Most darts fans agree the PDC European Tour is great, right? This year we are treated to a record-breaking number of events – fifteen in total – including two new nations joining the travelling circus in Poland and Slovakia. Like the Eurovision Song Contest with tungsten and less musical talent.

Whilst all that is further and welcomed expansion, the Euro Tour is still very much leaned towards Germany. Both in terms of events and opportunities. At this point they may as well rename it The Slightly Wider Than Germany Tour Sponsored by Bratwurst.

So this article is two-fold. Highlighting and subsequently questioning why Deutschland gets over a third of the total stops – and they even host the European Championship at the end of it all, because apparently six events wasn’t enough. They basically get the darts equivalent of a child having umpteen goes on the arcade grabber machine while everyone else stands behind clutching two pence and depression instead of a crappy fluffy duck.

Then there’s the other aspect – the countless opportunities afforded to non-tour card holders each year who have half a dozen shots at the bullseye whereas the other nations don’t get remotely close to that figure.

remotely close to that figure.

Let’s start with the fact SIX events are staged in Germany. That’s 40% of the calendar’s tournaments staged in one country. In fact, it used to be even higher than that – closer to 50%. Why?

Well, it’s obviously because the organisation sees that neck of the woods as a prosperous breeding ground for the game. It may also have something to do with lucrative package deals offered – or perhaps some German fella has serious leverage over the PDC Europe boss involving compromising photographs and an Oktoberfest incident nobody wishes to revisit. Just surmising.

Naturally, it’s only fair they get one, even a couple of events there – but 40%? Nah, that ain’t right. Especially when you look at Ireland, who haven’t even got one. They are Europe and not part of the UK yet got diddly squat (that means absolutely fuck all for foreign readers). It’s as preposterous as staging a World Cup in the same country every single year. Oh hang on – they do! Guess where! Don’t answer, it’s rhetorical.

And it’s not like the crowds are universally beloved either. Sure, they turn out in their droves, but quite frankly annoy the shit out of fans watching at home with their incessant whistling. Some matches sound less like professional darts and more like somebody trying to communicate with a distressed dolphin. Ask referee Huw Ware – he doesn’t look thrilled about it half the time.

Then you have the other side of the coin. With the Euro Tour being dominated by German venues, it means amateur players there get six shots at being amongst the quartet of home qualifiers. For those who make it, that’s £2,000 slapped in their hand for starters – and it’s ranked.

Lads from Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Hungary only get one chance to make it into the big league. Yeah fine, most of them are crap, but that’s not the point. How are you going to improve unless you can strut your stuff on the main catwalk? Also rhetorical. Nobody becomes Luke Littler battering Dave from the village pub every Thursday between the meat raffle and karaoke.

Similarly with the PDC World Cup of Darts, players might even think changing national allegiances could benefit them. There are probably hundreds of lads out there who have read Mein Kampf, eaten three schnitzels and own a collection of stupid looking trousers all looking for a route into the qualifiers. Somewhere in Europe there’s definitely a bloke called Barry Smith insisting his grandmother once bought a Volkswagen in 1987.

I’m all for opportunities – but make it balanced. The German lads even get more attempts than anyone else to make it into the PDC World Darts Championship. That’s £15k just for turning up at Ally Pally and attempting not to collapse under the pressure while fancy-dressed lunatics dressed as bananas scream for a Big Fish finish. And yes, once again, it’s ranked. That can have a detrimental effect on languishing tour card holders who are already clinging onto their careers like a bloke dangling from a helicopter in an action film.

So what do we all think? I must stress, this isn’t a knock at German players. Accepted, a percentage of their crowds act like drunken knobheads with annoying whistles and boos, but that’s hardly the players’ fault. This is a criticism of the system itself.

Have a Euro Tour with fifteen events – all in different countries. Fine, if you absolutely have to double up somewhere, that’s understandable. But don’t give one nation nearly half the bloody calendar.