MALGUENAC - History-making Frenchman Thibault Tricole, the only darts player from his country to play at the PDC World Championship, has his eyes set on a possible dream second-round tie against reigning champion Luke Humphries when the 2025 edition gets under way later in December.
The sport has not taken off in France in the same way it has in much of Europe.
The world championship attracts millions of TV viewers in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany every year and the emergence of teenage star Luke Littler has won over many new fans, but it is rarely shown on French TV.
But Tricole - the second Frenchman to win a PDC Tour card - broke new ground by qualifying for the 2023-24 edition of darts' blue-riband event, where he lost 3-0 to 2018 champion Rob Cross in the second round.
The 35-year-old will be a strong favourite when he takes on Australian qualifier Joe Comito in the first match of the tournament on Dec 15, with a clash against Humphries awaiting the winner that evening.
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Denne historien er fra December 04, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
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CALLIGRAPHY IS BIG WITH ARTIST
The boulders hiding in the alcove of Tong Yang-tze's (right) Taipei apartment testify to this Taiwanese calligrapher's daunting perfectionism. They are paper - remnants of discarded artworks, crumpled together like used tissues and soaked into inky wads of pulp. Hundreds of old drafts of writing, including many of her efforts to draw Chinese poetry at a monumental scale, have been recycled into these rocks over the years, most recently as she worked on her commission for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which debuted on Nov 21.
Mattel sued over Wicked dolls with porn website link
LOS ANGELES - Mattel was sued on Dec 3 by a South Carolina mother for mistakenly putting a link to a pornographic website on packaging for dolls tied to the blockbuster movie Wicked.
Taiwanese musician-director Liu Chia-chang a composer of hit songs
Famed veteran Taiwanese musician and director Liu Chia-chang has died at the age of 81.
Actress Kristal Tin reveals lung cancer diagnosis
Former TVB actress Kristal Tin revealed on Instagram on Dec 3 that she has undergone successful surgery for lung cancer.
South Korean entertainment schedules up in the air
SEOUL - Schedules of performances and interviews in South Korea have been thrown into a state of uncertainty by a sudden martial law declaration that was lifted only a few hours later.
Host Dasmond Koh surprised by martial law edict while in Seoul for work
Upheaval in Seoul, South Korea
Squid Game returns to end 2024 with a bang
In this monthly column, The Straits Times' streaming picks for December include the long-awaited second season of the survivalist hit Squid Game (2021 to present) and its non-lethal equivalent.
Flow speaks Volumes, The Room Next Door a thin melodrama
In the wake of a devastating flood, a cat finds refuge with motley stranded animals on a tattered sailboat.
Funeral rites come alive in The Last Dance
The Hong Kong drama offers fascinating glimpses into the city's funeral traditions
Tolkien and anime work well together, says Japanese director
NEW YORK - It has been a decade since the work of fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien last appeared on the big screen.
