FORMER PDC tour card holder Matthew Edgar has revealed that a controversial rule was quietly axed from the World Darts Championship and other major finals.
In previous years, players would not be allowed to wear the same colour shirts during a match.
The lowest-ranked out of the two stars would have to bring an alternate shirt to Ally Pally to avoid a kit clash.
However, that rule has now been changed, meaning shirt colour is irrelevant in World Championship matches.
Discussing the change on his YouTube channel, Edgar explained: “When I played Michael van Gerwen, who we know wears green all the time, and back then I used to wear a green polo shirt.
“When I played Michael van Gerwen on TV in the Players Championship Finals, I had to take with me an alternate shirt.
“This happened all the time. It got tricky when you played someone like Peter Wright, who you don’t know what colour they’re going to wear.
“The highest-ranked player got to choose their colour. Imagine if you’re Phil Taylor playing Michael van Gerwen – world No1 against world No2.
“You could choose to wear green. He always wears green. He would have to change.
“As darts becomes more individual, as personalities were more encouraged, and with the meetings we had alongside Barry Hearn who was saying, ‘We need you to show who you are…’
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
“We need those individualities and those little bits that make our presence or familiarity. So the rule got scrapped.”
If the rule was in place at this year’s competition, Jermaine Wattimena would have to bring a different shirt for his third-round meeting with Gary Anderson on Sunday.
That is because both players wear black shirts, although Wattimena – who is ranked lower – has blue sleeves and Anderson has a pattern.
Ryan Searle and Chris Landman were also allowed to wear the same colours in their first-round clash.
Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting and Nathan Aspinall are among the other players who have qualified for the third round.
World Darts Championship 2025/26 – all the info
LUK OUT!
