Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters hits the bullseye with the UAE’s social scene

Some came for the darts, some for the music, some to socialise, while others managed to combine all three at the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters competition.

Michael van Gerwen shakes hands with fans on his way to the stage at the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
Powered by automated translation

DUBAI // Some came for the darts, some for the music, some to socialise, while others managed to combine all three at the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters competition.

The big crowds at the Dubai Tennis Stadium never seemed bored.

It is hot in the open air in late May, and the players made reference to the competitive problems caused by heat and wind.

The fans, though, seemed immune to the weather.

Some wore fancy dress, others painted their faces. Many kept it simple, wearing T-shirts bearing the name of their favourite players.

It was a diverse crowd.

Some fans wore traditional Dutch clothes in support of defending champion Michael van Gerwen or his fellow competitor from the Netherlands, Raymond van Barneveld.

Others waved the Scottish flag or wore kilts.

Gallery: Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters 2015 — quarter-final action in pictures

The crowd was mostly Western, but that did not keep Ahmed Al Khal, a 31-year-old Bahraini, from making the trip to Dubai to see the tournament for the second time in three years.

“I just landed here in Dubai and came here to watch the darts,” he said. “It was my dream to go watch the darts game having known the best players will be playing in Dubai.

“I am also a darts player and as a Bahraini darts player, I also learn from them.”

Bill Fleming, a 76-year-old Scot wearing a kilt, said he has attended all three of the Darts Masters events at Dubai. He said the big event had sparked interest in darts in the UAE.

B“There is progress here,” he said. “We have two super league teams here, one in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi.”

He was there to cheer for compatriot Gary Anderson.

“I met him before he became a world champion,” Fleming said.

Music, food and drink are significant parts of the darts experience in Dubai.

Some fans danced to the competition’s theme song, played during breaks in play: Chase the Sun by the group Planet Funk, an Italian group sometimes described as an “electronic dance musical ensemble”.

Some fans shouted or chanted the names of their favourite players and Van Gerwen seemed to have the most vociferous fans.

A few became part of the entertainment, such as Britain’s Graeme Malcolm, who wore what he described as an “inflatable bull-rider costume”.

He was enjoying his first night at the Darts Masters’ only open-air venue, and he was supporting Van Barneveld, but he was attracted by the competition and the atmosphere.

“The first thing that stood out to me is the darts, and I told my friends, ‘I am going to go see the darts’,” he said. “I don’t care about the rugby. I don’t care about the tennis.

“I am going to see the darts.”

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @NatSportUAE