PDC Darts calendar

The year 2013 was indeed memorable and groundbreaking for PDC (Professional Darts Corporation), but then, the excitement and challenge do not stop there. These can still be taken several notches higheras players and even the audience can look forward for a more thrilling action this 2014.

PDC has just gone full blast with this year’s championship and tournament calendar, and so far, many have already been heating the competition. For one, players can now go after what could be one of the highest prize money, which is now worth at £7 million. What’s more, there is a shift in ball game as competitions Challenge Tour and Youth Tour have now been separated.

What Is on the Menu?

What are the various challenges and tours that you can look forward to? There are definitely a lot, some of which have already been completed, so all you have to do is to keep track of the winners and see how they are going to fare in the succeeding competitions.

First, we have the UK Open, which was held at ButlinsMinehead Resort for three days, between March 7 and 9. It was a very special event for a variety of reasons. The coverage was turned over to ITV4, when it used to be taken care of by Sky Sports since 2003, at a time the game was established. Second, the venue was moved to ButlinsMinehead Resort from Reebook Stadium. The qualifying rounds were managed by Rileys, where more than 30 of them were held at Riley’s Bar.

There are about 126 total players who participated, and 6 of them are already considered qualifiers and form part of the PDC Pro Tour. All in all, the UK Open was composed of 5 rounds followed by quarter finals, semifinals, and then finals. The ultimate winner was Adrian Lewis with Terry Jenkins as the runner-up. Taylor, meanwhile, currently holds the most number of wins in the UK Open with 5 championship titles and 1 runner-up.

Then there is the European Championship, which is slated during the last quarter of the year, from October 23 to 26. As one of the most broadcasted tournaments since it is participated by top European dart players, the game will be shown in ITV 4 in the UK, and will continue do so in the next 3 years.

The 2013 European championship was the sixth since its inception. It had a prize fund of £200,000 with £50,000 going to the winner. It occurred in Mulheim, Germany, from July 4 to 7, 2013. Those who formed part of the PDC Order of Merit immediately qualified for the tournament. These include Peter Wright, Stuart Kellett, Colin Lloyd, and Ronnie Baxter. Taylor, Kevin Painter, Lewis, and Mark Webster already belonged to PDC Top 16. Adrian Lewis took home the first prize when he bested Simon Whitlock, who had a very impressive game.

The World Cup of Darts, meanwhile, is going to be between 6 to 8, 2014, and shall be in Germany, broadcasted to the UK through Sky Sports. It is joined by the representatives of the top countries in the PDC Order of Merit list. A relatively young tournament, it produced 3 editions so far, with team England composed of Taylor and Lewis taking home the title, followed by Belgium’s Kim and Ronny Huybrechts. The former won £40,000 while the latter £20,000. The total cash prize is £150,000.

Most of May this year will be dedicated to Premier League Darts, which is currently on its tenth edition. Last May 1 at NIA Birmingham is the thirteenth leg of the game. The next one shall be on May 8, 15, and 22, which will also be the playoff. Sponsored by Betway, it will be broadcasted through Sky Sports. Some of the biggest competitors in the tournament are Michael van Gerwen, who also won last year, as well as Phil Taylor, David Chisnall, Robert Thornton, and Gary Anderson. Taylor was also the defending champion until he lost to Gerwen.

The Betway Premier League Darts also began by February 6 at Echo Arena in Liverpool with the Aberdeen leg at First Direct Arena having one of the biggest turnouts of audience so far. The prize money for the game has just jumped from £520,000 to £550,000. Overall, the tourney has extended p to 16 nights.

One of the most fun-filled darts tournaments, the BetVictor WorldWatch Play, will be held from July 19, Saturday, to July 27. More than 30 players shall fight for the first place and covet the handsome prize money. The first four sessions of the game will run for around 3 days and make up the first round. On Sunday, July 20, will be the double session, and the first round shall end by July 21, evening. The next day will be the official start of the second round with the quarter finals held on two days, from July 24 to 25. The semi finals immediately follows while the finals will be on the last day, July 27.

Ticket sales are ongoing, though these are already general sales since during the first few months, priority had been given to the annual subscribers of LIVEPDC.TV. Sky Sports is in charge of its broadcast. Ticket prices for the tourney except on afternoon sessions of the first-round matches cost £30 for table seating and £25 for balcony or standing. Afternoon sessions, meanwhile, are £25 and £20 for table seating and balcony, respectively.

The World Grand Prix has also retained its schedule, which shall be in October, from 6 to 12, and held in Dublin, Ireland. The city has also served as the host since 2001 after County Wexford in 2000 and Kent in 1998 and 1999. It’s sponsored by partypoker.com since the 2011. Prior to that, bookmakers such as Bodog, Paddy Power, and Sky Poker took on the role. The prize money for the competition has increased significantly to £400,000, thanks to the continuous growth of PDC over the last 12 months.

The World Grand Prix is a must-watch, considering it’s the only darts tournament so far that requires players to go into double at the start and end of the leg. Participated by 32 players, the game begins with the first two nights designated as the first round. The second round, meanwhile, is scheduled on Wednesday as well as Thursday. On Friday it shall be the quarter finals with Saturday as the semi-finals. In 2013, Phil Taylor took home the title after winning it with a 6–0 set. Dave Chisnall served as his runner-up. Taylor has also won most of the titles for the tournament.

The Grand Slam of Darts for this year will run between November 5 and 23. It will be held at Wolverhampton in Civic Centre. Those who ended up finalists in every broadcasted games over the last two years including those organized by British Darts Organisation (BDO) are already considered qualifiers. The firs rounds will span for about 5 days with all players assigned into their respective groups. Whoever stands the last wins the game. In 2013, the official title as winner went to Phil Taylor with Robert Thornton as his runner-up. Taylor obtained £100,000 while the total prize fund of the game was £400,000.

The Cash Converters Players Championship Finals is scheduled to run from November 28 to 30 will be considered as the sixth edition of the game. More than 30 players will compete for the event, which shall be chosen based on ProTour Order of Merit list. Players by then should have already competed in European Tour, UK Open qualifiers, and Players Championship. The game will be held at Butlins Mindhead Resort. The prize money is currently at £250,000 with the winner taking home £60,000.

The World Darts Championship, on the other hand, will still be in December and is expected to be held in Alexandra Palace in London, which is the same venue for the last 8 editions. However, by 2015, there will be a new sponsor, William-Hill, who just signed a two-year deal with PDC. Prize money as of 2014 has already reached £1,050,000. Current champion is Michael van Gerwen with Peter Wright as the runner-up.

One of the biggest darts competitions in the globe, the Coral Masters is scheduled later in the year from October 31 to November 2 at Edinburgh, Scotland, in Royal Highland Centre. Prize fund last year was £160,000 with the winner’s share at £50,000. Phil Taylor won the game after beating Adrian Lewis with a score of 10–1 during the finals.

European dart tours have been rolling. Some of the first countries that played were Holland and Germany last February, followed by Gibraltar and Austria. Many cities in Germany will also be considered venues in different dates throughout the year. Outside Europe, mega cities such as Dubai in UAE and Sydney, Australia, will host PDC’s the World Series of Darts. Dubai will come early from May 30 to 31. Sydney, on the other hand, will be on August 28 to 30. PDC ran a very successful qualifying school during January 15 to 18, 2014.

Youth Tour

As proof that darts can be played by the majority, PDC will also have a Youth Tour, which shall be participated by young players aged between 16 and 21 years old. The games will be played alongside the Challenge Tour.

Barry Hearn, the present PDC chairman, expressed his excitement over this year’s lineup of events. He personally believed that the calendar has never been this comprehensive. He also attributed the development of Challenge and Youth Tours to the growth of the PDC ProTour. The qualifying school, on the other hand, allows players to be able to test themselves and be more capable and worth it to join the recognized PDC tourneys.

For the upcoming ProTour Qualifying School, more specific details have to be broadcasted hopefully in the coming days. For the complete calendar, please refer below:

2014 Professional Darts Corporation Events Calendar

Date	Venue	Tournament
JANUARY
15-18	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Qualifying School
19	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	European Tour 1/2 UK Qualifier
20	The Dorchester	PDC Awards Dinner
FEBRUARY
Jan 31-Feb 2	Hildesheim, Germany	European Tour 1
6	Echo Arena Liverpool	Premier League Darts 1
7	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	UK Open Qualifier 1
8	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	UK Open Qualifier 2
9	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	UK Open Qualifier 3
13	BIC, Bournemouth	Premier League Darts 2
14-16	Veldhoven, Netherlands	European Tour 2
20	Odyssey Arena, Belfast	Premier League Darts 3
21	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	UK Open Qualifier 4
22	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	UK Open Qualifier 5
23	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	UK Open Qualifier 6
27	SECC, Glasgow	Premier League Darts 4
MARCH
1	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Youth Tour 1 & 2
2	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Challenge Tour 1 & 2
6	Westpoint Arena, Exeter	Premier League Darts 5
7-9	ButlinsMinehead Resort	UK Open TV Finals
13	Capital FM Arena, Nottingham	Premier League Darts 6
15	BarnsleyMetrodome	Players Championship 1
16	BarnsleyMetrodome	Players Championship 2
20	First Direct Arena, Leeds	Premier League Darts 7
21	K2 Centre, Crawley	European Tour 3 UK Qualifier
22	K2 Centre, Crawley	Players Championship 3
23	K2 Centre, Crawley	Players Championship 4
27	The O2, Dublin	Premier League Darts 8
29	Rivermead Centre, Reading	Youth Tour 3 & 4
30	Rivermead Centre, Reading	Challenge Tour 3 & 4
APRIL
3	Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff	Premier League Darts 9
4	Rivermead Centre, Reading	World Youth Championship L64
5	Rivermead Centre, Reading	Youth Tour 5 & 6
6	Rivermead Centre, Reading	Challenge Tour 5 & 6
10	Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield	Premier League Darts 10
12	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Players Championship 5
13	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Players Championship 6
17	GE Oil & Gas Arena, Aberdeen	Premier League Darts 11
19-21	Berlin, Germany	Eurpean Tour 3
24	Phones 4u Arena, Manchester	Premier League Darts 12
26	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Youth Tour 7 & 8
27	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Challenge Tour 7 & 8
MAY
1	NIA, Birmingham	Premier League Darts 13
2	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	European Tour 4 UK Qualifier
3	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Players Championship 7
4	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Players Championship 8
8	Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle	Premier League Darts 14
15	The Brighton Centre	Premier League Darts 15
22	The O2, London	Premier League Darts Play-Offs
22	The O2, London	World Youth Championship Final
23	K2 Centre, Crawley	European Tour 5 UK Qualifier
24	K2 Centre, Crawley	Players Championship 9
25	K2 Centre, Crawley	Players Championship 10
30-31	Dubai	World Series of Darts
31	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Youth Tour 9 & 10
JUNE
1	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Challenge Tour 9 & 10
6-8	Hamburg, Germany	World Cup of Darts
13	Rivermead Centre, Reading	European Tour 6 UK Qualifier
14	Rivermead Centre, Reading	Players Championship 11
15	Rivermead Centre, Reading	Players Championship 12
20-22	Salzburg, Austria	European Tour 4
27-29	Gibraltar	European Tour 5
JULY
4	BarnsleyMetrodome	European Tour 7/8 UK Qualifier
5	BarnsleyMetrodome	Youth Tour 11 & 12
6	BarnsleyMetrodome	Challenge Tour 11 & 12
10-13	Dusseldorf, Germany	European Tour 6
19-27	Winter Gardens, Blackpool	World Matchplay
AUGUST
28-30	Sydney	World Series of Darts
SEPTEMBER
5-7	Sindelfingen, Germany	European Tour 7
13	K2 Centre, Crawley	Players Championship 13
14	K2 Centre, Crawley	Players Championship 14
19-21	Leipzig, Germany	European Tour 8
27	BarnsleyMetrodome	Youth Tour 13 & 14
28	BarnsleyMetrodome	Challenge Tour 13 & 14
OCTOBER
4	Citywest Hotel, Dublin	Players Championship 15
5	Citywest Hotel, Dublin	Players Championship 16
6-12	Citywest Hotel, Dublin	World Grand Prix
18	K2 Centre, Crawley	Players Championship 17
19	K2 Centre, Crawley	Players Championship 18
23-26	Muelheim, Germany	European Championship
NOVEMBER
31 Oct-2 Nov	Edinburgh	The Masters
1	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Players Championship 19
2	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Players Championship 20
3	Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan	Grand Slam Wildcard Qualifier
8	Rivermead Centre, Reading	Youth Tour 15 & 16
9	Rivermead Centre, Reading	Challenge Tour 15 & 16
10 - TBC	Rivermead Centre, Reading	World Championship PDPA Qualifier
15-23	Wolverhampton Civic Hall	Grand Slam of Darts
28-30	ButlinsMinehead Resort	Players Championship Finals
DECEMBER
TBC	Alexandra Palace, London	World Darts Championship