The All Star Series of Darts is no ordinary dart tournament. We take extraordinary measures to ensure we provide the fairest darting competition humanly and technologically possible. This effort makes things more complicated, but we feel the goals we seek demand the detail and integrity we have applied. Every player who wishes to compete in this program, regardless of his or her skill level, can do so with knowledge this system is fair. Should any player not yet have this knowledge, we provide transparency on this site so all may have an opportunity to learn the facts.
The two most important things for dart players to understand about the All Star
Series of Darts:
1,
The all star Series of Darts is the only darting program in the world (that we
know of) where sandbagging and cheating is being effectively addressed to ensure
every part of competition is fair and for all skill levels of players. You
can be confident this series of tournaments is well worth your entry fee and
travel expense.
2,
The tournaments provided in this program are 100% payback PLUS $70,000 in
sponsor added money! Please read more details about both these statements
below.
First, about our efforts to prevent cheating and sandbagging; and how we use
real data to do it:
Data based qualifying and ranking:
Ø
We are the only program to require 100% computerized league stats from every PPD
league player before they are allowed to compete in any of our tournaments.
Ø
There are no made-up hand-written paper league stats here. There is no
taint-able “assigned” or “stated” player ranking either.
Ø
All of our ranking is from real dart match competition data, because all PPD
members are required to provide complete and constant access to all Arachnid
electronic dart machine data from their local dart league competition.
Ø
The
highest skilled players are motivated to perform their best in local league
competition because only the top ranked players from the local league qualify to
compete for the extra sponsored-added event prize money and championship money
in the All Star Series of Darts – the All Star Men’s and Women’s “main” events
and championships.
Ø
Then,
we double that effort against league sandbagging by tracking electronic
tournament data too.
Ø
The 100% payback (and added) tournament prize money is reason enough not to
sandbag at the tournament.
Ø
These steps effectively eliminate any reason to sandbag in league or at our
tournaments. There is simply no reason left to sandbag.
Ø
Following
each tournament:
a)
Each player’s tournament performance is compared to his or her league history or
current best league performance.
b)
If a player performs better at a tournament when compared to their current best
local league or previous league histories, then the tournament data becomes the
player’s ranking statistic for subsequent tournament competition and for a
significant amount of time.
On top of using real data for ranking, we flight competition by skill level,
handicap 4-player team competition, use triple elimination brackets in all
non-main events and we use a point system in the main All Star Series
competition. All these measures ad to making competition fair for everyone
regardless of individual skill.
Flighting
equalizes competition:
Ø
Flighting means to separate a large number of entries into smaller groups (in our
case 32). Separating by skill (or for doubles. Triples and teams; the
combined total skill of all the individuals), making these subgroups more
competitive.
Ø
Flighting is a form of handicapping and it enhances fairness.
Ø
The more flights, the closer the competition becomes within each group and the
fairer it is for everyone involved.
Handicapping equalizes
competition:
Ø
In our 4-person team competition, we flight the teams then handicap each team on
top of that – to make competition even fairer.
Ø
The handicap system we employ ranks all the players within a flight, then reduces
the number of darts the higher skilled players throw in the first round of each
game.
Ø
This approach to handicapping is fairer than having one team give up points or
marks to another because it requires all skill levels of players to perform
their best. A weaker player receives nothing (in the way of points or
marks) free, while a better player remains challenged to make up the differences
with fewer darts in the first round and in the remaining rounds of a game.
Ø
This handicapping measure adds another level of anti-sandbagging to our program
because again, no one can sandbag if they want to win.
Ø
Additionally, this type of handicapping encourages weaker players to work to get
better - because they must make things happen with their darts, no free marks or
points.
Triple
Elimination brackets enhance everyone’s chances and ad value:
Ø
We use TRIPLE elimination brackets in all non-main events to add even more
fairness, added value is a bonus.
Ø
Each leg of the triple elimination bracket contains a different race-to number of
games to keep everyone playing throughout the entire bracket.
Ø
More
games in the race on the winners side minimizes setting around, waiting to
compete, winners getting cold. And ensures whoever wins – is being
progressively challenged, deserving to advance closer; toward the championship
match.
Ø
Triple elimination enhances everyone’s chances of getting to the prize money
because even a team having a slow start or a perceived bad draw in the first
round has a chance to come back and win prize money because they must be beaten
three times before eliminated. Not once, not twice – three times. This ads
a great deal of value for even those unfortunate hard-luck competitors on any
given day. For others it will keep them in the hunt and eventually to prize
money where elsewhere they’d have been out and gone.
Ø
In triple elimination, every single dart of every single game matters immensely.
Unlike in Round robin format where often times a slacker-team, who knows they
have no statistical chance to win the tournament, can cheat the true best team
by giving up late in the going – allowing game wins to an otherwise lesser team,
disappearing altogether (it happens), or giving a late match-win to a lesser
team who is a friend.
All Star Series main events
and Championships, utilize multiple events with a cumulative point system and
partnering, which ads fairness too:
Ø
In addition to all of the other things we do, the All Star Men’s and Women’s main
event competition (only the top ranked male and female players), contains
point-earning features that last through multiple events, throughout an entire
year, ensuring the collective measures described above applied over all the
leagues and events - successfully determine the true champions of the series.
Ø
The
All Star Men and Women’s Main events are partner’s contests where top ranked
half of players are assigned a lower-half-ranked partner at random. This
equalizes the competition, adding more fairness in the competition.
Unmatched fairness in the world of darts:
We believe all these
features combined allow us to unequivocally state; there is no fairer dart
tournament to be found anywhere in the world. Steel-tip or soft-tip, it
does not matter. No one else goes to the trouble of this combination of
things to ensure fairness for every competitor. Not Arachnid’s Bull
Shooter, NDA’s Team Dart, ADA’s Nationals,
ADO, Spectrum/Medalist, various state tournaments and city
championships, in house or other local leagues, or anyone else we know of
anywhere. No offense to any of these organizations, but they simply do not
do all of these things. No one provides a fairer scenario for darting
competition. If you can find anyone that comes even close to these efforts
to provide the fairest competition, please let us know.
Second, about our financial commitment to this concept. This program is
100% payback PLUS $70,000 in sponsor added money!
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The PPD members sponsoring this program are investing in their
dart players and the customer locations we serve by providing $70,000 in added
prize money (in 2010), but that is not all.
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PPD members also anticipate absorbing another $50,000 in
tournament and staffing costs for things such as the hotel/venue, event staffing
wages, employee hotel rooms, pre-event employee wages, web-site, programming,
creation and oversight, legal, insurance, event security, trophies, fuel,
shipping, sound, staging and other event support equipment, machine/equipment
depreciation and much more.
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All of this is in addition to the costs of providing weekly
league services in each local area.
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Unlike every other tournament out there, where the host takes
up to 50% of the player entry fees to pay their costs or generate a profit, your
PPD operator is investing in you and this program. We won’t name all the other
tournaments here but you should know the previous comment pretty much covers any
other tournament you’ve ever attended – nothing comes close.
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In case you are wondering, the coin drop does not cover the
tournament site costs. At best, coin drop might offset about 20% of the various
costs incurred.
In
these tough economic times, we hope you will enjoy the All Star Series of Darts
and spread the word to all your darting friends – that we may continue to do
this and possibly even more to promote the great sport of darts. Thank
you!