History
In the 1980s, professional darts in Britain lost much of its sponsorship television coverage. From 1989, the only televised event was the annual Embassy World Championship. Some of the players felt that not enough was being done by the governing body, theTomlin order
The WDC players took the matter to court in a dispute which accrued large and perhaps unaffordable costs during a protracted legal process. The two bodies reached an out-of-court settlement on 30 June 1997 in the form of a Tomlin order. The BDO recognised the WDC and agreed that all players shall have the freedom of choice as to which open events they wish to play in. The WDC dropped its claim to be a world governing body and renamed itself the Professional Darts Corporation. The PDC accepted and recognized the WDF as the governing body for the sport of darts worldwide, and the BDO the governing body for darts in the UK. The stated purpose of the agreement was to promote the freedom of individual darts players to participate freely in open competition. Another condition of this Tomlin order is that the top 16 players, and any Home Country players ranked between 17 and 32 in each year's BDO Championship, and the top 16 players in each year's PDC Championship, shall not be permitted to enter the other competition in the immediate following year. Despite this condition, Raymond van Barneveld switched to the PDC within weeks of reaching the 2006 BDO final, later playing in (and winning) the 2007 PDC World Championship – the Tomlin order should have made him ineligible to play. There was further controversy following the 2007 BDO World Championship, whenTelevision coverage
Following the breakaway groups first televised event in 1992 (the Lada UK Masters onCameras
Sky Sports introduced more cameras to cover the sport, and many of these innovations have been copied by other broadcasters. Unique ''flight cams'' show the trajectory of the dart through the air in slow motion to sometimes surprising results. A tiny camera has also been inserted into the dartboard itself beside the number 16 – one of the most common doubles – that shows the darts being thrown towards the board. Sky Sports have also used a ''player cam''; a tiny camera was fitted to Dennis Priestley's shirt to capture his view of the action while playing. Elsewhere, floating video cameras capture the action of the watching crowds. Spectators become far more animated and vocal than their BDO counterparts, often acting similar to a football crowd, while holding up humorous placards – often featuring corny puns – regarding the players, and chanting or singing various songs related to the players or to the event in general. Some supporters even wear face paint or crazy costumes or they dress up as their favourite player via their trademark attire or customary nickname. The players' wives have also been a focus for the cameras, as they cheered or screeched on their husbands. In January 2005, Sky One commissioned a programme entitled ''Darts Players' Wives'', primarily focusing on the wives and their relationships. In December 2008, Sky started to broadcast darts in High Definition (with the exception of the final Las Vegas Desert Classic in 2009), and in July 2010 (at the World Matchplay), broadcast the Semi Finals and Final in 3D to around 1,000 licensed premises in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Another frequent cam is a split-screen camera, with the players on the right, and the dartboard on the left. If the first two darts hit the triple 20, the camera will zoom in to the spot before the third dart is thrown.Commentators
John Gwynne has covered all PDC events from the inaugural 1992 competition until his retirement in 2013.Image
The PDC sought to attract a younger audience of all genders for darts and market the game as a night out rather than just as a sporting event. Through the years, it was not uncommon to see politicians, musicians, football players, boxers and other sporting personalities attending their events. The British Darts Organisation have subsequently sought to emulate most of these innovations. Players enter matches with their own signature theme music whilst flanked by security men and, until 2017, female valets down to theNicknames
Current tournaments
The Professional Darts Corporation has continued to increase its annual UK televised tournaments in recent years: The World Championship, The Premier League, World Cup of Darts, World Grand Prix and World Matchplay are all covered live by Sky Sports. The US Open was shown on Challenge in 2007 and Nuts TV in 2008. Bravo broadcast the European Championships for the first time in 2010, after ITV4 televised the first running in 2008. ITV 4 won back the coverage for the European Championship; they also show live coverage of the World Series of Darts, Players Championship, UK Open and the Masters.Ranked tournaments
World Championship
The World Championship is a single-elimination seeded tournament beginning in late December and finishing in early January. It is the biggest of the PDC tournaments and has the largest prize fund of any darts competition. Held at theUK Open
Held each year in June at theWorld Matchplay
Crowds exceeding 2,000 in number assemble at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, the longest serving venue in the PDC. Matches are contested over legs rather than sets, presenting the prospect of some surprising results and upsets. Phil Taylor has been the dominant player in this event, winning 16 titles and being undefeated in his first 15 finals. Previous Winners (1994–2022)World Grand Prix
The World Grand Prix replaced the World Pairs event in 1998. Its original venue was the Casino Rooms in Rochester, Kent until 1999, with one staging in Rosslare in 2000 before moving in 2001 to its current home at the CityWest Hotel inGrand Slam of Darts
Introduced in 2007, the Grand Slam was the first tournament staged in the UK to feature players from the two different organisations, the PDC and BDO. Players who had reached the finals of each organisations major tournaments for the previous two years were invited to compete in the Grand Slam. It is held over 9 days during November and shown live on Sky Sports. The first four tournaments were shown live on ITV4, the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts was ITV's first networked darts tournament since pulling the plug on darts coverage in 1988. Previous Winners (2007–22)Players Championship Finals
Introduced in 2009, this tournament was open to the top 32 players on the Players Championship Order of Merit until 2015. In 2016 the tournament was expanded to 64 players still using the Players Championship Order of Merit. It is broadcast live on ITV4. Previous Winners (2009–22)European Championship
The European Championship is a tournament that allows the top players in Europe to compete against the top players in theNon-ranked tournaments
The Masters
The Masters is a non-ranking darts tournament featuring the Top 16 players in the world, from the PDC Order of Merit. The first event was held between 1–3 November 2013 at the Royal Highland Centre inPremier League Darts
In 2005, Sky Sports launched the Premier League Darts television programme. For five months, ten of the biggest names from the PDC circuit compete in a league table, with matches held across the country at different venues. Phil Taylor topped the table after the weekly rounds for the first eight instances the Premier League has been staged, going on to win the play-offs six times. Taylor's reign ended whenWorld Series of Darts
The World Series of Darts is a series of tournaments taking place on various continents. These tournaments are non-ranked. The field of players usually exists out of a number of eight PDC top-players participating on invitation, complemented by another eight national qualifiers. Since 2015, the players earn points over the tour to compete in the World Series of Darts Finals at the end of the year.World Cup of Darts
One of three new tournaments for 2010, players from 24 countries compete for a prize fund of £150,000. The qualifiers are drawn from the PDC Order of Merit. Sky Sports screen the tournament, which rivals the WDF World Cup. England and the Netherlands have won the title on four occasions, with the pairing of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis triumphant each time for England, and Raymond van Barneveld being involved in all four Dutch wins. In 2019, Scotland became just the third nation to lift the trophy with a victory over the Republic of Ireland in the final. Wales became the fourth winning nation in 2020, when they whitewashed England in the final, and Australia became the first non-European nation to win the event in 2022. Previous Winners (2010, 2012–2022)PDC World Youth Championship
The second of the new tournaments for 2010 was open to all darts players, from both the BDO and PDC, aged between 18 and 21. The final was televised live on Sky Sports at Alexandra Palace before the final of the World Championship, in later years before the final of the Premier League. The two finalists will also be invited to become PDC ProTour card holders and would receive sponsorship from Rileys Dartzones, the PDC's staging partners in this event. They will also be invited to compete in theWomen's World Matchplay
As part of their ever increasing support of the women's game, the PDC unveiled the Women's World Matchplay, a tournament for the Top 8 ladies on the PDC Women's Series Order of Merit. The tournament was played on the same day as the final of the main World Matchplay. Previous Winners (2022–)PDC Pro Tour
The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised tournaments. The prize fund is £75,000 for most tournaments and features up to 32 boards in action on an arena floor, hence their nickname "floor tournament". With shorter matches and the floor set up, a different kind of pressure applies compared to televised events and a different set of results can be produced. For instance,Past tournaments
Las Vegas Desert Classic (2002–09)
ThePDC Unicorn Women’s World Championship
The PDC Unicorn Women's World Championship was open to all female darts players from both the BDO and PDC. The 32 qualifiers played down to the last 2 in a floor tournament and the final were televised live on Sky Sports before the final of the World Matchplay. The two finalists were also invited to become PDC ProTour card holders for 2011 and 2012 and would receive sponsorship from Rileys Dartzones, the PDC's staging partners in this event. They were also invited to compete in theWorld Series of Darts (2006)
The predecessor of what would be renamed the US Open in 2007. Phil Taylor won the event. Previous WinnersUS Open (2007–08)
The US Open was a tournament introduced in 2007 to replace the World Series of Darts. The World Series ran for just one year in 2006. Phil Taylor won the US Open in 2007 and 2008. The tournament was reduced down to Players Championship status for the 2009 and 2010 editions. Previous WinnersChampionship League Darts (2008–13)
Started in 2008, the Championship League Darts offered the players outside the top 8 in theChampions League of Darts (2016–19)
A new event staged for the first time at theOther tournaments and contests
Champion versus Champion
There have been two head-to-head matches bringing both respective world champions together in non-affiliated contests. Billed as the Match of the Century, Phil Taylor beat Raymond van Barneveld 21–10 atMasters of Darts
This event was staged twice in 2005 and 2007. In the 2005 Masters of Darts event four top players from both darts circuits together for the first major tournament confrontation since the two organisations separated. The players were split into two groups, sharing it with only members of their affiliated organisation. Each player then vied against all players from the opposition, with one point awarded for winning a match. Following conclusion of the format, the winner of each respective group played the runner-up at the semi-final stage. The Professional Darts Corporation pool consisted of Colin Lloyd, Wayne Mardle, Roland Scholten and Phil Taylor; whilst for the British Darts Organisation it was Tony David, Andy Fordham,World Darts Trophy
This tournament began as a BDO event. The tournament ran from 2002 to 2007. PDC players received invitations to play in the 2006 and 2007 editions of the event.International Darts League
This tournament began as a BDO event. The tournament ran from 2003 to 2007. PDC players received invitations to play in the 2006 and 2007 editions of the event.Home Tour
In April 2020, the PDC announced that they would be launching a new tournament starting on 17 April 2020, after most sport had been cancelled due to thePDC Hall of Fame
In 2005, the PDC introduced a Hall of Fame similar to other sports to recognise individuals with noteworthy contributions to darts. The first two inductees wereRoll of Honour
Premier Event Title Roll of Honour
35 players have won at least one PDC major televised event, those players are: Seven of these players have successfully defended a title at least once: Phil Taylor,World Series Roll of Honour
13 different players have won events on the World Series of Darts, excluding the Premier event, the World Series of Darts Finals.European Tour Roll of Honour
Only twelve players have won multiple European Tour events, as listed below. An additional 20 players have won a single title. That list is composed ofSee also
*References
External links