The US Darts Masters is set to commence from July 26-27, and Russ Bray will be at the World Series of Darts event doing his duties as referee. However, him and some of the darters will have their eye on England's progress at the World Cup with them competing on the Saturday against Panama, also in New York City. While the football will be played at the MetLife Stadium, the darts will be hosted at Madison Square Gardens with a stacked lineup in store. Eight PDC talents including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price among others will compete against eight of the best darters from the USA.
Bray, speaking to talkSPORT, outlined his travel plans: "I've got a couple of days here at the NEC and an exhibition to do, then I fly out on Thursday morning. I land on Thursday and, obviously, we start on Thursday night." A lot of the darters will be very keen to follow England's match. It is the final game in the group stage where a win could be needed to seal top spot. Qualification seems inevitable following that 4-2 win over Croatia as the Three Lions look to impress.
Bray unveiled how much football chat there was amongst the darters. "Not half! You've got Nathan Aspinall as well. I don't know if he's out there, I'm not sure. These boys are well up for it and they love their football. You normally see them at their various clubs during the week when they're training and things like that. They absolutely love it." Some of the darters, including the two Luke's, were hopeful of going to one of the games. Bray, who is an avid West Ham United supporter, does not have the time for this. "Unfortunately not, because I'm literally flying back on Saturday morning. I'm staying in London overnight and then on Sunday I'm off to Marbella for a week of golf." He added: "Luke Humphries is actually joining us out there on the Monday."
Bray was a big fan of the US Darts Masters, and to be doing it in a venue with such prestige as Madison Square Gardens. "It's a bit gorgeous, isn't it?" he said. "I've worked there for a couple of years now and it's got bigger and better every year, to be honest with you. It's sold out again this year, which is probably American policy! From a PDC and TV point of view, it should be a belter." He was very interested to see how the North American players compete, gazing to some of the Canadians featuring in particular. "Basically, our boys go over and take on the North American players. I'll tell you what, it's going to be interesting this year because there are some very, very good players out there. The Canadian lads are doing very, very well."
The World Series takes darts all around the world. Ventures to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Denmark has seen some great action and lively atmospheres. It is set to be the same when heading to North America. "Very good crowds. As I say, it's sold out," Bray confirmed. "I think the theatre holds something like three-and-a-half to four thousand people and it's completely sold out. It's a great atmosphere as well because Americans do like a party. They do their chants and things like that, so it's absolutely terrific."
