Simon Parker column

You know the darts is in town when the two people queueing in front at the bar are Bananaman and Hulk Hogan.

At least Where’s Wally had already downed his pint and moved on. Not that his pals would be able to find him later...

The Premier League has turned Thursday night into darts night on the sporting calendar and West Yorkshire was finally getting its taste of a national phenomenon.

The cash tills at seemingly every city centre pub in Leeds rang merrily under this fancy dress invasion. And unlike the Arena itself, they weren’t charging upwards of £4 a pop just to pour a can into a plastic glass.

Paying through the nose for refreshment while vaguely making out two portly fellas playing darts in the distance seems a strange formula for fun. But it continues to work.

We could have done with a telescope to see the board from our lofty perch but you could not fail to get carried along by the atmosphere.

The 11,000 crowd was the largest of any on the darts circuit and certainly the most boisterous, if a little too Leeds-centric with their football chanting at times.

And the action itself – what we could see of it from the giant TV screen – lived up to the spectacle, right down to the bull on the final dart as Peter Wright salvaged his unbeaten tag with a nerveless 161 check-out.

We’ll certainly be back for more costume drama next year.