A darts player has defied the odds by competing in the Las Vegas Open with no hands. The sport is booming in popularity, and John Page proves anybody can compete on the oche.
Earlier this month, teenage sensation Luke Littler wrote his name into the history books by winning the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace. On the other end of the scale, 80-year-old Page competed at the recent Las Vegas Open, but it was not his age that most shocked fans about the amateur darts player.
The Canadian from London, Ontario plays in darts matches despite having no hands. Page explained that he got into the sport by playing with friends, joined a team with his son, and saw no barriers to him entering other competitions.
“I don’t see any problem,” Page explained to USA Darts. “You have to understand, most people that deal with me, I’ve explained it to them: I’m not handicapped, you are.
“You perceive me as being handicapped. I could do anything that you can do, and I probably already have. They look at you, ‘Jeez, he can’t do anything’, and, ‘Oh, you’re amazing!’ No, I’m not; I just do it.”
Although Page didn’t make it through to the latter stages of the Las Vegas Open, it was far from his first tournament. Reflecting on his past glories, Page said, “Oh yeah, I had a good time with it. I came second in the London tournament that we had. There were 1,000 players in that one, but that was a few years ago, and I’ve sort of gone downhill since then. Getting a little old, I’m 80 now.”
The level of physicality required to play darts has sometimes been used to mock the sport, but Page’s journey shows the value of its accessibility. When asked what makes the game special, the 80-year-old provided several reasons people should pick up a set of darts.
“It’s a lot of fun. You meet a lot of great people, it’s competitive, and you can make it individually competitive like I do,” Page said. “ I’m competing with myself, but I love to play somebody that’s much better than me. You learn and all those kinds of things, it’s good.”
Canadian player David Cameron won the men’s title in Las Vegas, defeating Jeff Springer in the final. England’s Deta Hedman won the women’s tournament with a dramatic 5-4 win over Wales’ Rhian O’Sullivan.
