The world darts circus - including the incomparable Phil "The Power" Taylor - has landed in Auckland for the weekend's tournament with a promise they will almost certainly be back.
The raucous phenomenon that the old backroom sport of darts has become will make its big splash in Auckland, although Taylor and compatriot Adrian Lewis made a bit of a raid early in the year to Invercargill and Porirua.
Auckland will be hoping it can hang on to this unexpected jewel. With the three-day tournament at the Trusts Arena in West Auckland all but sold out, the Professional Darts Corporation can confidently move ahead with plans to make it a permanent fixture, its chief executive, Matthew Porter, told the Herald.
Taylor, the 55-year-old Englishman with a long and exceptional winning record that has made him a world sports superstar, is the headline act but the field includes the other big names of darts - Holland's world No1 Michael van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade, Stephen Bunting and Peter Wright.
In what one official called "a bit of a travelling circus", more than 60 players, workers and officials arrived on seven different flights yesterday, after the fourth leg of the 2015 Darts Masters series was played in Sydney. They include a staging crew of six, 40 television people and 15 Professional Darts Corporation officials. It is a well practised act that has most of them on the road for about eight months a year, mainly around Britain, for the big tournaments and league events.
