The PDC World Championship has become one of the last mass-culture events in Britain

Darts is taking up some of the void football has left behind as it moves increasingly towards data dumps and huge, NFL -style rosters of teenage “ballers” The Premier League will always remain popular, but it has lacked a compelling competition narrative in recent years .

Now free from the grinding dominance of Phil “ The Power” Taylor , the sport is an open, unpredictable scene loaded with weird and wonderful talents, all with their own narratives, habits and foibles.

Darts also loaded with 20th-century athletic pizzazz in a way international sport has veered away from.

Darts is in the ascendancy in the sport's popularity in Britain .

Barry Hearn has pointed out that many youth clubs are steering their attendees away from the brutal world of academy football.

And yesterday , walking through London , I saw a group of teenage boys, all in JD Sports ’ finest, carrying a freshly purchased dartboard.