Darts purists can climb down off their ceilings after Paddy Power revealed the ‘green treble 20’ for the World Championships to be a hoax for a brilliant cause called the ‘The Big 180’ campaign.
World Championship sponsors Paddy Power left the darting world in hysterics earlier this week as they claimed they would be turning the treble 20 from red to green to match the colours of the bookmakers.
Several darts players put their support behind the move including Australian Simon Whitlock, who tweeted: “About time – I have been saying this for years – green is by far the best colour – why can’t we have the single 20 changed to yellow."
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Former Premier League winner Jonny Clayton also reacted to the original stunt, saying: "Hmm, it’s not quite Wales red. Best get my board turned and start practising with a green treble, unless someone can lend me a green felt tip?”
However, Paddy Power have now revealed that the green T20 was just a stunt and instead will be donating £1000 to charity ProstateUK for every 180 scored in the tournament – which last year would’ve seen a donation of £901,000 from the 901 180s last year.
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The bookmaker revealed their plan on Wednesday morning in a video on social media. The video began by mocking fans who reacted to the ‘green treble 20’ news in a short video before admitting they weren’t being serious about the stunt, saying: “We respect the heritage of darts and know that the dartboard is as sacred as dressing up as a traffic cone and having a pint with your mates at Ally Pally.”
The World Championship gets underway on Friday, December 15, and sees defending champ Michael Smith in action on night one as he plays the winner of round one tie between Kevin Doets and Stowe Buntz. Whitlock is also in action on night one against Paolo Nebrida.
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