The 2005 Masters of Darts was a unique darts tournament as it was the first televised confrontation between the darts players of the two rival organisations, the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). There had been two "champion versus champion" matches held, but this tournament was the first major event featuring players from each organisation.
This inaugural Masters of Darts took place between February 7 and February 13, 2005 at the ExpoCenter in Hengelo, The Netherlands. The best four players from both federations were invited. The tournament was arranged by PenH Events, who managed to secure a three-year contract with Raymond van Barneveld, a BDO player at the time, taking part in the tournament. The host broadcaster was RTL5 in the Netherlands, who had also secured a three-year deal to broadcast the event. However, the tournament was not held in 2006 and by the time it was revived for 2007, SBS6 took over as Dutch broadcasters for the event.
Prize Fund
Total prize money for the event was €395,000 with the tournament winner securing €150,000 making it one of the richest prizes in darts.
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World Darts Council (WDC). Sports promoter Eddie Hearn is the PDC chairman.
Roland Scholten is a Dutch former professional darts player who played in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO). Nicknamed The Tripod and The Flying Dutchman, Scholten turned full-time professional in 2001 having previously worked as a publican. Despite his Dutch nationality, Scholten speaks with a strong English accent having lived in Peterborough for several years. His considerable height and throwing technique means his darts hit the board at a considerably narrow angle.
Mervyn King is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. Nicknamed The King, he has reached seven PDC major finals and reached a peak of No. 4 in the PDC Order of Merit.
The 2007 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament took place between 18 December 2006 – 1 January 2007. The championship was once again held at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, where it had been staged since the first PDC World Championship in 1994. However, it would turn out to be the last time the tournament would be held at the Tavern: in April 2007, the PDC announced that the event would be moving to Alexandra Palace from 2008.
The 2001 BDO World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament held from 6 to 14 January 2001 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. It was the 24th staging of the competition since the 1978 event and the 16th time it took place at the Lakeside Country Club. The tournament was the first of 44 British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments in 2001. The host broadcaster was the BBC and the competition was sponsored by the cigarette company Embassy.
The Masters of Darts has a unique place in darts history as it was the first televised tournament to be co-sanctioned by both the two rival organisations, the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since they separated in 1993. There had been two "champion versus champion" matches held, and many players on both sides of the divide played on TV tournaments on the other side from 1997–2001, but the 2005 Masters of Darts was the first televised tournament to be co-sanctioned by both organizations.
The 2006 Holsten Premier League the second year of the Professional Darts Corporation's popular darts league. The 2006 league was launched with the top six players in the PDC world rankings and the addition of a wildcard player, Raymond van Barneveld who decided to switch from the British Darts Organisation just weeks after reaching their 2006 World Championship final.
The 2006 Budweiser UK Open was the fourth year of the UK Open darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton, between 9–11 June 2006.
The 2007 Holsten Premier League was a major darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The prize money for the 2007 event increased by almost £100,000 compared to 2006. The overall fund was £265,000 with the eventual winner taking home £75,000. The inclusion of an eighth player meant that the league expanded from 10 to 14 weeks.
Tony David is an Australian former professional darts player, who played under the nickname The Deadly Boomerang. He is the only Australian player to have been a senior singles world darts champion, having won the 2002 Embassy World Championship.
This is a list of some of the major events and competitions in the sport of darts in 2007. Raymond van Barneveld proved to be the most successful player with ten professional tournament wins across the PDC and BDO, including four majors.
Jacobus Wilhelmus "Co" Stompé is a Dutch former professional darts player. He was nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance, making him look like a matchstick. He was also one of very few professionals who played in longsleeved shirts.
The 2007 Keukenconcurrent Masters of Darts was the second staging of a Dutch darts tournament featuring five top Dutch and five top English players.
The 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 15th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place between 17 December 2007 and 1 January 2008 at the Alexandra Palace, London, England.
The 2007 SBets.net Las Vegas Desert Classic was the sixth time that the Professional Darts Corporation stage the prestigious darts tournament. The tournament was held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino for the second successive year and was staged between July 3 and July 8, televised on Sky Sports from July 4 - there was no title sponsor for the event after PartyPoker.net's sponsorship lasted for just one year.
The 2007 Blue Square UK Open was the fifth year of the PDC's UK Open darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament took place at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton, England, between 7–10 June 2007. Blue Square took over as title sponsor after Budweiser's three-year deal expired.
This is a list of some of the major events and competitions in the sport of darts in 2008.
This article documents all the events in the sport of darts over the course of 2009.
The 2009 Blue Square UK Open was the seventh year of the PDC darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament was held at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, England, between 4–7 June 2009 and has the nickname, "the FA Cup of darts" as a random draw is staged after each round until the final.
This is a list of the main career statistics of English professional darts player, Phil Taylor, whose professional career lasted from 1987 to 2018. Taylor won 214 professional titles and was runner-up in 48 finals. He won a record 85 major titles and a record 16 World Championships. In team events, he won 10 titles including being a four-time winner of the PDC World Cup of Darts and has had 2 runners-up finishes in team events. In 1999 and 2004 he defeated the reigning BDO champion in a special challenge match.
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