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Paddy Power is once again donating £1,000 to Prostate Cancer UK for every 180 scored at the 2024/25 PDC World Darts Championship.
However, this year, a £180,000 bonus will also be up for grabs every time a player hits a nine-darter.
With Sky Sports joining as an official partner, the campaign, now rebranded ‘The BIGGER 180’, will aim to ‘harness the combined power of darts’ biggest players and platforms to spread awareness and drive action’.
Laura Kerby, CEO of Prostate Cancer UK, commented: “We’re absolutely delighted to team up with Paddy Power again for The BIGGER 180. Last year’s campaign was a staggering success – raising an incredible £1m, getting record numbers checking their risk and making a huge impact for men and their loved ones.
“With The BIGGER 180, we’re aiming to reach even more men right across the UK. And the funds we raise along the way will help us move one step closer to a future where all men are invited for regular, accurate tests – which could save thousands of lives.”
The news follows the success of last year’s The Big 180 initiative, which raised £1m to support the charity’s lifesaving risk awareness work after 914 180s were hit, with Paddy Power rounding up the final donation to the seven-figure sum.
The operator said in a release: “Now for the the #realtalk – Paddy’s doing all this because one-in-eight men will get prostate cancer at some point in their lives and your risk is even higher if you’re over 50, if you’re Black or if you have a family history of the disease.”
“Most men don’t have symptoms in the early stages and there’s currently no screening programme inviting men for regular tests. That’s why too many men are dying from prostate cancer – but finding it early, when it’s easier to treat, is critical to saving lives.”
The partners have said that they aim to inspire at least 180,000 men to take the lifesaving risk checker this year. You can check your risk in 30 seconds here: prostatecanceruk.org/darts-risk.
A Sky Sports spokesperson added: “It’s a privilege to be part of The BIGGER 180 campaign, especially after seeing the outstanding work and money raised last year. We look forward to using Sky’s platforms to widen the reach and provide meaningful change in order to help save lives.”
This year, the campaign aims to smash the total of last year, with funds supporting Prostate Cancer UK’s TRANSFORM trial.
Described as the most ambitious prostate cancer screening trial ever, TRANSFORM will find the best way to diagnose the disease early – and pave the way for a national screening programme that could save thousands of lives.
Matt Porter, Professional Darts Corporation CEO, concluded: “The BIG 180 was darts’ biggest-ever charity partnership and it’s exciting to see this grow even further for the 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
“The BIGGER 180 will directly benefit the TRANSFORM trial, and given the amazing standard produced by players during 2024, we could not only see a record number of 180s hit during the event but also multiple nine-darters!”
