Professional Darts Corporation

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.[4]

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 immediately 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.[5]

There was further controversy following the 2007 BDO World Championship, when Jelle Klaasen announced that he would be switching to the PDC. As a BDO World Champion, he signed a three-year deal in 2006 to return to the Lakeside event. The BDO threatened to take legal action for breach of contract,[6] but with previous damage and costs incurred by other legal cases it has become less likely that any action will be taken in future with regards to player contracts and the Tomlin Order.[7] 2007 semi-finalist Mervyn King also moved to the PDC, seemingly against the contracted condition that semi-finalists and finalists were bound to appear the next year.

In January 2012, the PDC invited the four semi-finalists of the BDO world championships, after obtaining a written agreement to release any player without penalty. Ted Hankey was the first player to move,[8] as well as several players (who were not guaranteed a pro tour card due to not reaching the BDO semi finals) entering the PDC qualifying school, including Dean Winstanley, Tony West, Steve West, and Stuart Kellett.

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.

John Gwynne has covered all PDC events from the inaugural 1992 competition until his retirement in 2013. Dave Lanning covered all events up until December 2010, when he retired. Contrary to popular belief, long-time BBC darts commentator Sid Waddell did not switch allegiances to Sky until after the 1994 BDO World Championship. He brought his own unique brand of commentary to the game, and was a cult figure amongst darts fans and sport fans alike. He continued to commentate until his death in 2012. The current commentators on Sky include Nigel Pearson, Rod Studd, Stuart Pyke and former players Rod Harrington, Wayne Mardle, and three time World Champion John Part. Former BBC commentator and now Sky F1 commentator David Croft presents when Dave Clark is unavailable and also occasionally provides commentary. Jeff Stelling was the original presenter of Sky Sports' darts coverage, but most of the events are now presented by Clark. In addition, the 2005 Premier League was fronted by Gary Newbon. Five-time world champion Eric Bristow was sacked in December 2016 by Sky Sports.

ITV events were fronted by Matt Smith from 2007 to 2014 but are now hosted by Jacqui Oatley from 2015 who became the first regular female darts host in the UK. Commentary for ITV has been provided by John Rawling, Alan Warriner-Little & Pyke since 2007 with Chris Mason joining the coverage in 2008. Former darts commentators for ITV include Jim Proudfoot, Peter Drury and Steve Beaton. Ned Boulting presents features and interviews and deputises if the presenter is unavailable.

BBC Sport showed the inaugural PDC Champions League of Darts on BBC One and BBC Two, with 16 hours of coverage over two days presented by BBC Final Score presenter Jason Mohammad alongside PDC professionals Mark Webster, Paul Nicholson and Warriner-Little, commentary by long time BBC darts commentator Vassos Alexander and PDC online reporter and commentator Dan Dawson with reports by Caroline Barker.

Bravo employed James Richardson and Dave Gorman to front its coverage until the channel closed in 2011.

Eric Bristow, the most successful player in the first few years of the World Championship, had his nickname "The Crafty Cockney" emblazoned on the back of his shirt. Very few dart players had their own nicknames until the Professional Darts Corporation circuit made it almost customary for every player to acquire a nickname. This helps to create a new generation of characters with which its audience could identify.

Sky TV commentator Sid Waddell attempted to christen Phil Taylor "The Crafty Potter" – referring to him being both a protégé of Bristow and originating from the Potteries. However, the tag never caught on and it was not until a later tournament that he came out to the tune The Power by Snap! that his nickname was accidentally born.

Jamie Harvey from Scotland became "Bravedart" – a play on words from Mel Gibson's Braveheart film. Sky Sports even filmed vignettes where a kilt wearing Jamie had his face painted blue and ran through woods throwing his darts whilst looking menacing.

As the only player to wear a shirt, tie and waistcoat whilst playing, Rod Harrington's "Prince of Style" tag appeared apt.

Though originally from the BDO circuit, Wayne Mardle is known as "Hawaii Five-O-One" due to his colourful Hawaiian shirts (a play on words on Hawaii Five-O and the starting score in a leg of darts).

Bob Anderson, now living in Clevedon in Somerset, is known as The Limestone Cowboy, after the limestone hills of Wiltshire where Bob used to live, and the fact that he enjoys Country and Western music. This was once taken even further, with Anderson once walking to the stage accompanied by a horse.

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 the Circus Tavern, Purfleet between 1994 and 2007, the championship moved to a bigger venue at Alexandra Palace from 2008.

Phil Taylor has dominated this tournament, reaching the final for the first 14 years between 1994 and 2007 and winning fourteen titles, including eight successive titles between 1995 and 2002. The PDC World Champions have also shared eight BDO World Championships between them, with Van Barneveld winning four, Taylor two, and Part and Priestley one each. These are usually added to each player's haul when describing their achievements – hence Taylor is a 16-time champion, van Barneveld 5, Part 3 and Priestley 2.

Titles	Name	Years won
14	Phil Taylor	1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2004 2005 2006 2009 2010 2013
3	Michael van Gerwen	2014 2017 2019
2	John Part	2003 2008
	Adrian Lewis	2011 2012
	Gary Anderson	2015 2016
1	Dennis Priestley	1994
	Raymond van Barneveld	2007
	Rob Cross	2018
	Peter Wright	2020
	Gerwyn Price	2021

Held each year in June at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton (2003–2013), and from 2014 in March at Butlins, Minehead, the UK Open is played over three days with 168 players in a single elimination tournament. After each round a draw is held where there is no protection for seeded players. This has earned it the nickname The FA Cup of darts. Phil Taylor is the most successful player in the tournament's history, with five victories.

Previous Winners (2003–20)

Titles	Name	Years won
5	Phil Taylor	2003 2005 2009 2010 2013
3	Michael van Gerwen	2015 2016 2020
2	Raymond van Barneveld	2006 2007
	James Wade	2008 2011
1	Roland Scholten	2004
	Robert Thornton	2012
	Adrian Lewis	2014
	Peter Wright	2017
	Gary Anderson	2018
	Nathan Aspinall	2019

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 (1994–2020)

Titles	Name	Years won
16	Phil Taylor	1995 1997 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2017
2	Rod Harrington	1998 1999
	Michael van Gerwen	2015 2016
1	Larry Butler	1994
	Peter Evison	1996
	Colin Lloyd	2005
	James Wade	2007
	Gary Anderson	2018
	Rob Cross	2019
	Dimitri Van den Bergh	2020

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 in Dublin, Ireland.

This tournament has shorter opening rounds and players must commence and finish each leg on a double including the option of the bull, which is a format not used in any other major televised event. Taylor has dominated the event since its inception, with 11 victories.

Previous Winners (1998–2020)

Titles	Name	Years won
11	Phil Taylor	1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2005 2006 2008 2009 2011 2013
5	Michael van Gerwen	2012 2014 2016 2018 2019
2	James Wade	2007 2010
1	Alan Warriner-Little	2001
	Colin Lloyd	2004
	Robert Thornton	2015
	Daryl Gurney	2017
	Gerwyn Price	2020

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 (2007–20)

Titles	Name	Years won
6	Phil Taylor	2007 2008 2009 2011 2013 2014
3	Michael van Gerwen	2015 2016 2017
2	Gerwyn Price	2018 2019
1	Scott Waites	2010
	Raymond van Barneveld	2012
	José de Sousa	2020

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 (2009–20)

Titles	Name	Years won
6	Michael van Gerwen	2013 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020
3	Phil Taylor	2009 2011 2012
1	Paul Nicholson	2010
	Kevin Painter	2011
	Gary Anderson	2014
	Daryl Gurney	2018

The European Championship is a tournament that allows the top players in Europe to compete against the top players in the PDC Order of Merit. In 2016 it changed to the top 32 in the European tour Order of Merit. It started in 2008 and for the first six years had a £200,000 prize fund. It has increased since then. Phil Taylor won the first four editions of the tournament, before Simon Whitlock scooped his first, and so far only, major title in 2012.

Previous Winners (2008–20)

Titles	Name	Years won
4	Phil Taylor	2008 2009 2010 2011
	Michael van Gerwen	2014 2015 2016 2017
1	Simon Whitlock	2012
	Adrian Lewis	2013
	James Wade	2018
	Rob Cross	2019
	Peter Wright	2020

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 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Since 2015 it has been held at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes and been the first tournament after the World Championship.

Previous Winners (2013–21)

Titles	Name	Years won
5	Michael van Gerwen	2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
1	Phil Taylor	2013
	James Wade	2014
	Peter Wright	2020
	Jonny Clayton	2021

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 when Michael van Gerwen joined the league in 2013 and topped the table after the weekly rounds in each of the seven times since, winning five times. Glen Durrant was the third player to top the table, doing so in his debut year in 2020.

Previous Winners (2005–20)

Titles	Name	Years won
6	Phil Taylor	2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2012
5	Michael van Gerwen	2013 2016 2017 2018 2019
2	Gary Anderson	2011 2015
1	James Wade	2009
	Raymond van Barneveld	2014
	Glen Durrant	2020

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.

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 defeat over the Republic of Ireland in the final.

Previous Winners (2010, 2012–2020)

Titles	Team	Players	Years won
4	England	Phil Taylor & Adrian Lewis	2012 2013 2015 2016
	Netherlands	Michael van Gerwen & Raymond van Barneveld	2014 2017 2018
		Raymond van Barneveld & Co Stompé	2010
1	Scotland	Gary Anderson & Peter Wright	2019
	Wales	Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton	2020

A new event staged for the first time at the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff in Cardiff on 24–25 September 2016 featured the top 8 players in the PDC Order of Merit. It was the first ever PDC event to be shown live on the BBC.[12]

Previous Winners (2016–19)

Titles	Name	Years won
1	Phil Taylor	2016
	Mensur Suljović	2017
	Gary Anderson	2018
	Michael van Gerwen	2019

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 the Grand Slam of Darts. In 2015 the age limit was changed to under 23.

Dimitri Van den Bergh became the first player to defend his title by beating Martin Schindler in the final 6-3 though he could not retain it for a third time due to his age.

Previous Winners (2011–2020)

Titles	Name	Years won
2	Dimitri Van den Bergh	2017 2018
1	Arron Monk	2011
	James Hubbard	2012
	Michael Smith	2013
	Keegan Brown	2014
	Max Hopp	2015
	Corey Cadby	2016
	Luke Humphries	2019
	Bradley Brooks	2020

The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada was the setting for the Las Vegas Desert Classic each July from 2002 to 2009. It furthered the PDC's aim to develop a world darts circuit.

Previous Winners (2002–09)

Titles	Name	Years won
5	Phil Taylor	2002 2004 2005 2008 2009
1	Peter Manley	2003
	John Part	2006
	Raymond van Barneveld	2007

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 the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts.

The first PDC Women's World Championship, in 2010, was won by Stacy Bromberg who beat Tricia Wright 6–5. The match was played after the semi-finals of the 2010 World Matchplay in Blackpool. It was first to six legs of which Bromberg was 5–3 down before making a comeback to win 6–5.[13]

Previous Winners (2010)

Titles	Name	Years won
1	Stacy Bromberg	2010

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 Player's Championship status for the 2009 and 2010 editions.

Previous Winners

Titles	Name	Years won
2	Phil Taylor	2007 2008

Started in 2008, the Championship League Darts offered the players outside the top 8 in the PDC Order of Merit to compete for the championship. It was also the first tournament to be broadcast only by the internet.This tournament was discontinued after the 2013 edition.

Previous Winners (2008–13)

Titles	Name	Years won
4	Phil Taylor	2008 2011 2012 2013
1	Colin Osborne	2009
	James Wade	2010

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 at Wembley Conference Centre on 7 November 1999, to be unofficially crowned the first ever undisputed World Champion since the 1993 split in darts.

In a further Head-to-Head on 21 November 2004 at the Circus Tavern, via the first ever darts Pay-Per-View on Sky Box Office, Phil Taylor again prevailed after his opponent Andy Fordham had to retire during the match due to dehydration.

The immense heat took its toll on the 30-stone (420 lbs/191 kg) Fordham. Phil Taylor was leading the match 5–2 in sets before it was unexpectedly abandoned.

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, Co Stompé and Raymond van Barneveld.

In a rematch of their unfinished 2004 head-to-head clash, Phil Taylor beat Andy Fordham convincingly in the final, 7–1, to be crowned the first Master of Darts. While beating Raymond van Barneveld (BDO World Champion at the time) 4–0 and 5–2 along the way, the undefeated Taylor only lost 5 sets during the entire tournament.

This event was broadcast to viewers in The Netherlands via RTL 5. Surprisingly, no British broadcaster had agreed television coverage of this unique event. The tournament was not held in 2006, however it returned in February 2007 as a Netherlands versus England encounter with five players from each country. Originally announced with a mixture of PDC and BDO players, the BDO players had all switched to the PDC by the time the event began.

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.

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.

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 the COVID-19 outbreak. The home tour would see four players in action each night in a league format, before a knockout stage. The unique feature of this tournament is that player would be playing from their own homes for the first time in a darts tournament.[14]

31 players have won at least one PDC major televised event, those players are:

Rank	Name	Titles	First	Last
1	Phil Taylor	78	1995 World Championship	2017 World Matchplay
2	Michael van Gerwen	37	2012 World Grand Prix	2020 Players Championship Finals
3	James Wade	9	2007 World Matchplay	2018 European Championship
4	Gary Anderson	8	2011 Premier League	2018 Champions League of Darts
5	Raymond van Barneveld	6	2006 UK Open	2014 Premier League
6	Adrian Lewis	4	2011 World Championship	2014 UK Open
	Peter Wright		2017 UK Open	2020 European Championship
	Gerwyn Price		2018 Grand Slam of Darts	2021 World Championship
9	John Part	3	2003 World Championship	2008 World Championship
	Rob Cross		2018 World Championship	2019 European Championship
11	Rod Harrington	2	1998 World Matchplay	1999 World Matchplay
	Colin Lloyd		2004 World Grand Prix	2005 World Matchplay
	Robert Thornton		2012 UK Open	2015 World Grand Prix
	Daryl Gurney		2017 World Grand Prix	2018 Players Championship Finals
15	Dennis Priestley	1	1994 World Championship
	Larry Butler		1994 World Matchplay
	Peter Evison		1996 World Matchplay
	Alan Warriner-Little		2001 World Grand Prix
	Peter Manley		2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic
	Roland Scholten		2004 UK Open
	Colin Osborne		2009 Championship League Darts
	Paul Nicholson		2010 Players Championship Finals
	Scott Waites		2010 Grand Slam of Darts
	Kevin Painter		2011 Players Championship Finals
	Simon Whitlock		2012 European Championship
	Mensur Suljović		2017 Champions League of Darts
	Nathan Aspinall		2019 UK Open
	Dimitri Van den Bergh		2020 World Matchplay
	Glen Durrant		2020 Premier League
	José de Sousa		2020 Grand Slam of Darts
	Jonny Clayton		2021 Masters

Seven of these players have successfully defended a title at least once: Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis, Rod Harrington, Gerwyn Price and Raymond van Barneveld

13 different players have won events on the World Series of Darts.

Rank	Name	Titles	First	Last
1	Michael van Gerwen	15	2013 Dubai Darts Masters	2019 World Series of Darts Finals
2	Phil Taylor	8	2013 Sydney Darts Masters	2017 Melbourne Darts Masters
3	Gary Anderson	6	2016 Dubai Darts Masters	2018 US Darts Masters
4	Peter Wright	3	2017 German Darts Masters	2019 German Darts Masters
5	Adrian Lewis	1	2015 Auckland Darts Masters
	Kyle Anderson		2017 Auckland Darts Masters
	Mensur Suljović		2018 German Darts Masters
	Michael Smith		2018 Shanghai Darts Masters
	Rob Cross		2018 Brisbane Darts Masters
	James Wade		2018 World Series of Darts Finals
	Nathan Aspinall		2019 US Darts Masters
	Damon Heta		2019 Brisbane Darts Masters
	Gerwyn Price		2020 World Series of Darts Finals

Only eleven players have won multiple European Tour events, as listed below.

Rank	Name	Titles	First	Last
1	Michael van Gerwen	32	2013 European Darts Open	2019 Austrian Darts Open
2	Peter Wright	6	2014 European Darts Open	2017 International Darts Open
3	Phil Taylor	4	2012 German Darts Championship	2016 Austrian Darts Open
	Michael Smith		2014 European Darts Trophy	2017 Gibraltar Darts Trophy
5	Mensur Suljović	3	2016 International Darts Open	2019 Austrian Darts Championship
	Ian White		2018 Dutch Darts Championship	2019 Dutch Darts Masters
	Gerwyn Price		2018 International Darts Open	2020 Belgian Darts Championship
8	Dave Chisnall	2	2013 German Darts Championship	2019 Danish Darts Open
	Kim Huybrechts		2013 Dutch Darts Masters	2015 European Darts Grand Prix
	James Wade		2014 Gibraltar Darts Trophy	2016 European Darts Matchplay
	Joe Cullen		2019 European Darts Matchplay	2020 International Darts Open

An additional 19 players have won a single title. That list is composed of Justin Pipe, Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Lewis, Simon Whitlock, John Part, Wes Newton, Steve Beaton, Gary Anderson, Vincent van der Voort, Mervyn King, Robert Thornton, Alan Norris, Max Hopp, Jonny Clayton, Daryl Gurney, Jamie Hughes, Krzysztof Ratajski, Devon Petersen and José de Sousa.