Review of 'The Legends of Darts Masters 2017'

legends_of_darts.jpg https://www.shownights.com/events/legends-of-dartsmasters-2017/

A demonstration darts show featuring some famous faces from the world of darts - Both retired who are also occasionally to be found playing in tournaments. Staged at the Indigo at the O2, this was a rowdy night of darts…and loads of drinking. It was an unusual night and not something I would not be interested in attending again not only because of the excessive drinking but also because it really was not a great display of darts.

The evening began with a welcome by a performer who then went onto singing several rat-pack songs to a recorded soundtrack. He introduced our offensive MC for the evening, Sean Casey-Poole who proceeded to slag off the singer then proceeded to attack the audience and dart players. I am sure some would find him amusing but I think he very quickly lost the respect or interest of those in the crowd (I just ended up tuning him out whenever he was on the stage).

The darts themselves were formed of five initial single leg matches where two famous dart players were teamed up with two people from the crowd (raffle tickets were on sale where the prize was either a signed dart board or the opportunity of playing with the dart players on the stage) with the two professionals then going on to play a best of 5 leg match. The winners of the matches went through the semi-finals (also 5 leg matches) then the final. In the initial set of matches we were also treated to a match of the Ten times Champion of the World Trina “Golden Girl” Gulliver MBE and another from the lady's tour. Of course there were the obligatory raucous music introductions to the players as they made their way to the stage from the the back of the stalls - Stopping to shake hands, get their picture taken and the occasional kiss. On the stage four ladies dressed in short dresses gyrated as the players entered (yes, it was that sort of event). There was also the unwanted comments from the MC throughout.

The quality of the darts was good but not great with the players obviously finding it difficult to get into any sort of rhythm and, frankly, there is not much of a reward at stake. Bobby “The King of Bling” George made an impressive entrance but ended up going out in the first round and was in obvious pain while playing. He left the auditorium quickly after his match, refusing to pose for pictures as requested by the organisers. His opponent 2004 World Champion Andy “The Viking” Fordham fared a bit better and made it through the semi-finals. Also appearing was Winner Wayne “Hawaii 501” Mardle, Tony “The SilverBack” O’Shea, Current 2016 World Darts Trophy Champion Darryl “The Dazzler’ Fitton, 2015 World Champion Scott “Scotty Dog” Mitchell, and Deta “The Dark Destroyer” Hedman.

The show evidently ended with a Freddie Mercury tribute act but we left just before the final darts match as it was 11:00 pm with the last (tube) transport at about midnight, never minding the fact that at this point the stage was invaded by a drunk man trying to play a game of darts and the fact that several groups in the audience were spending the time shouting and being similarly disruptive. It was turning into a farce and what with the offensive MC we had had enough.

A shame, we like the darts. Thankfully we had not paid much for the tickets.

Rating: “A slight glimmer of hope, but mostly awful”

Review Date: 2017-01-28



Indigo at the O2

Location: London (England)

Address: The O2, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX ENGLAND

Public Transport: TUBE North Greenwich

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8463 2000

URL: http://www.theo2.co.uk/do-more-at-the-o2/indigo-at-the-o2

Indigo is the much smaller cousin of the nearby O2 arena and is known for putting on smaller shows in it's theatre. There is a small stalls area and a single balcony that is accessed by a large number of stars (or lift). Both have a large bar at the back. The theatre is looking a bit warn but has reasonable acoustics and good visibly throughout…it is not large enough to be a problem.