YESTERDAY was the final day of the PDC World Darts Championship before its Christmas break.

The tournament resumes on the 27th building up to the ever-popular quarter-finals day on New Year’s Day, with the semis a day later and the final on the 3rd.

The championship has become part of the festive sporting calendar over the years and has established itself at London’s Alexandra Palace since 2008, witnessing many memorable moments.

Originally intended as a “Palace of the People” during its construction in the late 19th century, it’s an ideal venue for such sporting gatherings and the people have certainly had their say in the past couple of weeks.

Anti-Tory chants have been a feature of the spectators’ songbook, with the popular “Stand up if you love the darts” regularly morphing into “Stand up if you hate Boris.”

Not all the shouts emerging from the audience are as progressive as these calls to oust the Prime Minister, though.

In the first round match between the two German players, Florian Hempel and Martin Schindler a “ten German bombers” chant could be heard in the background, while Scottish players have regularly been subjected to taunts from the predominantly English audience.

One Scottish player, William Borland, got the crowd on his side when he produced the moment of the tournament so far, conjuring up a rapid nine-dart finish to defeat Bradley Brooks.

It was the first nine-dart finish in a deciding leg in a televised event, and Borland used his post-match interview to throw a jibe back at the crowd.

“It is a privilege to hit a nine-darter anywhere, and to hit it on the biggest stage of them all is just unbelievable,” he said.

“Everyone was singing ‘Scotland get battered everywhere they go’ and that just kind of got me going.

“That was spurring me on because I wanted to get it up them and stuff.”

Another Scottish player, Alan Soutar, made it through to the Third Round the following day, defeating Brazil’s Diogo Portela.

“I’ve always loved the Scotland-England banter,” said Soutar after his win.

“I saw Willie Borland getting it the other night but he banged in a nine-darter to keep them quiet.

“Willie’s game was just mad and what’s happened since is great for him and Scottish darts.”

Some players, like Borland, use the crowd as motivation while others will focus solely on the target in front of them — a portrait of concentration on our TV screens.

Borland struggled in his following match, though, and was knocked out by Ryan Searle. He was obviously still buzzing from his nine-darter, perhaps a little too much, as his average dipped from 95 to 78.

The tournament is a test of nerve and composure, even more so as it reaches the final rounds, where even the most accurate arrowsmiths can be knocked off-kilter by the pressure.

This will be ramped up in Monday’s third-round ties, which feature defending champion Gerwyn Price and No 4-ranked James Wade in a post-festivities evening session to look forward to.