Away from the glitz and
glamour
of
the
World
Championships at Frimley
Green and Alexandra Palace,
a small yet no less passionate
group of darts players are
readying themselves for their
own shot at glory.
The 11th Estonian Open, which
takes place in April, will see
participants
from
numerous
countries converge on the
country’s
capital,
Tallinn,
looking to take this World Darts
Federation (WDF) ranked title.
Estonia may not be known for its
darts but has a very well organised
and committed group of
enthusiasts, whose love
of
darts
has contributed to a steady rise
in the popularity of the sport. It
hasn’t been easy though.
The former Soviet state of Estonia
is tucked away in the North East
corner of Europe, sharing borders
with Russia and Latvia and lying
80km across the Baltic Sea from
the Finnish capital of Helsinki.
For a country with a population
of just over 1.3 million people the
task of engaging large amounts of
people in a sport that has little
national history is always going
to be an uphill struggle, but is
one that current Estonia Darts
Organization (EDO) president
Erki Selling has tackled head on.
Erki took on the role of president
a year ago having seen a lack of
progress and participation under
the previous incumbents reign:
“The organisation had become a
little stagnant and none of the
active players wanted, nor were
they able, to get things moving.
I’d only been playing for two
years at that point but I felt that
I had to help try and push things
forward.”
T h e
EDO was created in 1994 from
two local clubs housed in a bar
in Tallinn. The growth of the
organisation over the last 20
years has been slow as it has
had to compete with much
more established sports such as
basketball and more individual
pursuits such as running and,
more recently, cross-country
skiing. Despite the challenges
and obstacles facing darts in
Estonia, a very dedicated group
of players continue to contribute
towards overcoming them. A
slowly increasing number of pubs
in Tallinn have a board bolted
to their wall and you can find a
tournament or casual get together
on almost any given night of the
week somewhere in the capital.
One of the regular events, the
Hobiliiga, takes place every other
Sunday at Siili Pubi “Hedgehog
Pub”.
Around 20 regulars, including a
number of ex-pats, pay two Euros
to enter and are guaranteed at
least 4 games in the group stages,
before potentially moving into the
knockout stages. The pub has four
boards lined up, and the event
organiser Martin has sets of darts
on hand to rent for newcomers,
with a huge folder of flights, stems
and rings on hand for players to
browse and purchase equipment
for the same price as in UK shops.
Better players can move up to
more competitive leagues and
participation in international