A darts fan from Wales is set to have a shot at winning an astounding £180,000 at the World Darts Championship final tonight (Saturday night). Curtis Griffiths, a 27-year-old electrician hailing from Wrexham, will be given the extraordinary chance to throw live on stage and potentially bag the massive prize. Griffiths’ moment of glory will unfold in front of thousands of spectators at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship final, held at Alexandra Palace, London.
The passionate darts follower was randomly chosen from nearly 30,000 entrants for the Darts of Destiny – a unique fundraising sporting challenge organised by tournament sponsor Paddy Power. Having first picked up a set of darts at the age of 12, Griffiths could kick off the new year £180,000 wealthier if he manages to keep his cool and score a minimum of 180 from nine darts, just moments before the finalists take to the stage. Fortunately for Curtis, there’s no requirement to check-out on a double, nor can he bust – all he needs is to score 180 or more from a maximum of nine darts.
Griffiths will make his grand entrance into the arena in the same fashion as finalists Luke Littler and Gian van Veen, with his name announced by master of ceremonies John McDonald as he steps onto the stage in front of the 3,000-strong crowd. His friends and teammates from Gresford Colliery Sports and Social Club in Wrexham, where he plays his darts, will also be there to cheer him on.
Griffiths remarked: “I’ve been playing darts since I was 12, but only just got into playing competitively in the last year or so. I’m a bit nervous about the challenge but hopefully I can keep calm and get it done.”
A spokesperson for Paddy Power commented: “Most people can only dream of hitting 180 at Ally Pally – but this year Curtis Griffiths will get the chance to actually do it and walk away £180,000 richer, all thanks to the donation he made to Prostate Cancer UK.
“Everyone at Paddy Power, the 3000-strong Ally Pally crowd and everyone watching on from home will be cheering him on as he steps up to the oche tomorrow night to throw his Darts of Destiny.”
The Darts of Destiny scheme on its own has generated upwards of £123,000 for Prostate Cancer UK, whilst the bookmaker’s ongoing commitment to contribute £1,000 for each 180 scored during the Paddy Power World Darts Championship as part of The Even Bigger 180 initiative has amassed over £1million to date – with this year’s figure already setting a tournament record.
Paddy Power’s The Even Bigger 180 initiative builds upon the enormous success of The Big 180 and The Bigger 180 campaigns during their initial two years of tournament sponsorship, with the Professional Darts Corporation and Sky Sports once again partnering with Prostate Cancer UK for this highly successful fundraising effort.
In addition to the £1,063,000 pledged so far following 1,063 180s in the tournament to date, Paddy Power and Prostate Cancer UK are also urging 180,000 men to utilise Prostate Cancer UK’s online risk checker.
So far during the tournament, over 130,000 men have checked their risk, taking a potentially life-saving step towards early detection of the disease.