It seems that with each passing year, the enjoyment the public get from watching the PDC World Darts Championship only increases.
Not only do the die hard darts fans enjoy watching the tournament on Sky Sports, but huge numbers of more casual observers of the sport make it a large part of their festive period. The amount of viewers in that latter group seems to be on the rise all the time.
There are a number of reasons for that. The sport seems to get more publicity with each passing year, while the quality of the production on Sky Sports has increased dramatically over the last decade or so.
Couple that with the standard of play on show increasing on a yearly basis, and all of a sudden moments like this are likely to become a more regular occurrence on the big stage.
The greatest leg of darts ever 🎯
Michael van Gerwen
60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️
60✔️ 60✔️ 57✔️
60✔️ 60✔️ D12 X
Michael Smith
60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️
60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️
60✔️ 57 ✔️ D12 ✔️ #9Darter pic.twitter.com/lIHBwLZWVM— Francis Keogh (@HonestFrank) January 3, 2023
That piece of commentary from Wayne Mardle has gone down in the history books. Of course, even the best commentators need a helping hand now and then.
READ HERE: Keane Barry Overcomes Painful Slow Play Tactics To Seal Van Gerwen Battle
TV mics pick up Wayne Mardle moment on Sky Sports broadcast
Once one of the most popular players on the PDC Tour, Wayne Mardle's transition to broadcaster has been a seamless one. He is a brilliant commentator and also offers quite a bit of insight to the viewing public both during and after games.
He also needs a bit of guidance at times.
During the Sky Sports broadcast of last night's evening session at the World Championships, Mardle could be heard saying that he had been received some information that he was going to broadcast
It came during the second set of Fallon Sherrock's match against Jermaine Wattimena. In the clip, Wayne Mardle can be heard telling someone "I have just been told by Dave Allen. I'm going to get that in in a minute"
Dave Allen is the name of the head of media with PDC, thought it is unclear exactly what information he has received or what he is planning to discuss.
Mardle would later explain in the next set that Wattimena has the name of his friend Toon Greebe - a Dutch darts player who sadly passed away recently - on the back of his shirt. Some online commenters feel that this is the information that Mardle was discussing.
It's hardly uncommon for a media manager to pass on information during a live broadcast, but this is an interesting insight into what goes on behind the scenes during the broadcast for this tournament.
Wayne Mardle may make it seems like everything is off the cuff, but there is no doubt that a huge amount of work goes into making it as polished as possible.
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