ADC Stroud member Paul Meyer believes “the format and organisation is really gaining a bit of momentum” as he describes the growth of darts in the local area.
Currently, the Vault 11.0 series is well underway with events across the country. The Carlton Club in Stroud is beginning to boast sell-out tournaments every Wednesday and Saturday.
Some weeks have struggled to see every spot taken, with the rapid increase in growth at the same tournament in Gloucester.
“It is brilliant for the club filling it out most weeks now,” Meyer said on the growth of the game. “It is brilliant that they have put more money into it. I think that might be attracting more players as well.
“From a personal level as an organiser, it is good to see more people playing the sport and enjoying themselves, I think that is the main thing about this format (best of three), it is quickfire and it is really enjoyable.”
The tournaments have seen some incredible averages and brilliant players across the South West, with the likes of former PDC player Terry Jenkins competing. Just a fortnight ago, Josh McCarthy posted a 109.98 average in the final of the Stroud event.
“The good players are always out there, I think more of them week by week are coming through, they are starting to see what the Vault and the ADC are about as a whole and they are seeing what it leads to.
“There is so much on offer that the best players are seeing this as a real route, if they want to practice for Q-School or whatever else, it is a really good pathway.”
Meyer believes that a lot more younger players are coming through due to Luke Littler’s success at the last two PDC World Darts Championships, he said: “The ‘Luke Littler effect’ has been massive, I think as people who play the game a lot.
“You can see in the last 10 years that at the top level, it is getting more and more popular, I think we have seen a drop-off possibly at the grassroots level.
“There has been a massive surge, especially with the youngsters because they all want to be the next Luke and hopefully that feeds into the ADC and the county system.”
Meyer currently sits 32nd in the South West edition of the Vault, but finished ninth last year. On his campaign so far and personal ambitions, he said: “I have not had a bad start, this current series hasn’t been quite so good.
“I am here for the social side, I am here because I enjoy playing the game, I don’t have any major goals. It is nice to be in the MODUS (Super Series Qualifiers), it is nice to make a bit of money here and there. I think my goal is to keep enjoying it and as an organiser, to keep growing it for the club and the organisation as a whole.”
