The Selangor Open Darts Championships got off to a flying start when more than 200 players took part in the opening day of the tournament at the Quayside Mall in Teluk Panglima Garang, Selangor, on Friday ( April 24).
For the first time in the Selangor international dart tournament, juniors and also para athletes were allowed to take part and share the spotlight with the top darters.
"This is a proud day for the organising team. We really wanted to see more youngsters involved in the sport. At the end of the day, they are the future of the sport," said Selangor Darts Association president C. Pathmanathan.
"We are also very happy to include a Para Athletes section this year. And there have been a good number of entries in this section, and it is really an achievement for us."
The much-anticipated event, which is expected to feature top darters from South-East Asia and Malaysia, has also been boosted this year after the organisers of the tournament announced that it also features RM31,370 in prize money.
The Women's Doubles event started the ball rolling tremendously, as many of the matches seen in the competition were closely fought battles. A total of 18 pairs took part in the event.
In the end, the event was won by Gear Up, featuring top Thai darters, Ornong Boonyanit and Acharaphon Singda, who won the title after defeating Semarak Api in the final. For their efforts, the pair picked up RM1,500 for winning the title.
The men's Threesome Team Open event was also another exciting affair. A total of 52 teams took part in the event. This competition had three competitions.
In the Team Bowl event, team Pointer A defeated team Pointer B in the final, while in the Team Silver event, Dojo Blades took home the gold title after they had defeated IRC Silver B side. Dojo Blades took home RM1,500 for their efforts.
In the main competition, the championship title also had many exciting battles that had fans at the venue cheering on the darters in action. At the end of the day, team Go Oden Thunder won the main title with a brilliant and exciting tussle, beating team Highton in the final.
The Go Oden Thunder team, comprising Zulrizan Azdan, Muhd Haikal, and Terry Tan Jun Hao, took home the RM4,000 main prize for their efforts.
For the record, the Selangor Open is also an international Bronze tournament in the World Darts Federation calendar.
