A former referee for the Professional Darts Corporation was the voice of Monday’s Steel City Darts event at The Leadmill between University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University’s darts clubs.

Paul Hinks, 69, who is from Mexborough in Doncaster, announced that he was demoted by the PDC in 2022 but returned to call the first iteration of the event at one of the City’s most recognisable venues – which has its future remaining in doubt after Electric Group won a court case threatening to evict Leadmill Limited pending appeal.

He has since been a referee on the Modus Super Series and World Seniors’ Championship events to prolong an already incredible career, in which he has refereed in 17 PDC World Championships.

The event, which was held at The Octagon Centre last year, resulted in the first ever victory for Hallam Darts, after the University of Sheffield won all of the previous eight events, which helped to soften the blow. Whilst not recognised as a Varsity event, it still attracted a bumper crowd of predominately students.

A handful of spectators from the rival Universities engaged in fighting in the centre of the Leadmill’s main room, and some attendees were reportedly admitted to Northern General Hospital with minor injuries.

Adam Butcher, president of the University of Sheffield’s Darts Society, said that the reports were a ‘load of rubbish’.

He said: “There have been fights every year that the event has happened. It settled down in the interval.”

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals are yet to comment on any ‘influx’ of injured students on the evening of Monday, March 24.

Some critics, however, have suggested that alcoholic drinks should not have been served in hard plastic cups which posed a greater risk of injury.

Todd Wells, a Hallam University student, was one of those struck by a hard cup and visited the hospital.

He also said that a ‘mixed crowd’ was a contributor for any disorder.

Seven games between students were played in a ‘Best of 5 Leg’ format, with Hallam University victorious by five games to two, and an exhibition match between two former students who have since turned professional occurred in the interval.

Former Hallam student Charlie Marshall beat ex-Uni of Sheffield student Adam Warner – who plays on the PDC ProTour – in the only ‘best of 7’ of the evening, with darts fans enjoying a respectful game that appeared to ease the initial crowd tension.

A comprehensive livestream was conducted of the games and they are available to watch back here.