NOBLE PREFERS TO REMAIN INVISIBLE

GEORGE NOBLE considers it the highest praise when darts players forget he was the one officiating their match. 

‘The Puppy’ has refereed at many of the biggest tournaments over the last three decades.  

Noble made his first appearance on the big stage at Lakeside, calling every final there between 1995 and 2007.   

The 56-year-old joined the PDC in 2007 and had the honour of calling the first nine-darter in PDC World Championship history by Raymond van Barneveld against Jelle Klaasen at Ally Pally in 2009.    

A year later, Noble became the first referee to call two nine-dart finishes in the same match when Phil Taylor achieved the historic feat against James Wade in the 2010 Premier League final at the Wembley Arena.  

But Noble will hang up his microphone at the conclusion of this year’s Ally Pally final when Luke Littler takes on Gian van Veen. 

Noble has always preferred to remain invisible at the oche throughout his career and now plans to focus on managing the growing MODUS Super Series, which he co-founded during the lockdown. 

He said: “Listen, your best compliment you can have is when a player goes: ‘Did you ref my game?’ 

“That’s the best compliment you can have, because you don’t want them to notice you. It’s not about you. 

“I won’t name the names, but there’s certain referees who think it’s about them. And they want to be famous. 

“I’ve never wanted to be famous. And I think that if you’re able to keep that as your motto, you just get on with what you’re doing. 

“If no-one actually recognises that you did it, I think that’s a good compliment. 

“Because you haven’t made an impact on the match. You haven’t done anything wrong. 

“Anyone can make mistakes, but I’ve never courted publicity. Never. And I don’t think I’m built like that. 

“My wife thinks it’s highly hilarious when someone asks me for an autograph, because she knows I get embarrassed. Even 30 years in, it’s not something I’m used to. 

“I’m pretty confident no-one’s ever bought a ticket to come to the World Championship to watch the referee. 

“Know your place. You get paid to do a job. As long as you can do your job properly, and you deserve to get paid for it, then great. 

“You don’t have to be the star of the show. You don’t have to make controversial decisions. Just let the game flow.” 

Noble believes the future of darts will be defined by a younger generation of players. 

He added: “I actually think that the average age of the top-16 players inside the decade will be way under 25 from what I’ve seen. 

“Some of these young players are fantastic. There’s a kid who plays down at the Super Series, called Jayden Walker, he’s 13, he smashes in 100 averages. 

“There’s a conveyor belt with them. It’s only a matter of time. And how they prepare for matches will change. 

“Prize money is going through the roof. Parents can take their child to an academy and it doesn’t cost a lot. 

“It’s not like buying a set of golf clubs. It’s not like trying to get into a tennis club. It’s much more accessible for young children to go along. 

“Luke Littler is a millionaire already at 18. The future is there. The gamble will be massive globally.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.