THE Professional Darts Corporation would like to thank and praise the staff and fans who braved Monday's weather problems to ensure the fourth session of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship went ahead as planned.
Heavy snowfall in north London during the afternoon left the road which services Alexandra Palace closed with most local access routes completely gridlocked - as well as the local National Rail station out of action.
By 7pm, the scheduled start time of the session, only four players and around 50 spectators had made it up the Alexandra Palace hill - and all were facing up to the prospect of being told the evening's play would be postponed.
"The heavy snowfall caught a lot of people by surprise, and an hour before play was due to start the venue was a ghost town," explained PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter.
"We didn't have enough players to get more than one game on and crew from all departments were still struggling to get in to work.
"It was touch-and-go as to whether the session would take place at all and we had to take in to consideration how people were going to get home at midnight or whenever we finished.
"Fortunately, Wood Green underground station was still open and that proved most people's preferred route, along with some of the back roads which weren't as clogged.
"Alexandra Palace staff were ready to open the doors and fortunately we had enough security officers onsite as that is a legal requirement.
"Having weighed up all the options, which included rearranging the session to Tuesday afternoon as a last resort, we decided an extra 45 minutes would be sufficient to get us up to a number of people to make the session workable and so the start was delayed until 7.45pm.
"We were in constant contact with the missing players and more and more fans were starting to stream through the doors so the picture changed completely."
Both Vincent van der Voort and Paul Nicholson walked the last two miles to the venue after reaching a standstill in their cars, but John Part was less fortunate and faced the prospect of being stranded, unable to take to the stage where he became World Champion for a third time two years ago.
A PDC Security Officer was dispatched to rescue the Canadian and he finally arrived at the venue at 10pm having spent a potentially frustrating evening practising at his hotel.
Sky Sports commentator Rod Studd stepped in to Dave Clark's chair for the opening of the live broadcast, whilst referee Russ Bray announced the first four players on to the stage with MC John McDonald forced to abandon his car in Finchley.
Stage officials, TV crew and security staff were making their way via a combination of foot and tube and the programme of matches gradually expanded along with the crowd - who totalled over 1000 by the end of the evening.
"The dedication shown by the staff and fans alike was fantastic and a tribute to their love of darts and determination that the show must go on," Porter added.
"We were delighted to offer those that braved the conditions half-price tickets for the remaining sessions and full credit to all of them for turning out in such great numbers.
"Everyone was in great spirits and the atmosphere in the venue was fantastic - it really showed what this tournament and sport is all about."