James Wade is promoting PDC World Championship Darts 2009 from Oxygen Games, which launches on 29th May on Nintendo Wii and DS.

James Wade, currently ranked no.2 in the PDC order of merit, is one of just 8% of people in the world who are left-handed . More common in men than women , being left-handed is often viewed as a disadvantage in life.

Despite many children being encouraged and taught to play sport right handed, often due to a lack of left-handed equipment and coaches that can coach left-handed technique correctly, there is a wealth of scientific evidence indicating that left-handedness might be an advantage in sport.

“PDC World Championship Darts 2009 is the most realistic darts game ever and the ability to play left-handed is a great addition”, said James Wade, the current UK Open champion whose Premier League win confirmed his status as the sport’s greatest ever left-hander.

“Being left handed can definitely be an advantage, especially if I’m playing a right-hander who hasn’t faced me before I feel like it gives me a psychological edge.”

As well as Wade, there have been many successful left-handed sportsmen and women:
Football - Diego Maradona, George Best
Cricket - Brian Lara, Shane Warne
Tennis - John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova
Boxing - Joe Calzaghe, Naseem Hamed

Angela Hibbs of the English Institute of Sport explains: ‘Evidence from research studies suggests that there is a tactical and neurological advantage to being left-handed when it comes to sport, supported by a high proportion of left-handers among the current elite’.

Number of left-handers in elite sport:
Fencing – 7 of the top 16
Tennis – 5 of the top 25
Table Tennis – 4 of the top 10 Europeans
Snooker – a quarter of the 1998 world championship qualifiers
Darts – 2 of the top 12 in the PDC Order of Merit Neurological Support
Left-handed people have superior spatio-motor skills. This includes visuo-spatial thinking, fine control of hands and faster reaction times . In a study by the Australian National University, left-handed individuals had faster reaction times by 43 milliseconds, due to left-handed people having faster connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. The study concluded that left-handers were better at processing information in the brain.

Furthermore, the study found that the left and right hemispheres are more symmetrical and evenly distributed and the skills used in many sports i.e. control of movement and space management, are subsequently performed in the same side of the brain, making the processing of these skills quicker.

Angela Hibbs concludes: ‘There may not be as distinct an advantage with darts as there is in fast one-on-one sports such as boxing, but from the neurological research, it is believed that left-handers do have superior hand-eye coordination and visual-spatial awareness skills’.

Right-handed world no.1 Phil Taylor thinks that James Wade might have a secret advantage in being left-handed:

“James played brilliantly on Monday night to rightly claim the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts title”, said current Ladbrokes.com World Darts Champion Phil Taylor.

“Every player’s style and stance is unique, so it’s up to any player – left or right-handed – to make themselves comfortable and find the throw which suits them.”

“James is a great talent, probably the Ronnie O’Sullivan of darts, and I know he has the talent to become only the third left-handed World Champion in the future.”

PDC World Championship Darts 2009 from Oxygen Games is available now from all good game retailers on Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. For more information visit: www.dartsvideogame.com