Welsh electrician to throw for £180,000 on World Darts Championship final stage

A Welsh electrician will take to the stage at the World Darts Championship final tomorrow (Saturday 3 January) t0 throw for a chance to win £180,000.

Curtis Griffiths, 27, from Wrexham will step up to oche at Alexandra Palace, London, to see if he can hold his nerve and score at least 180 from nine darts.

Having picked up his first set of darts aged 12, Curtis will start the year £180,000 better off if he manages the feat in front of the Ally Pally crowd before the finalists take the stage.

The electrician and avid darts fan was selected at random from almost thirty thousand entrants to Darts of Destiny – the first-of-its-kind fundraising sporting challenge, organised by tournament sponsor Paddy Power.

To set him up for success, Curtis will receive the full World Darts Championship treatment, announced by master of ceremonies John McDonald as he walks on stage in front of the 3,000-strong crowd.

Curtis will also be cheered on by his friends and teammates at Gresford Colliery Sports & Social Club in Wrexham where he plays his darts.

With no need to check-out on a double, and no possibility of busting, he just needs to score 180 or more from a maximum of nine darts.

Curtis says: “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.”

Curtis was offered the chance to throw as part of the Darts of Destiny initiative, after donating to Prostate Cancer UK.

Paddy Power, who sponsor the event, wrote: “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.”

Darts of Destiny has raised more than £123,000 for Prostate Cancer UK during the darts championship.

Additionally The Even Bigger 180 campaign, which sees the bookmaker donate £1,000 for every 180 hit during the championship, has raised over £1 million so far. This year’s total is a record for the tournament.

The Professional Darts Corporation and Sky Sports have also joined Prostate Cancer UK as partners for the fundraising initiative, which also calls on those with prostates to visit Prostate Cancer UK’s online risk checker.

More than 130,000 people of the 180,000 total aim have checked their risk so far, and taken a potentially life saving step in the early detection of the disease.