Whitlock defends choice of dart points following social media criticism
Simon Whitlock has hit back at criticism over his choice of dart points following defeat in the Quarter-Finals of the 2020 World Matchplay.
Whitlock had embarked on a resurgent run to the Last Eight in Milton Keynes, defeating world number one Michael van Gerwen along the way, but saw his run ended by Gary Anderson on Thursday night.
The Australian had been subject to scrutiny over his choice of aggressive dart points which appeared to rip sisal out of the board at a rapid rate.
This led to the board being changed during his match with MVG at the agreement of both players.
Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle has called for Whitlock’s points to be “banned”, while Anderson admitted “they need to be looked at”.
Whitlock, who has previously used custom-made allen keys for points, told Live Darts last year: “My points do not damage the board”, and took to Twitter following last night’s defeat to have his say.
He tweeted: “Getting bored about hearing my points damage the boards.
“The problem is the boards are too inconsistent “soft/hard/soft”, give me decent boards and I’ll adapt my points to suit.
“Many players use adapted points not just me.
“As a closure on the constant debate about my points, they are perfectly legal to use and I will continue to use them all the time I feel comfortable using them.
“Hopefully commentators and critics will accept that and focus on other things as it is beyond tedious now.”
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The same discussion occurs every time Simon plays. His points should be banned. End. No board would survive these barbed battering rams.
— WAYNE MARDLE (@Wayne501Mardle) July 23, 2020
If a footballer wore boots that tore up a pitch, he'd be told to take them off.
I cannot understand how Whitlock can get away with shredding the board with his points every time. Bizarre!— Helen Chamberlain (@HellsBellsy) July 23, 2020
— Live Darts (@livedarts) July 23, 2020
