Paddy Power continues to make its mark as new sponsor of the PDC World Darts Championship – completing the tournament with a new jumbo piece of hardware.
The Irish bookmaker has taken over from Cazoo as chief partner of the biggest tournament in darts and has already made waves ahead of the December 15 kick-off. But the company will make a more literal splash after debuting the new Ballon d'Art trophy that will be up for grabs at Alexandra Palace.
The gargantuan gong of gold will go to the player who lands the most 180s throughout the tournament. And reigning champion Michael Smith will be among those with his eyes on the prize after beating Michael van Gerwen in the last edition's decider.
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"Football has the Ballon d'Or, so it's only right that darts has the Ballon d'Art," said a Paddy Power spokesperson. "It will be handed to the player who is literally single-handedly responsible for raising the largest sum of money for Prostate Cancer UK during the tournament."
A play on football's 'Ballon d'Or', Paddy Power's nearly four-foot tall totem may not have quite the same elegance as the title Lionel Messi has won a record eight times. That being said, the PDC elite will be no less motivated to become the inaugural Ballon d'Art champion come January 3.
Do you like the look of the new Ballon d'Art trophy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
The trophy has been crafted to help raise awareness about prostate cancer and follows Paddy Power's previous promotional stunt. The company announced it would be changing the board's treble 20 segment from red to green this year, only to confirm that was merely a stunt to mask the real change on offer.
It was then announced Paddy Power plans to donate £1,000 to Prostate Cancer UK for every maximum hit during the 2024 World Championship. And that could equate to a huge figure after Smith and Van Gerwen's final helped raise the number of 180s to a new record of 901 almost 12 months ago.
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Smith, 33, paved the way with 66 maximums scored during the 2023 competition, as well as a nine-dart finish in the final that has gone down in history. And 'Bully Boy' was all in favour of the new kit being introduced as he seeks to top the billing once again.
"We don't need much encouragement when it comes to scoring 180s at the World Championship, but to know each one will trigger a £1,000 donation to Prostate Cancer UK is another fantastic incentive for us," Smith said. "Prostate cancer has never been on my radar, but hearing the disease affects one in eight men is a shocking statistic.
"Men need to be more aware of their risk of prostate cancer, and I include myself in that, as if caught early it's curable."
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