'10 years ago, I'd have said you were mad!' - George Noble on darts journey to selling out MSG in New York

Last weekend, the World Series of Darts travelled across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City for the 2025 US Darts Masters. Always one of the highlights of the World Series circuit, this year's event was another roaring success.

The vastly experienced PDC referee George Noble was on hand in New York, and in conversation with Online Darts, 'The Pup' reflected of the immense growth in worldwide popularity darts has been going through over recent years, with selling out the iconic Madison Square Garden last weekend being the latest highlight for the sport.

"The other week we’re standing on stage, in the O2 Arena (final night of the 2025 Premier League Darts ed.), and there’s 18,500 people – total sell-out – in the audience. And you look around and you think, 'Wow, this is darts'," he begins. "You know, I go back – to watching in the '80s, and I only started working in the '90s – did I ever think it would be as big as it is? Absolutely not."

Especially over the last couple of years, there has been a massive boom in darts, with the likes of Luke Littler bringing in a whole new audience to the sport. "I mean, it’s exploded. It’s huge. Which is great. But I think it’s great for everybody involved in the game," says Noble. "There are more opportunities now, and those opportunities are growing."

Among those opportunities, playing in front of a sold out crowd at one of the iconic sporting venues on the planet - Madison Square Garden. "If someone had said to me ten years ago, 'We're going to put a tournament in Madison Square Garden, and we’re going to fill it,' I’d have said: 'You need in a man in a white coat to come and take you away!'" Noble laughs. "I mean, that’s amazing – what an achievement that is, to see where it’s come."

The step up in venue for PDC tournaments in the US is massive according to Noble. "You mentioned the Desert Classic, and a lot of us have all been through that growth. And what an amazing journey – to go from that little room, where it was world-class sport but didn’t really register… to now walking into venues in the United States, with people in fancy dress," he concludes. "It’s just… still, mind-blowing."