizzled off with the passage of time.
Contemporary mainstream of darts and some recent matches reveal that this fearomania is slowly and steadily losing its grip, especially on the new breed of players entering the game.
The most prominent example that can be provided to testify for these instinctive changes in the game was the encounter that took place between Phil Taylor and Dave Chisnall, at Ladbrokes Championship, last year.
Realising the gravity of the event and bearing in mind that it was Taylor’s campaign opening encounter, everyone speculated that it would not be shocking if ‘the power’ would badly thrash his opponent.
However, the results obtained were in completely contradiction to all speculations and expectations.
Instead of watching Chisnall making way towards the exit, it was Taylor saying that he would perform better next time. The tables had turned and so had the results.
According to expert and prominent darts pundit Rod Harrington, Taylor has an old technique of imposing his game all around his opponent.
He added that Taylor keeps on piling pressure, leg by leg, but when going against Chisnall, there was his gut feeling saying that Taylor was meeting an amateur he might not be very comfortable playing against.
Results, when disclosed, turned out to be a scandalising and highly unexpected 4-1 knock out defeat for the people’s champion.
We all understand that the game is a win defeat process. One has to win and the other has to lose, even if it is the 15-time champion.
However, apart from all this, a key benefit extracted from this particular encounter in darts has been the lessening of power packed images of players like Barney, Anderson and Taylor.
This particular match has been instrumental in reversing the reality and proving that even star players of darts can face disqualification in the preliminary rounds of a championship.
Another important deduction that can be made, regarding the diminishing of this fear factor is that it has been the in very nature of darts.
The recent modifications that have taken place in the visage of the game have further encouraged the formation of more equitable grounds in the game.
In this context, it is important to mention that the increasing frequency and occurrence of events in the game have promoted greater interaction between different darts players.
This has played a pivotal role in decreasing this component of fear factor among players.
At an amateur level, when players belonging to this category play with the elite of the sport, it is natural that they will be able to understand the nature and dynamics of their game in a much better way, thus leading to a healthier competition.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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