Recent years have seen a big qrowth for darts in Iceland, which has also been seen on the Nordic & Baltic Pro Tour and now we will all see it on the big stage at Nordic Darts Masters, when Matthías Örn Friðriksson makes his debut at the event.
We only have to go back a couple of years to see, that the Icelandic participation at the Nordic and Baltic Pro Tour is quite new. But the sport has had renaissance at the volcanic island, which have led to more participation on the Pro Tour.
Just as late as the weekend in Finland, we saw Iceland being represented by five players. And among them we saw Matthías Örn Friðriksson, who probably has went through the biggest development in the last couple of years in Iceland.
“Since quitting semi-professional football in 2019, I was able to put more time in darts and competing abroad. I started competing in the Nordic & Baltic Pro Tour in that year, and I have seen big improvements, with this year being my best so far. But there is still plenty of work to be done, to be one of the best players on the Nordic and Baltic Pro Tour,” said Matthías Örn Friðriksson.
With some good results earlier this year in Denmark, Matthías Örn Friðriksson went to Finland with some good chances about securing his Icelandic spot at the Nordic Darts Masters, and even though he only managed to secure another 50 euros to the rankings, it was still enough to secure qualification for the event in Copenhagen.
“It is a dream come true. I started watching and playing darts in 2012 and I always pictured myself in the big stage one day,” said Matthías Örn Friðriksson.
And even though he has never faced such big names, as he will this Friday, he is not afraid of the task.
“I am sure there will be some nerves, but that is part of the game and I see this as an opportunity of learning and to develop even further. It is hard living in Iceland if you want to compete against the best, but we have made big steps developing the sport in the country. The sport is now regularly shown on Icelandic TV, which brings a lot of attention. The TV-stations have our biggest events live and we are building up our youth system as well,” said Matthías Örn Friðriksson, who is also the president of the Icelandic Darts Association.
“It has been amazing to see how much the sport has grown in these last few years.”
And even though it is the player Matthías Örn Friðriksson that will go on stage this Friday, the president Matthías Örn Friðriksson can still see the bigger perspective of this Icelandic spot at the Nordic Darts Masters.
“Getting one of the spots in this event will bring even more attention to the sport in Iceland and more people will start playing. I have seen some of the youngsters that are competing on our youth tour and they are amazing talents and will be the future of the sport. I am just happy, that I am able to show people what you can achieve, if you put the dedication and practice on a daily basis.”
After the draw was made at Wednesday, we now know, that Matthías Örn Friðriksson will go up against world champion and current world number one Peter Wright.