The 2021 /180/ Starter Guide (thanks to OP & Germananon)

Stream sources: cricfree, stream2watch; a full guide can be seen here: https://www.pdc.tv/news/2021/12/15/how-watch-202122-william-hill-world-darts-championship

/180/'s OP: based guy who never fails to open /180/ thread one hour before games start. I'm the second /180/ OP, who took over "officially" after the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship final. All credit for /180/ must go to the original /180/ OP.

Darts Organisations: PDC (only professional players, lots of TV presence, commercially successful, tournaments are big events where spectators get shitfaced) and WDF (manages the grassroots and replaced the BDO which died in 2020). For further information on the split: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_in_darts

Terms:
Glossary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_darts
Uncle Bazza: Barry Hearn, ex-chairman of the PDC, made darts what it is today, always set on squeezing out more money, big Phil Taylor fan
Jobber: A player with no chance of winning a match/progressing very far in a major event or someone who only plays for the prize money and doesn't put any heart or serious effort into his game. Often used as banter.
9-darter: Darts' perfect game, these are very rare on TV.

Main players:
Roidlet: Wales' Gerwyn Price, the reigning champion and World #1. The former rugby player turned full on darts heel is known for his roaring after big scores/finishes and intimidation of opponents through gurning and going down the oche; 2021 saw him win the Grand Slam for the third time but also suffered a number of surprise defeats in other majors

Clown/Clownman: Nickname for 2020 World Champion Peter Wright, best known for his incredibly tryhard persona consisting of colourful outfits and hairstyles Also known for constantly changing sets of darts at any time, even during matches.

Autism: Nickname for Michael van Gerwen, the three time World Champion and was once the best player on the planet. Nickname derived from his exceptional talent and his slightly autistic antics on the stage. Not actually autistic, though. Ended 2021 without a major title for the first time in a decade owing to incredibly erratic performances.

Bauldtism: Rob Cross's nickname, derived from the fact he's an even balder version of Michael van Gerwen. Also known as the Bald Fraud due to being incredibly inconsistent yet still winning majors. He also has the charisma of a black hole to the point he couldn't come up with his own nickname and dropped Electric Six's Danger! High Voltage as his walk-on music for Arrow's Hot Hot Hot because one of the commentators kept complaining about it. Infamous for rubbing his leg on finishes and drinking loads of water.

Blubby Boy: Michael Smith, a petulant fat shit who's arguably the greatest player to never win a major title. Known for his natural throw, and high scoring ability, but also his tendency to completely implode when things don't go his way. Still looks no closer to actually winning a major title, mind.

Gando: Gary Anderson, 2 time world champion, well known for 1. not giving a shit about smaller tournaments, 3. miscounting, 2. being unable to play anyone who doesn't play like he does and getting upset if things don't go his way and 4. back pain. Only made the World Final last year thanks to a certain yellow simpleton deciding to completely bottle it.

Meds Man: Nickname for multiple title winner left-handed Englishman James Wade, the greatest player to never make a Worlds final. Known as Meds Man due to his bipolar disorder. Notoriously roared at Seigo Asada in 2019's Worlds and got fined for it. Won the UK Open this year but hasn't really done much else.

Mensur: Mensur Suljovic, unorthodox yet likeable Serbian-born Austrian. Renowned for his favouring of the uncommon D14 as his finishing double, heart-on-sleeve stage antics and losing twice to a woman.

Chizzy: Dave Chisnall, another high scoring player who's never won a major. Immensely popular due to being immensely thick to the point you can't hate him, otherwise it's discriminating against the disabled.

Snackpot/Ferrypot: Nickname for Adrian Lewis, another former 2 time world champion. Arguably talented, but lazy fatass. Should be winning finals, but prefers eating burgers over practising and exhibitions on ferries than playing in actual events. Has shown rare glimpses of his best this year.

Duzza: Nickname for Glen Durrant. Dominated the BDO before it died, becoming only the second player to win three BDO World Championships in a row. Was crowned Premier League champion in October 2020 but is now suffering from severe dartitis; don't be surprised if he's the first seed to lose this year.

Dimi: Nickname for Dimitri Van den Bergh, the Belgian youngster who won the World Matchplay in July 2020. Renowned for dancing during his walk-on and being a big stage player who thrives in front of the cameras, but is actually very boring.

The Special One: Nickname for Jose de Sousa, the breakthrough Portuguese star who won the Grand Slam in November 2020. At his peak, he was known for his big scoring but also notorious for his inability to count. Has fallen off quite a bit since last year when he decided to finish 84 by taking out 74.

Ferret: Nickname for Jonny Clayton, the Welsh #2 who won his first four singles titles in 2021 including the World Grand Prix and Premier League. Another player who can't actually count and is notable for still keeping his day job as a plasterer for Carmarthen County Council.

Queen of the Palace: The apparent nickname of Fallon Sherrock, the first woman to beat a man at a World Darts Championship. Known for having solid composure on finishing, expect to hear her name mentioned constantly throughout the tournament even after she's been knocked out.

Wanna start playing yourself? You'll need equipment:
- Board: Winmau Blade 5/6. Don't buy Unicorn: their boards are notorious for bounceouts!
- Darts (barrels): Not too thin (difficult to handle), not too light, not too expensive. 21-25g is the most common weight range, and don't buy any faggy overpriced signature models. Buy tungsten, not brass.
- Shafts and flights: Buy lots of these. Those need to be replaced a lot. At least 5x3 shafts and 5x3 flights.
- Buy a sharpener. The name is misleading, darts don't need to be sharp, but the sides of the tip need to be roughened up a bit from time to time, so the dart will stick more firmly in the board.
- You need some kind of protection for your wall. Buy one, or make one yourself, thick cardboard will do.
- There are several great scoring apps out there, which can also simulate an opponent at various skill levels. My favourite is n01 - http://www.nakka.com/soft/n01/index_eng.html
- n01 levels/darts per leg: 1-60, 2-40, 3-30, 4-28, 5-26, 6-24, 7-22, 8-20, 9-18, 10-16, 11-14, 12-12. If you beat it at level 12, congrats, you'll be the next world champion.

Practising:
- Hammering T20 is better than nothing, but it is only a part of the game.
- Practice doubles. Focus on the most popular, like D20 or D16, but also do some around-the-board doubles practice.
- A good and easy practice game is 170: You start at 170 and try to finish with double out. This practices both your doubles skill and your ability to set up finishes.