Yes, it's still 2016, but it is an active time in the area of all the weird sports that don't get much media coverage in the United States. All the weird stuff that ESPN3 streams but I bet no one watches.
I'm sure there's a couple of you in here that pay attention to it. And if not, well I guess this thread will be a bit of an echo chamber.
Bangladesh Premier League T20 cricket ended with an underwhelming final a couple of weeks ago, as Dhaka beat Rajshahi by 56 runs... Rajshahi barely broke 100 before going all out. 150+ is usually a pretty good T20 cricket total. The Australian T20 league is underway now, but not televised in the US.
BPL T20 Final highlights.
Mosconi Cup billiards were two weeks ago as well, as Europe completely dominated the USA winning 11-3 and taking home their 7th straight Cup.
2015 highlights since 2016 competition is too recent for someone to have slapped a highlight reel together.
That competition was held at the Alexandra Palace in London, which last week began hosting the World Cup of Darts. I think my favorite two things about darts are:
1. The really corny nicknames. There's a guy who qualified in named Mark Frost whose nickname is "Frosty the Throw Man" who had a logo and everything. If you don't have a nickname and logo, you might as well not show up.
2. The crowd is basically there to sing songs and drink. Sure, a few of them pay attention to the darts... but 75% of the crowd is in costume to get pissed.
Best two matches I've seen so far:
Joe Cullen v. Corey Cadby
This match featured the #28 seed vs. a qualifier who actually was made a favorite in the match based on his amazing play in the Qualifying round. These two players were both throwing at a near record scoring pace through the first couple of sets... announcers were quite amazed at the high quality of the play in this round.
Michael Smith v. Ricky Evans
This match between #11 seed Michael "Bully Boy" Smith and "Rapid" Ricky Evans. This match goes the distance, but was one of the quickest in time of the first round because of the quickness that Evans throws his darts. Evans was timed as throwing 3 darts in under 3 seconds at times in this match. So, a good one to catch if you haven't watched before, because it's only about 35 minutes long and exciting.
I feel like I would fit right in in Darts, because it appears a prerequisite is to be near middle aged and overweight. I'm in.
The 2017 Darts World Championship is on ESPN3 through the final in early January.