The Calcutta Cricket and Football Club (CCFC) won their third consecutive Royal Darts Carnival title when they beat hosts Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) by the barest of margins. The nail biting final of the Royal Darts Carnival went on to the last set, and had everyone hooked to the action. CCFC Secured the game 3-2 after going 1 down at the start
All photos courtesy Vyana Sports
RCGC put on a brilliant event that had everyone enthralled right through. Curated by Vyana Sports, the Royal Darts Carnival between March 6-9 saw 11 clubs participate, with 180 darts players with the host club putting up two teams. RCGC Reds led by club darts captain Devesh Srivastava, a former India darts player, saw the host side make their first finals. The excitement for the home side as they cleared each leg was clear to see from roars of the audience
Along with the Royal Darts Carnival, which is supported by the Indian Darts Council. RCGC also held the auctions for another Darts Council backed event, the Royal Darts Premier League, that is scheduled to begin on April 2. In a franchise-style format, 16 teams took part in the auction — the highest ever in any club’s franchise darts tournament. A total of 314 players were present making it the single largest gathering of darts players in India
The lead exchanged hands as every player stepped up to take their shot, and the audience cheered for their clubs — CCFC and RCGC — with every winning set. The finals was a true spectacle as members of both clubs wondered what the outcome would be. Eventually cooler heads prevailed with CCFC finishing of the night with a clutch performance to take away the gold once again
Vyana Sports organised the playing arenas as well as the live scoring station, making darts a spectator sport at RCGC. ‘We wanted to bring darts out from the pubs and into an open space, creating a spectacle of it. Last year there were four boards in each play arena but this year we have six each in the Budweiser and Jameson arena allowing more players to take part. There are also four practice boards for the crowd and players to get more engaged into darts,’ said Abhenav Khettry, founder of Vyana Sports
Among the audience were two notable names — 17-year-old Mahi Bosmia, who is currently the No 1 Indian female darts player, and Indian No. 1 ranked men’s darts champion, 14-year-old Aryaveer Chokhani. Bosima and Chokhani were honoured by RCGC captain Gaurav Ghosh for their outstanding achievements in darts at such a young age
While the players kept their focus on the boards, The Grovers rocked the stage and took everyone on a nostalgia trip with covers of legendary songs like ‘Summer of 69’ and ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’. Lead singer Kaustav, along with the band, put up a stellar performance that had the audience confused whether to focus on the darts or the music. All in all, RCGC held a spectacular event that showcased the best of the club’s spirit while also drawing out the beauty of darts as a spectator sport
