The Auckland Darts Masters is in town for the fourth straight year. Every year, the event seems to get more popular, with bigger crowds and more people tuning in to watch.
But when watching the darts live or on TV for the first time, spectators can get confused with the terminology used, so here are some useful expressions you will likely hear over the weekend.
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Check out
This refers to scoring exactly the total required to win the leg. You need a double to win, so if you had 100 left, you could hit a treble 20 and then a double 20 to equal 100 and 'check out'.
Mad house
This term refers to having 'double-one' or having 'one and double-one' left to win a game.
This scenario can drive people crazy because it's almost impossible to get out of the 'madhouse'. Once a player has a score of 'two', the only way out of the game is by hitting a 'double-one' - which can be tricky.
Bullseye (or bull)
The bullseye is the red circle in the centre of the board, worth 50 points.
Nine-darter
A 'nine-darter' occurs when you throw nine perfect darts in the requisite trebles and double to check out from 501. It is considered to be the most significant achievement in the sport, maybe akin to a hat-trick in cricket.
Oche
The oche is the line where a player throws from. It is generally 2.36m from the dartboard.
Marker
This is a dart that lands off target, but close enough to use as a guide.
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Join us at 7pm Sunday for live updates of the Auckland Darts Masters semis and final.
