Darts starts set to raise £1m for prostate cancer charity after stunning start to World Darts Championship

A RECORD number of 180s could be thrown at this year’s PDC World Darts Championship.

And that could mean close to £1million being handed out by sponsors Paddy Power to charity.

Reigning champ Michael Smith with the Ballon d’Art

The player to hit the most 180s at the Ally Pally will take home the trophy

In 64 matches across nine days – which covers both the first and second rounds – there have been 443 maximums achieved by the world’s best tungsten tossers.

This is 15 more than the same figure (428) that were thrown at this same stage 12 months ago.

There is every chance the overall mark for the 2024 tournament could eclipse the record 901 180s hit over 16 days during the 2023 event.

Irish bookmakers Paddy Power will donate £1,000 to Prostate Cancer UK every time a player finds three Treble 20s in a row – so that’s £443,000 so far on the line.

It is all part of The Big 180 campaign, which wants to encourage men to use the charity’s 30-second online risk checker tool.

A specially-designed Ballon d’Art will be presented to the person who throws the most 180s come January 3, 2024.

Luke Littler is in the hunt for that honour with 12 so far – more than any other player still involved in the third round.

One in eight men in the UK are diagnosed with Prostate Cancer every year.

The disease, which often has no symptoms in the early stages, is curable if caught on time.

To check your risk for Prostate Cancer UK, visit prostatecanceruk.org/180-risk

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